The new Citrix Workspace App has been built from the ground up with the user in mind. Here at Atlas Cloud we’re confident it’s the ultimate solution to meeting the high demands of today’s modern workplace where increased access, productivity and security are a must.
So what is Citrix Workspace actually all about and how will it impact users on a day to day basis? Here we take a look at five of the ways that Citrix Workspace will improve life for users.
1. SINGLE POINT OF ENTRY
A lot of companies have embraced cloud technology but in doing so have created complexity for themselves, with 81% of companies having multi-cloud technology in place (source: Forrester IDC). This means users have too many apps in too many locations, wasting a significant amount of time in switching between applications. It also poses a security risk as companies have little control over how users interact with these various apps.
To help improve this Citrix have consolidated everything a user will need into one location with a single point of entry. Imagine only needing to remember one password, giving you access to your on-premise Windows apps, cloud-based apps, all files (including cloud storage sites), SaaS apps and virtual desktops. How easy would that make your life? Well now it’s possible. No more having to log in to your computer and then having to remember and manage passwords for multiple websites and applications. And to make it even easier, depending on which operating system and device you use, you can even use your fingerprint or facial recognition to log in!
2. INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY
Being able to access everything a user needs easily from one location hasn’t been possible for many until now. In the past getting access to everything you needed – such as files on your company X Drive, work emails and Office 365 documents – has been a fragmented experience involving VPNs, proxies and other stuff end-users don’t really understand. This meant working on the train or from home was far from ideal. How many times have you thought “I’ll just check my emails on my phone because I can’t be bothered to log in to everything” or “I’ll just email a file home to work on later as it’s easier?”
As mentioned above multi-cloud solutions lead to a lot of time spent switching between applications. This is unproductive time that Citrix have estimated costs £600 per user, per year. Now, this time can be spent more productively actually doing work.
But it doesn’t stop there. The Citrix Workspace App has been optimised so that:
- You can perform a universal search of all files, apps etc. from one place
- Less bandwidth is required
- It runs x2 faster, even at high latency
- File transfers are x10 faster
- Printing is x2 faster
All of these factors combine to give users a highly productive way of working that other IT setups will find hard to beat.
3. USE ANY DEVICE
We all have our preferred ways of working and preferred devices. Some are hardcore Apple fans, others Windows. Some love doing things on a larger screen hooked up to a desktop computer and others are happy using their smartphone for everything. Citrix understand this so have developed Workspace so that it has a consistent look and feel on all major devices and operating systems.
Having a unified experience across all devices makes training users straightforward as the instructions will apply regardless of what device is being used. And, for users, the flexibility to use a favoured device that they’re more comfortable with helps them to be more productive. Workspace App is ideal for BYOD schemes with the app sitting comfortably on a user’s device alongside their personal apps.
4. CONTENT COLLABORATION & WORKFLOWS
Citrix didn’t stop at bringing everything together into one convenient location, they’ve also improved collaboration and workflows. Citrix Content Collaboration allows you to create files, share them, and request feedback or approval all within the app. Citrix have picked apart the current way of doing this (i.e. creating a file, emailing it to a colleague, them emailing back amends and so on) and have created a more intuitive process flow.
Now with a few clicks, as shown below, you can initiate a trackable workflow. It also integrates with external workflow software such as Slack.
5. IMPROVED SECURITY
Citrix Workspace is a dream come true for IT managers in terms of security as it brings everything together in one place (apps, desktops, files and SaaS apps), giving them a level of control they’ve not had previously e.g. watermarking for SaaS apps. It also offers reports on a user’s risk profile as well as machine learning and A.I. for continuously improving security.
But what does this mean for users?
Well, put simply, it makes things a lot easier for users. They only need to worry about remembering one login for everything. This means juggling multiple passwords is a thing of the past and, let’s be honest, we’ve all worked with someone who keeps their passwords on a post-it note on their desk. It seems ridiculous that such security risks exist, but it happens (not at Atlas Cloud I might add) and there’s no getting away from it. So, by making things much more straightforward, Citrix Workspace will ultimately improve security for both companies and users.
