CloudJumper (formerly part of nGenx) is targeting Citrix customers with their new migration tool
Several years ago, CloudJumper was a big Citrix partner. Now they’ve acquired their key technology partner, IndependenceIT, and are targeting Citrix migrations.
One DaaS player I recently got to know is CloudJumper, the “workspace as a service” provider that spun out of nGenx. Just a few weeks ago, they acquired IndependenceIT, a software company that automates and manages workspace workloads. (Don’t worry, I’ll get to their definition of workspace in a minute.)
Today they’re announcing updates to their Cloud Workspace software, including a tool to help customers migrate off of Citrix. This news is a prime example of all the activity of that’s happening in DaaS these days, and I spoke to John Helms and Max Pruger of CloudJumper, so let’s take a look.
Background
In case you need the background, CloudJumper spun out of nGenx in 2016, and they have roots as a Citrix service provider going back to the early 2000s. CloudJumper is entirely channel-oriented, selling to MSPs, ISVs, and agents like telcos. They use the term workspace as a service as opposed to desktop as a service, because as they define it, DaaS is just an empty desktop, while their offerings include things like app management, AV, Active Directory, backup, patching, support, and other infrastructure.
Starting in late 2014, CloudJumper began to migrate off of Citrix, noting that it’s complicated and expensive. Instead, they leverage Microsoft RDS and software from IndependenceIT.
IndependenceIT automates the provisioning and management of everything needed to run Windows workloads in both traditional data centers and public clouds. After being close partners for several years, CloudJumper acquired IndependenceIT in February as part of a strategic, all cash transaction, bringing over all their staff and developers.
Citrix Replacement App and updates
Today, CloudJumper is announcing updates to their cloud platform and software (i.e. this is version 5.2 of the Cloud Workspace Suite from IndependenceIT).
This update includes the Citrix Replacement App (CRA). The CRA evaluates your Active Directory, converting Citrix profiles into RDS-friendly profiles. It then disconnects workloads from Citrix and transfers management over to CloudJumper. You can then uninstall Citrix, and the whole process should be transparent to end users.
Other updates include:
- Full support for environments based on Windows Server 2016, including the Windows 10 experience in RDS.
- Full automation for provisioning in Azure, leveraging Azure’s APIs.
- Native cloud backups using Azure Managed Disk and Google Persistent Disks.
- Scheduling capabilities now use machine learning to management based on historical patterns.
- Built-in MFA is now more granular
Thoughts
Like I wrote just last week, there’s a lot going on in DaaS right now (or in Workspace as a service, for those that prefer that term). Looking through our broad surveys at TechTarget, there are ton of signs pointing to cloud acceptance and usage, but of course by now, this isn’t really news anymore. I will be interested to see what the VDI Like a Pro survey (running for another week and a half) has to say about DaaS in 2018, too.
CloudJumper is being clear that they’re going directly after Citrix. While Citrix is recasting itself as a security company, their core desktop virtualization customers are getting an array of overtures, so as we’ve said many times before, it will be interesting to see what Synergy brings.
I’ll also be interested to hear what our community has to say about CloudJumper and their software. CloudJumper and IndependenceIT haven’t been on our radar too much in the past. However, with Citrix in flux and DaaS growing steam, this is the time for customers to look at all their options, and a good opportunity for the likes of CloudJumper make their mark.
