Salling Group’s strategic move to a scalable, cloud-first strategy with Citrix Platform Flex

Aligning tech efficiency with green ambitions

Salling Group’s decision to exit its legacy data centers was driven by a cloud-first strategy built on three pillars: economy, agility, and the environment. To navigate this critical transition, the company chose to become an early adopter of Citrix Platform Flex - a new secure application access offering built for multi-cloud resiliency, fast deployment, and predictable, flexible pricing.

“We have a long history with Citrix, and we have high confidence in their products,” explains Poulsen. But trust alone wasn't enough; the numbers had to work. The group’s legacy setup was struggling to compete with the efficiencies of modern hyperscalers. Meanwhile, retail is a seasonal beast. Events like Black Friday and Christmas create massive spikes in demand. Salling Group needed flexible infrastructure that could expand instantly during these peaks and contract just as quickly, rather than paying for peak capacity year-round. 

Citrix Platform Flex provided an "all-inclusive", cost-effective package that bundled licensing, hosting, and thin client management into a single, competitive agreement that rivalled native hyperscaler costs. That package is predicted to bring Salling Group a saving of 25% on TCO over the next three years.   

As important as economic gains, the solution aligns perfectly with Salling Group’s ambitious green agenda. By utilizing Citrix on top of Microsoft Azure’s Sweden region—designed to run on 100% carbon-free electricity—Salling Group ensures its digital footprint won’t compromise its sustainability goals. 

“When we make a choice, it’s not just about getting it right financially or technically — we also have to keep the green agenda in mind,” says Poulsen. “That hasn’t always been the case, but it is now.”

Tailored for a retail workforce of all types

With Azure identified as the strategic platform, Salling Group needed a predictable & flexible licensing model that would fit its unique user mix. Unlike in a typical office environment, thousands of store associates in Netto or Føtex might need to log in briefly in the morning to check sales figures or access SAP via thin clients, but they aren't necessarily glued to a screen all day. Citrix therefore tailored its Flex Platform model so that each of Salling Group’s user types would get exactly the experience they need – no more, no less – eliminating overprovisioning and underutilization. 

“We operate on a concurrent user basis, so unique user licenses simply wouldn’t be viable — the cost would explode,” says Poulsen. “Citrix building that model into Flex is what made it feasible for us.” Having the flexibility of tying licensing costs to actual usage allows Salling Group to support thousands of employees efficiently without the prohibitive costs of a traditional per-user licensing model.  

Operational simplicity and accountability

Beyond licensing, the move to Citrix Platform Flex has dramatically simplified Salling Group’s vendor landscape. Previously, IT operations might have had to juggle separate contracts and support lines for Citrix software, thin client management, and infrastructure hosting. 

“Now, the responsibility is centralized, which means we have one single point of contact - Citrix,” says Poulsen. “That’s an important factor from an operational perspective, too”.  

This centralization brings a new level of operational clarity and accountability. By having a single point of contact for the entire stack, the IT team anticipates faster resolution times and reduced administrative overhead, freeing them to focus on strategic initiatives rather than vendor management.

Stability, security, and scalability

With migration to the Citrix-managed cloud infrastructure underway, Salling Group’s immediate focus is on stability. For a high-volume retailer, the best technology is technology you don't notice.  

“Performance-wise, we see very good latency... and stability wise, we have very few hiccups. It just runs,” says Poulsen, of the initial Azure workloads. 

Security is equally paramount. The Citrix Platform Flex agreement supports Salling Group’s compliance with the EU’s strict NIS2 directive, allowing the company to leverage Citrix’s resources to consolidate its security posture and close gaps identified in penetration tests. 

Looking ahead, the platform is set to become an enabler for Salling Group’s ambitious growth. Whether acquiring new brands or opening dozens of new locations, the infrastructure is now ready to scale instantly. 

“Say we open 10 new stores; 10 new stores get Citrix, then bang – with just a few clicks, they’re up and running,” Poulsen says, describing the ease of rollout. “The scalability in this is really simple, there’s nothing to think about.” 

The team is also exploring future innovations to drive further business value, such as deploying Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) for offshore developers in Pakistan and enhancing collaboration for store staff with tools like Microsoft Teams and OneDrive. 

By choosing Citrix Platform Flex, Salling Group hasn't just moved to the cloud; it has secured a foundation that is as ambitious, responsible, and dynamic as the company itself.