Deeper Dives, Greater Flexibility with Citrix All-Access Learning

Unlimited self-paced training with Citrix All-Access Learning is just what the doctor ordered, according to Jamie Terrell, Citrix engineer for Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute. “My goals are to increase my knowledge of Citrix solutions, including becoming certified in Citrix Cloud, and to gain more skills around Citrix ADC to provide backup for our networking specialist,” he explains. “We are also considering implementing other Citrix technologies such as App Layering, and my All-Access Learning subscription will allow me to train on those when the time comes.”

With responsibility for a complex, distributed Citrix environment that is based on a hybrid cloud architecture and encompasses two datacenters across two domains, 3,500 users, and mission-critical electronic medical records and lab applications, Jamie is serious about expanding and deepening his skills and knowledge. “I’ve tried other educational offerings, but they don’t go into enough detail,” he says. “The content tends to be high level and hands-on labs are not included.”

Jamie has also taken traditional instructor-led training courses but prefers the flexibility of learning at his own pace. “My free time is scarce, and I like having the option to stop studying when I need to, knowing I can pick up the topic again when it’s convenient.”  

Equally important to Jamie is the ability to spend as much time as he wishes on specific parts of a course or lab, rather than having to adhere to an instructor’s lesson plan. He can also use the course content as a refresher for tasks that are done infrequently. “Now that I’ve become more specialized in Citrix technology, I sometimes need to revisit lower-level courses to review basic information. Plus, I can practice things like installing StoreFront servers using the lab environment.”

Favorite features

Virtual training is strongly preferred by Florida Cancer Specialists’ management, and it’s also ideal for Jamie, who works from home in an area where there are limited local Citrix training opportunities. In addition to convenience, he likes the versatility of All-Access Learning. “Many people train to prepare for certifications, while others are focused on acquiring new skills. All-Access Learning enables you to do either or both.”

Further, Jamie is impressed that Citrix keeps the course content updated with the latest product versions, features, and functionality. He also appreciates the fact that the courses are divided into “small chunks” that are easy to consume.

He finds the hands-on labs to be practical and relevant, and although he hasn’t yet set up a one-on-one virtual consultation with a Citrix Certified Instructor, he foresees using that subscription feature to ask practical questions about courses or labs.    

Big benefits

All-Access Learning supports strategic IT goals for Florida Cancer Specialists. “Expanding our team’s skills and expertise can help reduce our reliance on vendors and other third parties to lower costs and increase control,” Jamie notes. “We want to increase our team’s involvement across the board by limiting the use of vendors to assist with major roadblocks.”

In his opinion, in-depth, cross-solution training is also key to optimizing the company’s Citrix environment. Based on his satisfaction with All-Access Learning, he hopes to get management approval to provide subscriptions for his teammates, as well. “With ongoing training, our team will make fewer mistakes, helping to increase system stability. They will be able pinpoint issues faster, with less research required, which can accelerate turnaround time for fixes.”  

Finally, expanded training will support upcoming initiatives. “We’re looking to move more of our on-premises infrastructure to the cloud, including hosting our Virtual Apps and Desktops workloads in Azure. Not only will Citrix All-Access Learning prepare us to make that transition, it could actually help us build a business case to justify future projects.”