Looking Forward … to Summit 2017 & to Partnership Wins with Cisco!

As I’m preparing to head to Anaheim, CA for Citrix Summit, I’m reflecting on my first 6 months working at Citrix leading our global strategic alliance with Cisco. This is very unusual thinking for a pre-Anaheim trip. Usually when I’m headed to Anaheim, I’m packing for 5 and going with my family to make memories at Disneyland, the happiest place on Earth. Or, I’m headed there with my oldest daughter for her Kids Artistic Review (KAR) National’s Dance Competition at the lovely Hilton Anaheim. Not this time.

This time I’m headed there to work, where I’ll be engaging with my favorite partner, Cisco, networking with channel partners and colleagues, and learning about all of the amazing opportunities we have in 2017 to grow our business.

These will be long days where I’m up at the crack of dawn, where I’ll go all day in keynote sessions, strategy roadmap reviews, executive networking sessions, alliance council meetings, partner meetings, and Cisco executive meetings. Not quite the same as a trip to Disneyland (although I expect it will be just as exhausting, and hopefully have more than a few moments of fun).

But it’s more than that. I’m also looking forward to the bright future of our partnership. I’ve learned a great deal about the technology differentiation that Cisco and Citrix have built together over the years in networking, desktop app and virtualization, and for app optimization over the Cisco WAN. These solutions clearly offer greater value to our customers because of our strategic partnership. When I look at what’s ahead for our partnership, I see even greater opportunity to work with Cisco to differentiate our solutions and offer high value and superior performance to our joint customers. Our solutions help customers digitize their business models and the results our customers see in productivity gains, business agility and differentiation for their business is truly exciting. Check out these great customer success stories to learn more:

https://youtu.be/UaRvxeDo5is?list=PLBC4D7F497D395F36

https://youtu.be/04fHgExym1Q

As you probably are aware, Cisco and Citrix have had great success together with XenApp/XenDesktop on Cisco DC Infrastructure (Vblock, FlexPod, SmartStack, FlashStack, VersaStack, and more). These converged infrastructure solutions offer greater density of hosted virtual desktops and apps without sacrificing performance which minimizes cost and improves ROI for our customers.

Now, we also have a solution together in the hyperconverged space with Cisco’s new HyperFlex system. We call this solution “Cisco HyperFlex VDI for Citrix” and it solves the toughest workforce mobility problems because it simplifies operations, reduces upfront costs with pay-as-you-grow economics, and you can experience linear VDI performance as you scale. To learn more about how our solution benefits customers, check out our new Cisco HyperFlex VDI for Citrix digital landing hub, which went live in December:  www.accelerateyourworkforce.com.

Make sure to download the new Cisco HyperFlex VDI for Citrix ebook available at this site as well which explains how this solution will help our customers conquer their top five business challenges.

And for you techies out there, be sure to check out Rick Dehlinger’s latest blog on Project Silverton which highlights 4 new HyperFlex – Citrix projects underway in our Alliance Lab. His blog post is titled “Silverton Projects Take Flight,” and describes the projects underway by Citrix SEs and Architects at Cisco. Their work is sure to inspire you with what is possible and is a great testament to the passion and vision around our Cisco–Citrix partnership.

Another very cool aspect of our partnership is the integration we have done with Citrix NetScaler and Cisco Application Centric Architecture (ACI). Citrix NetScaler and Cisco ACI address the needs of applications with automated network policy management to maintain uncompromised performance while securing user connections and protecting our customers’ apps and data. We now have an awesome ebook that explains how customers can modernize their app networking with NetScaler and ACI to gain business agility through data center automation.

For channel partners interested in developing sales opportunities, increased profits or becoming a trusted advisor for the Cisco and Citrix joint solutions, access the Cisco HyperFlex VDI for Citrix or Citrix NetScaler and Cisco ACI campaigns on Citrix Partner Central to help you market, sell, and implement the solutions.

I’m off to prep for Citrix Summit, now so that I make the most out of my time in Anaheim. If you’ll be there, too, I highly recommend you stop by the Cisco booth to learn more about Cisco HyperFlex VDI for Citrix, NetScaler and ACI integration and much more. Even if I don’t make it to see Mickey Mouse this time, I still expect it will be a great week getting pumped up about all that is possible in 2017.

Cheers!
@juguest