Swiss Army Knife for the IT age

By ADAM GIFFORD

Citrix has demonstrated technologies it believes will lead to the "virtual workplace" at its user conference in Sydney.

They include new security features allowing users to connect through corporate firewalls with 128-bit SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption, and the "South Beach" portal, which will allow a broad range of applications, services and content to be accessed in a web environment.

Chief executive Mark Templeton said the company, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, developed its virtual workplace strategy to accommodate the trend to distance working and the need for technologies to guarantee business continuity and disaster recovery.

Citrix's main product, MetaFrame, works by transmitting the screen information - keystrokes and mouse movements - from almost any client device to the server running the application. This means no data are carried across the network or internet, increasing security and lowering bandwidth demand.

Older PCs can be pressed into service, because the data are not being processed on the client.

Mr Templeton said that was a selling point in today's cost-conscious business environment, where organisations were looking to optimise their existing IT infrastructure and employee productivity.

He said Citrix had focused on the Windows platform - some of its technology has been licensed into the core of the Microsoft operating system - but it also recognised that customers had a variety of platforms at different tiers which must be talked to.

Mr Templeton said the idea of South Beach was to create an environment where users could get a higher level of virtual access to their business through a configurable out-of-the-box solution. That contrasts with competing portal technologies, which require high levels of customisation.

"With Metaframe you got a virtual Windows desktop or virtual Windows applications. South Beach allows you to do that in an internet architecture, and if you wish incorporate Metaframe in that."

The first release was designed to take advantage of features in the Internet Explorer browser, with support for Netscape coming later.

"We think we will be the first vendor to deliver a volume software portal which can be delivered through a mass channel."

Citrix saw itself as developing the Swiss Army Knife of the IT industry.

"If you give 100 people a Swiss Army Knife, they will all use it differently. One may open a bottle of wine and start a party. Another may whittle some wood. Others may start a service to trim fingernails."

* Adam Gifford visited the Citrix user conference as a guest of Citrix.