Virtual computing creates new ways for people to work. It gives people the freedom to workshift, or move work to a more optimal place—on whatever device they chose, whenever and wherever, over any network connection. For example:
• A team can work remotely and/or across cultural and geographic boundaries
• A doctor can bring electronic medical records to a patient’s bedside
• A parent can work from home when their child is sick
• A retired person can work from anywhere in a part-time capacity
When users can connect anywhere from any device, work becomes a state of being rather than a location, and common practices such as meetings, collaboration and support can happen online. At the same time, virtual computing gives users far more control over what devices they use, when and where they work, what applications they prefer and how to integrate their work and personal lives.
Virtual computing also creates new ways for IT to work—and they, too, can work shift or move work to a more optimal place. This includes moving workloads to more efficient or under-used servers, as well as moving desktops and applications to run centrally, and securely. The benefits of virtual computing for IT departments are numerous—IT can:
• Deliver applications to users when and where they are needed
• Provide high-definition computing services on demand from any device over any connection
• Centrally monitor and control all of the important aspects of the IT infrastructure without having to own, touch, secure or manage all of its individual components
• Scale capacity up or down—relying on cloud providers for additional server and network capacity when workloads peak—while managing a system designed to handle average computing demand
• Let users perform routine tasks using a self-service model that frees IT resources to work on more strategic projects
• Offer a Bring Your Own Computer (BYOC) program that lets users buy and use their own devices at work, reducing IT’s device management burden
When IT can react more quickly to the changing needs of the business and deliver computing services on demand, it becomes a valuable asset to the business, rather than just a cost. The business greatly benefits in several ways. The organization can:
• Quickly add new employees, open new offices and start offshore operations by providing a full function corporate desktop to new users in a matter of minutes
• Easily support teleworking mandates and green initiatives while reducing facility and travel expenses
• Simplify business continuity and disaster recovery processes, minimizing down-time
• Manage applications and data centrally, making it easier to demonstrate regulatory compliance
• Recruit top talent from anywhere by offering flexibility and work-life balance by supporting workshifting and a variety of computing devices
Virtual computing is at the center of a remarkable IT transformation. IT has the power to create amazing experiences that transcend the limitations of the previous era of computing while realizing lower costs, greater business agility and freedom for the user. Citrix combines virtualization, networking and cloud computing technologies to deliver a full portfolio of offerings that enable virtual workstyles for users and virtual datacenters for IT, and put it at the center of this transformation.