Citrix introduces first secure access solution for virtual desktops

Citrix Systems has announced the first solution in the industry designed to provide highly scalable secure access to virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) environments. The newest release of the company's popular Citrix Access Gateway appliance now includes integration with Citrix XenDesktop, allowing companies to deliver virtual desktops securely to thousands of end users based on their unique identity, location and security status.

Unlike traditional virtual private network (VPN) and network access control (NAC) solutions which control access solely to the network, Citrix Access Gateway provides intelligent access directly to approved applications and desktops through its innovative SmartAccess technology, an increasingly important requirement as datacentre resources become more virtualised and physically separated from end users.

By providing highly scalable secure access for virtual desktops, Citrix is making it easier for IT organisations to realise the tremendous security and cost reduction benefits that come from centralising applications and desktops in the datacentre and delivering them virtually to end users in any location. The new Citrix Access Gateway 8.1 release accomplishes this by introducing the following key features:

· SmartAccess for virtual desktops – Access Gateway's innovative SmartAccess technology allows IT departments to provide access to specific applications and data based on the user's identity, location and results of an end point analysis of the client device. Extending this capability to virtual desktops makes it easier for corporations to move to a delivered desktop model without compromising security or end user experience.

· Improved scalability for secure virtual desktop access – adding a highly scalable Access Gateway appliance in front of virtual desktops in the datacentre can dramatically enhance an organisation's ability to deliver XenDesktop securely to thousands of XenDesktop users, regardless of how far away they are from corporate headquarters.

· Fast configuration and deployment – new Access Gateway configuration wizards simplify and accelerate deployment in a virtual desktop environment by automating several commonly performed XenDesktop configuration tasks. In addition, new standalone MSI packaging for Windows simplifies and automates client installation by enabling administrative deployments through the broadly-available standard software deployment tools.

Citrix Systems