Citrix Online

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Citrix Online
Type Subsidiary
Founded 1989
Headquarters Santa Barbara, California
Key people Brett Caine, President; Bernardo de Albergaria, Vice President and General Manager, Global Marketing and eCommerce; Scott Allen, Vice President, Finance and Operations, Elizabeth Cholawsky, Vice President, Products and Client Services; Bernd Oliver Christiansen, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer; Justin Madison, Vice President, Engineering and Operations; Mike Mansbach, Vice President and General Manager, Global Sales and Field Marketing; Malte Muenke, Vice President and Chief Architect
Industry Software
Products Thin Client Software, Remote Access, Online Collaboration and Web Conferencing, Remote Support
Website http://www.citrixonline.com

Citrix Online is a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CTXS) that sells Web-based remote access, support, and collaboration software and services. Its products are GoToAssist, GoToMeeting, GoToMyPC, and GoToWebinar.

Citrix Online is considered a key example of the software as a service/application service provider software business model.[1][2]

The division is based in Santa Barbara, California.

Contents

[edit] History

Expertcity, Inc. was founded in 1997 by UCSB Professor Klaus Schauser and graduate students Bernd Oliver Christiansen and Malte Muenke.[3] Investors included Sun Microsystems, ZDNet, Bertelsmann Ventures, and Wit Capital.[4]

The company went live with a Web-based marketplace for technical support services, called Expertcity, in December, 1999.[5] A user of the service would submit a technical support question through a simple webform and receive Dutch auction bids from online experts to resolve the problem.[6] Upon selecting one of the experts, the user would be connected to him via a chat interface and, optionally, via desktop sharing, whereby the expert could see the user's screen and remotely control the user's mouse and keyboard. This "remote desktop" technology formed the kernel of Citrix Online's later products.

Expertcity discontinued their support marketplace service on January 1, 2002 by transferring it to Tech24, Inc.[7] Tech24 subsequently phased out the service and transitioned to phone-based support.

The remote desktop technology behind the support marketplace enabled additional products. June 2000 saw the debut of DesktopStreaming (now GoToAssist), a corporate product that lets companies use desktop sharing for technical support between their own customers and support representatives.[8] GoToMyPC, which allows a user to remotely access his or her own desktop, followed in early 2001.

In 2003, Citrix Systems acquired Expertcity,[9] then a major player in Web-based desktop access, in a transaction valued at approximately $225 million in cash and stock. Expertcity became the Citrix Online division of Citrix and retained many of the key developers of the original company.

At the time of the acquisition, Expertcity was developing GoToMeeting, a product that uses the remote desktop engine to allow multiple users to view and control a single desktop, enabling both collaborative support and collaborative presentations. In 2006, Citrix Online adapted GoToMeeting to support the growing market for Web-based training and Web-based seminars. The resulting GoToWebinar product allows up to 1000 attendees to view a single seminar and join in a phone conference.

[edit] Products

[edit] Current

  • GoToAssist (formerly DesktopStreaming) — services for businesses to facilitate remote technical support
  • GoToMeeting — collaboration and meetings with up to 15 attendees
  • GoToMyPC — remote desktop access for individuals and small and medium enterprises
  • GoToWebinar — training and seminars with up to 1000 attendees

[edit] Discontinued

  • BuddyHelp — desktop sharing for individuals to facilitate remote technical support
  • ExpertLive (formerly Expertcity) — technical support marketplace

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Vizard, Michael. "Citrix Commissions Partners For Software-As-A-Service", CRN, August 05, 2005
  2. ^ "Software-as-a-Service: HyperGrowth Model or Hype?", DM Review, April 23, 2007
  3. ^ Citrix Online management team
  4. ^ "Expertcity.com Secures $30 Million in Latest Round of Funding from Sun Microsystems, ZDNet, Bertelsmann Ventures and Wit Capital's Arista Capital Partners, LP", Expertcity press release, December 2, 1999
  5. ^ Schwartz, Ephraim. "Start-Ups to Put Tech-Support Services Up for Bid", Computerworld, May 1, 2000
  6. ^ Review of Expertcity.com, DisabledPerson.com
  7. ^ "Expertcity Transfers Its Award-Winning ExpertLive Marketplace for Services to Tech24, Inc.", Expertcity press release, December 17, 2001
  8. ^ "Expertcity.com’s DesktopStreaming Success Leads to Launch of New ASP Division", Expertcity press release, June 28, 2000
  9. ^ "Citrix to Acquire Expertcity, Leader in Web-Based Desktop Access with GoToMyPC and GoToAssist", Citrix press release, December 18, 2003