A decade ago, many New Zealand businesses relied heavily on traditional, on-premises Citrix deployments.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) was a well-established solution for centralising application and desktop delivery, offering benefits like enhanced security, easier management and improved access for users.
However, these environments often required substantial upfront capital investment in hardware, data centres, and dedicated IT teams for maintenance and upgrades. Scalability, while possible, often involved significant lead times and further capital expenditure.
Citrix, at this time, was largely seen as a robust on-prem solution for delivering a consistent user experience.
The mid-to-late 2010s saw the rapid ascent of cloud computing.
New Zealand organisations, like their global counterparts, began to explore the benefits of Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). This marked a pivotal moment for Citrix environments. While some businesses continued to invest in expanding their on-premises VDI, a growing number started to experiment with hybrid models.
For Citrix users, this meant considering how to integrate their existing on-premises Citrix farms with public cloud providers like Microsoft Azure or AWS.
The promise was clear: greater flexibility, reduced capital expenditure by shifting to operational expenditure, and the ability to scale resources on-demand to meet fluctuating business needs.
This period saw a push towards simplifying management and looking for ways to extend the reach of virtualised applications and desktops beyond the corporate network. Security concerns, always present, became even more paramount as data traversed new boundaries.
The global events of the early 2020s, particularly the push for remote work, acted as a catalyst for even faster cloud adoption in New Zealand.
Businesses, including those with significant Citrix investments, were forced to rapidly enable their workforces to operate from anywhere. This accelerated the shift towards cloud-based solutions and further cemented the importance of hybrid IT strategies.
For Citrix environments, this translated into several key trends:
The New Zealand IT landscape, and Citrix's place within it, will continue to evolve. The increasing adoption of AI and automation will undoubtedly influence how virtual environments are managed and optimised.
The ongoing need for skilled IT professionals, particularly in cybersecurity and cloud infrastructure, remains a key challenge.
For organisations in New Zealand, the journey with Citrix over the past decade has been one of adaptation and strategic investment. From on-premises strongholds to agile hybrid cloud solutions, Citrix environments have proven their resilience and continued relevance in delivering secure, flexible and high-performing digital workspaces for the modern workforce.
The focus now is on continuous optimisation, enhanced security and leveraging the full capabilities of the evolving Citrix platform to meet the demands of an ever-changing digital world.