Citrix Systems
Citrix Systems, Inc. is an American multinational cloud computing and virtualization technology company that provides server, application and desktop virtualization, networking, software as a service (SaaS), and cloud computing technologies. Citrix products were claimed to be in use by over 400,000 clients worldwide, including 99% of the Fortune 100, and 98% of the Fortune 500.[2]
Not to be confused with Cyrix.Company type
Nasdaq: CTXS (1995–2022)
1989 in Richardson, Texas, U.S.
Worldwide
Tom Krause
(CEO)
Application Delivery Industry, Virtualization software (DaaS), SaaS, cloud, and networking
US$3.22 billion (2021)
US$237 million (2021)
US$307 million (2021)
US$6.98 billion (2021)
US$547 million (2021)
9,700 (December 2021)
Citrix was founded in Richardson, Texas, in 1989 by Ed Iacobucci, who served as chairman until his departure in 2000. It began by developing remote access products for Microsoft operating systems, licensing source code from Microsoft, and has been in partnership with microsoft throughout its history. By the 1990s, Citrix became an industry leader in thin client technology, enabling purpose-built devices to access remote servers and resources. The company launched its first initial public offering in 1995 and, with few competitors, experienced significant revenue increases between 1995 and 1999.
Citrix acquired Sequoia Software Corp. in 2001 and ExpertCity, a provider of remote desktop products, in 2003. This was followed by more than a dozen other acquisitions from 2005 to 2012, which allowed Citrix to expand into the server and desktop virtualization, cloud computing, infrastructure as a service, and software as a service markets. In 2014, Citrix acquired Framehawk and used its technology to improve the delivery of virtual desktops and applications over wireless networks. In 2016, as part of a US$1.8 billion product deal with LogMeIn, Citrix spun off the GoTo product line into a new business entity, entitled GetGo. In 2017, Citrix completed the merger of GetGo with LogMeIn's products.
Citrix is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with subsidiary operations in California and Massachusetts, and additional development centers in Canada, Denmark, Germany, India, and the United Kingdom. In 2021, Citrix generated $3.2 billion in revenue and had 9,700 employees.[1]
Following the completion of the acquisition by Vista Equity Partners and Evergreen Coast Capital Corp on September 30, 2022, Citrix merged with TIBCO Software under the newly formed Cloud Software Group.[3] Citrix spun off the re-branded Citrix ADC back into a standalone entity NetScaler under the same parent.[4]
Operations[edit]
A ten-member board of directors governs Citrix.[67] Citrix has headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with two more US based offices in California and North Carolina.[68][69] Citrix has research and development centers located in the U.S., Australia, India, Japan, Greece,[70][71] and the United Kingdom.[72]
Citrix licenses its services and products directly to clients, including IT professionals, SMEs, and through companies called value-added resellers, that resell the products and services after adding additional features.
Citrix was publicly traded under the ticker symbol CTXS.[73] In 2020, the company ranked 779 on the Fortune 1000 and 1,267 on Forbes Global 2000.[74][75] In 2019, Citrix generated $3.01 billion in revenue.[76]
On January 31, 2022, it was announced that Citrix had been acquired in a $16.5 billion deal by affiliates of Vista Equity Partners and Evergreen Coast Capital. The all-cash acquisition will see Citrix merge with TIBCO, a Vista portfolio company. It has already been reported that Citrix will go private through this deal.[77][78]
Corporate responsibility[edit]
The company's philanthropic activities include corporate giving—such as corporate donations of in-kind gifts—and employee match programs.[99][100] In addition, Citrix employees are allowed to take two paid volunteer days each year and participate in the company's annual "Global Day of Impact"—an event that encourages Citrix employees to volunteer in their local communities.[101][102][103]
Citrix has provided business training to non-profit teams near its Fort Lauderdale headquarters. In particular, the company helped a local non-profit organization launch a computer on wheels to offer training to low-income neighborhoods. In 2007, the company connected a Broward County, Florida, area with Agogo, Ghana, through donated technology and training.[104] Furthermore, the company's Raleigh office began a program called "Project Code" in 2014, which leads south from local Boys & Girls Clubs through coding exercises and teaches them about computer science.[105]
In addition to its philanthropic activities, Citrix has donated some of its open-source technology to non-profit software organizations to continue its development and gain more contributors. Citrix gave Cloudstack to the Apache Foundation in 2012 and Xen hypervisor to the Linux Foundation in 2013.[106][107]