Image Gallery: Citrix Synergy 2018 Featuring Dell, HP, Google
In the exhibit hall, the focus was primarily on new ways to leverage the newest capabilities on lower-cost thin clients. Our gallery features highlights and a recap.
May 31, 2018
![Citrix Synergy 2018 Citrix Synergy 2018](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt10e444bce2d36aa8/blte76143eb47cc1524/652507f00d34023d5d0758c7/Citrix-gallery-feature.jpg?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
Google
At the prior two Citrix Synergy conferences, Microsoft took center stage. At the 2016 event, the two companies announced an extensive partnership in which the Citrix Cloud would use Microsoft Azure as its control plane. They also announced compatibility among their respective device and application management platforms. Microsoft returned to last year’s event to demonstrate the deliverables from that partnership.
But Citrix also promotes itself as a company that supports multicloud environments and brought its partnership with Google to the forefront. This year, Google Cloud COO Diane Bryant joined Citrix CEO David Henshall on stage (pictured above) during the keynote to announce that Citrix Cloud AutoScale for Google Cloud is now available.
“It’s a new integration that helps further manage your compute resources on Google Cloud Platform in order to save costs,” Bryant said.
Later this year, the two companies will expand upon that to automate a Citrix Environment on the Google Cloud Platform directly from the Citrix Cloud, she added. They also announced the release of the Citrix Cloud XenApp Service for Google Cloud, Citrix Endpoint Management support for Google Chrome Enterprise, Citrix ShareFile support for Google Cloud Storage and upgraded releases of Citrix Receiver for Chrome and Android.
HP
HP has updated its small form factor thin client with a device that’s 40 percent smaller than its predecessor. The new t430 thin client, which replaces the HP t420 and is priced at $249, has an improved collection of ports and a more powerful processor.
"This has got a much smaller form factor and it has twice the horsepower,” said Christopher Fries (pictured), HP’s point-of-sale solutions manager, during a brief meeting at the company’s booth. The t430 has an upgraded dual-core, Intel Celeron processor, supports dual 4K displays and comes with three USB-A 3.1 ports.
The smaller size is optimized for kiosk, point of sale and digital signage, Fries said. It’s also HP’s commercial system with an HDMI port in addition to the DisplayPort, which will let partners specify a broader choice of displays, Fries said. It’s also equipped with a single USB-C port that can carry audio, video, data and power through a single cable.
HP also launched its most advanced mobile thin client for collaboration and communication. The new HP mt44 is powered with AMD’s latest Ryzen 3 Pro Processor with Radeon Vega graphics, making it suited for streaming media, complex processing and multitasking, the company said. The mobile thin client device weighs 3.3 pounds and has a 14-inch display. It also includes a USB-C port for power, data, and video (alternate mode), two USB 3.1 ports, an RJ-45 network interface, support for an HDMI display and a smart card reader.
The company also emphasized the mt44’s privacy and security features, including support for multifactor authentication with a fingerprint reader, its Sure Start Gen4 BIOS protection, HP Write Manage, a privacy camera, and the company’s HP Sure View, which includes a privacy screen. Both systems will support Linux and Windows 10 IoT as well as an updated version of HP’s ThinPro software, which the company plans to release this summer. HP ThinPro version 7 will bring an improved user interface, a wizard to run Citrix VMware and Microsoft RDP, and added security including an encrypted registry.
Dell
Fresh off the launch of its new Wyse 5070 thin client, Dell EMC showcased the latest addition to its portfolio and announced that the Dell EMC XC Series 640 and 740xd hyperconverged infrastructure-based appliances are now Citrix Ready. Jeff McNaught, vice president of marketing for Dell Cloud Client Computing, dismissed the idea that the “better together” claim of his parent company, Dell Technologies, would steer Wyse partners away from Citrix.
“Citrix is a big player in this space and their customers are just as important to us as customers who want to buy VMware,” McNaught said. “By omitting a key element of your customer opportunity, you can do big damage to yourself down the road.”
Liquidware
Liquidware showcased its new Profile Unity v6.7.6 User Environment Management (UEM) system, which can host native user-profile data on object storage including Amazon S3, Azure, Microsoft’s Blob Storage and Google Cloud Storage. Partners will find this particularly helpful because it allows for the migration of a user profile from Windows to object cloud storage on multiple clouds without Server Message Block (SMB).
Liquidware’s chief technology officer, Jason Mattox (pictured above), said this will make it easier for organizations to shift their VDI infrastructures from the data center to the cloud.
“We see the adoption in the cloud as another shot in the arm for VDI,” Mattox said.
The company also previewed an update of its new Stratusphere UX user experience and diagnostic monitoring tool. The new Stratusphere 6.1 release will offer process optimization, which optimizes CPU utilization and reduces performance degradation from processor-intensive applications. It will also offer guest visibility into Windows event logs and enable administrators to monitor processes that function beyond the guest, such as protocol, destination address and latency.
Samsung
When Samsung launched its Desktop Experience (DeX) Station last year as a new type of peripheral with its then-new S8 phone, the company announced that Citrix was among its alliance partners.
The DeX Station is a small docking device about the size of a hockey puck, with two USB ports for a keyboard and mouse, an RJ45 wired LAN interface, support for an HDMI monitor and a USB-C charger that can run a Windows terminal session via the S8 (and now the Note8 and S9) on a full screen display. It supports VMware and Microsoft RDS terminal services, but at Citrix Synergy, the company emphasized its support for Citrix tools including Receiver, ShareFile and Secure Mail, optimized for the DeX. Partners at Synergy got to see Citrix’s latest incarnation of its docking device with the new DexPad. It has a flatter form factor but eliminates the wired LAN port.
Igel Technology
Over the past two years, Germany-based Igel has kicked off a renewed effort to extend its presence in North America. Once known for its hardware, Igel now is primarily a software provider with its IGEL OS thin-client operating system. Every 12 weeks, Igel issues an OS update, which supports three versions of Citrix Receiver.
Igel, which only sells through the channel, has built up its partner ecosystem in the U.S. There are now 20 platinum partners, said Jed Ayres (pictured above), president and CEO of Igel North America, who said Citrix is a key provider of referrals to its partners.
“Almost all of our seven-figure deals come from Citrix,” Ayers said.
NComputing
NComputing, which only sells its VDI hardware through channel partners, launched a “Citrix Ready’ release of its workspace hub thin-client software for its Raspberry Pi3-based thin client device.
The RX-HDX is based on a 64-bit ARM processor with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and optimized for Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop with support for dual display HD video, HDX RTME optimization for Skype for Business and 3-D workload support.
David Valentino, NComputing’s VP of North American sales, disputes any notion that VDI is a flat, or slow-growing business, saying the RD-HDX can perform 80-90 percent of the features of an x86 client.
“Most are trying to expand their VDI use,” Valentino said. “They are looking for the next-generation device that can reduce their costs and resource-management requirements, and we are finding a great deal of success there.”
Stratodesk
Stratodesk said its NoTouch thin client OS now works with Citrix Workspace Hub. The company resells thin clients from NComputing and ViewSonic (both covered in this roundup). The Stratodesk thin OS update also supports centralized management via the NoTouch Center.
ThinScale
ThinScale previewed a new version of its ThreadLocker software. The company officially launched ThreadLocker 4.0 a week later but talked about its new CPU optimization software at Synergy.
The new ThreadLocker 4.0 adds a rules engine that can apply configuration and resource allocation policies to users and groups, the ability to select a specific CPU, the ability to restrict utilization, and new reporting capabilities.
“It totally manages, controls and monitors usage in virtual environments,” said Alex Byrn, a sales executive at ThinScale.
The company also showcased the latest release of its ThinKiosk version 5.1 software, designed to convert traditional Windows PCs into thin clients. The updated release improves endpoint protection, notably for those using their personal devices and remote workers with a feature called Secure Remote Worker, which lets end users switch from their personal environments and a secure workspace environment securely without having to reboot or dual-boot from a USB device.
Viewsonic
ViewSonic introduced its new SC-ADPT-025 adapter, a $69.99 add-on that brings dual-display support to its recently upgraded Raspberry Pi 3-based SC-T25 thin client.
The update of the $119.99 SC-T25 includes the Citrix Workspace Hub (formerly known as the Citrix HDX Ready Pi) thin client. The updates to the thin client, released in March, allow users to connect to their workspace from a roaming phone or other mobile device connected to the hub using their secure login credentials. Eliminating the need for manual login lends itself well to health care clinical users, the company said, as well as for financial-services professionals.
10Zig
10Zig demonstrated its recently released 5948C Power Class NOS Zero Client, which supports three 4K UHD screens certified for Citrix to run its HDX, HDX Premium and HDX 3D Pro.
“You can do 3-D or CAD and it supports H264 hardware decoding, and it also supports optional POE [powered over Ethernet], so it has really low power, just 3.5 watts,” said 10Zig managing director Kevin Greenway. The company promoted the fingerprint authentication options it offers through its partnership with Imprivata.
10Zig
10Zig demonstrated its recently released 5948C Power Class NOS Zero Client, which supports three 4K UHD screens certified for Citrix to run its HDX, HDX Premium and HDX 3D Pro.
“You can do 3-D or CAD and it supports H264 hardware decoding, and it also supports optional POE [powered over Ethernet], so it has really low power, just 3.5 watts,” said 10Zig managing director Kevin Greenway. The company promoted the fingerprint authentication options it offers through its partnership with Imprivata.
By Jeffrey Schwartz
Partners at Citrix Synergy, held earlier this month in Anaheim, California, were largely optimistic about the company’s expanded focus on solutions and less on point products, notably with the launch of the Citrix Workspace app, due out this summer. This key new solution comes as the company is rolling out its new Citrix Solution Advisor (CSA). Together, they’re poised to help partners increase their penetration into existing Citrix accounts, company officials believe.
In the exhibit hall, the focus was primarily on new ways to leverage the newest capabilities on lower-cost thin clients. Several key alliance partners announced new products that tap the latest capabilities of Citrix Receiver and its HDX protocol, while many others showcased their latest or forthcoming wares.
Click through our gallery below for highlights and a recap.
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