Transcript of a discussion on how hyperconverged infrastructure and virtual desktop infrastructure are combining to make one of the more traditionally challenging workloads far easier to deploy, optimize, and operate.

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HPE and Citrix Team Up to Make
Hybrid Cloud-Enabled Applications
and Workspaces Simpler to Deploy
Transcript of a discussion on how hyperconverged infrastructure and virtual desktop
infrastructure are combining to make one of the more traditionally challenging workloads
far easier to deploy, optimize, and operate.
Listen to the podcast. Find it on iTunes. Get the mobile app. Download the
transcript. Sponsor: Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
Dana Gardner: Hello, and welcome to the next edition of the BriefingsDirect Voice of the
Customer podcast series. I’m Dana Gardner, Principal Analyst at Interarbor Solutions,
your host and moderator for this ongoing discussion on digital transformation success
stories.
Hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) are
combining to make one of the more traditionally challenging workloads far easier to
deploy, optimize and operate. As businesses of every stripe seek to bring more VDI to
their end users -- and to make the digital edge a virtual playground for workspaces and
support devices -- HCI is proving a deployment back-end architecture of choice.
Now the benefits are being taken to managed cloud and hybrid cloud deployments as
well. To learn more about the future of VDI powered by HCI and hybrid cloud, we are
now joined by executives from two key players behind the solutions.
Please join me in welcoming Bernie Hannon,
Strategic Alliances Director for Cloud Services at
Citrix. Welcome, Bernie.
Bernie Hannon: Nice to be here, Dana. Thank
you.
Gardner: We are also here with Phil Sailer,
Director of the Software Defined and Cloud Group
Partner Solutions at Hewlett Packard Enterprise
(HPE). Welcome, Phil.
Phil Sailer: Thanks, Dana. Good to be here.
Gardner: Phil, what trends and drivers are
making hybrid cloud so popular, and why does it
fit so well into workspaces and mobility solutions?
Hannon

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Why hybrid cloud?
Sailer: People are coming to realize that the
world is going to be hybrid for some time when
you look at the IT landscape. There are attractive
attributes to public cloud, but there are many
customers that are not ready for it or are unable
to move there because of where their data needs
to be. Perhaps, too, the economics don’t really
work out for them.
There is also a lot of opportunity to improve on
what we do in private data centers or in private
cloud. Private cloud implies bringing the benefits
of cloud into the location of a private data center.
As our executives at HPE say, cloud is not a
destination -- it’s a way to get things get done and
how you consume IT.
Gardner: Bernie, how does hybrid cloud contribute to both opportunity and complexity?
Hannon: The premise of cloud has been to simplify everything. But in reality everybody
knows that things are getting more and more complicated. A lot of that has to do with the
fact that there’s an overwhelming need to access applications. The average enterprise
has deployed more than 100 applications.
And users -- who are increasingly mobile and remote, are trying to access all of these
applications on all kinds of devices -- they have different ways of accessing the apps and
different log-in requirements. When they do get in, there are all sorts of different
performance expectations. It has become more and more complicated.
For the IT organization, they are dealing with securing all those applications – whether
those apps are up in clouds or on premises. There are just so many different kinds of
distributed organizations. And the more distribution, the more endpoints that have to be
secured. It creates complexity -- and complexity equals cost.
Our goal is to simplify things for real by helping IT securely deliver apps and for users to
be able to have simpler work experiences, so they can get what they need -- simply and
easily from anywhere, on whatever device they happen to be carrying. And then lock
everything down within what we call a secure digital perimeter.
Gardner: Before we look at VDI in a hybrid cloud environment, maybe we should
explain what the difference is between a hybrid cloud and a private cloud.
Sailer: Let’s start with private cloud, which is simpler. Private clouds are within the
company’s four walls, within their data centers, within their control. But when you say
Sailer

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private cloud, you’re implying the benefits of cloud: The simplicity of operation, the
capability to provision things very easily, even tear down and reconstruct your
infrastructure, and consume resources on a pay-per-use basis. It’s a different financial
model as well.
So the usage and financial models are different, but it is still private. You also have some
benefits around security and different economic benefits depending on the variety of
parameters.
Hybrid cloud, on the other hand, is a mix between taking advantage of the economics
and the flexibility you get with a public cloud provider. If you need to spin up some
additional instances and resources for a short period of time, a very bursty requirement,
for example, you may want a public cloud option.
In these environments you may have a mix
of both hybrid and private clouds, because
your workloads will have different
requirements – a balance between the need
for burstiness and for security, for example.
So we see hybrid as being the most
prevalent situation.
Gardner: And why is having that hybrid mix and choice a good thing when it comes to
addressing the full desktop experience of VDI?
Hannon: Cloud is not one-size-fits-all. A lot of companies that originally started down the
path of using a single public infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) cloud have quickly come
to realize that they are going to need a lot of cloud, and that's why multi-cloud is really
the emerging strategy, too.
The ability to seamlessly allow companies to move their workloads where they need to --
whether that’s driven by regulation requirements, governance, data sovereignty,
whatever -- gives users a seamless work experience through their workspace. They
don’t need to know where those apps are. They just need to know that they can find the
tools they need to be productive easily. They don’t have to navigate to figure out where
stuff is, because that's a constant battle and that just lessens productivity.
Master cloud complexity
Gardner: Let’s dig into how HPE and Citrix specifically are working together. HPE and
Citrix have talked about using the HPE SimpliVity HCI platform along with Citrix Cloud
Services. What is it about your products -- and your cloud approach -- that delivers a
whole greater than the sum of the parts?
Hannon: HCI for the last several years has been adding a huge amount of value to
customers that are deploying VDI. They have simplified the entire management process
You may have a mix of both hybrid and
private clouds, because your workloads
will have different requirements – a
balance between the need for
burstiness and for security, for example.

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down to a single management stack, reducing all that complexity. So hyperconverged
means you don't need to have as much specialization on your IT staff to deploy VDI as
you did in the past. So that's great.
So that addresses the infrastructure side. Now we are dealing with the app delivery side,
and that has historically been very complicated. To address that, we have packaged the
control plane elements used to run Citrix and put them in a cloud, and we manage it as-
a-service.
So now we have Citrix-as-a-service up
in the cloud. We call that Citrix Cloud
Services. We have HPE SimpliVity HCI
on the on-premises side. And now we
can bring them together. This is the
secret sauce that has come together
with SimpliVity.
We have built scripting and tools that automate the process for customers who are ready
to use Citrix Cloud Services. With just a few clicks, they get the whole process initiated
and start to deploy Citrix from the cloud onto SimpliVity infrastructure. It really makes it
simple, fast, and easy for customers to deploy the whole stack.
Learn more about
HPE SimpliVity
Gardner: We have seen new applications designed of, by, and for the cloud in a hybrid
environment. But there are an awful lot of organizations that would like to lift and shift
legacy apps and take advantage of this model, too. Is what you are doing together
something that could lead to more apps benefitting from a hybrid deployment model?
Making hybrid music together
Sailer: I give Citrix a lot of credit for the vision that they have painted around hybrid
cloud. By taking that management plane and that complexity away from the customer --
that is singing right off our song sheet when it comes to HPE SimpliVity.
We want to remove the legacy complexity that our customers have seen and get them to
where they need to go much faster. Then Citrix takes over and gets them the apps that
they need.
As far as which apps, there aren’t any restrictions on what you can serve up.
Gardner: Citrix has been the bellwether on allowing apps to be delivered over the wire
in a way that's functional. This goes back some 20 years. Are we taking that same value
that you pioneered from a client-server history and now extended to the hybrid cloud?
We have Citrix-as-a-service up in the
cloud. We have HPE SimpliVity HCI on
the on-premises side. And now we can
bring them together. This is the secret
sauce that has come together.

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Hannon: One of the nice things about Citrix Cloud
Services is that after we have established the
relationship between the cloud service up in the
cloud and the SimpliVity HCI on-premises --
everything is pretty much as it was before. We are
not really changing the dynamics about how
desktops and applications are being delivered. The
real difference is how customers deploy and
manage it.
That said, customers are still responsible for managing their apps. Customers need to
modernize their apps and prepare them for delivery via Citrix, because that is a huge
challenge for customers, and it always will be. Historically, everything needs to be
brought forward.
We have tools like App Layering that help automate the process of taking applications
that are traditionally premises-based -- not virtualized, and not available through app
delivery -- and package them for virtual app and desktop delivery. It really amplifies the
value of Citrix by being able to do so.
Gardner: I want to go back to my earlier question: What kinds of apps may or may not
be the right fit here?
ROI with the right apps
Sailer: Bernie, can you basically turn a traditional app into a SaaS app that's delivered
through the cloud, in a sense, though not a traditional SaaS app, like a Salesforce or
Asana or something like that? What are your thoughts?
Hannon: This is really something that is customer-driven. Our job is to make sure that
when they want to make a traditional legacy application available either as a server-
based app or as a virtual app on a virtual desktop -- that it is possible for them to do that
with Citrix and to provide the tools to make that as easy as possible to do.
Which apps exactly are the best ones to do? That's really looking at best practices. And
there are a lot of forums out there that discuss which apps are better than others. I am
not personally an expert on trying to advise customers on whether you should do this
app versus that app.
But we have a lot of partners in our ecosystem that work with customers to help them
package their apps and get them ready to be delivered. They can help them understand
where the benefits are going to be, and if there a return on investment (ROI) for doing
certain apps versus others.
We are not really changing
the dynamics about how
desktops and applications are
being delivered. The real
difference is how customers
deploy and manage it.

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Gardner: That's still quite an increase from what we hear from some of the other cloud
providers, to be honest. The public clouds make promises about moving certain legacy
apps and app modernization, but when the rubber hits the road … not so much. You are
at least moving that needle quite a bit forward in terms of letting the customer decide
which way to go.
Hannon: Well, at the end of the day just because you can, doesn't always mean you
should, right?
Gardner: Let's look at this through the lens of use cases. It seems to me a killer app for
these app delivery capabilities would be the whole desktop, VDI. Let's start there. Where
does this fit in? Perhaps Windows 10 migration? What are the other areas where you
want to use hybrid cloud, with HPE SimpliVity on private and Citrix cloud on hybrid to get
your whole desktop rationale process juiced up?
Desktop migration pathways
Hannon: The tip of the spear is definitely Windows 10 migration. There are still tens of
millions of desktops out there in need of being upgraded. Customers are at a real pivot
point in terms of making a decision: Do they continue down the path that they have been
on maintaining and supporting these physical desktops with all of the issues and risks
that we hear about every day? Do they try and meet the needs of users, who frankly like
their laptops and take them with them everywhere they go?
We need to make sure that we get the
right balance -- of giving IT
departments the ability to deliver
those Windows 10 desktops, and also
giving users the seamless experience
that makes them feel as if they
haven’t lost anything in the process.
So delivering Windows 10 best is at the top of the list, absolutely. And the graphics
requirements that go with Windows 10, of being able to deliver that as part of the user
experience is very, very important. This is where HPE SimpliVity comes in and partners
like NVIDIA who help us virtualize those capabilities, keeping the end users happy
however they get their Windows 10 desktop.
Gardner: To dwell just for a moment on Windows 10 migration, cost is always a big
factor. When you have something like HPE SimpliVity -- with its compression, with its de-
dupe, with its very efficient use of a flash drives and so forth -- is there a total cost of
ownership (TCO) story here that people should be aware of when it comes to using HCI
to accomplish Windows 10 migrations?
Sailer: Yes, absolutely. When you look at HCI you have to do a TCO analysis. When I
talk to our sellers and our customers and ask them, “Why did you choose SimpliVity,
We need to make sure that we get the right
balance – of giving IT departments the ability
to deliver those Windows 10 desktops, and
also giving users the seamless experience
that makes them feel as if they haven’t lost
anything in the process.

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honestly, tell me?” It's overwhelmingly the ones that really take a close look at TCO that
move to a SimpliVity stack when considering HCI.
Keeping the cost down, keeping the management cost down as well, and then having
the ability to scale the infrastructure up and down the way they need -- and protect the
data -- all within the same virtualized framework -- that pays off quite well for most
customers.
Gardner: We talked about protecting data, so security impacts. What are some other
use cases where you can retain control over desktops, control over intellectual property
(IP), and with centralized and policy-driven management over assets? Tell us how hybrid
cloud, private cloud, HPE SimpliVity, and Citrix Cloud work together in regard to privacy
and security.
How much security is enough?
Hannon: The world is going remote, and users want to access their workspaces on
whatever device they are most comfortable with. And IT is responsible for managing the
policies – of who is using what on whatever devices. What’s needed, and what we
deliver at Citrix, is the ability for these users to come in on any device that they have and
uniformly be able to provide the same level of security.
Because how much security is enough security? The answer is there is never enough.
Security is a huge driver for adoption of this hybrid cloud app delivery model. It allows
you to keep your apps and data under lock and key, where you need them; on-premises
is usually the answer we get.
Learn more about
HPE SimpliVity
But put the management up in the cloud because that's where the ease of delivering
everything is going to occur. Then provide all of the great tools that come through a
combination of Citrix, together with HPE SimpliVity, and our partners to be able to deliver
that great user experience. This way the security is there, and the users don’t feel like
they are giving up anything in order for that security to happen.
Gardner: Let’s pursue another hybrid cloud use case. If you’re modernizing an entire
data center, it might be easier to take everything and move it up into a public cloud, keep
it there for a while, re-architect what you have on-premises and then bring it back down
to have either private or hybrid production deployments.
Is there a hybrid benefit from the HPE and Citrix alliance that allows a larger migration of
infrastructure or a refresh of infrastructure?
Opportunities outside the box

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Hannon: We know that a lot of customers are still using traditional infrastructure,
especially where VDI is concerned. Hyperconverged has been around for a few years,
but not that many customers have adopted it yet.
As the infrastructure that they have deployed VDI on today begins to come to end of life,
they are starting to make some decisions about whether or not they keep the traditional
types of infrastructure that they have -- or move to hyperconverged.
And more and more we are seeing
our customers adopt
hyperconverged. At the same time,
we are presenting the opportunity for
them to think out of the box and
consider using a hybrid cloud model.
This gets them the best of both -- the
hyperconverged simplicity and
relieves the IT department of having to manage the Citrix environment, of constantly
doing updates, patches, and watching over operations. They let Citrix do that, and let the
customers get back to managing the things that are really important -- and that's their
applications, data, and security.
Gardner: Speaking of management, we are seeing the need as complexity builds
around hybrid models for better holistic management capabilities across multi-cloud and
hybrid cloud environments. We have heard lately from HPE about OneSphere and even
OneSphere-as-a-service, so HPE GreenLake Hybrid Cloud.
Is this an area where the requirements of your joint customers can benefit, around a
higher-order cloud management capability?
Hannon: We have just stuck our toe in the water when it comes to hybrid cloud, VDI,
and the relationship that we have with HPE as we deploy this workspace appliance
capability. But there is probably no end to the things that are possible after this.
We are going to start mapping out a roadmap of where we want to go. We have to start
looking at the capabilities that are inside of HPE that are untapped in this model -- and
there are a lot of them.
Take, for example, HPE’s recent acquisition of Plexxi. Now, software-defined networking
has the potential to bring an enormous amount of benefit to this model. We have to sit
down and think about how we can apply that and then work together to enable that in
this hybrid cloud model. So I think there is a lot of opportunity there.
Gardner: So we should be looking for more to come along those lines?
Hannon: Watch this space.
More and more we are seeing our
customers adopt hyperconverged. At the
same time, we are presenting the
opportunity for them to think out of the box
and consider using a hybrid cloud model.
This gets them the best of both.

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Gardner: Before we sign off, there was some news at the recent Citrix Synergy show
and there has been news at recent HPE shows, too. What are the specific products in
the workspaces appliances space? What has been engineered that helps leverage HPE
SimpliVity and takes advantage of Citrix?
Learn more about
HPE SimpliVity
Sailer: The Citrix Workspace Appliance Program enables customers to connect to the
Citrix Cloud Services environment as easily as possible. We stuck with our traditional
mantra that the interface should live where the administrator lives, and that’s within
System Center Virtual Machine Manager, or within vSphere, depending on what your
hypervisor choice is.
So in both locations we place a nice Citrix connector button right next to our own
SimpliVity button. Within a few clicks, you are connected up into the cloud, and we just
maintain that level of simplicity. Even through the process of setting all of this up, it's a
very easygoing on-ramp to get connected into the cloud. And that ease of management
continues right through the cloud services that Citrix provides.
We had this available in tech preview at the recent HPE Discover show, and we will be
releasing later in the year the plug-ins.
Gardner: Bernie, tell us about your vision for how this appliance approach can be a go-
to-market benefit. How should people be thinking about such ease in deployments?
Your journey to the cloud, at your pace
Hannon: At the end of the day, customers are looking for options. They don’t want to
be locked in. They want to know that their journey to the cloud, as Phil said, is not a
destination; it’s a journey. But they are going to go at their own pace on how they adopt
cloud. In some cases they will do it wholesale, and others they will do it in small, little
steps.
These kinds of appliance capabilities add features that help customers make choices
when they get to a fork in the road. They ask, “If I go hybrid cloud now, do I have to
abandon all the infrastructure that I have?”
No, your infrastructure is going to take you on that journey to the cloud, and that's
already built in. We will continue to make those capabilities integrated and built-in, to
make it possible for customers to just elect to go in that direction when they are ready.
The infrastructure will be simplified and enable that to happen.

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Gardner: I’m afraid we’ll have to leave it there. We have been exploring how HCI and
VDI are combining to make it easier to deploy, optimize, and operate through hybrid
cloud and appliance models. And we have seen how HPE and Citrix have aligned to
extend the value of hybrid cloud via these approaches for a variety of high-priority use
cases.
So please join me in thanking our guests, Bernie Hannon, Strategic Alliances Director for
Cloud Services at Citrix. Thank you, Bernie.
Hannon: Thank you, very much. It has been great being here.
Gardner: And we have also been joined by Phil Sailer, Director of the Software Defined
and Cloud Group Partner Solutions at HPE. Thank you, sir.
Sailer: Thanks, Dana. My pleasure.
Gardner: And thanks as well to our audience for joining this special BriefingsDirect
Voice of the Customer digital transformation success story.
I’m Dana Gardner, Principal Analyst at Interarbor Solutions, your host for this ongoing
series of Hewlett Packard Enterprise-sponsored interviews. Thanks again for listening.
Please pass this along to your IT community -- and do come back next time.
Listen to the podcast. Find it on iTunes. Get the mobile app. Download the
transcript. Sponsor: Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
Transcript of a discussion on how hyperconverged infrastructure and virtual desktop
infrastructure are combining to make one of the more traditionally challenging workloads
far easier to deploy, optimize, and operate. Copyright Interarbor Solutions, LLC, 2005-
2018. All rights reserved.
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