Citrix vs VMware: A Comprehensive VDI Guide for Businesses

For the uninitiated, desktop virtualization involves creating virtual versions of a desktop environment. Users can then access the virtual desktop from any device.

Virtualization has seen a massive growth spurt in the past few years. Rapid advancement, coupled with its wide range of benefits, has led most businesses to implement Virtual Desktop Infrastructures (VDIs). Flexibility, scalability, and ease of accessibility, in addition to enhanced security features, are what make VDIs so attractive.

Choosing the right VDI option for your business can be challenging. There are many high-quality solutions in the market, each designed to address specific needs. VMware Horizon and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops are among the most popular options, with each having its benefits and drawbacks.

To aid in your decision-making process, we have come up with a detailed write-up of each solution and provided a comparison between the two.

Overview of VDI Solutions

Before we dive into finding the right VDI solution for you, let us take a minute to understand how these technologies enhance business operational efficiency. VDIs provide users with a remote interface that functions exactly like a traditional desktop environment. The virtual desktop is created and hosted on centralized servers rather than individual devices. This centralization greatly reduces the IT workload, as updates and deployments can be managed from a single location, eliminating the need for physical intervention. Storing data on centralized servers also helps organizations better protect it from security breaches.

Moreover, VDIs provide an enhanced level of scalability, flexibility, and accessibility to their users. All an employee needs to access their virtual desktop is a working internet connection. Additionally, VDIs allow organizations to adjust to fluctuating market needs by adding or removing virtual desktops.

VDIs provide several financial benefits in terms of cost management. From extending the hardware’s life cycle to lowering administrative costs, VDIs help streamline business costs and IT expenditures. These, and many other, benefits make VDIs perfectly suited for a range of business needs. Follow the link for a more in-depth read on What Is VDI and How Does It Work?

The upcoming sections take a closer look at each platform and will provide valuable insight to help you choose between Citrix and VMware for your VDI requirements.

Citrix vs. VMware: A Comparative Rundown

Citrix and VMware are two of the best-known names in the virtualization sector, each recognized for their robust and versatile virtualization platforms. Both companies have designed their VDIs to deliver secure, scalable, and high-performing solutions to organizations. However, despite all the similarities they share, Citrix and VMware VDIs each have unique strengths that cater to different business needs. We have explored these features to help you select the best platform to enhance your desktop environment.

Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops

Citrix’s VDI solution, Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is well-known in the IT field for its wide range of features. As a desktop as a service (DaaS) solution, it offers a flexible, secure, and high-performing virtual desktop, further enhanced by several unique capabilities.

Key Features: Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops incorporate proprietary HDX technology to provide a high-definition experience to its users. HDX ensures seamless performance by lowering bandwidth consumption and optimizing the delivery of multimedia, graphics, and voice. The technology allows the VDI to provide a smooth user experience that is indistinguishable from physical desktop implementations. Storefront is Citrix’s front-end UI, and it offers a centralized and user-friendly interface.

Another feature that sets Citrix apart is its ability to support graphics-intensive applications, made possible through its integration with NVIDIA GRID. This integration provides exceptional performance for applications requiring high graphical processing power. This is particularly advantageous for companies that provide 3D modeling, video editing, or CAD services. Even if your organization does not offer these services, the benefits of NVIDIA GRID extend to better visual fidelity and responsiveness. This allows you to work with complex graphics, large datasets, or high-resolution media without facing any performance issues.

Citrix’s Intelligent Traffic Management helps optimize user sessions by dynamically adjusting data traffic to ensure consistent connectivity. This makes the Citrix VDI even more attractive to businesses with an international or remote workforce. Furthermore, Citrix has cloud integration functionalities allowing for hybrid cloud deployments.

Their robust security features, Citrix Secure Browser and Citrix Analytics provide the VDI with enhanced security protocols and measures. Secure Browser combats web-based threats by preventing them from infiltrating the corporate network while Analytics uses machine learning to proactively identify and address potential security risks.

Pros:

• High-Definition User Experience
• Graphics-Intensive Application Support
• Hybrid Cloud Deployment
• Advanced Security Features

Cons:

• Complex Setup and Management: The extensive list of features can make the set-up and configuration of the Citrix VDI solution quite complex, necessitating meticulous planning and extensive training for the IT staff. Additionally, integrating it with existing IT infrastructure and other third-party applications can pose significant challenges.
• Higher Initial Costs: Careful consideration of necessary licenses and tools are required to optimize the benefit-to-cost ratio. Since Citrix primarily targets medium to large businesses, smaller organizations should carefully evaluate the available options before making their choice.
• Performance Considerations: While Citrix ensures consistently high performance, it can still be affected by factors like network latency and server load. Organizations should assess their network infrastructure to ensure its capability to meet high virtual desktop demands.

VMware Horizon

VMware Horizon, VMware’s comprehensive VDI solution, is designed to deliver a high-performing, flexible virtualization experience tailored to meet varying business needs. Horizon seamlessly integrates with VMware’s product suite which creates an efficient and unified virtual desktop environment and is built on the vSphere virtualization platform.

Key Features: The Blast Extreme protocol is a key Horizon feature, designed to enhance performance by optimizing display data exchange based on network conditions. This remote display protocol delivers an immersive experience for users across various types of devices and network conditions. Of special note is that the protocol optimizes for VDI access on mobile devices. Blast Extreme helps extend mobile device battery life by reducing power consumption.

VMware provides its clients with a range of deployment models including hybrid, cloud, and on-premises environments. VMware Horizon Cloud is their scalable cloud solution that eliminates on-location hardware requirements. Horizon is also integrated with VMware Workspace ONE. This serves as the singular endpoint for all your devices, making data management and security possible from a single console. Additionally, the Horizon Administrator Console allows the organization to manage and monitor the virtual desktop environment from a single interface, centralizing administrative operations.

VMware provides preset configurations that simplify VDI deployment. This allows organizations to meet industry standards easily with very few customizations. Moreover, Horizon’s licensing models are fairly straightforward. These factors help optimize deployment and reduce downtime.

Carbon Black is a software as a service (SaaS) solution and is VMware’s primary security measure. It is integrated into Horizon to provide extensive endpoint security and threat management. Its cloud-based nature allows it to rapidly adjust to evolving security needs. Along with multi-factor authentication and SSL/TLS protocols, Horizon boasts an impressive set of security tools that help organizations secure their data.

Pros:

• Simplified deployment
• Integration with existing VMware products
• Cost-Effectiveness
• Advanced Security Features

Cons:

• Licensing Complexities: There are multiple tiers of the base Horizon VDI with varying features, suited for different levels of business operations. Couple this with the costs of the add-ons and the complex licensing agreements, and the challenge becomes apparent.
• Customization Limitations: Horizon is built to operate and integrate seamlessly with the VMware ecosystem. The same cannot be said for third-party applications. Additionally, the associated expense greatly limits the flexibility of customization.
• Proprietary Technology: Horizon’s reliance on proprietary VMware technology makes it dependent on the VMware ecosystem for optimal functioning.

Subsequently, migrating platforms becomes a complex task requiring a lot of time and money.

The deep dive into the VDI offerings from Citrix and VMware showcases how each solution is distinct and their respective strengths and weaknesses. To determine which VDI suits your organization, it is necessary to evaluate your business operations and needs. Then, compare them to Horizon’s and Citrix’s Virtual Apps and Desktops features to make an educated decision on the right VDI solution for you.

Citrix vs VMware Comparison Table

Criteria	VMware	Citrix
Deployment Model	Primarily integrates with VMware Cloud, offering strong support for hybrid environments (mix of on-premises and cloud).	Provides extensive deployment flexibility, supporting a wide range of cloud environments (public, private) and on-premises setups.
Graphics Performance	Uses VMware Blast Extreme for optimized graphics performance. Blast Extreme is VMware’s protocol designed for high-performance remote access.	Employs HDX (High-Definition Experience) technology for enhanced multimedia and high-definition access, tailored for graphics-intensive applications.
Licensing Complexity	Generally simpler with straightforward licensing options based on deployment size and usage.	More complex with tiered licenses and additional feature-based add-ons, requiring more detailed management.
User Experience	Offers a consistent user experience with VMware Blast protocol, which optimizes performance within VMware environments.	Provides an advanced user experience through Citrix HDX protocol, which focuses on delivering high-quality multimedia and interactive sessions.
Security Measures	Includes integrated security tools like VMware Carbon Black, which offers threat detection and response capabilities.	Features extensive security measures such as session encryption, detailed access controls, and multi-factor authentication for enhanced protection.

Get a HeadStart on your Virtual Desktop Implementation with Apps4Rent

Choosing the right VDI solution for your organization is a daunting task. There is only so much research you can do before the constant barrage of numbers and features confuses you. This is why we went through the effort of coming up with this detailed overview, in the hopes that it aids your decision-making process. But if you are no closer to your answer even at the end of it, it is time for you to contact us.

Let Apps4Rent help you make the decision and fast-forward your VDI deployment with the help of our industry experts. By choosing us you get 24/7 access to our famed support team, the best prices on the market, and customized suggestions tailored for your organization! You can always count on us for your virtual desktop implementation needs.