Cloud computing vendor, Citrix Systems, has signed a new contract with the University of Adelaide to implement its wide scale desktop virtualisation solution across the university.
As per the agreement, Citrix will provide the university with up to 20,000 desktop virtualisation licenses for an improved student learning experience, greater access to data and applications from any device, and greater asset utilisation.
The University of Adelaide said, in a statement, that it will implement the Citrix XenDesktop, XenServer and NetScaler technologies to enable its students and staff to work more effectively anywhere, any time and on any device.
Its customer and production services acting associate director, Ian Willis, said it inked the deal with Citrix as a result of re-examining its digital infrastructure to adapt to the increasing demand for mobile access to learning applications and information alongside a proliferation in the formats of endpoint devices.
“The university has more than 25,000 students and the ability to provide those students better mobile access to tools is essential. Our IT infrastructure also has to support the thousands of supported PCs across the campus for student use,” he said.
Citrix A/NZ area vice-president, Peter Brockhoff, said that through desktop virtualisation implementations such as this, universities can continue to provide a differentiated learning experience to staff and students alike.
“Citrix is committed to working with tertiary organisations such as the University of Adelaide to reduce the cost and complexity of their existing desktop infrastructures as they continue to adapt to new challenges and opportunities,” Brockhoff said.
Citrix XenDesktop was initially deployed in a 500 license pilot period, while a gradual rollout to the full 20,000 licenses will take place over an expected period of three years.
“The initial rollout of the XenDesktop solution has been successfully managed this semester, with further rollouts to occur over the coming year as we ramp up our adoption of concepts like thin clients and BYOD,” Willis mentioned.
