2018 Citrix Migration Survey - Industry Insights

Understanding the Trends, Challenges & Performance Expectations
When Upgrading to Citrix XenApp & XenDesktop 7.x
www.dabcc.com www.eginnovations.com
2018
CITRIX MIGRATION
SURVEY ANALYSIS
REPORT
INDUSTRY
INSIGHTS

1
22018 Citrix Migration Survey Trends, Challenges and Performance Expectations DABCC eG Innovations
Summary
Conducted by
Across all verticals Around the world
2018 Citrix Migration Survey
795 Citrix professionals
Focused on understanding
Trends Challenges ExpectationsPlans
From Nov 2017 to Feb 2018

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Today’s Webinar Panellists
www.eginnovations.com
John Worthington
Director Product Marketing
eG Innovations
Bala Vaidhinathan
Chief Technology Officer
eG Innovations

1
Agenda
• Demographics of survey respondents
• Trends around Citrix XenApp and
XenDesktop 7.x migration
• Citrix performance management challenges
and expectations
• Best practices for 7.x migration
• Q&A

Demographics of
Survey
Respondents

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Demographics of Survey Respondents
19%
40%
41%
Asia Pacific
EMEA
Americas
Geographical Distribution
19%
15%
10%
24%
10%
22%
1–100 employees 101–500 employees
501–1000 employees 1001–5000 employees
5000–10,000 employees 10,000+ employees
Size of Organization
32%
Large
Organizations
(5,000+ employees)

1
1%
2%
2%
2%
2%
3%
3%
3%
5%
5%
6%
6%
10%
15%
25%
Media & Entertainment
Utilities
Legal
Telecommunications
Oil & Gas
Retail Trade
Transportation
Engineering
Education
Service Provider
Manufacturing
Government
Financial Services
Health Care
Information Technology
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
Type of Industry
Information
Technology
Health Care
Financial
Services

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Primary Role of Respondent Job Title of Respondent
19%
38%12%
4%
2%
25%
Citrix admin Citrix architect/engineer
Citrix consultant Citrix service provider
Citrix reseller IT/Ops
23%
44%
23%
6%
4%
Consultant Specialist
Manager Director
C-level executive
75%
Citrix
Professionals

t
Migration/Upgrade
to Citrix XenApp &
XenDesktop 7.x

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40%
7%
53%
XenApp
XenDesktop
Both
Most respondents (93%) are
running XenApp
‐ 53% are running both
XenApp and XenDesktop
‐ 40% are running only
XenApp
‐ 7% are running only
XenDesktop
Compared to the 2016 Citrix
Performance Management
Survey, adoption of:
‐ XenApp has increased by
6% (from 87% to 93%)
‐ XenDesktop has remained
the same at 60%
Q1 Are you running Citrix XenApp, or XenDesktop, or both?
93%

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66% of respondents are
running XenApp 7.x, and
65% are running 6.x
There is a significant overlap
between organizations using
7.x and 6.x
18% of respondents are still
running very old versions of
XenApp
Q2 Which version(s) of Citrix XenApp are you currently running
in your infrastructure?
7%
11%
65%
66%
Citrix XenApp 4.x
Citrix XenApp 5.x
Citrix XenApp 6.x
Citrix XenApp 7.x
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Increase from 55% - 2016

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In large organizations (5,000+
employees), usage of 6.x, 5.x,
and 4.x is comparatively
higher.
Reasons why 7.x migration is
slower in large organizations:
‐ Infrastructure size, scale and
complexity
‐ Larger user base
‐ Customizations to be redone
in 7.x
‐ Use of legacy applications
Q2 Which version(s) of Citrix XenApp are you currently running
in your infrastructure? (contd.)
All respondents Respondents from
large organizations
65% 75%XenApp 6.x
11% 18%XenApp 5.x
7% 12%XenApp 4.x
66% 71%XenApp 7.x

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Most XenDesktop
deployments (90%) are on
7.x
Compared to the 2016,
there is a remarkable
increase in 7.x adoption
(from 53% to 90%)
XenDesktop. 7.x is a more
stable release compared to
its earlier versions
Only 20% of respondents
are still using older versions
of XenDesktop
Q3 Which version(s) of Citrix XenDesktop are you currently
running in your infrastructure?
2%
18%
90%
Citrix XenDesktop 4.x
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Increase from 53% - 2016

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70% of organizations will
migrate to XenApp &
XenDesktop 7.x. 87% are
expected to be on 7.x by the
end of the year.
80% of large organizations
will migrate to 7.x in 2018.
90% are expected to be on
7.x by year-end.
Over the last two years, the
rate of migration to 7.x has
been slow. But it will pick up
this year.
Q4 When do you expect to complete the migration to the latest
version of XenApp/ XenDesktop 7.x?
18%
29%
23%
17%
13%
Within 3 months Within 6 months Within 1 year
Already migrated Not sure, no plan as of now
70%
2018: The Year of Citrix Migration

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The actual migration process
does not seem to be a big
concern for Citrix
professionals
Many find an in-place
upgrade from one version of
7.x to another to be an easy
process
Only 19% have some fears
about the steps involved
during migration from 6.x to
7.x.
Majority of the concerns are
about the pre-migration and
post-migration phases.
Q5 What is the toughest part of the XenApp/XenDesktop
migration process?
During Migration
19%
32%
46%
3%
During migration
Post-migration
Pre-migration
Others
19%
6.x
7.x

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46% of respondents
consider the pre-migration
phase as their toughest part
of the migration to 7.x.
Specific concerns include:
‐ Application compatibility
issues
‐ Licensing and pricing
changes
‐ Cost of new hardware to
stand up a parallel farm for
migration
‐ Time, effort and resources
needed for planning and
testing before the actual
migration
‐ Moving to the cloud
migration process? (contd.)
19%
32%
46%
3%
During migration
Post-migration
Pre-migration
Others
46%
6.x
7.x Pre-Migration Fears

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32% are concerned about
post-migration issues:
‐ Functionality loss when
moving over from 6.x to 7.x
‐ Changes in customization
and policy settings
‐ Loss of performance
baselines and benchmarks
‐ Addressing the changes in
architecture and
infrastructure components
‐ Effort required to train and
reskill the workforce
‐ Support from Citrix
migration process? (contd.)
19%
32%
46%
3%
During migration
Post-migration
Pre-migration
Others
32%
• IMA to FMA
• Application profiling to
layering
• Web interface to
StoreFront
• Zones and data collectors
to delivery controllers
• EdgeSight to Director
6.x
7.x Post-Migration Fears

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Operating system upgrade
tops the list at 71%. This is
because:
‐ The latest version of XA/XD
7.16 is only supported on
Windows Server 2016 and
2012 R2
‐ Support for older versions
of Windows Server has
been deprecated
The second on the list is
hypervisor upgrade (42%),
followed by server hardware
(36%)
Q6 Which other parts of your infrastructure will you upgrade
during the migration to XenApp/XenDesktop 7.x?
8%
11%
18%
24%
36%
42%
71%
None
Network
Client terminals
Storage
Server hardware
Hypervisors
Operating systems
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

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VMware vSphere remains
the most popular hypervisor
for Citrix deployments
Compared to 2016, market
share has reduced for:
‐ XenServer (from 40% to
25%)
‐ Hyper-V (from 28% to 22%)
In large organizations
vSphere is the preferred
hypervisor (82%
About 15% of respondents
are considering using
multiple hypervisors (2 to 3)
Q7 Which hypervisor will you be using for virtualizing your
upgraded Citrix XenApp/XenDesktop 7.x environment?
1%
1%
1%
6%
22%
25%
74%
Linux KVM
Red Hat Virtualization
Public Cloud (AWS, Azure)
Nutanix Acropolis
Microsoft Hyper-V
Citrix XenServer
VMware vSphere
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Decrease from 40% -
Decrease from 28% -
2016
2016

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5%
14%
31%
50%
Yes, currently using cloud services
Yes, considering cloud services
Plan to look at cloud services in the future
No plan for cloud services
Q8 Do you use Citrix Cloud or XenApp/XenDesktop Essentials in
your Citrix environment?
The Glass is Half Empty
50% of respondents don’t have any plan for Citrix
Cloud services now or in the future. Reasons
include:
• Organizations are not acquainted with the cloud
deployment model
• Many feel Citrix Cloud services are more expensive
• There are also fears about security and compliance
1/2
Empty
The Glass is Half Full
• Only 5% are currently using Citrix Cloud
• However, 45% are considering using it in the
future. The migration to 7.x will drive more Citrix
Cloud adoption.
• In large enterprises (5,000+ employees), about
60% are considering using Citrix Cloud in the
future
1/2
Full

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EOL of older versions of
XenApp and XenDesktop is
the primary reason
Organizations are concerned
about support post-
migration to 7.x and want to
get extended support
through LTSR.
Support for Windows 10
(44%) is another important
driver for 7.x adoption.
Q9 What is your primary driver for migrating to Citrix XenApp
and XenDesktop 7.x?
7%
15%
21%
22%
23%
28%
42%
44%
46%
70%
Easier cloud deployment
Network‐intelligent adaptive transport (EDT…
The new unified FMA architecture
Enhanced graphics rendering
Security enhancements
Improved profile management
Optimized user experience with HDX…
Long-term support with LTSR
End of life of current version in use
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
EOL&
Support
Concerns
User
Experience
Enhancements
Administrative
Improvements
End of life of current version in use
Long-term support with LTSR
Optimized user experience with HDX
improvements
Improved profile management
Security enhancements
Enhanced graphics rendering
The new unified FMA architecture
Adaptive transport (EDT) protocol
Easier cloud deployment

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The top concern for
organizations with the 7.x
upgrade is ensuring
performance of applications
and desktops in production
(80%)
The next big concerns is
making sure that there are
no user experience
degradation (68%)
Feedback from respondents
included concerns, such as:
Q10 What are/were your biggest concerns when migrating from
an older version of XenApp/XenDesktop to the current one?
35%
38%
49%
52%
68%
80%
Ensuring that the utilization of your
infrastructure was optimized for user density
Maintaining security and compliance standards
Troubleshooting problems quickly when they
happen
Compatibility and smooth functioning of the
supporting infrastructure
Ensuring that the user experience did not
degrade
Ensuring that all your applications and desktops
worked as expected
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Ensuring that applications and
desktops worked as expected
Ensuring that user experience
did not degrade
Compatibility and smooth
functioning of the supporting infra
Troubleshooting problems quickly
Maintaining security and
compliance standards
Ensuring optimized utilization of
the infrastructure
MaintainingStatusQuo
AftertheMigration
AddressingPerformance,
SecurityandCapacityConcerns
• Losing customization
post-migration
• Missing support for
legacy applications
• The need for additional
training and reskilling
• Loss of XenApp 6.5
functionality

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Key Findings: Migration to Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop 7.x
2018 will be the year of Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop migration: 70% of organizations are
expected to complete the migration by the end of the year.
The main driver behind the migration to 7.x is the fact that older versions are nearing
EOL/EOM. LTSR and Windows 10 support in 7.x are other important factors.
Migration from 6.x to 7.x is not a simple in-place upgrade. In addition to new Citrix
components in 7.x, supporting infrastructure tiers, are often upgraded as well.
The actual migration process itself is considered to be simple, but 78% rate the pre-
migration and post-migration phases to be much tougher in comparison.
Citrix Cloud deployments are in their infancy. Only 5% of organizations are currently using
Citrix Cloud services, but 45% are likely to be considering Citrix Cloud in the future.
Survey Highlights
5
4
3
2
1
EOL

Citrix Performance
Management
Challenges & Expectations

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Q11 What performance monitoring tools do you use for Citrix
environments today?
• Majority of respondents (67%) are using
Citrix Director
• 28% of respondents are still using EdgeSight
• 61% of respondents are using infrastructure
monitoring tools for Citrix monitoring

1
72% of respondents are
using 2 to 10 tools for
monitoring their Citrix
infrastructures
83% large organizations are
using up to 10 tools
Using multiple tools is one
of the main reasons why
Citrix performance
monitoring remains complex
and time-consuming
Q12 How many different tools and consoles do you use for
monitoring of your Citrix environment?
20%
67%
4%
1%
8%
One single monitoring tool for all IT components 2 to 5 monitoring tools
6 to 10 monitoring tools More than 10 monitoring tools
No monitoring tool is being used
72%

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The top challenge is around
problem diagnosis and
troubleshooting:
‐ 37% are not able to pinpoint
infrastructure issues affecting
Citrix performance
‐ 33% find problem diagnosis
to be too slow and complex
‐ 32% find that benchmarking
of performance, user
experience, resource usage is
a big issue
Q13 What performance challenges did you face (or you expect to
face) during the migration to Citrix XenApp/XenDesktop 7.x.?
18%
27%
31%
32%
33%
37%
Not able to understand infrastructure
dependencies with the Citrix farm/site
Lack of a single dashboard to monitor Citrix tiers
Not able to baseline resource usage patterns in
old and new environments
Not able to benchmark user experience KPIs
pre- and post-migration
Problem diagnosis is very slow/complex
Not able to pinpoint when underlying
infrastructure is affecting Citrix performance
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%
Not able to pinpoint when underlying
infrastructure is affecting Citrix performance
Problem diagnosis is very slow/complex
Not able to benchmark user experience
KPIs pre- and post-migration
Not able to baseline resource usage
patterns in old and new environments
Lack of a single dashboard to monitor
Citrix tiers
Not able to understand infrastructure
dependencies with the Citrix farm/site
Citrix admins want to
prove it is not Citrix that
is causing a problem!

1
91%
9%
Very important
Not important
91% agree that having a
single-pane-of-glass solution
would simplify performance
monitoring and root cause
diagnosis
Citrix delivery infrastructure
includes many supporting
tiers (such as virtualization,
network, AD, etc.)
A problem in any of the
supporting infra tiers would
affect Citrix performance
Q14 How important is it for you to have a single console from which
you can monitor all of your Citrix tiers and non-Citrix tiers?
91%
Centralized and correlated visibility of Citrix and non-Citrix tiers from a single pane
of glass would help simplify root cause diagnosis and problem troubleshooting

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Measuring Citrix logon time
is one of the most important
aspects of user experience
monitoring
The logon process in XA/XD
7.x is different from 6.x.
Processing happens in
Delivery Controller and
XenApp server and
XenDesktop VMs
Director provides some level
of logon time visibility, but
not the complete picture that
Citrix admins seek
Application launch time and
screen refresh latency are
other key metrics to monitor
Q15 What aspect of Citrix user experience is most important for
you to monitor?
36%
23%
23%
9%
4% 5%
Logon time and breakdown into sub-components Application launch time
Screen refresh latency Network latency to client end points
HDX bandwidths Others
Logon Application Launch Screen Refresh Latency Client Network Latency

1
At 59%, slow logon continues
to top the chart. The trend
continues from 2016.
Other common performance
issues cited by Citrix admins
include:
Q16 What are your most common Citrix performance complaints
from end-users?
17%
18%
25%
28%
33%
38%
44%
59%
Video playback is slow
Screen refresh is slow
Speed of access
Printing problems
User disconnects
Slow application launches
Frozen sessions
Slow logons
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Increase from 52% -
• Slow applications
• Slow sessions
• Corrupt user profiles
• High profile load time
• Issues due to add-ins
• Session start-up failure
2016

1
72% of respondents agree
that proactive monitoring
using synthetic logon
simulation will help
troubleshoot user experience
issues
Given the concerns with
losing benchmarks pre- and
post-migration, logon
simulation tools will help
establish baselines and
identify performance
deviations
Q17 Do you agree that a logon simulation tool will help proactively
detect user experience issues during and after Citrix migration?
72%
6%
22%
Agree
Disagree
Don’t know
Key use cases for a Citrix logon simulation tool include:
• Logon availability and performance testing
• Application availability monitoring
• Application enumeration and launch time tracking
• Ensuring proper functioning of all tiers of the Citrix infrastructure to enable user logon

1
Performance monitoring for
Citrix administration teams
has become increasingly
reactive
86% feel their most critical
need is faster problem
diagnosis and
troubleshooting
There are increasing
concerns about monitoring
Citrix user experience (60%)
Q18 What are the main reasons you deploy performance
monitoring tools for your Citrix infrastructure?
21%
33%
41%
42%
43%
46%
60%
86%
Synthetically testing your infrastructure
even if users are not active
Right-sizing your infrastructure to increase
user density
Providing reports to management on usage
of the infrastructure
Forecasting capacity and planning
Identifying trends and patterns of usage
Historical analysis and troubleshooting of
problems
Proactively tracking user experience issues
before users complain
Troubleshooting and diagnosing problems
quickly
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Troubleshooting and diagnosing
problems quickly
Proactively tracking user experience
issues before users complain
Historical analysis and
troubleshooting of problems
Identifying trends and
patterns of usage
Forecasting capacity and planning
Providing reports to management
on usage of the infrastructure
Right-sizing the infrastructure to
increase user density
Synthetically testing your infrastructure
even if users are not active

1
Key Findings: Citrix Performance Expectations
The biggest concern for Citrix admins is ensuring that applications and desktops work as
expected, and that user experience does not degrade post-migration.
Slow logon continues to be the most common complaint faced by Citrix administrators.
Measuring logon slowness is rated the most important aspect of Citrix user experience.
Performance monitoring is increasingly reactive and admins are constantly in a firefighting
mode. 86% rate faster problem diagnosis and troubleshooting as their most critical need.
A major performance challenge during the migration to XenApp/XenDesktop 7.x is
pinpointing how infrastructure issues are affecting Citrix performance.
Organizations are using too many tools (up to 10 tools) for monitoring their Citrix
infrastructures. 91% agreed that having a single-pane-of-glass monitoring solution would
simplify troubleshooting.
Survey Highlights
5
4
3
2
1

Best Practices for
Successful Migration
to XenApp and
XenDesktop 7.x

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5 Best Practices for Peak Performing Applications & Desktops
During and After Migration to XenApp and XenDesktop 7.x
Analyze capacity needs and right-size the 7.x infrastructure
Benchmark user experience before and after migration
Monitor real user experience continuously
Baseline resource usage patterns for every tier of the Citrix site/farm
Understand dependencies to isolate infrastructure issues affecting
Citrix performance
Free White Paper: 5 Bests Practices to Ensure
Stellar Post-Migration Citrix Performance
DOWNLOAD
WHITE PAPER
www.eginnovations.com/Citrix-Migration-Best-Practices

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Benchmark user experience before and after migration
Before
Migration
After
Migration
XenApp/XenDesktop 6.5 to 7.14
• How is the user experience in the pre-upgrade environment?
• What are the current Demand patterns in the pre-upgrade environment?
• What are the Consumption patterns in the pre-upgrade environment?
• What are the baselines for the pre-upgrade environment for
user/app/OS/infrastructure performance?

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Monitor real user experience continuously
User Logon Experience
Know how user
experience is
impacted
Know when and
where it is
impacted
Real User Experience
Top Users based on
activity and impact on
resources
User Behavior
Application Usage

1
Baseline resource usage patterns for every tier of the Citrix
site/farm
Baseline
Actual Metric
Auto-Baselining
Identify peak demand
and the time of demand
Understand Peak Utilization
Every Layer, of Every Tier – Citrix and non-Citrix
Public | Private | Hybrid Cloud

1
Understand dependencies to isolate infrastructure issues
affecting Citrix performance
End-to-End
Top
to
Bottom
• Monitor the Citrix
XenApp/XenDesktop Service --
not just the servers
• Diagnose problems in a single click
• Detailed insights into Every Layer,
Every Tier

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Analyze capacity needs and right-size the 7.x infrastructure
A few of the servers
are handling most of
the sessions
Performance Optimization
Analyze which tier is
the bottleneck
Bottleneck
Analysis
Predicted FUTURE
performance based on
the past
Forecasting

1
1. eG Enterprise Express Free Logon Simulator
2. eG Service Measurement and Reporting Services
(eG SMARTS)
– Citrix Environment Review
– Pre-migration baseline analysis
– Post-migration baseline analysis
3. eG Enterprise Suite – Free Trial
How We Can Help
IT Services Performance Summary
Findings, Critical Concerns & Recommendations
Trend of the previous month’s issues
Areas of Improvement
Action Items Status

1
72% of Citrix professionals who
view synthetic logon simulation
tools as important for proactively
detecting user experience issues
before and after Citrix
migration/upgrade!
72%
Q&A

1
Thank You!
For more information on Citrix performance monitoring and best
practices for XenApp and XenDesktop migration/upgrade:
www.eginnovations.com | info@eginnovations.com

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