Prior to implementing Citrix solutions, the campuses struggled to maintain required educational software updates across local computer labs and student laptops. This traditional approach resulted in large expenses and poor agility to handle ever-changing needs. Additionally, the university had hundreds of aging desktop machines that could no longer adequately handle the latest software.
A comprehensive Citrix solution
Today, Indiana University runs Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops (formerly XenApp and XenDesktop) across more than 300 servers and over 70,000 users. Citrix ADC ensure secure access regardless of user location. Published applications and desktops are delivered from Windows Server 2016 and 2012R2 images serving up Microsoft Office applications and educational software. Citrix Workspace Environment Management helps to lock down the images and Citrix UPM roams only the necessary parts of the user profile. Both products help provide fast logon times while optimizing session performance.
Users are free to work on devices of their choice
All mainstream IT resources are offered to everyone – students, faculty, and staff. In a university setting, BYOD is a necessity, explains Stephanie Cox, Indiana University’s IT Manager. It’s not practical for IT to mandate the types of devices users can work with and then ensure that each one has the necessary software installed. With Citrix, Cox notes, “I don’t have to worry about the apps looking different.” All users download Citrix Receiver for their devices and connect to the apps and desktops they need within minutes from any location over any network connection. Scanners, printers, drawing tablets and other peripherals are all seamlessly integrated.
What about the aging campus-owned desktops? Thanks to Citrix, they have been repurposed as thin-clients serving up the latest app and desktop workloads and will continue to do so for years to come. From a cost-savings perspective, that’s significant.
The road ahead
With a modern, digital workspace powered by Citrix, Indiana University can scale and handle the latest apps and organizational needs as required in the future. And when it comes to exploring options in the cloud, IU is covered in that area as well with Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops (formerly XenApp and XenDesktop) fully supporting workloads in the major public cloud vendors. It’s a sense of freedom that empowers the university to deliver the most innovative technology solutions to its users.
