Leading IT solutions provider builds secure digital workspace to enable work from anywhere, keep information and devices safe
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– They say the early bird gets the worm. And iOCO Tech Compute Platforms (iOCO) has proven the case. The leading information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider was subject to one of the world’s earliest and most strict COVID-19-related government lockdowns, which forced it to shift all of its employees to working from home. In a space of two weeks, the company’s IT team was able to design and implement a digital work platform to give them access to the resources needed to get work done while keeping its crucial data and applications safe leveraging cloud-delivered digital workspace and secure access solutions from Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTXS). And now, it is well positioned to deliver the future of work.
According to research conducted by Citrix and OnePoll, 52 percent of 7,250 employees in 12 countries said they want a hybrid model where they can choose to work remotely or from the office each day. And with Citrix, iOCO can support it.
“Our suite of Citrix technology enabled us to seamlessly and securely serve clients during the pandemic and will serve us well moving forward,” said Jacques Bodenstein, Lead, Compute and Platform, iOCO. “With Citrix, we can deliver a superior employee experience whether workers are at home or in the office. And a better employee experience translates into better customer service.”
A Delicate Balancing Act
In addition to flexibility in where they work, modern employees want choice in the applications and devices they use to do their jobs. And to keep them productive and engaged, IT needs to provide it – but not at the expense of security. With Citrix, iOCO can strike the right balance.
Using Citrix digital workspace solutions, iOCO has built a highly flexible hybrid cloud environment that allows it to deliver all the tools, apps, content, and devices that employees need and prefer to use to get work done – wherever it needs to get done – in a simple, secure and reliable manner. Among the solutions the company has put in place: Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops™, Citrix SD-WAN™, Citrix Analytics for Security™ and Citrix Cloud™.
Delivered as part of Citrix Workspace™, Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops enables iOCO to serve up personalized access to the systems, information and tools their employees require in one, unified experience. Leveraging Citrix Analytics for Security, the company can dynamically apply security policies based on a user’s behavior and environment so they can work when, where and how they want with the confidence that their applications, information and devices are safe.
“Citrix Analytics for Security allows us to continuously view user access and activity throughout the entire workspace session,” said Bodenstein. “Thanks to machine learning and artificial intelligence, this analytics software ‘learns’ user behavior and provides intelligent threat detection and mitigation in a way that is transparent so as not to hinder the user experience.”
And employees have responded favorably. “Since we have implemented our Citrix solutions, the feedback has been universally positive,” said Bodenstein. “In fact, many of our workers have praised the new environment.”
A Reliable Experience
Also of critical importance to the iOCO team was ensuring that it could reliably connect its distributed workforce to its corporate environment. Traditionally, it had relied on VPN technology to do this. But it decided to move to Citrix SD-WAN to improve performance and scale.
Positioned first for Application Performance Optimization and Deployment Flexibility in the 2020 Gartner Critical Capabilities for WAN Edge Infrastructure (Gartner Critical Capabilities for WAN Edge Infrastructure, Jonathan Forest, Andrew Lerner, Naresh Singh, September 30, 2020), Citrix SD-WAN enables organizations to extend connectivity to remote sites faster and easier than ever and deliver a reliable, high-performance workspace experience.
And iOCO has seen clear benefits in embracing it. “Citrix SD-WAN has alleviated security risks and reduced data expenses and using it instead of full VPN will save us a great deal of money,” said Bodenstein.
To learn more about how iOCO is using Citrix solutions to transform security and deliver the future of work, click here. For more information on Citrix secure access solutions and the value they can deliver for your organization, click here.
About iOCO Compute Platforms
iOCO Compute Platforms (Pty) Ltd offers technology, services, and solutions for the next-generation data centre. For over 25 years, we’ve helped businesses to navigate the complex digital world through services for cloud, big data analytics, mobile, social, and security. Through our passionate people, commitment to service excellence, and expert skills, we help clients to scale affordably and seamlessly so that they can focus more on their business and less on the technology driving it. Previously IOCO, iOCO Compute Platforms (Pty) Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of iOCO.
About Citrix
Citrix (NASDAQ: CTXS) builds the secure, unified digital workspace technology that helps organizations unlock human potential and deliver a consistent workspace experience wherever work needs to get done. With Citrix, users get a seamless work experience and IT has a unified platform to secure, manage, and monitor diverse technologies in complex cloud environments.
Link to the original article, posted on 18 May.