Hybrid Work Is Here to Stay
Hybrid work is here to stay, and IT managers must balance PC management that not only meets security requirements but also provides employees with the resources they need to get work done without inconvenience.
Companies that run the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service with Microsoft Azure have seen improved desktop management and security.
This is according to a Forrester Total Economic Impact study that examined the potential return on investment (ROI) enterprises may realise by deploying the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service.
The study shows that end users, including remote and hybrid workers, benefit from reduced issues and interruptions.
It also found that cloud flexibility has helped reduce:
- Support calls
- IT resource requirements
- Operational costs
At the same time, it has increased business agility.
What Is Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops?
Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service is a desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) solution that allows IT departments to provision employees with a virtual PC and application environment that is as fast as, and identical to, locally installed operating systems and application software.
Employees can access their personalised desktop environment and customised applications from any device and location.
Organisations can modernise legacy virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) deployments by reducing on-premises server requirements through a move to the cloud.
Additionally, they can leverage multisession features by adding Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop entitlements.
Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service with Microsoft Azure provides secure, simplified PC management with a virtual application and desktop experience for employees.
Organisations can also take advantage of Citrix and Microsoft’s partnership for:
- Enhanced integration
- Flexible licensing options
Understanding the Forrester Study
To better understand the benefits, costs, and risks associated with this investment, Forrester interviewed four customers with experience using the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service with Microsoft Azure.
Forrester then combined the experiences of these organisations into a composite organisation consisting of:
- 15,000 total employees
- 5,000 regular Citrix cloud service users
Of these users:
- Two-thirds were upgraded from a previous on-premises Citrix solution
- One-third migrated to the cloud solution as first-time users
Prior to using Citrix cloud services, these organisations managed applications and desktops from their own data centres.
This approach was expensive to maintain and created both security and management challenges.
Why Organisations Are Moving to Citrix Cloud
Citrix Cloud services run on a highly available and globally distributed infrastructure.
Its flexibility allows customers to deploy resources in:
- Public cloud environments
- Private cloud environments
- Hybrid cloud environments
- Multiple cloud environments
- On-premises data centres
The result is optimal resiliency.
Customers reported high volumes of support calls, particularly among employees who had not previously used Citrix solutions.
They also experienced challenges in delivering the same virtual experience to remote workers without additional software solutions.
Business Continuity Benefits
Citrix Cloud provides an additional benefit by helping protect organisations from IT-induced business interruptions.
It also enhances business continuity preparedness by maximising the uptime of critical applications and systems.
Supporting Remote and Hybrid Employees
With Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service running workloads on Microsoft Azure, including Azure Virtual Desktop entitlements, organisations were able to deliver secure and managed virtual experiences for employees working from anywhere on any device.
This became especially valuable when large numbers of employees needed to transition to remote work almost immediately.
Employees were able to maintain the same experience at home as they had in the office.
Some organisations migrated from existing Citrix on-premises virtualisation environments, while others adopted Citrix virtual applications and desktops for the first time.
Representatives from interviewed organisations reported improvements including:
- Reduced helpdesk costs
- Improved business agility
- Faster employee onboarding
- Lower desktop management resource requirements
- Reduced software and hardware costs
- A more productive employee experience
Key Findings
10% Improvement in IT Efficiency
Citrix cloud services and Microsoft Azure enabled a 10% improvement in IT efficiency.
With Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service and workloads running on Microsoft Azure, IT managers can streamline PC management by standardising settings for user groups and strengthening security controls.
Moving to Citrix Cloud also reduced traditional maintenance activities associated with:
- Servers
- Operating systems
- Networking
- Databases
Reduced support escalations and lower management requirements generated a benefit of $2 million over three years.
3,000 Fewer Helpdesk Tickets
There was a reduction of 3,000 helpdesk tickets.
With Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service:
- Access to documents is easier
- Access to business tools is easier
- Settings can be standardised across cloud deployments
- Service interruptions are reduced
- Access issues occur less frequently
Thousands of helpdesk calls are avoided every year, representing approximately 33% of all PC-related calls.
Calls that still occur are resolved in half the time.
This generated a three-year benefit of $590,000.
Eight Hours Saved Per Onboarded Employee
Citrix cloud services enabled eight hours to be saved for every onboarded employee.
Each new or transferred employee typically requires:
- A PC
- User accounts
- System configuration
- HR materials
- Software resources
With Citrix Cloud, device setup is significantly streamlined because resources can be centrally managed and accessed from any device.
Employee onboarding savings generated through Citrix cloud services and DaaS provisioning totalled $1.2 million over three years.
$1.1 Million in Legacy Infrastructure Savings
Legacy software and hardware savings totalled $1.1 million.
Citrix Cloud services can reduce on-premises data centre requirements for legacy software solutions.
This lowers costs associated with:
- Software licensing
- Database administration
- Data centre operations
- Server room expenses
These savings accumulated to $1.1 million over three years.
5% Improvement in Employee Productivity
Employee productivity improved by 5%.
Employees experiencing device management or information access issues often faced delays that prevented them from completing work efficiently.
Migrating to Citrix Cloud helped reduce these interruptions.
With Citrix, employees have convenient and secure access to company resources, allowing them to save significant amounts of time, even when working remotely.
This delivered a benefit of $1.9 million over three years.
Conclusion
With Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service and Microsoft Azure, employees are provided with convenient tools that help them work more efficiently while maintaining secure access.
Survey respondents rated their organisation’s employee experience at an average of 84% two years ago.
Today, that figure has increased by 10 percentage points to 94%.
This demonstrates how secure digital workspaces can improve both employee experience and operational efficiency.
Helen Kruger is the CEO for Troye, South Africa