Citrix Online

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Citrix Online
Subsidiary
Industry Software
Founded 1997 – 2014
Headquarters Santa Barbara, California
Products Thin Client Software, Remote Access, Online Collaboration and Web Conferencing, Remote Support
Website http://www.citrixonline.com

Citrix Online was the name of the online services division of Citrix Systems, Inc. Citrix Online sold web-based remote access, support, and collaboration software and services. Its products are GoToAssist, GoToMeeting, GoToMyPC, GoToTraining, GoToWebinar, Podio, and OpenVoice.

Citrix Online was considered a key example of the software as a service (SaaS) / application service provider (ASP) software business model.[1][2] Citrix Online was renamed to Citrix's SaaS division in 2014, and Citrix Mobility Apps Business Unit in 2015. In November 2015 Citrix announced that the business unit would be spun off into a new standalone company, unnamed as of this writing (December 2015).[3]

History

The core technologies that would become Citrix Online were originally built by the company Expertcity. Expertcity, Inc. was founded in 1997 by UCSB Professor Klaus Schauser and graduate students Bernd Oliver Christiansen and Malte Muenke.[4] Investors included Sun Microsystems, ZDNet, Bertelsmann Ventures, and Wit Capital.[5]

The company went live with a web-based marketplace for technical support services, called Expertcity, in December, 1999.[6] A user of the service would submit a technical support question through a simple webform and receive Dutch auction bids from online experts to resolve the problem.[7] Upon selecting one of the experts, the user would be connected to him via a chat interface and, optionally, via desktop sharing, whereby the expert could see the user's screen and remotely control the user's mouse and keyboard. This "remote desktop" technology formed the kernel of later products for Citrix Online.

Expertcity discontinued their support marketplace service on January 1, 2002 by transferring it to Tech24, Inc.[8] Tech24 subsequently phased out the service and transitioned to phone-based support.

The remote desktop technology behind the support marketplace enabled additional products. June 2000 saw the debut of DesktopStreaming (now GoToAssist), a corporate product that lets companies use desktop sharing for technical support between their own customers and support representatives.[9] GoToMyPC, which allows a user to remotely access his or her own desktop, followed in early 2001.

Acquisitions

In 2003, Citrix Systems acquired Expertcity,[10] then a major player in web-based desktop access, in a transaction valued at approximately $225 million in cash and stock. Expertcity became the Citrix Online division of Citrix and retained many of the key developers of the original company.

At the time of the acquisition, Expertcity was developing GoToMeeting, a product that uses the remote desktop engine to allow multiple users to view and control a single desktop, enabling both collaborative support and collaborative presentations. In 2006, Citrix Online adapted GoToMeeting to support the growing market for web-based training and web-based seminars. The resulting GoToWebinar product and the GoToTraining product that launched in 2010[11] allow hundreds of attendees to view a single screen and join in a phone conference.

In 2008, Citrix acquired Vapps, Inc., an audio conferencing provider,[12] and created Citrix Online Audio, LLC. Shortly after, they released HiDef Corporate,a flat-rate, hosted audio conferencing service.

In 2010, Citrix acquired Paglo Labs and released GoToManage, an IT management and support tool.[13] GoToManage became part of GoToAssist in 2012.

In 2012, Citrix acquired Podio, a collaborative work platform for cloud collaboration.[14]

Layoffs

In 2009, Citrix SaaS division, following the lead of Citrix Systems laid off 10% of its employees.[15] Although it was at the start of the 2009 recession. Citrix SaaS continued to grow throughout the recession. In mid 2009, Citrix began opening additional software engineering centers in India.[16] In 2014, with continued growth, Citrix SaaS division, under its new head Chris Hylen, laid off 65 workers, largely concentrated in marketing and composed of a significant share of the senior leadership in marketing.[17] In April 2015, facing weak growth, parent company Citrix announced layoffs of 700 full-time employees and 200 contract workers.[18] Cuts continued unabated in November 2015, when Citrix announced a further 10% cut in its workforce and decided to spin off its SaaS division, Citrix Online. Chris Hylen, who had presided over already two layoffs, was announced as the new CEO of the spinoff.[19]

Products

Current

  • GoToAssist (formerly DesktopStreaming) — services for businesses to facilitate remote technical support and monitoring for IT environments
  • GoToMeeting — collaboration and meetings with up to 25 attendees
  • GoToMyPC — remote desktop access for individuals and medium & large enterprises
  • GoToTraining — training and development with up to 200 attendees
  • GoToWebinar — seminars and presentations with up to 1000 attendees
  • Podio — collaborative work platform to manage and collaborate on any project or business process
  • OpenVoice (formerly HiDef Corporate) — audio conferencing with web- and mobile-based administration and control
  • ShareFile — cloud-based file sharing and storage service built for business.
  • RightSignature - digital signatures straight through email.

Discontinued

  • BuddyHelp — desktop sharing for individuals to facilitate remote technical support
  • ExpertLive (formerly Expertcity) — technical support marketplace
  • GoView—Screen recording solution

References

  1. ↑ Vizard, Michael. "Citrix Commissions Partners For Software-As-A-Service", CRN, August 05, 2005
  2. ↑ "Software-as-a-Service: HyperGrowth Model or Hype?", Information Management, April 23, 2007
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Citrix Online management team
  5. ↑ "Expertcity.com Secures $30 Million in Latest Round of Funding from Sun Microsystems, ZDNet, Bertelsmann Ventures and Wit Capital's Arista Capital Partners, LP", Expertcity press release, December 2, 1999
  6. ↑ Schwartz, Ephraim. "Start-Ups to Put Tech-Support Services Up for Bid", Computerworld, May 1, 2000
  7. ↑ "Expertcity.com and Excite@Home Deliver Live Expert Help", Expertycity press release, January 20, 2000
  8. ↑ "Expertcity Transfers Its Award-Winning ExpertLive Marketplace for Services to Tech24, Inc.", Expertcity press release, December 17, 2001
  9. ↑ "Expertcity.com’s DesktopStreaming Success Leads to Launch of New ASP Division", Expertcity press release, June 28, 2000
  10. ↑ "Citrix to Acquire Expertcity, Leader in Web-Based Desktop Access with GoToMyPC and GoToAssist", Citrix press release, December 18, 2003
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. February 17, 2010
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. November 14, 2008
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. February 23, 2010
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Jan 28, 2009
  16. ↑ “Citrix Online”, Citrix Online. Accessed March 14, 2014
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. March 12, 2014
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ "Citrix to Lay Off 1000 Employees, Create GoTo Business Spinoff", News article Noozhawk, Nov. 18, 2015

External links

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