Citrix set a clear path back at Synergy 2015 toward the way people would consume their workspaces. Powered by the increasing adoption of cloud services, the workspace was changing drastically. And the way these workspaces were delivered by IT was being transformed by Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), as well.

Through platforms like Citrix Cloud, IT can now easily deliver any type of app (Windows, Web, SaaS) and data through cloud services. Simplifying the workspace infrastructure required and increased focus on what IT set out to do: deliver the right set of apps and data with the best possible experience, in every situation and location.

Since setting this course, Citrix has come a long way. Citrix Cloud now powers everything needed for the secure digital workspace, all delivered as a set of integrated cloud services that span XenApp, XenDesktop, XenMobile, ShareFile, and NetScaler. In addition to these are purpose-built cloud-native services, like Citrix Smart Tools, that provide value for workspace infrastructure deployed in traditionally on-premises and partner-oriented cloud services, such as License Usage Insights to help service providers better manage their subscription business.

Citrix believes fully in the transformative power that cloud services can bring to a business. In fact, the sweeping changes associated with cloud services are happening to Citrix, itself, across the entire organization. As we shift our focus, putting Citrix Cloud at the center of our product strategy, we are also seeing the cloud transform the way we work across all functions of our business.

Over the next few months, I’ll be leading a blog series — The Way We Work — where I’ll be interviewing Citrix leaders across the company to hear first-hand how cloud services are transforming the way they work. We’ll be hearing from functions such as:

  • Procurement – to discuss how we purchase hardware and software, its evolution with SaaS, and cloud infrastructure capacity, as well as exploring how we now determine short-term and long-term ROI for subscription services.
  • IT – with a look at how we manage service provisioning and service delivery as part of our IT operations – and how they work with business department managers to better understand their workspace needs
  • Security – understanding the increase of third-party SaaS app usage inside Citrix, understanding how the security perimeter has changed, and understanding its effect on our security and compliance requirements.
  • Legal – learning more about how the move to cloud has impacted the way we look at service levels for our customers, as well as service levels for cloud services we use as a result of our own move to the cloud
  • Finance – how do we account for IT services as an operational expense versus a capital expense and has our cloud transformation changed the way we model our finances.
  • Marketing – how have our marketing operations changed in terms of telemetry and tools to provide more data to make better decisions.
  • Customer support services – how has the transformation affected the way we support the voice of our customers and ensure customer success
  • Product – how has the product planning process changed and how do we determine what products and services to build and take to market
  • Engineering – how have we had to change engineering processes to adapt to a continuous delivery model and incorporate DevOps into our engineering operations
  • Business Operations – how have Citrix operations changed as we adapt to a cloud-first approach
  • Sales – how has our sales process changed in terms of how we measure success, our compensation model, and our incentives, and how have we changed the way we talk to prospects and customers

The cloud represents the biggest step function transformation in a generation for our customers, for our partners, and for Citrix. I look forward to sharing the way we work, through the eyes of my colleagues. Stay tuned for their stories.