Citrix XenDesktop 4 Wins InfoWorld 2010 Technology of the Year Award

Posted in: Application Delivery, C-Level, Deskside, Industry News, Virtualization, Words by thirdoctet on January 14, 2010 | No Comments

1/14/2010 » Santa Clara » Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTXS) today announced that Citrix® XenDesktop™ 4 has been honored as an InfoWorld 2010 Technology of the Year Award winner. Selected by InfoWorld Test Center editors and reviewers, the annual awards identify the best and most innovative products on the IT landscape. Winners are drawn from all of the products tested during the past year, with the final selections made by InfoWorld’s Test Center staff. All products reviewed by the Test Center are eligible to win.
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Thinking of switching from VMware to XenServer or Hyper-V? Think Project Open Door from Citrix.

Posted in: C-Level, Industry News, Virtualization, Words by thirdoctet on October 14, 2009 | No Comments

BOSTON » 10/14/2009 » Citrix Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CTXS) today announced a new program called Project “Open Door” that offers advanced virtualization management along with free support, training and conversion tools to customers switching servers from VMware ESX or vSphere to Citrix® XenServer™ or Microsoft® Windows® Server 2008 Hyper-V™. With more than 70 percent of enterprise customers now using multiple hypervisors in production(1), demand for the Hyper-V and Citrix XenServer virtualization platforms continues to grow. In fact, over the past 30 days the number of large enterprise customers who have activated XenServer for production use has more than doubled, and now represents 20 percent of the Global Fortune 500.  Project Open Door makes it easier for customers who want to switch out existing VMware servers for the rapidly growing XenServer and Hyper-V platforms, offering advanced virtualization management for both environments, along with free support, training and conversion tools to make the transition as simple as possible.

“XenServer and Hyper-V are clearly the fastest growing virtualization platforms in the industry today, each appealing to a different set of users,” said N. Louis Shipley, group vice president and general manager, XenServer Product Group at Citrix. “With the price of virtualization continuing to rise from other vendors, more and more enterprise customers are switching a portion of their production servers to the Citrix and Microsoft virtualization platforms. Project Open Door helps these customers achieve more agile datacenters by offering them advanced virtualization management through our Citrix Essentials for XenServer and Hyper-V solution, as well as assistance in making the transition smooth, easy and cost-effective. With more virtualization choices than ever, we encourage customers to shop around and make the right choice for their environment.”

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Citrix Drives Mainstream Adoption of Desktop Virtualization with XenDesktop 4

Posted in: Application Delivery, C-Level, Deskside, Industry News, Virtualization, Words by thirdoctet on October 7, 2009 | No Comments

SANTA CLARA, CA » 10/6/2009 » Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTXS), today announced Citrix® XenDesktop™ 4, a groundbreaking new product designed to make virtual desktops a mainstream reality for hundreds of millions of corporate employees for the first time ever. Unlike first-generation solutions that were applicable only to a narrow set of users, XenDesktop 4 with its new FlexCast™ delivery technology is the first product in the industry to support every major desktop virtualization model in a single, integrated solution – a breakthrough that enables improved ROI, simplified management and extends the benefits of virtualization to every employee in the enterprise. XenDesktop 4 further simplifies desktop computing by integrating all the capabilities of Citrix XenApp™, enabling customers to deliver on-demand applications to physical or virtual desktops as a seamless part of their overall desktop strategy. To ensure every user gets a high-definition experience at all times, XenDesktop 4 also includes significant enhancements to its industry-leading HDX™ technology. It also builds on the company’s 20-year partnership with Microsoft, simplifying the management of virtual desktops through Microsoft System Center, and adding multiple enhancements that further extend the value of Microsoft Windows and Windows Server platforms. In total, XenDesktop 4 adds more than 70 new features, significantly enhancing its performance, security and readiness for large, enterprise-wide deployments.

“2010 will be a watershed year for desktop virtualization, ushering in a new era that will revolutionize the way we work, live and play,” said Mark Templeton, president and CEO, Citrix Systems. “25 years ago, the personal computer turned the world upside down, radically improving individual productivity and communications. That world is about to change again. People today need to work in entirely new ways, powered by the connectivity of the internet, an explosion of new devices, and the limitless promise of the web. And they need to do it without being confined to ordinary desktops that are locked to an office, a device, or a network. Desktop virtualization has the power to make all this possible. That revolution begins here, today. And it starts with the new XenDesktop.” (see video message from Mark Templeton)

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Happy Second Birthday Third Octet.

Posted in: Third Octet News, Words by thirdoctet on September 4, 2009 | No Comments

In June 2009, Third Octet Inc. turned two years old!  We managed to survive through one of the toughest economic downturns in quite some time and that is a direct result of our proven skills, services, solutions and, more importantly, from the dedication and faith of our partners and, especially, our clients.  We thank you immensely. 

And, on that note, we decided to celebrate our two year birthday with the introduction of a brand new website, complete with Web 2.0 functionality.  It’s not only a gift to Third Octet, but also a gift to you, our clients and partners.  We’ll be showcasing client testimonials, and spotlights on partners and solutions while providing a more efficient and cosmetically appealing website.

Enjoy!

Third Octet takes root in Toronto’s Liberty Village

Posted in: Third Octet News, Words by thirdoctet on | No Comments

Third Octet is proud to announce our moving to the Dufferin Liberty Centre in Toronto’s trendy Liberty Village.

Liberty Village History

The King Liberty Lands once formed part of Garrison Common, lands that were set aside for military use. Fort York was built at the mouth of Garrison Creek, and in 1871 the provincial government allocated 20 acres of land south of King Street and west of Strachan Avenue for the Central Prison for Men.

There are only two remaining buildings from the prison; the prison’s Roman Catholic chapel, which was built in 1877, and the prison’s paint shop, which was incorporated in the A.R. Williams Machinery building. The chapel was later used by the John Inglis and Sons, when the lands became a thriving industrial centre.

By the early 1980’s, industry moved out or closed and the lands become a vacant brownfield site. A process began in 1999 to transform this former industrial site into a new downtown community that connects to the surrounding community.

The King Liberty neighbourhood will be a mixed-use community with live/work buildings, offices, residential and retail uses that will be contained in a mix of building types including townhouses, towers and mid-rise buildings.

A number of heritage buildings including the Chapel building and the A.R. Williams Machinery building have been retained and will reflect the neighbourhood’s past. Three public parks are being built including a linear park along the rail corridor, a gateway park and a central park which will contain the restored Chapel building. In addition to the park spaces, publicly accessible plazas will contribute to the open space in the community and will add a north-south pedestrian connection. East Liberty Street will be the main corridor in this new community.

Situated at 219 Dufferin Street, in the Dufferin Liberty Centre, our office reflects the history that forms a key foundation of Toronto. Previously a manufacturing site for electrical lights sent overseas during and after World War I, the Dufferin Liberty Centre was converted to facilitate office space, complete with industrial-age character, and information-age conveniences.

Be sure to pay us a visit when in the neighbourhood and to update your address book contact information.

McAfee, Inc. to Acquire MX Logic and Provide Industry’s Most Comprehensive Security-as-a-Service Portfolio

Posted in: C-Level, Communicate, Industry News, Messaging, Security by thirdoctet on July 30, 2009 | No Comments

Company to Add More than 40,000 Customers, Four Million End Users and 1,800 Partners

Care of McAfee.com; SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 30, 2009 – McAfee, Inc. (NYSE:MFE) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately owned MX Logic, Inc. for approximately $140 million in cash at closing, with an earn-out of up to an additional $30 million in cash if certain performance targets are met. MX Logic is a leading global provider of cloud-based email and Web security and email archiving and continuity services. Adding MX Logic’s technologies and services will provide McAfee with the most comprehensive cloud-based security portfolio in the industry, one that combines leading global threat intelligence technologies from McAfee with its Security-as-a-Service solutions:Global Threat Intelligence

• McAfee® Artemis protects more than 33 million nodes through real-time cloud-based intelligence
• McAfee TrustedSource^™ analyzes data from more than 100 billion messages per month
• McAfee SiteAdvisor^® provides consumers with a safer search, surf, and online shopping experience by serving 1.9 billion ratings every day

Security-as-a-Service

• McAfee Total Protection Service, endpoint protection via Security-as-a-Service, protects more than five million users with centralized management in the cloud
• McAfee Vulnerability Assessment, Web application and network vulnerability assessments via Security-as-a-Service, provides real-time validation against industry standards including Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard
• McAfee SECURE helps keep consumers safe from cybercrime by scanning more than 80,000 merchant Web sites daily and serving more than 126 billion impressions since 2008. Additionally, McAfee vulnerability scanning services protects more than 250,000 Web sites.
• MX Logic protects 40,000 customers with more than four million end users with email and Web security and email archiving and continuity services
• More than 1800 MX Logic channel partners provide a strong Security SaaS partner ecosystem to cross sell McAfee Security SaaS solutions and develop co-branded and bundled offerings
• MX Logic data centers in Asia Pacific, EMEA, Japan and the United States protect a geographically dispersed customer base with the capacity to expand into new customer segments and global markets

“The acquisition of MX Logic will reinforce our position as a leader in Security-as-a-Service, and brings world-class email and Web defense, including archiving and business continuity services, extending our proven expertise in providing cloud-based services to our customers,” said Dave DeWalt, president and chief executive officer, McAfee. “MX Logic aligns with the McAfee vision to lead Security SaaS by bringing industry-leading technologies and a strong partner ecosystem.”

Following completion of the proposed acquisition, McAfee will offer the most comprehensive and dedicated security portfolio in the market with the broadest set of delivery options including appliances, software, in the cloud or hybrid deployments. This approach will give businesses in all market segments the flexibility to purchase these solutions as standalone offerings or to mix and match these deployment choices to meet their exact needs.

“We view McAfee as the leading dedicated security company and a pioneer in Security-as-a-Service,” said John Street, chairman and chief executive officer, MX Logic. “We will now be even better equipped to help our customers address the complex challenges associated with blocking spam, phishing scams, viruses in the cloud, and enforcing email policies to prevent sensitive data leaks.”

Following the closing of the proposed acquisition, the MX Logic team will report to the McAfee Software-as-a-Service business unit, headed by Marc Olesen, senior vice president and general manager.

The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2009, contingent upon regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions. McAfee expects the impact of the acquisition of MX Logic to be breakeven to slightly accretive in 2010 on non-GAAP earnings-per-share and more dilutive to GAAP earnings-per-share. For the remainder of 2009 we expect the impact of the acquisition to be $0.01 to $0.02 dilutive to non-GAAP earnings-per-share and more dilutive to GAAP earnings-per-share. Non-GAAP earnings-per-share will exclude the impact of amortization of acquired intangibles, stock-based compensation expense and other nonrecurring costs or charges. For additional information, please reference the acquisition landing page at http://www.mcafee.com/us/about/corporate/mcafee_mxlogic.html and the McAfee Security Insights Blog at http://siblog.McAfee.com/.

About McAfee, Inc.

McAfee, Inc., headquartered in Santa Clara, California, is the world’s largest dedicated security technology company. McAfee is committed to relentlessly tackling the world’s toughest security challenges. The company delivers proactive and proven solutions and services that help secure systems and networks around the world, allowing users to safely connect to the Internet, browse and shop the web more securely. Backed by an award-winning research team, McAfee creates innovative products that empower home users, businesses, the public sector and service providers by enabling them to prove compliance with regulations, protect data, prevent disruptions, identify vulnerabilities, and continuously monitor and improve their security. http://www.mcafee.com.

About MX Logic, Inc.

MX Logic is a leading global provider of managed email and Web security, archiving, and business continuity services that deliver enterprise-grade performance without enterprise-level complexity and cost. Its easy-to-use, award-winning services reduce risk and liability, lower overall IT costs, and increase productivity. MX Logic services are available through its industry-leading partner network. For more information, visit www.MXLogic.com.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This release contains forward-looking statements, which include those regarding future plans that McAfee has for the MX Logic business, expectations of McAfee regarding the combination of MX Logic’s products and services with McAfee products and services, the expected closing date of the acquisition, the expectations as to the opportunities resulting from the acquisition of the MX Logic business, expected plans that McAfee has for the integration of MX Logic’s products and business and the expected impact of the acquisition on McAfee financial results for 2009 and 2010. Factors that could cause the actual results or outcomes from the acquisition to be materially different from those anticipated include, among others, the inability to complete the acquisition on acceptable terms, or at all; the inability to integrate successfully MX Logic within McAfee or to realize synergies from such integration; costs related to the acquisition of MX Logic; the customer response to, and acceptance of, the combination of MX Logic’s products with McAfee products; the economic environment of the industries in which McAfee and MX Logic operate. In addition, actual results are subject to other risks and uncertainties that relate more broadly to overall McAfee business, including those more fully described in McAfee filings with the SEC, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, and its subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to McAfee as of the date hereof, and McAfee expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

NOTE: McAfee and any additional McAfee marks herein are registered trademarks of McAfee, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and/or other countries. McAfee Red in connection with security is distinctive of McAfee brand products. All other registered and unregistered trademarks herein are the sole property of their respective owners. Product specifications subject to change at any time without prior notice. © 2009 McAfee, Inc. All rights reserved.

VMware Unveils the Industry’s First Operating System for Building the Internal Cloud – http://twurl.nl/ordked

Posted in: Industry News, Virtualization, Words by thirdoctet on April 21, 2009 | No Comments

VMware Unveils the Industry’s First Operating System for Building the Internal Cloud – http://twurl.nl/ordked

New Citrix XenServer Now Available from Hundreds of Websites, Free Enterprise-Class Virtualization to Everyone http://snurl.com/exk5e

Posted in: Industry News, Virtualization, Words by thirdoctet on March 31, 2009 | No Comments

New Citrix XenServer Now Available from Hundreds of Websites, Free Enterprise-Class Virtualization to Everyone http://snurl.com/exk5e

Federal budget provision could boost hardware spending

Posted in: C-Level by thirdoctet on February 24, 2009 | No Comments

Care of ITWorldCanada.com; A temporary tax break allowing companies to write off 100 per cent of their hardware and software purchases is getting a positive reaction from the industry, but a BDO Dunwoody CGA cautions that companies spending without a business case are just bankrupting themselves more quickly.

A provision in the recent federal budget allowing companies to write off 100 per cent of computer hardware and software for the next two years offers an opportunity for companies to look at replacing expensive-to-maintain legacy systems, according to Marc Perrella, vice-president of IDC Canada Ltd.’s technology research practice.

Read the entire article at its source.

Citrix XenDesktop 3 Enhances Multimedia Experience, Doubles Scalability and Adds Streamed Desktop Support

Posted in: Application Delivery, C-Level, Deskside, Industry News, Virtualization by thirdoctet on February 5, 2009 | No Comments

SANTA CLARA, CA » 2/4/2009 » Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTXS), the global leader in application delivery infrastructure, today announced Citrix® XenDesktop™ 3, the newest release of its market-leading desktop virtualization solution. XenDesktop 3, a key component of the Citrix Delivery Center™ product family, incorporates several of the company’s new Citrix® HDX™ technologies (see separate announcement today), giving virtual desktop users a richer “high-definition” experience with enhanced support for multimedia, audio and video. XenDesktop 3 also dramatically improves scalability, hosting twice as many virtual desktops per server as previous versions. And with version 3, XenDesktop becomes the first product on the market to deliver Microsoft® Windows® desktops from a common set of centrally managed images that can be run either in the datacenter (hosted), or directly on a PC or thin client device (local). This new capability gives IT organizations far more flexibility, reducing desktop management costs by making efficient use of distributed processing power across both servers and end point devices.

HDX Brings “High-Definition Experience” to Hosted Virtual Desktops
Widespread adoption of desktop virtualization requires the ability to deliver a high-performance, personalized experience for hosted virtual desktops that is as good as an installed desktop on a local PC.  To enhance this experience, XenDesktop 3 adds the new Citrix HDX MediaStream technology, which accelerates multimedia performance by sending compressed streams to endpoints and playing them locally. XenDesktop 3 also incorporates Citrix HDX Plug-and-Play technology for transparent support of MP3 players, digital cameras, smart phones, scanners and other local devices, as well as Citrix HDX Broadcast technology for reliable, high-performance acceleration of virtual desktops and applications over any network, including high-latency and low-bandwidth environments.

Twice the Number of Hosted Virtual Desktops per Server
XenDesktop 3 includes several enhancements that dramatically improve virtual machine density and efficiency in the datacenter, allowing customers to host up to twice as many hosted virtual desktops per server as previous versions.  These new optimizations cut server acquisition costs in half and dramatically reduce ongoing management and power consumption costs, allowing significantly larger deployments than before at no additional cost.

Manage Centrally, Run in the Datacenter or at the End Point
With version 3, XenDesktop becomes the first solution on the market to deliver both hosted virtual desktops and local streamed desktops from a single image store, leveraging the same delivery infrastructure. Most virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) solutions on the market offer only hosted virtual desktops, in which each desktop runs inside a virtual machine in the datacenter. Adding support for local streamed desktops lets XenDesktop administrators stream desktops from the same golden master images, and execute them locally on any network-connected endpoint capable of running a desktop operating system. This powerful combination adds significant flexibility and cost savings, allowing IT to centrally manage desktops for office workers and run them wherever it makes the most sense, leveraging the distributed processing power of both servers and endpoint devices.

Enhanced Profile Management and Smart Card Support
XenDesktop 3 also includes a variety of new features to support simpler management, easier user personalization and enhanced security. Most significant among these new features is fully integrated user profile management, making it far easier for IT to provide a consistent, personalized experience for each unique user every time they log in. Version 3 also includes broad support for smart card security authentication systems which are widely adopted throughout government, financial services and healthcare organizations.  XenDesktop not only enables this added level of security for gaining general access to the desktop environment, it also ensures that this information is seamlessly and transparently passed through to individual applications within each virtual desktop. Additional details regarding all the new XenDesktop 3 functionality can be found at http://www.citrix.com/xendesktop3.

“The release of XenDesktop 3 will accelerate virtual desktop adoption by driving down costs through centralized management and delivery. With HDX Technology, we are providing users a true high-definition experience for their desktops, addressing a critical requirement for broad user acceptance,” said Raj Dhingra, group vice president and general manager of the Desktop Delivery Group at Citrix. “Through these innovations, we are transforming the way desktops are delivered and managed, offering a secure, high-performance and personalized desktop for our enterprise customers.”  

“Microsoft and Citrix have been delivering value to desktop customers for more than 20 years. Our joint VDI offer provides customers with the best in class virtual desktop experience through Citrix XenDesktop 3; integrated management across existing physical and virtual desktops with Microsoft System Center; and cost-effective virtualization with Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V,” said Scott Woodgate, director, desktop virtualization, Microsoft.

Pricing and Availability
Citrix XenDesktop 3 will be generally available from authorized Citrix partners in February 2009, and from the Citrix website at http://www.citrix.com/xendesktop. Suggested retail pricing begins at $75 per concurrent user.

About Citrix
Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTXS) is the global leader and the most trusted name in Application Delivery Infrastructure. More than 215,000 organizations worldwide rely on Citrix to deliver any application to users anywhere with the best performance, highest security and lowest cost. Citrix customers include 100 percent of the Fortune 100 companies and 99 percent of the Fortune Global 500, as well as hundreds of thousands of small businesses and prosumers. Citrix has approximately 8,000 partners in more than 100 countries. Annual revenue in 2008 was $1.6 billion.

For Citrix Investors
This release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  The forward-looking statements in this release do not constitute guarantees of future performance.  Those statements involve a number of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, including risks associated with revenue growth and recognition of revenue, products, their development and distribution, product demand and pipeline, economic and competitive factors, the Company’s key strategic relationships, acquisition and related integration risks as well as other risks detailed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Citrix assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information contained in this press release or with respect to the announcements described herein.

# # #
Citrix®, XenDesktop™, HDX™ and Citrix Delivery Center™ are trademarks of Citrix Systems, Inc. and/or one or more of its subsidiaries, and may be registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.