Nexenta, the global leader in Open Source-driven Software-Defined Storage (OpenSDS), today announced that Mark Templeton, former President and CEO at Citrix, has joined the Nexenta advisory board.

Templeton brings a wealth of experience in Software-Defined (SD) technologies having been influential as the inventor of Citrix’s SD workplace strategy. Believing that virtualization, mobility management, networking and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions can unite to provide businesses with unparalleled ability to thrive in today’s fast-paced, data-centric world, Templeton will share his insight and advise Nexenta as it continues to lead the OpenSDS market.

Templeton was appointed Citrix President and CEO in 1998 and 2001 respectively. Under his leadership, the technology company transformed from a $15 million organization with one product, one customer segment and one go-to-market strategy, to one of the most globally recognizable brands, including well known solutions CloudStack, XenApp, XenDesktop, and XenServer, with annual revenues exceeding $3 billion. Templeton retired in October 2015, leaving Citrix as the leader in mobile workspace technology.

“At Citrix, our vision was that a Software-defined Workplace was more productive, engaging and resilient,” says Templeton. “Nexenta’s OpenSDS solutions not only provide greater mobility and flexibility in the face of ever-more data demanding deployments, but they are doing so while also driving down critical IT infrastructure costs. For too long businesses have been at the mercy of the legacy storage vendors, Nexenta is giving the power back to the enterprise.”

“Yet again, we are delighted to be strengthening Nexenta Advisory Board with someone of Mark’s stature,” says Tarkan Maner, Chairman and CEO, at Nexenta. “His leadership and vision for Citrix were based on his belief that SD technology will be a vital aspect of tomorrow’s workplace and his expertise and network will be invaluable to us. The future is SD everything (SDx) and with Mark on-board, we’ll continue to be the torch bearer.”