Citrix Systems announced Citrix Desktop Server™ 1.0 (previously code-named Project Trinity). The debut of this new technology marks the entrance into the burgeoning virtual desktop market for Citrix. With Desktop Server, Citrix is creating a new approach for IT organizations to deliver and manage desktops.  Desktop Server delivers Windows desktops from the datacenter as a secure on-demand service, dramatically simplifying OS migration and saving organizations up to 40 percent on desktop management costs. By supporting all popular methods for installing desktop operating systems in a datacenter – including virtual machine environments, blade PCs and Windows Terminal Services – Desktop Server gives IT administrators maximum flexibility to deliver the right desktop to the right user at the lowest possible cost. At the same time, Desktop Server empowers users with a powerful, personalized desktop computing experience, while also enabling IT to play a more proactive and strategic role in managing the environment (see today’s separate release “Citrix Unveils Industry’s First Comprehensive End-To-End Application Delivery Infrastructure” for more on Citrix’s end-to-end application delivery infrastructure strategy).

The market for desktop delivery technology is expected to grow dramatically over the next two years.  Intensified in light of Microsoft Windows Vista migration requirements, organizations across all industries are re-evaluating their existing desktop implementation plans and looking for better ways to deliver desktop operating systems to end users.  Analysts have estimated this migration will prompt the need for 400 million traditional desktops to be refreshed over the next three years.

This new desktop delivery technology from Citrix will enable IT organizations to efficiently concentrate resources in the datacenter, maintain a consistent, secure operating environment, and coordinate system-wide upgrades and migrations that are completely transparent to the end user.  Already known for its proven Windows application delivery technology — Citrix Presentation Server — which is embraced by more than 180,000 customers across millions of desktops, Citrix brings unparalleled knowledge and insight to propel Windows desktop delivery forward as a key IT strategy.  Desktop Server will be ideal for organizations wanting to dramatically improve desktop security, performance and reliability for their employees while also enabling their IT organizations to more easily deliver, manage and maintain desktops.

“Organizations around the globe are seeking an easier, more secure means of delivering desktop computing. There is a clear need for a solution that improves the delivery of Windows desktops and provides a more dynamic infrastructure to service the needs of many types of users,” said Mick Hollison, vice president and product line executive for Desktop Server, Citrix Systems.  “This technology represents a significant leap in the way IT organizations can service their users. With the power of Desktop Server, IT can provide users with powerful, personalized desktops while protecting corporate assets and maximizing the use of IT resources.”

Desktop Server Solves the Challenges of Traditional Windows Desktop Environments
Industry analysts have estimated that traditional enterprise desktops cost as much as $5,000 per user per year to maintain.  In addition, their limited lifecycles create high, recurring costs that are hard to reduce and grow exponentially over time.  Desktop Server addresses the most common and challenging scenarios that IT experiences with desktop delivery — security, costs, user experience, and management — by centralizing the desktops while still providing the full PC experience that end users expect.  Organizations are able to see the benefits of a centralized desktop computing model while end users get a “no compromises” desktop experience with the power, control, and personalization they expect.  Office workers who occasionally work from an alternate location such as a home office, will especially benefit from the flexibility Desktop Server offers because their desktop is delivered as an on-demand service and is instantly on, always available, and accessible from any location.  IT can also perform proactive performance tuning on these virtual desktops to provide additional CPU allocation, memory, or storage, according to changing business and end-user needs.

Desktop Server Delivers the Optimal Desktop Experience
Centralized delivery of desktops has been of interest to IT organizations for a long time, and the viability of virtual desktops has been proven by the 10 million desktops already delivered by customers using the published desktop feature within Citrix Presentation Server.  Citrix Desktop Server is the first purpose-built solution with “DynamicDelivery,” an innovative technology that automatically selects the right type of virtual desktop on demand, enabling IT administrators to deliver the best desktop for each user according to their needs.  This technology from Citrix will connect the user to the right desktop and optimize it for their unique requirements, ensuring the best performance, best security and lowest cost of ownership. This approach also improves IT flexibility and manageability through a unified desktop management console that manages all desktops in a common way, regardless of how they are installed in the datacenter. In addition, Desktop Server’s “Dynamic Delivery” capability supports all three of the most popular ways to install a desktop operating environment in a datacenter:

• Server-hosted virtual desktop infrastructure: Ideal for marketing, financial, and other office-based or offshore workers who use a wide variety of applications and want a highly personal desktop that can be easily customized, but do not want dedicated hardware in the datacenter for each desktop environment.
  
• Blade PCs: Ideal for engineers and designers, who use compute-intensive applications and require desktops with the maximum performance based on dedicated hardware in the datacenter.
  
• Windows Terminal Server: Ideal for a large group of call-center, clerical, branch-office or retail employees who all share a similar desktop environment with a limited number of applications and need a cost-effective, easy-to-use desktop solution.

Desktop Server Complements Leading Desktop Virtualization Solutions
Citrix Desktop Server is complementary to leading solutions in the desktop virtualization market from companies such as HP and VMware because it provides a comprehensive infrastructure that now enables customers to choose specifically how the desktop is delivered to the end user, regardless of whether they are leveraging any of the above methods.

“The Citrix Desktop Server allows IT administrators to manage user access and connections to VMware’s virtual infrastructure platform, which provides full virtualization capabilities for desktop hosting,” said Brian Byun, vice president of global partners and solutions at VMware. “Desktop virtualization is transforming enterprise IT by delivering improved management through server-hosted desktops. We look forward to Citrix Desktop Server being used to extend the value of VMware Infrastructure deployments for our joint customers.”

“Citrix Desktop Server in combination with HP ProLiant and BladeSystem servers provides the performance and reliability required for a comprehensive desktop delivery infrastructure.  HP is committed to working with Citrix to provide customers the flexibility to choose the desktop delivery technology that best meets their needs,” said Paul Miller, vice president, marketing, Industry Standard Servers and BladeSystem Division, HP.  “As a leader in delivering remote client solutions - whether based on server-based computing, virtual desktops or blade PCs - HP is in the unique position of being able to provide the technology that best meets each user’s needs.”

Pricing and Availability
Desktop Server 1.0 is scheduled for availability in the second quarter of 2007.  For more information on Desktop Server, please visit http://www.citrix.com/desktopserver.