Citrix Acquires Cedexis and CloudJumper Acquires IndependenceIT

On February 12, Citrix announced that it has acquired Cedexis, a Portland-based leader in the Internet traffic management space. On February 13, CloudJumper, a Workspace as a Service (WaaS) provider, announced that it has purchased IndependenceIT, a purpose-built virtualization platform for service providers. The specific details of each were not disclosed; however, both acquisitions are complete.

Citrix and Cedexis

Citrix is fast-forwarding to the cloud, and the new Cedexis acquisition is focused on software-defined application delivery that incorporates cloud metrics. Cedexis leverages crowdsourced data to consolidate information and make automated decisions based on these real-time data points. Because enterprises spread their apps and data over a multitude of data centers, cloud providers, and networks, knowing the operational status of each is critical for optimizing performance and cost, as well as assuring the best user experience.

Users don’t know and don’t care what happens behind the scenes when they click on an application. They just expect the application to open and perform well. However, that doesn’t always happen because the application may be hosted primarily in one data center and data in numerous locations, and failover or bursting may be hosted by one or more cloud providers. All of these locations and the networks that connect them create a maze of complexity, and injecting automation based on real-time data points can clearly provide significant improvements.

As an analogy, Cedexis Radar functionality takes the concept of the Waze app to a whole new level. Rather than just using crowdsourced input to determine the fastest way to get from Point A to Point B—including a heads up about traffic, congestion, or hurdles in the road—it automates getting there based on myriad data points.

But that’s not all. Cedexis includes a full suite of software-defined application delivery products, including Openmix, which focuses on software-defined global traffic management and will likely take the NetScaler Global Server Load Balancing to a whole new level, and Netscope, which focuses on optimizing the end user experience.

Why is this announcement so exciting? Citrix has hinted that the Cedexis acquistion will be part of the new Citrix Analytics, but the integration and data-sharing aspects have yet to be announced. Certainly the automation that can be achieved based on the extensive data points holds great potential.

To take it one step further, Citrix defines this acquisition as a differentiator of the “secure digital perimeter approach,” meaning that the intelligent traffic management is also beneficial from a security standpoint. After all, this extensive data would make it easier to distinguish valid anomalies from issues that require immediate attention.

It’s also notable that Citrix has dramatically slowed down its rate of acquisitions. Over a year has passed since Unidesk and Norskale were acquired, and those technologies are still in the process of being properly integrated. However, the Cedexis acquisition solidifies Citrix’s march to the cloud.

CloudJumper and IndependenceIT

Prior to this acquisition, CloudJumper and IndependenceIT had worked together under a partnership arrangement since 2014. With this acquisition, IndependenceIT will become part of CloudJumper, rather than operating as a subsidiary. As such, CloudJumper can offer its customers the full suite of workspace services from one vendor instead of having them seek management and administrative services from CloudJumper and software/platform services from IndependenceIT.

CloudJumper, formerly known as nGenx, was a pioneer in the virtualization service provider model, and its long-term management comprises well-seasoned leaders. Prior to 2014, nGenx had been closely aligned with Citrix and was honored with the Partner Visionary Award in January 2014. However, in late 2014, IndependenceIT became the base technology for providing services to customers.

So, what does the acquisition mean? Rather than focusing solely on the infrastructure or managed services, the new combined offerings will simplify the management, administration, and/or maintenance of a virtualized environment; the customer can choose the pertinent services. The new and improved CloudJumper takes virtualization one step further by creating a unified “one-stop shop” for workspace services.

Continued Growth

While Citrix and CloudJumper are competitiors in providing workspace services, each is growing and expanding its portfolio to meet customer requirements and demands. These acquisitions are paving the way for the new and innovative solutions to meet market demands.