As the saying goes, good things take time. There is a reason why we wait years between Olympic games. The athletes need to train to participate at peak performance. And for the viewers, the anticipation is half the fun.

Citrix sees our Long Term Service Release releases the same way: take the time to deliver the best possible solutions. Our teams develop, prepare, and test for our largest enterprise deployments because we know these environments are expected to run in production for years.

That’s why we are excited to announce that the wait will soon be over for the new, long-anticipated Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Long Term Service Release (LTSR), scheduled to come out in the first quarter of 2022! (Our last LTSR launched in December of 2019.) With the new LTSR slated to roll up all the feature and functionality updates from Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 2003 through 2112, there’s plenty to be excited about.

How does the LTSR work?

The Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops product line has three different servicing options:

The LTSR typically comes out once every two to three years and is targeted for applications in industries that tend to require a long test or certification process before deploying. This release pattern offers a predictable maintenance cadence for ongoing fixes in the form of Cumulative Updates. Additionally, the LTSR reaches end of life five years after the release date and has the option to extend support. The end of extended support is typically 10 years after the release date. For more information, take a look at our servicing options page.

What’s new in the LTSR?

Many of our customers love the LTSR not only for its predictability but also for the wealth of capabilities available in one release. Two-plus years of feature innovations, fixes, and performance improvements makes for a better user and admin experience when leveraging the upcoming LTSR. The Citrix HDX stack is continuously improving and has dozens of new features, including EDT MTU Discovery and VDA Restore to aid with seamless environment management. Security has also been top of mind over the past two years. We introduced capabilities like FIDO2 Redirection for authentication and continue to enhance our Session Recording capabilities to improve environment monitoring and troubleshooting. And we can’t forget about the end user, with updates to App Layering to aid with personalization and Microsoft Teams optimizations. Check out our LTSR-to-CR feature matrix for more details.

Operating Systems

Complementing our functional improvements, Microsoft has introduced new server and desktop operating systems in 2021. We are excited to be able to support both Server 2022 and Windows 11 in the upcoming LTSR, for on-prem customers who want to be able to take advantage of the latest and greatest for hosting or VDAs.

Please note, Citrix continues to support Windows Server 2012R2 with Virtual Apps and Desktops 7.15 and 1912 LTSR CUs until Microsoft’s projected end of support date of October 2023.

Compliance Considerations

Highly regulated organizations worldwide count on Citrix to help their users get their work done securely, while protecting sensitive data. For customers in industries like finance, healthcare, and government, compliance and industry certifications are of upmost importance. Take a closer look at our compliance across Citrix products at our Trust Center page. With the upcoming LTSR, we intend to gain FIPS, Common Criteria, and federal accessibility certifications soon after release.

Preparing for the Future

The Citrix team sees this new LTSR, targeted for 1Q 2022, as coming at the perfect time. Our XenApp and XenDesktop 7.15 LTSR will reach end of life in August of 2022. For customers leveraging the 7.15 LTSR who intend to stay on the LTSR track and gain the latest on premises features, preparing today to make the move to the upcoming LTSR is an excellent choice.

The best way to start preparing for the upcoming LTSR is to test the latest CR. Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 2112 is available now and is a great starting point for your deployment. The most important thing you can do to prepare for the next LTSR is to deploy 2112 CR into your pre-production environments today.

Citrix Workspace App for Windows

The Citrix Workspace app for Windows has its own release cycle, separate from the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops releases. Customers may choose to use the LTSR client, which has a typical 18-month maintenance cycle, or stay always up to date with Citrix Workspace app current releases.

The Citrix Workspace app for Windows LTSR is scheduled to ship along with Virtual Apps and Desktops LTSR in early 2022.

Citrix clients for mobile and desktop clients on other, non-Windows platforms follow the standard CR release cadence.

Next Steps

Now’s the time to deploy the 2112 CR into your pre-production environments and start experimenting with the new capabilities. You’ll be able to upgrade this environment directly to the new LTSR upon its release in early 2022.  We know the end of year is a busy time for IT, with annual projects in full force and 2022 planning under way, but we hope this gives you a great start on your next Citrix deployment.

For Citrix Investors

This release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The forward-looking statements in this release do not constitute guarantees of future performance. Those statements involve a number of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, including risks associated with the impact of the global economy and uncertainty in the IT spending environment, revenue growth and recognition of revenue, products and services, their development and distribution, product demand and pipeline, economic and competitive factors, the Company’s key strategic relationships, acquisition and related integration risks as well as other risks detailed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Citrix assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information contained in this press release or with respect to the announcements described herein. The development, release and timing of any features or functionality described for our products remains at our sole discretion and is subject to change without notice or consultation. The information provided is for informational purposes only and is not a commitment, promise or legal obligation to deliver any material, code or functionality and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions or incorporated into any contract.