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Citrix Systems Honored as 2008 Microsoft Partner of the Year Global ISV – Infrastructure
Thursday 26. June 2008 - Citrix Work in Ghana, Africa Secures Additional 2008 Microsoft Partner Award for Citizenship
Today, Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTXS), the global leader in application delivery infrastructure, announced it has won the 2008 Microsoft Partner of the Year Global ISV – Infrastructure Special Recognition award. This award recognizes the global independent software vendor (ISV) for superior technology, delivering innovative infrastructure solutions based on Microsoft platforms.
Microsoft also honored Citrix with its Partner of the Year award for Citizenship for the companys collaborative work on behalf of the Traditional Area of Ashanti-Agogo, Ghana, Africa to provide an infrastructure and training, allowing local residents access to applications and the Internet for the first time.
Building on an almost 20-year relationship, the 2008 Microsoft Partner of the Year Global ISV – Infrastructure award is a testament to the strength and commitment the two companies have in bringing solutions to market that benefit their mutual and respective customers. Over the past year, Citrix and Microsoft have reinvented their already broad relationship in application virtualization to include server and desktop virtualization, creating a complete end-to-end virtualization solution from the datacenter to the desktop that leverages technology from both companies.
“It is a privilege to be honored by Microsoft with these prestigious awards. It is clear evidence that the strength of our relationship and joint go-to-market strategies are benefiting our mutual customers across an increasingly broad set of product lines,” said Mark Templeton, president and chief executive officer of Citrix Systems. “After almost 20 years of building and nurturing our relationship with Microsoft, we remain more committed than ever to creating IT infrastructure solutions that leverage Microsoft technologies as platforms for innovation.”
Joint Solutions Lay Foundation for the Dynamic Delivery Center
Beginning in 1989, the two companies launched what was to become an industry standard for Windows application delivery with Citrix XenApp (previously known as Citrix Presentation Server) running on the Microsoft Windows Server Terminal Services platform. By leveraging Windows as an innovation platform, Citrix has continued to expand these technical and business synergies with Microsoft over the years across an increasingly broad range of virtualization solutions. Today, the two companies are working together closely to extend this relationship to new Microsoft platforms such as Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V, bringing customers added value in server virtualization solutions with Citrix XenServer, application virtualization solutions with Citrix XenApp and desktop virtualization solutions with Citrix XenDesktop. By ensuring these joint solutions are integrated with Microsoft System Center, Citrix and Microsoft can provide customers with comprehensive server, application and desktop virtualization solutions that are interoperable and easy to manage.
“Its great to see Citrix being honored for their contributions. Ive personally been working with Mark at Citrix for the last 13 years,” said Bob Muglia, senior vice president of Microsofts server and tools business. “During that time, our teams have worked closely together to ensure were building complementary technologies that, when combined, make an impact not only for our customers, but also for the industry.”
At Citrix Synergy in May 2008, Citrix and Microsoft extended their longtime alliance into the application networking arena by introducing a new line of jointly developed branch office appliances that combine Windows branch services with innovative application delivery technology from Citrix (see press release). The new Citrix Branch Repeater appliance sits between corporate datacenters and branch offices, staging and retransmitting streamed applications to branch office users and accelerating all application traffic over the wide area network. Based on Windows Server and available with Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server software, the new Citrix Branch Repeater provides an ideal complement to application virtualization solutions, enhancing application delivery and performance while simultaneously delivering all critical Windows Server infrastructure services in a single remotely managed appliance.
“We congratulate Citrix on its award,” said Ricky Caldwell, systems engineer for Continental Airlines. “We have significantly benefited from the close relationship between the two companies. Continental chose to implement Citrix XenApp to provide virtualized applications and desktops to our Reservation Agents working from home. The combination of Citrix XenApp and Microsoft Windows Server and Terminal Services has resulted in a high-value, high-availability implementation that has increased employee efficiency and strengthened our commitment to a more green environment. We feel its a positive step that Citrix and Microsoft have extended their strong relationship this year into new areas like XenServer and XenDesktop to create a partnership for end-to-end virtualization.”
Work in Ghana Inspires Partner of the Year for Citizenship Award
Citrix was also awarded the 2008 Microsoft Partner of the Year award for Citizenship. This award recognizes exceptional partners that have made substantial commitment to society and their communities and can demonstrate the impact of their work. Citrix is being honored with this award for bringing IT and related skills to Ghana, Africa. Working with the Kofi Annan Information and Communications Technology Center for Excellence, Citrix trained the next generation of faculty and systems engineers capable of building and operating the latest and most cost-effective ICT access infrastructure in Agogo, Ghana.
The Agogo ICT Center offers this rural African village a window into the world of online information. Using Citrix XenApp to access applications remotely, including the Microsoft Office suite, as well as the Internet, holds the promise of improved healthcare, expanded education and communications, and new economic opportunities. Citrix has worked closely with Sister Cities International (SCI), Digital Development Partnership (DDP), and the Kofi Annan Center of Excellence in ICT to provide guidance, technological expertise and contributions to the project. Government officials in Ghana hope to replicate the IT success in Agogo across the country, providing affordable, subscription-based access to hosted applications and making high-speed Internet connectivity available to everyone. Learn more about this inspiring project.
Citrix was also among the top finalists for the 2008 Microsoft Partner of the Year award in Information Worker Solutions, Office Deployment, which recognizes exceptional partners that have excelled in offering breakthrough solutions to deliver the Microsoft Office system in customer organizations.