What Can Citrix Cloud Platform 4.3 Offer? - Flexibility and Opportunities for Service Delivery

What is Citrix Workspace?

Citrix Workspace is a comprehensive digital workspace platform created by Citrix Systems. It enables organizations or many users to securely access, manage and deliver applications such as Microsoft Windows, data, and desktops to their employees, customers, and partners. It provides a unified interface that users can access from any device, including laptops, tablets, and smartphones, making it easy for them to work from anywhere and at any time.

With Citrix Workspace, users can access all their work resources in one place. It makes things easier and stays productive, even when on the go. Additionally, Citrix Workspace offers a range of tools and features that help users collaborate with their colleagues and partners, such as video conferencing, messaging, and file sharing.

History of Citrix Cloud

In May 2015, Citrix made their Citrix Workspace Cloud service official, and August of the same year saw its release on the market. In May 2016, Citrix changed its name to Citrix Cloud and included the following key features: ShareFile, XenMobile Service, XenApp, and XenDesktop Services.

Today, Citrix Cloud is used by businesses of all sizes across various industries to enable their employees to access applications and services from anywhere, on any device. It is known for its security, reliability, and flexibility and is a popular choice for organizations looking to modernize their IT infrastructure and move to the cloud.

Why Should You Use This New Platform From Citrix?

IT in enterprises is changing rapidly. With their careers and company success on the line, innovators and early adopters place large bets on their private/hybrid cloud ventures. Citrix, which just declared the availability of Citrix CloudPlatform 4.3. CloudPlatform provides a cloud management solution with adaptability, scalability, and interoperability to help you maximize your cloud investment. The only cloud orchestration and management platform in the industry that supports desktop workloads, traditional corporate application workloads, and cloud-native workloads on a single integrated platform is Citrix CloudPlatform.

Customers who seek to take advantage of cloud computing's benefits also want to make it easier for IT and software developers to collaborate, integrate, and communicate so that software services and products may be created more quickly. Infrastructure (Hardware, OS, IaaS, or other "downstairs dictator") and Application level issues cannot stymie application development, deployment, and management; these tasks can be managed from server-level infrastructure. To accommodate all of the current, updated, and cloud-enabled workloads, CloudPlatform 4.3 incorporates an open and flexible design.

Why is Citrix Cloud Platform Relevant to the Current IT World? What New Features Does it Have?

The IT world expects to reap a lot more benefits from this premium platform. The following is a summary of what users should expect:

1. It supports the latest release of worldwide virtualization platforms, not limited to Microsoft Windows Server 2012, KVM, VMware vSphere among others.
2. 4.3 integrates well with other third-party support systems such as computer storage, networking and other infrastructural components.
3. It has an intelligent cloud infrastructure resource to effectively manage and control components for efficiency.
4. It enhances a wide range of connectivity options such as remote access to VPN networks and also site to site virtual private clouds, which facilitates desktop application workloads, data centers, and cloud-native across dispersed data centers.
5. It enables faster on-boarding of users because it supports directory services through LDAP and Apache directory servers. This ensures flexible scaling of workload, thus improving the quality of service.
6. Because of the XenDesktop and XenApp factors, users will enjoy a faster workload provisioning system which results in efficient management of operations within the IT system.

Flexibility and Opportunities for Service Providers

The enterprise world expects to see lots of changes and features with the coming of the new platform. The sole purpose of this platform is to offer an open and scalable platform that provides an orchestration layer between administrators and underlying hyper-visor. In the end, virtualized workloads can be worked on with greater simplicity and efficiency. This also eliminates the need to worry about any underlying specs of the infrastructure in question.

It appears that the new virtual machine could just be a virtual desktop or server that operates on Xen VMWare /Hyper-V, even though the provisioning and user experience remains the same. This will automatically offer the ultimate solution for Cloud Service Providers and large enterprises to work efficiently because most of them don’t have just one virtualization solution.

It is upon this that Citrix Cloud Platform 4.3 is built with its new, improved support for hybrid cloud environment, where a data center could be extended into a cloud service provider’s workplace, or in a public cloud where workloads are shared between unlimited users.

It’s currently the only solution that supports desktop, cloud workload and enterprise applications from a single integrated platform.

Thus, there are several features, as well as improvements that we’ve seen with this new creation.

The following is what industry players expect to find with Cloud Platform 4.3.

An increased choice of Virtualization platforms & Infrastructure

It’s a guarantee that 4.3 will increase choices for virtualization platforms to be used. The reason being, it supports the latest release in virtualization platforms, including Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix XenServer, Microsoft Server 2012 R2, VMware vSphere and many others.

This feature has even made it possible to work with other third-party data center infrastructures in the field. 

The good news is that this will enable users to natively orchestrate and provide computing security, networking and storage of workloads from Jupiter, Cisco, and NetApp. 

4.3 supports a vast array of storage technologies as well as protocols. It seamlessly orchestrate blocks, object and file storage regardless of which storage technology or protocol is being used at the time. Because these concerns practically don’t exist, users are able to work without having to worry about their data security. 

Citrix CloudPlatform 4.3 works with industry-standard APIs to offer the best service there can be. It works with applications such as Platform-as-a-service (also known as Paas), while ensuring efficient monitoring and capacity management. 

Industry APIs are similar to that of Apache CloudStack, plus they are also compatible with the 2 Amazon Web Services, EC2 and S3 APIs.

Orchestration and Provisioning

Citrix CloudPlatform 4.3 is equipped with an automated infrastructure system, whose main role is to enhance end-to-end provisioning through its feature-rich web-based, menu-driven wizard, which combines various tasks, such as networking, assigning IP addresses, and many other operations.

It also ensures complete visibility of the cloud infrastructure through efficient management of all computer operations. Components involved under this feature include CPU functions, IP pools, memory and aggregated storage.

And lastly, it features an intuitive account management system. With this feature, users are able to save time because signing on is easy and quick. Furthermore, it leverages the corporate directory, thus ensuring faster on-boarding experience. 

Mapping new users into a business unit is also very simple with the new 4.3. Tenants can be mapped into a service provider settings with great ease. 

Efficiency and Control is Improved

The future of IT is clearly set with the inception of 4.3 into the market. The intelligent cloud infrastructure of 4.3 is no doubt, a big revolution in the IT sector as it assures efficient resource management as well as cloud infrastructure maintenance. 

For a long time, the IT sector has been looking for a solution that would improve their efficiency in service delivery, so this is a big plus for the relevant departments who integrate cloud technology to deliver services to customers.

In the past, IT department also had a challenge when they had to work with geographically-separated data centers. This is not a problem anymore as 4.3 guarantees simplification of App workload management across different geographically-separated data centers, and this is a bonus, especially when it involves handling connectivity options for applications that need virtual private clouds. 

Quick Service Provision

Rapidness is the epitome of the newly released 4.3. It’s going to enhance speed and quality of services offered to customers through its fast end-user provisioning. This accelerates both the app and infrastructure on-boarding, which translates to increased agility and speedy delivery of workloads. This is where XenDesktop and Xen App environments become relevant. 

How is 4.3 Going to Fit Into Deep Security 9.5?

For a long time, security of data has been a big concern among users. Security challenges have continued to evolve with the release of advanced cloud systems. Because Cloud Platforms give users the ability to provide workload in a physical or cloud location through a single management console, challenges in data security has remained an important area of concern.

It is no longer safe to have a traditional enterprise security solution and think that you’re safe. In other words, what is being offered as a security solution needs to be context-aware? To say context-aware, we would be asking questions such as; is this machine physical or virtual? Was it in an individual’s data center before being migrated into a public-based cloud? Which data center is it in, and should it remain in the public cloud at all? Since the migration of data to the public cloud was advanced, has security consoles changed? And more such questions.

The good thing is that these security concerns have been addressed by the encrypted Secure-Cloud, which offers an ideal platform to meet all the concerns raised above. The system offers industry-leading features that guarantees data protection through VMware NSX Software. 

Through VMware NSX Software, the cloud becomes a secure place for data storage and transmission. It provides anti-ware capabilities, as well as context awareness. Context awareness ensures that security policies are applied on all virtual workloads, and are securely encrypted to seal any loopholes that might grant access to crucial data in case the machine is migrated from one place to the other.

Native Scalability and Operations

By now, you know that the Citrix CloudPlatform 4.3 offers enhanced cloud-native scalability support through the following features: object storage, region, simplified cloud management, cloud and business management.

Region is a term given to refer to areas where services are deployed within the system. There are multiple zones in which users can deploy their cloud-based services.

Object storage - this feature enhances application availability since it enables cloud-native applications to leverage distributed objects (which are S3-compartible) in a region.

It offers a simplified cloud management system - Other functionality such as user account management, billing and metering, self-service provisioning, and support ticketing all work hand in hand to offer a seamless experience for the 4.3 user. All these features are available through the Cloud portal business manager for Citrix.

Citrix Cloud's Key Features:

Using Citrix clouds, you can move sensitive applications, desktops, and data resources to any cloud or hybrid cloud. Here are some key features of Citrix Cloud:

New Receiver

Citrix commissioned the Receiver X1 project to create a cutting-edge, centralized-managed, customized user app selection experience across all user devices. This new version of Receiver makes this rich user experience possible when coupled with StoreFront 3.0.

Session Reliability and ACR Enhancements

With its flagship HDX technology, Citrix is renowned for providing the most excellent in-session experience. Today's proper mobility is challenged by switching between different access points, network outages, display timeouts, etc., making it difficult for any network application to have a reliable connection. To address this issue, we concentrated on improving the Session dependability and auto client reconnects technologies with a better user interface. It enables business continuity and lessens the burden on the IT helpdesk during an interruption.

Framehawk Support

With packet loss and prevalent latency problems on corporate Wi-Fi and broadband VSAT connections, Framehawk provides a new ICA virtual channel utilizing HDX technologies to increase user involvement significantly. When used with Receiver for Windows 4.3, Framehawk is now a component of XenApp and XenDesktop 7.6 Feature Pack 2. 

Enhanced Browser-Based Access

Citrix Receiver enables you to run your program and desktop from the web browser, the Receiver UI, the start menu, or desktop shortcuts. The native Citrix Receiver for Windows is invoked when you connect to StoreFront and launch an application or desktop in the browser, which is the preferred access method for many users. The modifications to the browser architecture have an impact on this behavior in the cases of Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome.

Better Supportability

The support of the new Receiver's CEIP (Customer Experience Improvement Program) can better serve you and concentrate on your needs by receiving your anonymous data.

The new Receiver incorporates "Always on Tracing" so that we can troubleshoot your intermittent problems and enhance the supportability and maintenance of the Receiver for Windows if you run into problems.

How Does It Work?

Overall, Receiver for Windows is a significant improvement that lets you upgrade to Windows 10 endpoints, makes excellent Framehawk technology available, and fixes many problems.

Possible Challenges with Citrix Products

Although Citrix is a well-known company in the virtualization industry, users may need help with their solutions regarding licensing and feature sets. In addition, the corporation has released 200 goods in the past 25 years, many of which have undergone confusing renamings.

In order to virtualize desktops and applications, the business released Citrix XenDesktop and Citrix XenApp. Later, Citrix introduced XenDesktop 7.0, which was a merged version of the two products. The company afterward changed its mind because people appeared to be confused by this choice.

Citrix then independently published both products as XenApp 7.6 and XenDesktop 7.6, respectively, and changed their names to Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops and Citrix Virtual Apps.

Citrix Cloud Pricing

There are two pricing tiers for Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops: concurrent pricing and user/device pricing. The license is allocated to a specific user or shared device under the user/device pricing model.

When the license is assigned via the user model, a single user can establish an indefinite number of connections from an unlimited number of endpoints. In contrast, if the license is granted to a device through the device model, it allows many users and connections from a single device.

Before October 2020, Citrix provided two price options: a one-time fee strategy (a perpetual license) and a subscription plan. A perpetual licensing model would allow businesses to purchase the license up front and utilize Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops for all time. This type was ideal for on-premises use.

Other Services That Relate to Workload Encapsulation

Users are offered an opportunity to gain control over all layers of the application. Through port filtering, advanced network isolation and other security features, it is possible to offer advanced tenant isolation within the system. Users can also work with data from restricted server located within address-country specific databases.

Citrix CloudPlatform 4.3 has a complex private infrastructure, which dedicates resources intelligently. Through this feature, tenants are only able to gain access to relevant data alone. Nothing in form of the entire data center will be exposed. This is one security feature that makes 4.3 safer than its predecessors.

With the tier system of the 4.3 Cloud Platform, users can configure different service models by effectively tagging compute/storage options.

And with the advanced cloud networking capabilities, users are guaranteed to work with different types of application workloads. If you like, you can use the system as it is. But there's always an option to customize network offerings to distinguish different classes of services available.

It's the Only Cloud Platform That Gives You the Piece of Mind You Deserve

It's the first ever cloud platform that offers complete control over all the components of the network. It monitors its own network and fixes errors automatically, thus giving you an easy time where service delivery is concerned.

What Will the Future of the Cloud Look Like?

Nowadays, Citrix certification is based on solutions and serves as a comprehensive reflection of the business's and IT professionals' changing needs. You have the practical knowledge and abilities required to deliver superior Citrix solutions since you are a certified expert or professional.

The Citrix Cloud Platform will continue to be aggressively competitive. For IT enthusiasts, the options are virtually endless, given the variety of features offered here. The most appealing characteristics of Citrix CloudPlatform 4.3 are its simplicity and diversity. 4.3 will undoubtedly have an impact on the IT industry.

Few other points worth nothing

Post Graduate Program In Cloud Computing is now solutions-based. It's an entire reflection of the evolving needs of IT professionals and organizations. As a certified expert or professional, you have the real-world experience and skills needed to deliver excellent Citrix solutions.

The Citrix Cloud Platform will remain competitive as ever. With the vast array of features here, the sky is the limit for IT enthusiasts. The ease and diversity that this platform comes with are the most desirable features of Citrix CloudPlatform 4.3. No doubt, the effects of 4.3 are going to be felt in the IT arena.