Citrix and IBM team up on disaster gear
It is typically the case that employees disperse in the immediate aftermath of disaster — they stay with their families, or they cannot get to work, or the company’s facilities are damaged; two companies are jointly developing a product to connect such dispersed employees to each other — and to the company’s back-up data centers
Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based Citrix is partnering with IBM for a business continuity product to be used by workers after natural disasters and other emergencies. The product is code-named Project Kent, and it includes a USB device which works with laptops or other computers to find employees who can no longer work in an office location and to gain access to applications for collaborative efforts. A worker could establish connectivity from wherever a network could be reached after a fire, flood, or some other disruption. Pilot-testing of the Project Kent product will begin next year, says Russ Lindburg, director of business continuity and resiliency services at Big Blue. The Citrix device will be offered as a part of IBM’s Virtual Workplace Continuity Service.
In addition to Project Kent, Citrix has announced its Dynamic Desktop Initiative with twelve business partners, including IBM and several Windows PC and server manufacturers. The dynamic desktop concept allows a company to refresh and manage its desktop PCs from data centers. This can lower management costs and improve performance and flexibility for each user. Citrix announced the move at its annual conference.
-read more in this news release
