Desktops-as-a-Service (DaaS) is a hot topic. Thank you to all that attended the December 13 webinar, Getting to the State of OPEX: 3 Pillars of DaaS Success, and for the insightful questions you raised.

Due to the great participation we had during the live webinar, we received more questions than we were able to answer in the allotted time. So, we are going to address some of those questions here. If you missed the live webinar, you can watch it on-demand. And please feel free to ask any new questions using the comments tool below.

Q: What are the Citrix Cloud Connectors?

A Citrix Cloud Connector is a component that gets installed in a resource location (e.g. cloud region or on-premises site) and serves as a communication channel between Citrix Cloud and that specific location. Refer to Citrix documentation on Citrix Cloud Connector for additional details.

Q: Does Citrix DaaS work with Apple iCloud?

Citrix DaaS solutions can operate on any “infrastructure” cloud, including Amazon EC2, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, IBM Softlayer, or private clouds build on Apace CloudStack or OpenStack solutions. Apple iCloud is a consumer-focused cloud storage and computer service that serves different use cases.

Q: How is the transfer of data controlled—in particular for organizations with sensitivity around data sovereignty and where it’s being managed?

Customers own and manage the resource locations that they use with Citrix Cloud. A resource location can be created in any data center, cloud, location, or geographic area customers desire. All critical business data (such as documents, spreadsheets, and so on) is stored in those resource locations and therefore is under customer control. Please see Citrix Documentation for more information on data sovereignty.

Q: Do you need a VPN to connect the Citrix Cloud with the VMs?

No, the connection to Citrix Cloud is done through the cloud connectors installed in the Resource Location you choose. No VPN solution is required.

Q: What infrastructure do I need for Citrix App Layering?

Citrix App Layering easily integrates within on-premises and cloud environments of Citrix and non-Citrix app and desktop delivery solutions with a standalone virtual appliance. See App Layering System Requirements for further details.

Q: Our biggest challenge is legacy applications, but we also are working with a ‘cloud-first’ executive mentality. What can we do to better transition those apps into the cloud and where does it make sense?

Citrix Cloud XenApp and XenDesktop Service allows you to keep the application infrastructure for those apps that you want on-premises, while enabling you to move what you want—and what makes sense—to a cloud infrastructure of your choice. The management of both cloud and on-premises resource locations will be in a single control plane in Citrix Cloud. Citrix also offers AppDNA, a tool to better understand your applications, application interoperability, and how to best deliver and manage application lifecycle saving significant amounts of time and money.

Q: We’re thinking of pushing some of our key users into a cloud model leveraging apps and desktops, but are concerned about resiliency, performance, and up-time. How does the Citrix DaaS environment support that?

The Citrix Cloud XenApp and XenDesktop Service offer the management back-end as a cloud service. The performance, reliability and uptime of the solution is more dependent on the solution and infrastructure built to support the workers—that is what runs the applications and desktops. Should for any reason the Citrix Cloud based management infrastructure become un-available, it will go unnoticed for most users as connections remain up.

Q: What is the pricing for all DaaS solutions per user per month?

The list prices for Citrix Cloud services are available on our website. Please also contact Citrix Sales for more information and discount opportunities.

If you missed the webinar, you can watch it anytime on-demand. And if I didn’t address your question above, please add it to the comments section below and I’ll be sure we get back to you.

Getting to the State of OPEX: 3 Pillars of DaaS Success
Available on-demand: Watch NOW!