Business today is all about mobility; companies must provide the resources necessary to maintain productivity and continuity, no matter where business may have to be conducted. Twenty-first century companies demand `no compromise` business access. This is a key theme to be addressed at Citrix iForum 2002 Africa, to be held at Vodaworld on 23 July.
In the US, for example, only one-third of enterprise employees work in their corporate headquarters or branch offices. Seven million people are full-time telecommuters who work from home, while the same number of "road warriors" travel each day.
The South African mobile workforce may be a lot smaller by comparison, but it definitely exits - and is growing fast.
"In the virtual workplace created by business mobility, organisations rely on local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), the Internet, wired and wireless connections, as well as server-based applications and information. They must use these resources to expand opportunities and ensure continuous operation. And they must do it without compromising performance or security," says Nick Black, Systems Engineer at Citrix Systems SA, the local office of Citrix Systems, Inc, a global leader in application serving and portal software and services.
Explains Black: "For mobility to be effective, everyone in the organisation -from people at head office to workers on the road and staff in branch sites - must have fast, reliable, real-time access to the same resources. And for mobility to reach its full potential, application and information access must break free from wire line connections."
According to Black, wireless access can make information and applications available anywhere. Wireless access means employees can remain productive anywhere because it helps them avoid disruptions. And it can make a company`s IT investment more valuable because it enhances and extends the functionality of the organisation`s existing wired network infrastructure.
Black emphasises: "With workforce mobility solutions from Citrix Systems, efficient wireless access can be achieved. Citrix application serving software enables you to provide a disparate and mobile workforce with secure, real-time connectivity - inside and outside the firewall.
"Furthermore, Citrix`s solutions offer proven architecture that can deliver your existing applications to wireless devices - today. It provides a seamless, reliable user experience, enhancing IT and end-user productivity."
He says: "Whether the need is business-to-employee connections that provide database access via notebook PCs, business-to-business access delivering inventory management via tablet devices or business-to-consumer initiatives that enable personal banking via PDA, everything in a wireless network must work seamlessly.
"Your ideal mobile communications solution will provide the performance, functionality, manageability and security of next-generation technology today."
Black points out that with Citrix solutions, everybody can access the same applications from a standard web browser, whether they are in the office, at customer sites or working from home.
"All mobile users are able to access a Web browser using a GSM network, and when they have logged on to the application portal, they have access to all resources, applications and information in real-time. In this way, wasted time turns into productive time by allowing real-time access to mission-critical applications, regardless of location or available bandwidth - a very relevant issue for bandwidth-starved South African businesses, particularly," he highlights.
"Furthermore, true wireless solutions built on a server-based infrastructure can boost customer satisfaction and decrease costs. By allowing users mobile access to enterprise applications and information, companies can improve processes such as inventory and supply chain management by providing the necessary tools on a customer site.
"Server-based computing allows you to develop a virtual workplace, which is not confined to a single geographic location, device or means of communication - a workplace that has been tailored to the individual requirements of the user, wherever he or she might be," he concludes.
To register at Citrix iForum Africa, go to www.citrixiforumafrica.co.za or call (011) 452-4693.
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Citrix iForum Africa is the IT conference of the year for anyone looking for an opportunity to learn how business access software and access portal technology are beneficial to the enterprise.
The conference will feature over 15 tracks, ideal for network managers, systems engineers, CIOs and senior decision makers. The tracks will provide in-depth technical focus and demonstrations on how specific technical issues can be overcome. Other tracks will illustrate the business benefits that can be gained by implementing Citrix technology, with an emphasis on customer participation.
Citrix
Citrix Systems, Inc is a global leader in virtual workplace software and services that provide access to applications, information, processes and people on any device, over any network, anywhere, anytime. Citrix makes today`s digital office completely virtual - instead of having to go to your office, the office follows you. Working with the world`s top industry, integration and consulting partners, Citrix delivers enterprise-ready solutions to business challenges including application deployment, remote office connectivity, workforce mobility and business continuity. More than 120 000 companies worldwide use Citrix Solutions for the Virtual Workplace to give users more mobility, give IT organizations more flexibility and reduce the cost of computing.
Citrix offers two families of products that enable virtual access to information: Application Server software, including MetaFrame XP, MetaFrame for Windows and MetaFrame for Unix; and Access Portal software, including NFuse(r) Elite and NFuse Classic. The company markets its products through a well-established indirect channel comprising more than 7 000 resellers, integrators and consultants. In fiscal 2001, the company had net revenues of $591.6 million. Citrix is traded on the Nasdaq Stock MarketSM under the symbol CTXS, and is part of the Standard and Poor`s 500 Index. Citrix is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. For more information, please visit the Citrix Web site at http://www.citrix.com.
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