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Over the past couple of years I've had a number of customers and prospectives ask me for different ways of evaluating XenApp because they wanted to show someone how it worked really quickly without having to use their production system. Or, they got the Receiver for iPhone but didn't have their system configured to use it. Or, they were meeting with the head of another department at work and wanted to show them the power of application virtualization with Citrix XenApp.
Well, now you can with 3 easy ways to get an evaluation system to meet your specific needs.
- Eval in the Cloud - A pre-configured, rapid evaluation system that anyone can use to see the power of virtualizing applications for themselves. This system is great for anyone from an end-user to a non-technical family member. It requires no investment or hardware and doesn;t need any installation since it's already configured. EVAL LENGTH: 2 hours, 1-User
- Evaluation Virtual Appliance - A completely pre-configured virtual machine system running XenApp, the EVA runs on Xen or Hyper-V and helps your quickly virtualize your own apps and deliver them to anyone. It's got an illustrated quick start guide that leads you through the process of profiling, publishing and accessing applications. You can even add the machine to your domain. It's perfect for the techie that's new to XenApp but who doesn't want to get their hands covered in grease. This system is also perfect as a test bed for applications and application compatibility. It's also useful for testing scripts created with Workflow studio. Some admin's have even found it helpful for stdying up to take Citrix certification exams. EVAL LENGTH: 60-days, 99-User
- Product Media - This is XenApp installation media that is downloadable from Citrix.com. You can also order physical media from customer care. The great thing here is you'll have everything you need to create a completely customized evaluation environment including licenses which we've made available online. EVAL LENGTH: 90-days, 99-User
So the net-net is that there is now an evaluation option for nearly any scenario and you now have more options for getting demo or evaluation XenApp environments up and running with very little effort, if any at all. Check these options out for yourselves at the XenApp evaluation center.
Please let us know what you think.
Sincerely,
Vinny Sosa
Follow XenApp on 
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I remember when I was in the field, among the many things that partners wanted were better options for evaluating Citrix XenApp. The reason is because they have many prospects calling on them asking for an evaluation but no way to service them - either because of lack of resources or lack of budget or committment from the customer. See, customers come in many phases of preparedness. Some are just learning about application virtualization and just want to kick the tires on something. Others have budget and are seriously committed to finding the right solution. You've got to have options that help you bring the early stage folks up to the qualified lead level while limiting the amount of resources needed by you to get them there.
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*Vinny Sosa*- Mr. Cheap - This type of prospect knows a bit about application virtualization and may have the hardware to run their own evaluation system but want free help from you to set it up. As a partner, you're stuck because your engineering time is money so you need to charge for this. At the same time, you don't want to say no and just send them away to bark up another partners tree. This is the perfect use case for the Citrix Evaluation Virtual Appliance. It's a completely pre-configured virtual machine system running XenApp. it runs on Xen or Hyper-V and helps customers quickly virtualize their own apps and deliver them to their own users. It's got an illustrated quick start guide that leads them through the process of profiling, publishing and accessing applications. They can even add the machine to their domain. It's still a basic system with none of the Platinum level features turned on which makes it a handy way to get their foot in the door without trampling on your value-add and without adding any unnecessary complexity to your sale. This also leaves lots for you to discuss when you finally come on site to sell them your services and expertise. Licenses are also available online and the system will support 99 users and timeout in 60 days. The system can even be expanded if you wish by adding the Platinum features with a manual installation.
- Mr. Custom - This type of prospect knows what application virtualization is to some degree and they aren't afraid of getting their hands dirty. They likely have budget to solve a particular problem and they might also have the time and resources to do it themselves. They likely have hardware that they can use and the know-how to read documentation (ahem
). This is the kind of customer you want to be dealing with. You'll either sell them evaluation services that will roll into a deal with implementation and support services or watch from the side-lines guiding their evaluation as it progresses and sell them product, implementation and support services at the end. In any case, this type of evaluation will leverage XenApp media that is downloadable from Citrix.com or you'll give them physical DVD media. Great thing here is we've made licenses available online as well so it's easier for you to obtain for them or for them to obtain themselves. Another great thing is that the eval is limited to 90 days. Additionally, you'll be dealing with a more knowledgeable customer so the design phase should go a lot smoother if you know what you're doing. On the downside, if you don't know what you're doing the same will be easier by the knowledgeable customer to sense so be prepared and send in your very best.
So the net-net is that there is now an evaluation option for nearly any type of customer and the best part about it is that you now have options for limiting the involvement of profitable engineers and also for empowering your sales team to do more on their own. Check it out for yourselves at the XenApp evaluation center.
Please let us know what you think of these new evaluation options.
Sincerely,
Vinny Sosa
Follow XenApp on | | |
On June 20, 2008 the XenApp Technical Marketing team released the new version of the Evaluation Virtual Appliance (EVA) for Citrix XenApp (the new name for Presentation Server). This EVA lets you easily evaluate Presentation Server 4.5 with Feature Pack 1 and includes enhancements such as:
- Reduced file size and fewer files - just a single 8.6 GB file for XenApp Platinum Edition
- Managed download utility for increased download reliability anywhere in the world
- Faster downloads through Akamai hosting with Worldwide replication
- Updated and improved Quick Start Guide
- Addition of Hotfix Rollup Pack 2 and the latest Citrix client software for the most up-to-date evaluation experience
This kit is great and has come a long way. In previous releases you would have to download about 19 files which was just such a pain (albeit better than nothing). I personally felt it was such a burden but at the time it was our only option. in the past, it would have taken some folks a number of days to manage the downloads. With this release, we've optimized the EVA to take up just 8.6GB for Platinum Edition vs. 14.4GB which was the previous size. We've also hosted it on Akamai as a managed download and in our tests it has taken about 4 hours over a Broadband connection. This is obviously far better than a few days. Plus, Akamai mirrors globally so international downloads should be faster as well. In the kit, you get 3 servers - a domain controller, a Citrix services server and an application virtualization server. During installation and extraction you'll register for a license and registration code which you will receive in e-mail. Then you're free to use the machines for 30 days.
The EVA is a great tool for evaluations, demonstrations and even application testing. You can even use it to profile applications prior to rolling them out to production. There are lots of uses of this pre-packaged kit. You'll definitely want to check this new EVA out even if you have tried previous versions already.
Download and support links below...
Let us know if you have any questions through the support forum. Comments, suggestions... post them to this blog post.