Citrix president and CEO Mark Templeton on the company's new cloud strategy
In mid-June 2011, as part of his European tour, the president and CEO of Citrix Systems, Mark Templeton, visited Moscow. A visit to major European capitals followed in the wake of the Citrix Synergy conference held in May, at which a number of innovative cloud computing solutions were presented, designed to make life easier for companies and users, saving them from too complex IT infrastructures.
Mark Templeton, who has spent 16 years working at Citrix Systems, is a strong supporter of the transition from physical enterprise IT systems to virtual desktops, services, and cloud data. Answering questions from Russian journalists, he spoke about the future of the IT industry and the role of Citrix Systems in it.
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What trends, in your opinion, determine the future of computer technology and corporate IT infrastructures?
We live at a turning point in the technological history, and the changes taking place are of a dual nature. On the one hand, IT systems are becoming increasingly complex. Companies use more and more specialized software, including those requiring access to databases, file sharing capabilities, remote technical support and, at the same time, a high degree of information protection.
On the other hand, corporate IT structures are significantly affected by the globalization process. Borders are becoming transparent, and people are becoming more mobile. Modern large companies have divisions all over the world, actively use outsourcing and employees working remotely. All this increases costs and complicates the tasks of IT departments. Costs for the purchase and maintenance of software and hardware increase, systems become more and more difficult to manage, scale, and from a working tool they actually turn into burdensome chains.
Another important factor is the growing variety of computer devices used by people. According to a Worldwide Survey of Corporate Employees study,
conducted in February 2011, among the company's employees, 42% of users have at their disposal 3 devices. This is usually a desktop or laptop computer, a smartphone and a tablet computer. Naturally, the adaptation of all available software to different screen resolutions, operating systems and configurations is not justified, and manual data synchronization between devices is not always convenient and does not provide an elementary level of security.
What do growing and developing companies expect from IT technologies today? Ability to manage costs, quickly and smoothly scale the infrastructure, fully connect to the work of remote employees without compromising security. We believe that a solution that suits both companies and employees, paradoxical as it sounds, is in simplifying IT infrastructures. And this simplification will have the strongest influence on the transformation of the global IT landscape in the next 10 years compared to all other external factors.
Our recipe for simplification - the transition to the use of virtual desktops and cloud services.
What ideas underlie the philosophy of the new "cloud" era?
Cloud technologies respond to current requests from users and companies that will no longer be held hostage by the bulky systems built over the years and become customers who choose the optimal configuration in size and functionality. They will pay only for the services currently required. Elements of IT infrastructures will become services and will be sold as a consumer product.
Users will no longer be interested in the concepts of “file system”, “corporate IT infrastructure” and “work computer”. Instead, they will have “personal experience”, “workspace”, “microapplications”, “cloud data”, “services” and opportunities that go beyond the usual for the “PC era”.
What will happen to IT companies and IT departments? Will they give up the important and irreplaceable role that they play now in the life of any corporation?
IT companies will face a choice: to deal with the growth of requests and a variety of user platforms by further increasing the complexity of structures or to change their role and way of thinking and turn from builders and data center operators and networks into aggregators and sellers of services. In my opinion, to deal with the factors that I mentioned above, by further increasing the complexity, is a dead end. The future is for flexible and universal solutions.
Many are talking today about the "post-computer" era, referring to the transition from the usual PC to other access devices such as tablets and smartphones. We believe that the new stage is more correctly called the era of the "Three Clouds". Three types of clouds - personal, personal and public - will be used by people to communicate, store information and work. The value of specific devices and their compatibility will recede into the background.
What is the typical life cycle of an evolving IT infrastructure? Initially, growing demands can be met by adding new features. User satisfaction increases in proportion to investments. But here comes the moment when adding each new “feature” brings users more and more headaches. At the same time, development and maintenance costs continue to grow. And finally, the system becomes so complicated that a further quantitative build-up of the functional brings more problems than good. And this is a dead end.
If I had the opportunity to establish one law for the entire IT industry, this law would be the following: today we are not starting a single IT project that would require special user training. I am sure that both IT specialists and users will understand what I mean ...
Probably in the era of cloud systems will change the approach to investment?
Creating a more flexible approach to costs is one of the key tasks. In the cloud era, companies will move from the notion of “total cost of ownership” (TCO), which can only be predicted to “total value of ownership” (TVO), not only taking into account the economic effect of buying a service, but also providing operational cost management capabilities.
If you look for a parallel in everyday life, it is this: you can buy a car, thinking about how much money you will spend annually on gasoline, insurance and maintenance. And you can estimate how much freedom, pleasure and convenience he will give you, and pay, based on the value of these factors for yourself and your family.
What is the Citrix strategy in the new environment?
We believe that IT systems should become easier for users, and we do everything for this.
Run on an iPad program installed on a corporate PC? You are welcome! To organize a videoconference in HD quality from anywhere in the world? Easy! Connect to corporate networks of new users without limiting the platforms and configurations of their devices? Immediately!
To accomplish these tasks, we combine three types of clouds within a single platform: personal, private and public.
When a user doesn’t need to worry about exactly where the data is stored, how synchronization is performed and for which particular platform a particular application is created, he can focus on his main responsibilities, regardless of his location and the type of device he is accessing.
However, cloud technologies are still exotic for users. What, in your opinion, prevents their wider distribution?
The cloud approach in the organization of client services has already gained popularity and is widely used, especially in the field of virtual applications and e-commerce. End users are quite loyal and take comfortable innovations very quickly.
More difficult with the introduction of cloud technologies in the IT-infrastructure of companies, here the spread is not so fast. Such technologies as SaaS, IaaS and virtualization are still quite young, and their popularity is hampered by objective obstacles that can be divided into three groups: technical, legislative and regulatory, and cultural.
Technical obstacles are mainly in the formal requirements of security and control, which do not fit into the physical storage of data outside of corporate networks.
Regulatory barriers are associated with the requirements of state regulatory bodies for the storage and processing of personal data of citizens. By existing standards, this data cannot be stored outside of physical data centers.
Cultural obstacles are mainly expressed in the unreadiness of IT service providers to change their thinking and approach to business in order to move from building physical computer systems to managing cloud services.
The progress of technology and changes in the public consciousness are parallel and accelerated. This allows you to believe that the “cloudy future” is near.
Mark Templeton, who has spent 16 years working at Citrix Systems, is a strong supporter of the transition from physical enterprise IT systems to virtual desktops, services, and cloud data. Answering questions from Russian journalists, he spoke about the future of the IT industry and the role of Citrix Systems in it.
')
What trends, in your opinion, determine the future of computer technology and corporate IT infrastructures?
We live at a turning point in the technological history, and the changes taking place are of a dual nature. On the one hand, IT systems are becoming increasingly complex. Companies use more and more specialized software, including those requiring access to databases, file sharing capabilities, remote technical support and, at the same time, a high degree of information protection.
On the other hand, corporate IT structures are significantly affected by the globalization process. Borders are becoming transparent, and people are becoming more mobile. Modern large companies have divisions all over the world, actively use outsourcing and employees working remotely. All this increases costs and complicates the tasks of IT departments. Costs for the purchase and maintenance of software and hardware increase, systems become more and more difficult to manage, scale, and from a working tool they actually turn into burdensome chains.
Another important factor is the growing variety of computer devices used by people. According to a Worldwide Survey of Corporate Employees study,
conducted in February 2011, among the company's employees, 42% of users have at their disposal 3 devices. This is usually a desktop or laptop computer, a smartphone and a tablet computer. Naturally, the adaptation of all available software to different screen resolutions, operating systems and configurations is not justified, and manual data synchronization between devices is not always convenient and does not provide an elementary level of security.
What do growing and developing companies expect from IT technologies today? Ability to manage costs, quickly and smoothly scale the infrastructure, fully connect to the work of remote employees without compromising security. We believe that a solution that suits both companies and employees, paradoxical as it sounds, is in simplifying IT infrastructures. And this simplification will have the strongest influence on the transformation of the global IT landscape in the next 10 years compared to all other external factors.
Our recipe for simplification - the transition to the use of virtual desktops and cloud services.
What ideas underlie the philosophy of the new "cloud" era?
Cloud technologies respond to current requests from users and companies that will no longer be held hostage by the bulky systems built over the years and become customers who choose the optimal configuration in size and functionality. They will pay only for the services currently required. Elements of IT infrastructures will become services and will be sold as a consumer product.
Users will no longer be interested in the concepts of “file system”, “corporate IT infrastructure” and “work computer”. Instead, they will have “personal experience”, “workspace”, “microapplications”, “cloud data”, “services” and opportunities that go beyond the usual for the “PC era”.
What will happen to IT companies and IT departments? Will they give up the important and irreplaceable role that they play now in the life of any corporation?
IT companies will face a choice: to deal with the growth of requests and a variety of user platforms by further increasing the complexity of structures or to change their role and way of thinking and turn from builders and data center operators and networks into aggregators and sellers of services. In my opinion, to deal with the factors that I mentioned above, by further increasing the complexity, is a dead end. The future is for flexible and universal solutions.
Many are talking today about the "post-computer" era, referring to the transition from the usual PC to other access devices such as tablets and smartphones. We believe that the new stage is more correctly called the era of the "Three Clouds". Three types of clouds - personal, personal and public - will be used by people to communicate, store information and work. The value of specific devices and their compatibility will recede into the background.
What is the typical life cycle of an evolving IT infrastructure? Initially, growing demands can be met by adding new features. User satisfaction increases in proportion to investments. But here comes the moment when adding each new “feature” brings users more and more headaches. At the same time, development and maintenance costs continue to grow. And finally, the system becomes so complicated that a further quantitative build-up of the functional brings more problems than good. And this is a dead end.
If I had the opportunity to establish one law for the entire IT industry, this law would be the following: today we are not starting a single IT project that would require special user training. I am sure that both IT specialists and users will understand what I mean ...
Probably in the era of cloud systems will change the approach to investment?
Creating a more flexible approach to costs is one of the key tasks. In the cloud era, companies will move from the notion of “total cost of ownership” (TCO), which can only be predicted to “total value of ownership” (TVO), not only taking into account the economic effect of buying a service, but also providing operational cost management capabilities.
If you look for a parallel in everyday life, it is this: you can buy a car, thinking about how much money you will spend annually on gasoline, insurance and maintenance. And you can estimate how much freedom, pleasure and convenience he will give you, and pay, based on the value of these factors for yourself and your family.
What is the Citrix strategy in the new environment?
We believe that IT systems should become easier for users, and we do everything for this.
Run on an iPad program installed on a corporate PC? You are welcome! To organize a videoconference in HD quality from anywhere in the world? Easy! Connect to corporate networks of new users without limiting the platforms and configurations of their devices? Immediately!
To accomplish these tasks, we combine three types of clouds within a single platform: personal, private and public.
When a user doesn’t need to worry about exactly where the data is stored, how synchronization is performed and for which particular platform a particular application is created, he can focus on his main responsibilities, regardless of his location and the type of device he is accessing.
However, cloud technologies are still exotic for users. What, in your opinion, prevents their wider distribution?
The cloud approach in the organization of client services has already gained popularity and is widely used, especially in the field of virtual applications and e-commerce. End users are quite loyal and take comfortable innovations very quickly.
More difficult with the introduction of cloud technologies in the IT-infrastructure of companies, here the spread is not so fast. Such technologies as SaaS, IaaS and virtualization are still quite young, and their popularity is hampered by objective obstacles that can be divided into three groups: technical, legislative and regulatory, and cultural.
Technical obstacles are mainly in the formal requirements of security and control, which do not fit into the physical storage of data outside of corporate networks.
Regulatory barriers are associated with the requirements of state regulatory bodies for the storage and processing of personal data of citizens. By existing standards, this data cannot be stored outside of physical data centers.
Cultural obstacles are mainly expressed in the unreadiness of IT service providers to change their thinking and approach to business in order to move from building physical computer systems to managing cloud services.
The progress of technology and changes in the public consciousness are parallel and accelerated. This allows you to believe that the “cloudy future” is near.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/124689/
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