Citrix Receiver for Windows Phone: Enterprise here we come!!!

Hello MNB Readers,

As someone who works in the IT (Information Technology) field, the Citrix Receiver is VITAL to our mobile operations. We use Citrix on our iOS, Android and even our Mac and Windows 7 devices. Our main use is to allow us to remote in or access a virtual machine/desktop instead of using the local machine/hardware.  For example, the college uses iPads for most mobile tasks but we would rather have Windows 7 tablets as we need access to functions that the iPad just cannot do. Instead of blowing the fiscal budget and buying expensive W7 tablets (the not ready for the W8 jump yet) we use the Citrix Receiver and our internal CTXapps and VDI settings to access virtual machines to basically turn our iPads into full-fledged Windows PCs. Some employees EXCLUSIVELY use Citrix VDIs/hosted/shared desktops and never log into a physical or local PC.

The receiver and other Citrix applications have been available on iOS, Android smartphones and Windows and Mac computers for a while now and the lack of a Citrix Receiver has been THE roadblock that has prevented Windows Phone for being used in our (and others) Enterprise environment. The 1020 has impressed everyone at the college but I got an email last week where my boss asked if Windows Phone had a Citrix client and at the time, the answer was an unfortunate No. That “No” translated into a “No” for Windows Phone adoption, device purchasing and support but I am happy to say that the Citrix Receiver and other apps are now available for Windows Phone.

From the Citrix blog:

It works just like other Windows Phone 8 apps and other Receivers. When used with the Citrix Mobility Pack, Receiver automatically displays the device keyboard when an editable field has the focus. And, the desktop session scrolls if needed to make the input area visible.

It works with Citrix XenApp 5 and up, XenDesktop 5.6 and 7, VDI-in-a-Box 5.3, StoreFront 1.2 and 2.0, Web Interface 5.4, Access Gateway 9.3 and 10, as well as Netscaler Gateway 10.1.

From AllAboutSymbian:

Thanks to a partnership between Microsoft, Nokia, and Citrix, a Citrix Receiver app is now available for Windows Phone 8. The apps allows you to connect to the various desktop vitalization services offered by Citrix (e.g. XenDesktop, XenApp), allowing you to “tune into project dashboards, check email, review documents and approve expenses on the go”.

Following on from apps like Good and RSA, the arrival of the Citrix Receiver app helps further burnish the Windows Phone platform’s credential as an enterprise ready product and its arrival is a reflection of the maturing app situation on Windows Phone. The intial release of the app covers the bases, but there’s room for improvement with the lack of landscape mode and relatively sluggish performance being the most obvious areas that need addressing.

The good thing is that you can access your virtual machines from the web browser even without opening the Citrix Receiver first. When you log in on the ctxapps or vdi website, you can click to open the receiver and it will log you in automatically without setting up your account information within the Citrix application.

Windows Phone Store description:

Citrix Receiver lets you access your enterprise files, applications, and desktops to help you be as productive on the go as you are in the office. If your company uses Citrix, you have the freedom to work on your Windows Phone from wherever you are.

As Rafe mentioned above, there is room for improvement and it is baffling as to why there isn’t a landscape mode/auto rotation as almost all computer screens and applications are designed to be viewed in the landscape orientation. I am happy to see one more serious application barrier torn down and I consider this is a BIG win for Windows Phone regardless of the shortcomings of the version 1.0 app. Even if you don’t use Citrix or if you have never heard of it, this is a MAJOR application release and helps to solidify Windows Phone’s place in the smartphone arena and also opens up another choice for business focused consumers where just last week, Windows Phone may not have been considered.

One less fight to fight, ladies and gents, the enterprise barrier is being torn down.

Do any of you use Citrix in any form or fashion? What other remote applications do you use on Windows Phone? For personal use, I use Splashtop on my iPad, Android, Windows Phone and Windows 7/8 machines but Citirx is a leader in business/enterprise corporations. How do you feel about the rapid growth of high quality, important applications to the Windows Phone ecosystem? What would you like to see come to WP?

As always, thank you for choosing MyNokiaBlog,

Deaconclgi

Source: AAWP , WPC , Citrix

Tags: Business, Corporate, ecosystem, Enterprise

Category: Applications, Lumia, Nokia, Windows Phone