Nutanix, a leader in enterprise cloud computing, today at Citrix Synergy announced Nutanix InstantON VDI for Citrix, a solution that dramatically simplifies and accelerates virtual desktop (VDI) deployments for midsized enterprises or larger. InstantON VDI includes Citrix XenDesktop VDI Edition, the Nutanix enterprise cloud platform with AHV featuring Citrix Machine Creation Services (MCS) integration and three years of support, all at a list price of just $415 per desktop. Combined with low cost endpoints, such as Raspberry Pi-based devices, the total cost of the InstantON VDI solution will be less than that of a physical desktop. The integrated solution reduces the burden on small IT teams to source and manage the infrastructure to support VDI deployments, reducing the deployment times to an average of four hours.

With smaller IT teams and lower budgets, midsized enterprises are often challenged to implement new solutions to enhance end user experiences. InstantON VDI allows these companies to take advantage of cost-effective, validated solutions for application and desktop virtualization so they can minimize the risk associated with implementing complex new technology within their datacenter. With a list price of only $415 per desktop, InstantON VDI reduces strain on the IT budgets of organizations.

As a complete application and desktop virtualization solution, Nutanix InstantON VDI for Citrix gives customers:

• Turnkey and low-risk solution - end-to-end solution including Citrix XenDesktop VDI Edition, the Nutanix enterprise cloud platform including the AHV hypervisor and the Nutanix connector for Citrix MCS and three years of support.
• Enhanced value - using Nutanix AHV virtualization technology, businesses are no longer required to separately purchase and manage server virtualization, freeing their budgets and personnel to focus on business driving activities
• Excellent user experience at any scale - midsized enterprises benefit from responsive desktops and applications starting with as few as 300 users and linearly scaling to the thousands
• Faster deployment for validated solution - average 4 hour deployment for Citrix XenDesktop on the Nutanix enterprise cloud platform
• Reduced total cost of ownership - by combining the industry-leading Nutanix enterprise cloud platform with leading solutions from Citrix, customers can scale deployments as demand requires, eliminate costly virtualization licenses and reduce IT complexity

Nutanix enterprise clouds have been chosen to power as many as hundreds of thousands of hosted virtual and shared desktops with Citrix. These customers benefit from a hypervisor-agnostic environment, which allows them to deploy the infrastructure that best suits their needs, including the Citrix Ready verified Nutanix AHV. Starting with Citrix XenDesktop 7.9, customers can deploy desktops and application servers on AHV using the new Nutanix connector for Citrix MCS.

“Virtual desktop implementations have been inaccessible to many midsized enterprises which lack the resources to manage complex infrastructure deployments and costly virtualization licenses,” said Bill Burley, Vice President and General Manager, Workspace Services, Citrix. “Midsized businesses shouldn’t be penalized simply because they don’t have the budget of a Global 2000. With InstantON VDI, joint Nutanix and Citrix customers gain access to an industry leading solution for VDI at a price point they can afford, but without the complexity of traditional datacenter infrastructure.”

“As a rapidly growing not-for-profit organization, we quickly realized our existing infrastructure was unable to keep up with our expansion plans and DR strategy, but finding a new solution that could meet our demands within our budget was a challenge,” said Mark Hindle, Head of Technology at Relationships Australia NSW. “The tightly integrated solution from Citrix and Nutanix which leverages AHV was the perfect solution for our business, marrying performance, scalability and reliability at a price point that doesn’t require us to skimp on other projects that are critical to our growth.”

“The Global 200,000 covet cloud and consumerized applications just as much as the Global 2000, but they’re often locked out by complexity and cost,” said Sunil Potti, Chief Product and Development Officer, Nutanix. “Through Citrix, these businesses receive consumerized applications, while the Nutanix enterprise cloud platform delivers the cloud-like infrastructure experience they desperately need. By joining together for InstantON VDI, the Global 200,000 has far fewer barriers to unleashing greater end-user productivity and access from anywhere.”

Product Availability and Pricing

Nutanix InstantON VDI for Citrix will be available for ordering in June 2016. Customers with as few as 300 users can take advantage of this solution.