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Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, previously known as XenApp and XenDesktop, have been widely adopted by organizations for a variety of …
Citrix DaaSFormerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops / XenDesktop & XenApp
Starting at $375
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What is Citrix DaaS?
Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, or XenDesktop) is a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) and application virtualization solution from Citrix.
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Virtual Apps
$375
Cloud
Entry-level set up fee?
- No setup fee
Offerings
- Free Trial
- Free/Freemium Version
- Premium Consulting/Integration Services
Product Demos
Service continuity support for Android devices
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Service continuity support for browsers (Workspace for Web)
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Instructional Demo - Steps to cloud migration
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What is Citrix DaaS?
To meet the needs of an increasingly flexible workforce, organizations are turning to desktop as aservice (DaaS) and VDI solutions to provide high-performing, adaptive workspaces. Citrix DaaS modernizes IT with a secure cloud solution to quickly deliver apps or desktops from any cloud or datacenter worldwide.
With Citrix DaaS, IT can seamlessly deploy and manage hybrid work environments to increase business agility and deliver an enhanced user experience at scale. Built-in Citrix high-definition HDX technologies increase productivity, providing real-time network and performance optimization for even the most demanding 3D, voice, or video applications. Enhanced security and policy controls protect sensitive data to securely deliver vital resources anywhere to any device.
With Citrix DaaS, IT can seamlessly deploy and manage hybrid work environments to increase business agility and deliver an enhanced user experience at scale. Built-in Citrix high-definition HDX technologies increase productivity, providing real-time network and performance optimization for even the most demanding 3D, voice, or video applications. Enhanced security and policy controls protect sensitive data to securely deliver vital resources anywhere to any device.
Citrix DaaS Competitors
Citrix DaaS Technical Details
| Deployment Types | Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based |
|---|---|
| Operating Systems | Unspecified |
| Mobile Application | No |
Frequently Asked Questions
Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, or XenDesktop) is a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) and application virtualization solution from Citrix.
Reviewers rate Implementation Rating highest, with a score of 9.
The most common users of Citrix DaaS are from Enterprises (1,001+ employees).
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TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!
- Business Problems Solved
Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, previously known as XenApp and XenDesktop, have been widely adopted by organizations for a variety of use cases. Users have found that this software provides seamless access to virtualized desktops and applications across multiple satellite locations, enabling teams to work collaboratively and efficiently. It has also been deployed in data centers, supporting various clients and applications including published desktops and development applications.
One of the key benefits of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is its ability to facilitate remote work. Many organizations have relied on this software to provide their employees with secure access to desktops and applications from anywhere, ensuring business continuity even in challenging circumstances such as during the Covid-19 pandemic. Call center agents, testing teams, and general remote workers have leveraged this solution to maintain a strong security posture while enjoying a good user experience. Contractors, consultants, and remote workers have also found secure remote access through Citrix Virtual Apps valuable for their specific needs.
Another noteworthy use case of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is its ability to provide remote desktop access to applications and servers, reducing infrastructure costs and eliminating the need for a dedicated data center. By giving users the flexibility to connect to business applications, utilities, and production servers remotely, the software streamlines IT operations while cutting down on maintenance efforts. Moreover, it has proven beneficial for organizations handling sensitive data or those seeking to provide offshore developers with secure access to internal company resources.
Overall, Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops have addressed the diverse needs of businesses across industries. From ensuring seamless collaboration between distributed teams to enabling secure remote access to critical resources, this software has become an integral part of many organizations' IT infrastructure. Its ability to provide fast connections, improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance productivity has made it a preferred solution for various use cases within enterprises globally.
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Reviews
(26-50 of 54)Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
August 17, 2018
Work from anywhere at your speed!
My company uses the XenDesktop as a way to access our work environments from anywhere. This offers employees the flexibility to access our work and perform our job anywhere there is an internet connection. Life is busy, things happen, and having the ability to work remotely without any complications is a signification stress relief.
- Fast connectivity
- Easy installation
- Stable connection, no drops
- Connection can sometimes "stutter" when moving between screen setups (example: docked laptop, multiple monitors, etc.)
August 09, 2018
XenDesktop For Ease of Use & Management
XenDesktop is used to give Windows access across all of our locations while at the same time giving our IT department easy access to troubleshoot and update software. We have multiple locations across many states and XenDesktop enables our company to make Windows sessions manageable.
- XenDesktop runs Microsoft Office software very well. It's as speedy as running on your own hard drive.
- XenDesktop enables users to easily share files across shared servers.
- XenDesktop makes it easy for IT in other locations to troubleshoot user issues.
- XenDesktop is not good for running Adobe Creative Suite.
- XenDesktop is not good for color accuracy when compared to print output.
- XenDesktop is not good for fast response when accessing large image files.
February 06, 2018
Why you have to select Citrix XenApp for Applications Virtualization an secure access
In our organization, we use XenApp 6.5 and XenApp 7.5 to give access to our internal users and vendors to use applications. It [provides] secure access.
We are saving [by] not implementing a firewall ACL and giving Citrix XenApp access (integrated with several domains).
We are saving [by] not implementing a firewall ACL and giving Citrix XenApp access (integrated with several domains).
- Simple access to applications, secure access using icons to use the applications.
- Access to integrated applications with active directory security.
- Only the Citrix Receiver component is required to access Xenapp
- Control and monitoring secure access to our vendors and users. Security is very important to us.
We use XenApp to publish all our global applications for remote access from anywhere and any device with an internet connection. It centralizes our data in US and Europe while allowing access from over 40 countries easily and securely with minimal technical support for users. It ensures our users have the latest applications they need and collaboration data is centralized securely while accessing the workflow over the internet. Because of the HDX (formerly ICA) protocol, the required bandwidth is low which is essential for our remote users in satellite locations. When there is a published application update, there is minimal downtime and we can be sure all our users have the latest and same version of published applications on XenApp because the update is done in the data center where XenApp servers are located as opposed to user desktops and laptops.
- Excellent for remote satellite users with low bandwidth and high latency connection.
- Keeps data and applications secure in the data center as users are only getting "screenshots" of the application and mouse/keyboard inputs.
- Platform agnostic allowing users to access from Apple OSX, iOS, Android devices, Windows, and Linux.
- Allows increase user density when applications are installed on centralized servers as opposed to on user desktops and laptops.
- Can be expensive for medium and small companies since there is additional cost of Windows OS and RDS cal licenses still needed in addition to XenApp.
- Frequent version updates (every 2-3 months) can make admin/engineer job difficult to keep the environment stable.
- Upgrade from 6.x to version 7.x is a dramatic change and a challenging task. There are product name changes too that cause confusion in the industry.
- Citrix tier 1 support is hit or miss, but specific product support such as Netscaler or PVS are great.
May 01, 2017
Good Product, Functionality Could be Improved
Most of our organization uses XenDesktop--we run Outlook through it, our database system, and store all our files on it. It allows everyone who uses it to access all the files and information from anywhere, which is really convenient. We have people who work offsite, as well as 2 different office locations, so it's really helpful to have one place for everything.
- Can be accessed from anywhere
- One central location for everything to be stored
- Sometimes the system freezes
- I've run into issues where it tells me I have multiple instances of a program running even if I don't
- I wish the mobile versions worked better
April 21, 2017
XenDesktop for Secure Mobility
XenDesktop is used as our virtual desktop when we are working remotely. It is used for all employees who telecommute to ensure a secure connection to our servers. It allows us to work on anything we have saved wherever we are working remotely without concern of security.
- Security
- Authorization
- Desktop mirroring
- Speed could be improved. But this will always be an issue for connecting to servers.
- Direct mirroring of desktop would be better than a similar desktop setup for all employees.
April 20, 2017
Access Company Servers Anywhere With XenDesktop!
XenDesktop VDI is used by those in our organization who need to remotely access servers with a virtual machine interface. This is accessed through Citrix XenApp and then through and RDP client to connect to the server and launch a virtual machine to manage it. To date, there have not been any problems reported with using the XenDesktop that I'm aware of.
- It makes connecting and managing a server through VDI simple.
- Easy to access through the Citrix XenApp for anyone regardless of location.
- Gives options for Dedicated, Full Screen, and Partial Desktops.
- Sometimes the VDI system can be in maintenance mode which keeps users from being able to connect to them.
- No other issues reported.
April 11, 2017
Just another XenDesktop review
We design and deploy XenDesktop solutions for large enterprise customers in a wide range of verticals as well as use it for demos in our lab environment.
- More features
- NetScaler
- Name changes
- Vaporware
- Platinum tax
March 24, 2017
WhatsApp; it's XenApp!!!
For our configuration, XenApp is available for the entire organization using security group permissions. I allow access by user for our current structure however have implemented and managed XenApp via GPO which works quite well.
- Remote accessibility is a huge plus with users on various devices that are supported. i.e. PC's, tablets, smart phones (most makes/versions)
- Implementation; allowing access without the need to install software on a users device. Once requested permissions are granted and the user can start pretty seamlessly regardless of devices specifications or licensing hiccups.
- Easily determine users connecting to specific applications to better scale growth; determining upgrade costs and licensing needs.
- Local resource redirection is easily manageable from both end user and IT management.
- Supported version and upgrades. These can become cumbersome for IT management to speck out and plan for multiple users. This delays upgrades which then prevents Citrix Support for outdated versions. (IT knows this across the board all too well)
- Configuring custom or non mainstream applications can be a strain during implementation.
March 23, 2017
Citrix XenApp works for us.
Right now XenApp is being used by our department, but it will soon be rolled out to other departments within the organization. It addresses the problems of working remotely and securely.
- Centralize control and reduce application management costs.
- Deliver Windows and other business apps to workers on any device.
- Workers are able to use devices they already own (BYOD), which cuts costs of buying new hardware.
- Cost - Licensing costs are not cheap.
- Local printing is not installed by default. It took some time getting printing set up for each individual user.
- Application compatibility is an issue when Citrix XenApp is updated, we were forced into purchasing not only an update, but also new office software.
February 28, 2017
Citrix VDI
We use XenDesktop for the whole organization. The business problem it address is that we are in the process of using XenDesktop for remote access with NetScaler Access Gateway so we can shutdown our VPN. The reason [for this] is so we don't have to open a hole into our network with a VPN. Since XenDesktop is just a screen refresh it solves the security issue on that front. We also use XenDesktop for fast roll out since upgrading and patching is done on one master image. On the client side we use Wyse Zero client. Using all these technologies helps streamline IT as a whole to cut costs in the long run. We can focus on backend projects instead of fixing physical computer issues.
- Remote access. Even with high latency, HDX helps with working no not so ideal situations
- PVS server lower IOPS and faster image management
- USB redirection is a nice for remote users
- Technical support is lacking.
- Flash or HTML Videos lag with Zero clients.
- Support cost is expensive when their support is really poor.
October 18, 2016
XenApp your go to application delivery product
As a senior consultant, engineer, and solutions architect who specializes in virtualization and cloud technologies, I can confidently say, Citrix XenApp is THE number 1 solution on the market for application delivery. Nothing else even comes close. XenApp is currently being used by enterprises across the globe, big and small, for application delivery. The days are gone where an admin had to have access to a physical laptop and desktop to grant users access to applications necessary for the workforce to perform their jobs. With XenApp the workforce simply calls the help desk and is granted access to a new application within minutes.
- Application delivery - Deliver any application to any user anywhere in the world.
- Security - Data no longer exists on the users' machines. With XenApp data stays in the datacenter where it can remain safe and secure.
- Upgrade Flexibility - Upgrade your application in once place.
- Mobility - Access any application on any device anywhere in the world.
- Mobility - Though mobility is outstanding, the ease of use could be a bit better.
- Application layering - Though it has come a long way, application layering still needs some work.
- Profile management - Citrix UPM needs work.
September 23, 2016
XenDesktop - A cut above the rest
We utilize XenDesktop to provide seamless access to virtualized desktops and applications across our 16 satellite locations.
- Ease of Management
- Scalability
- Ease of Use
- Integration with third party server and storage vendors
May 24, 2016
Still the king.
XenApp is used in organization wide to deliver a consistent application experience across multiple platforms. We use XenApp to publish full blown desktop applications to mobile devices and for delivery to physical and virtual desktops (XenDesktop).
- As previously mentioned, XenApp allows us to provide a consistent user experience no matter what device they are on. This can be their workstation on their desk, their own BYOD laptop regardless of OS, and mobile device.
- By delivering our XenApp servers with Citrix Provisioning Services, XenApp empowers our IT staff by giving them centralized management and version control of applications "out on the floor".
- The ICA protocol allows our users to have the best possible experience when they are on the go.
- NS Insight also gives us visibility into all of the important metrics to troubleshoot and/or optimize policies to fine tune the user experience.
- From an administrators point of view, XenApp requires that an engineer "know the full stack". There are competitors out there that are trending towards moving the management and infrastructure layers into AaS (As a Service) models.
- Multi-Site support has recently been addressed with FMA, but previous to the current (bleeding edge version) this was a major pain point that was supported in previous (6.5) versions.
- Deeper Linux support!
May 06, 2016
XenDesktop Pros and Cons
We use XenDesktop as a BYOD platform for knowledge workers and as a VDI platform for call center agents.
- Easy to provision machines
- Easy to update systems
- Easy to apply policies
- Better user control
- Better reporting
- More open API
May 06, 2016
Xenapp review
We have an application that is a fat client app that needs to be delivered to our clients. Citrix's Xenapp is the perfect delivery method as it provides a secure easy method for those deliverables. It addresses the problems of having to deploy new releases to multiple users by deploying to a set of load balanced servers.
- Load balancing servers
- Ease of deployment of applications to end users
- Centralized application management
- Better user logging without using Edgesight would be nice
- Better legacy app support
- Better application streaming support
We use XenDesktop (XenApp) in published desktop mode to facilitate users at remote rehabilitation clinics to perform their clinical work with patients on wireless laptops and desktops at the clinics. Typically the clinic will only have a T1 WAN connectivity back to the datacenter on a MPLS network and bandwidth is a real concern. It is also used for remote workers and as a work from home method.
- XenDesktop 7 provides two effective methods of managing session host updates and keeping them consistent within a machine group. In prior versions of XenApp/Metaframe, each host had to be updated individually resulting in inconsistencies across the resource pool.
- XenDesktop 7 provides several efficient methods to maximizing session performance while minimizing bandwidth utilization. We can effectively facilitate an average of 8-10 clinicians at a remote site across a 1.5MB WAN link, working in multiple applications, printing, scanning and streaming video.
- XenDesktop 7 enables user mobility by using a common interface across multiple platforms - Windows/Linux/IOS and OS X.
- Monitoring and troubleshooting tools are lacking. Unless you can afford the costly step up to Platinum licensing, there is little native visibility into the Inner workings of the system, or into the ICA tunnel protocols. there are third party tools available, but because ICA is licensed by Citrix, there are only a few vendors who have the ability to really see what is occurring under the covers.
- Profile management is very sloppy. Once again, a third party tool is required to effectively manage roaming profiles and keep login times down to a manageable level. UPM allows profiles to grow dramatically and requires careful monitoring and frequent intervention.
- The Citrix Receiver client (Windows) is quirky and often causes end user performance and UX issues. Installing and upgrading the client is not straightforward or easy, although Citrix has been improving this weakness in recent releases.
April 29, 2016
XenApp in Your World
We use XenApp to publish internal applications to end users without having to install 10-24 different applications on each computer. By doing this we have a central location with all of our applications. We can easily maintain and update the applications from one location (our data center). It is used for everyone in our company. It also is great that we can access our applications at home securely.
- Load balacing
- Scalability
- Remote Access
- Management of Applications and Users
- XenApp 7 is a lot different than previous versions of XenApp. There is more configuration needed for it to work than before.
- Easier way to shadow application sessions.
- Cost is high for the licensing.
October 09, 2015
XenDesktop - The answer to most of your end user problems.
We've used XenDesktop across the whole organization to solve a few challenges. Initially it has been set up as a solution for the remote offices to address the latency issue. Later it has expanded as a disaster recovery solution when deployed with Citrix Access Gateway, which later has been replaced by the NetScaler product.
- Great for remote office deployments as it usually resides in the same data center as the servers and provides much quicker access to the resources avoiding high latency that is common on the intercontinental connections
- Good choice for the DR as it can be migrated between the data centers if needed.
- Good solution for remote access providing extra security over a VPN connection.
- Using XenDesktop on a non computer device is a bit cumbersome.
- Not ideal for traveling users, who would need to work offline and carry a laptop with them to be able to use the XenDesktop.
XenDesktop is mostly used by Finance, HR and Management. It is a great light weight solution as opposed to desktops. Mixed with our Citrix environment, we couldn't be happier.
- App Streaming
- Connectivity
- Ease of use
- Powerful and Secure
- None that I can point out at this time.
October 09, 2015
XenDesktop for increasing productivity and simplification of infrastructure management
XenDesktop is used to manage internet bandwidth at our remote locations as well as creating a standard set of applications, which are centrally managed and maintained. Our remote locations generally have T-1 or less connections, so bandwidth has to be carefully used. By keeping their applications and desktops on our data center end, it has lowered the amount of bandwidth used at the locations.
- XenDesktop does a very great job at load balancing our applications and desktops across servers. It uses a load evaluator index to gauge the load on the server and sends new connections to the server in the group with the lowers LEI.
- The integration into our VMware environment has been critical. Using Machine Creation Services, I am able to create an image and all machines created from that image are reset to it upon reboot. No more worrying about a user corrupting one server and having to rebuild it or deploy again from a VMware template. Creating a new server in a group is easy and fast.
- Management of user sessions within XenDesktop's Director is simple and straight forward. Finding and managing a user's session is without complication.
- The Director leaves a lot to be desired. I have had to resort to scripts and a custom page to get the information I need to properly manage our environment. The previous EdgeSight had detailed information that this just seems to leave out. There is no way to customize views, add or remove content, or otherwise customize for our brand.
- One thing left out from this version that was in previous versions, was the ability deploy applications from all servers, not just those in a delivery group. As it is set up now, you can only deploy an app to a specific set of servers in a delivery group. If I have Group A running SAP and Group B running Office, only Group B can host Office for the users, even if Group A has Office installed. It would make better use of my servers if I could have on application run from both groups and still load balance properly. It is possible to have it run from both delivery groups, but the load balancing functionality appears to not work correctly.
- A new functionality in the Feature Packs (1 and 2) was session recording. The functionality is useful, but is still clunky and uses a large amount of storage space. I have yet to see a way to auto purge old recordings without manually deleting them. Storage may be cheap now, but it still needs to be managed and used wisely. Being able to purge old recordings would go a long way.
XenDesktop serves as our platform for delivering virtual desktops to doctors and nurses throughout the hospital. It improves productivity by allowing users to easily move between patient rooms and other areas of the hospital without having to repeat the login process and application startup each time. Coupled with proximity card authentication and single-sign on, password reset requests and login times are considerably reduced.
- Minimizes new desktop provisioning time.
- Allows for a standard desktop image which increases stability, decreases downtime, and simplifies updating.
- Increases user productivity while moving between devices.
- For 2008 R2 Hyper-V environments, if VMM goes offline no new connections to desktops can be made. VMM cannot be clustered making it a single point of failure.
- Desktop Director could be more robust.
October 08, 2015
If you're going to do VDI, go with XenDesktop
We leveraged XenDesktop internally for our cloud hosted product, which allowed SMBs to leverage our hosted infrastructure and use their applications. I also helped other enterprise businesses implement XenDesktop in their environment. As a consultant it was used across an entire organization as well as per department. The business problems it addresses is accessing data and applications from any device across a geographically diverse organization.
- XenDesktop gives speedy access to a full Windows desktop using its own ICA protocol. This is far and away better; a better experience than remote desktop which can "draw" slowly over low bandwidth connections.
- XenDesktop can leverage local resources like dual monitors, and printers to provide a rich multimedia experience and make the user feel like they are using a local desktop.
- XenDesktop eliminates data residing on local devices, which can help in the event of an endpoint being stolen or damaged. The user can be assigned a new laptop/desktop, download the Citrix client, and immediately re-connect to all their applications and data.
- XenDesktop can benefit from application virtualization suites like Microsoft App-V, however this functionality isn't built into XenDesktop. Some products are close like personal vDIsk, but the ability to manage a single image and stream users' application to that image would lessen maintenance.
- XenDesktop used to offer a free 10 user version (Express) in XenDesktop 5.X however this is no longer available in 7.6 and is sorely missed to help ease customers into XenDesktop. Most all of the Express installs that I performed in 5.X became licensed and paying customers after 10 seats.
- Remote access requires Netscaler which can be tricky to setup. This would mostly be a request to make NetScaler setup more seamless, intuitive, and wizard driven.
October 08, 2015
Citrix XenDesktop 7.6 Rocks!!!
XenDesktop is primarily being used by our IT, operations and off source resources. We are looking to expand it to other business units in coming months. XenDesktop facilitates us to deliver the same desktop environment from any device, anywhere over any type of network. It provides secure access to our enterprise desktop offerings whether it is VDI or RemotePC.
- Key strength lies in Citrix's proprietary protocol ICA/HDX. It can handle traffic over high latency network very well.
- New FMA (Flexible Management Architecture) is a unified platform to deliver virtual desktops, application & physical PC access.
- XenDesktop is Hypervisor agnostic. We can run it on VMware ESX, Citrix XenServer or Microsoft Hyper-V.
- Support for webcam & softphone.
- Definitely want to see improvement & bug fixes in RemotePC access.
- Offline VDI & application access to offset threat from Microsoft's Direct Access technology.
October 06, 2015
XenDesktop - Top of the pack
XenDesktop empowers our users to work from anywhere while maintaining a consistent and persistent user experience. Our mobile workforce is able to access the information vital to their job functions from any device, anywhere. XenDesktop allows us to present our apps and desktops to our staff in a way that is familiar and customizable to them for the context in which they are working.
- XenDesktop allows for connections from any type of device.
- XenDesktop has fantastic delegated administration, allowing for large IT organizations to delegate tasks to support desk, junior and senior engineers.
- XenDesktop integrates desktop and application delivery seamlessly and is backed by the leader of the industry for decades.
- Provisioning XenDesktop with Provisioning Services provides unparalleled scalability and performance at a fraction of the time, cost and effort of other solutions.
- Some legacy features have not yet made it to newer versions of XenDesktop architecture, specifically around troubleshooting information from EdgeSight.
- Citrix level 1 support can be painful at times.
- While nothing else compares to XenDesktop in terms of features and functionality, the lesser-featured rivals can be less expensive, so it can be a battle to demonstrate the total cost of ownership (TCO) against alternative solutions that have hidden costs.