Last year, Citrix announced the ICA proxy Service offering that provides secure and remote access to Citrix virtualization and app delivery services. This ICA/HDX proxy as a cloud service offered the promise of providing a gateway solution, as SaaS, to customers looking to adopt cloud-based service.
Most businesses are either moving to the cloud or are planning their transition to the cloud. While making this move, IT (you) is using a hybrid infrastructure wherein some workloads continue to run in the datacenter, and others are moved to the cloud. While our first step was to meet your requirements by offering a service that enables your move to the cloud, our next step is to support hybrid environment where you can continue to use hosted web applications like SharePoint, Outlook, hosted virtual applications, like Citrix XenApp and Citrix XenDesktop, and also have SaaS applications, like Office 365 and Salesforce.
For supporting the use of hybrid infrastructure, Citrix is releasing a cloud service (Citrix Gateway Service or CGS) that provides single sign-on (SSO) to not only Citrix virtualization cloud services, but to any SaaS, web or Citrix virtualization products deployed on-premises. Using this service, you do not need any additional access management service for your SaaS or web applications. You can now use one SSO service for all your application workloads, deployed on-premises, in the cloud, or delivered as SaaS. Below are some of the key benefits of gateway service.
1. Single Sign-On to hosted web, SaaS and Citrix virtualized applications
Citrix Gateway Service will provide SSO to all applications whether deployed on-premises, in the cloud or delivered as SaaS, thereby providing the only access management solution you will need for all applications. Having a single access management solution allows consistent and timely enforcement of security and access control policies.
2. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) – Support for Azure AD and on-prem
At the time of release, Citrix Gateway Service will support Azure AD MFA. Customers looking to use on-premises AD, can use 2-factor authentication with native One-Time Password (OTP). The second factor will be a one-time password (OTP) generated on the user device, and authenticated by the gateway service itself. Depending on user’s smartphone OS, users can download and install Google Authenticator (iOS and Android) or Microsoft Authenticator (Windows OS) apps that are free. This means, you don’t need a third party OTP solution to provide a 2nd factor authentication. Once the user device is enrolled using Citrix’ self-service page, users can use OTP from their smartphones to login and access your applications. Once the end-users login to Citrix Workspace portal, they will see icons to applications to which they have access.
3. Pre-configured application catalogues
For administrators, Citrix Gateway Service will provide out of the box application catalogues. These are pre-configured application templates, an admin can use to publish and configure single sign-on. Citrix Gateway Service, for now, supports Azure AD for MFA, as well as on-premises Active Directory for 2-factor authentication using native OTP.
Citrix Gateway Service is ideally suited to address these three use cases:
- Customers looking to refresh on-premises Gateway to support on-premises deployment of Citrix XenApp or Citrix XenDesktop
- Customers using basic ICA proxy can now use Citrix Gateway Service for basic ICA proxy to on-premises Citrix XenApp, Citrix XenDesktop.
- Customers looking to subscribe to Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop cloud service, Citrix XenApp Service, or Citrix XenDesktop Service
- Customers can now use Citrix Gateway Service for SSO to Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop Service, on-premises Citrix XenApp (if using), Citrix XenDesktop (if using), any web, and SaaS applications
- Customers looking to consolidate their access management solutions
- Customers using NetScaler for their Citrix XenApp and Citrix XenDesktop solutions/services, and are using a third party cloud service for SSO to SaaS and web applications, can now use NetScaler Gateway Service for SSO to all applications. They don’t need to have two different access management solutions, thereby reducing cost, provide better end user experience, and enforce consistent access control policies across all applications.
How do I get access to the Citrix Gateway Service trial?
We will offer a 30 day free trial for Citrix Gateway Service. If you are an existing Citrix Cloud customer using Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop Service, Citrix XenApp service or Citrix XenDesktop service, we will notify you of the free trial during Q2, 2018.
If you are not a Citrix Cloud customer, you may sign up for Citrix Cloud here. Once enrolled, please go to the Citrix Gateway Service tile, and click on “Request Trial.”
