Citrix to become Microsoft Direct Cloud Service Provider

For the first time, Citrix is becoming a Microsoft Direct Cloud Service Provider (CSP), providing customers a simplified way to buy Citrix Workspace cloud-based solutions with Microsoft 365 licensing and Azure capacity included, all from the Azure Marketplace. With this new partnership, customers will be able to move quickly from purchase to production in a fraction of the time, without having to worry about multiple transactions. These combined Citrix and Microsoft solutions will also be available through Citrix Solution Advisors as well as Citrix and Microsoft service providers, who can customize, configure and maintain a complete, turnkey solution for customers.

The first joint cloud service to be delivered is a simple, integrated "Desktop-as-a-Service" (DaaS) that is integrated with Microsoft Windows Virtual Desktop. With this service, customers can purchase and provision a virtual desktop on Azure, in just a few hours.

In addition to the DaaS offering, the collaboration will provide technology integrations across Citrix Networking and Citrix Analytics.

• For any customer running workloads in Azure, using Office 365 or thinking of moving their virtual desktops to the cloud, Citrix Networking will be one of the only integrated solutions that will deliver high performance, reliability and fast time-to-value. Earlier this year, Citrix was named a preferred partner for Azure Virtual WAN. The solution features a deep API integration that automates a new location's on-boarding and network scaling. Specifically, Citrix SD-WAN empowers branch offices and point of sales locations to Bring-Your-Own-Network (BYON) an approach to deploy a high-quality WAN service that bypasses the outdated telco provisioning model. The integration also improves the experience and performance of enterprise apps in Azure within and across geographic regions. In addition, Citrix SD-WAN will provide seamless integration and support for the Microsoft Office 365 Connectivity Principles. This complements the Office 365 user experience by directly egressing to the closest Office 365 cloud service when connecting over the internet. Lastly, Citrix announced out of the box support for Azure DNS Private Zones with its Application Delivery Controller (ADC) solution providing fast resolution of customer domain names in Azure to rapidly lookup apps and resources in Azure. Citrix has been selected as one of the first partners for the Microsoft GA of Azure DNS Private Zones.

Finally, Citrix and Microsoft recognize that the transition to cloud can be complex for customers who need expert guidance to help them plan and execute the migration. The two companies are jointly enabling a select group of highly skilled partners via the Cloud Alliance initiative. This program invests in specialized enablement, incentives and resources for participating partners, ensuring that customers get the best practices in cloud solutions.