Citrix Unveils Software for Converged Infrastructure: WorkspacePods

Citrix Systems, Inc. announced WorkspacePod, an integrated software solution for delivering modern workspaces, leveraging the recently acquired capability from Sanbolic, Inc.

In collaboration with technology partners, Citrix is developing pre-packaged offerings that include integrated compute, storage and networking to reduce the cost and complexity for delivering applications including: Windows, Web and Linux.

Customers and partners can use WorkspacePods to deploy workspace solutions that scale to thousands of users with performance and to deliver the intuitive end user experience.

A WorkspacePod technical preview will be available in 1Q15.

While server and software licensing costs are well known, storage cost and complexity remains one of the top barriers for VDI and application delivery adoption. WorkspacePods address that issue by enabling a simple and scalable converged infrastructure at a low price per user in the mobile workspace market, consolidating existing on-premise or cloud storage infrastructure and reducing the time to value for workspace deployments.

Citrix provides technology partners with the freedom to leverage their one-of-a-kind performance and configuration advantages to offer differentiated solutions that deliver mobile workspaces. The WorkspacePods can be deployed as standalone or in a mesh configuration within a data center as well as in remote regional or branch offices, enabling customers to deliver apps and desktops that can scale out to thousands of users with built-in HA and enterprise-grade storage capabilities.

Citrix Summit Demonstration Showcases WorkspacePod Powered by HP
At Citrix Summit in Las Vegas, NV, Citrix introduced the first WorkspacePod powered by Hewlett-Packard Development Company, LP. This integrates Citrix workspace infrastructure software with HP’s Moonshot platform and the HP ProLiant SL4540 server integrating compute, storage and networking, delivering apps and desktops with low price, high performance and flexibility.

The advantages include:

• Hardware savings up to 40% – compared to traditional SAN based architectures.
• Multiple times greater user density per rack with energy savings – offering three times the user density per rack at less than one watt per user.
• High performance networking – that includes integrated 40GB switching between compute and storage.
  Superior graphics performance – with integrated CPU/GPU to support applications and desktops with motion graphics and server-rendered video.
• Redundancy and availability – providing a redundant and highly available system for infrastructure, storage and workloads.

As part of the technology preview, HP, Citrix and channel partners will be providing the WorkspacePod powered by HP to customers for POCs in 1H 2015. Additional WorkspacePod offerings targeting branch and regional office deployments from Citrix technology partners will be forthcoming.

Mark Peters, senior analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group, said: “Just as businesses themselves need increased agility, so they also need to be able to reliably and cost effectively scale their information systems to handle the increase in dynamic and variable IT demands that inevitably result; and they need confidence that the technology will just work. The logic and attraction of – as well as demand for – more technologies that are integrated and work as converged systems, is clear and growing. Pre-integrated systems can enable CIOs to more quickly adapt to these changing demands with predictable performance and costs; advantages that will become requirements as the market continues to mature.”

Tyrone Pike, VP, market development, Citrix, said: “While we’ve made great strides in simplifying session, app and desktop delivery management, we see tremendous market demand for offerings that reduce the infrastructure cost and complexity for workspace delivery. Citrix WorkspacePod solutions provide create simplified architectures that streamline and accelerate workspace deployments at an attractive per-user price.”

Paul Santeler, VP and GM, Moonshot, HP, said: “HP ProLiant Moonshot and Citrix offer solutions that deliver tremendous value for businesses deploying mobile workspaces, providing the compelling application experience demanded by today’s mobile workforce. The technology demonstration at Citrix Summit today is proof positive that our strong partnership with Citrix will continue to excite our customers.“