Nobody in his or hers right mind that is responsible for business strategy and continuity is going to select citrix as a strategic partner. That is like betting on a crippled horse for a race.
"Citrix going private means many positive, tangible changes are coming to our customers. With this new structure, the Citrix business unit of Cloud Software Group now has the flexibility and autonomy to focus on our core strength"
Bail out now you still have the change.
Looks like the "leaders" had a fun time with customers, or whoever is left of them, in Napa.. What strategic came out of those meetings?
Hate to break it to TK and SM and whoever else is pushing this "innovation" narrative at CSG, but customers and channel partners are not buying this. The incremental changes (and I'll give credit where credit is due - improvements) to the core products is good, but it's not cutting edge. From the partner side, we've had several current Citrix customers react with at best a "meh" or at worst, asking us to help them figure out a Citrix exit strategy to be completed before their renewal this year. Nobody's biting on the "universal licenses" - there's just not enough value to justify the additional cost. Universal licensing and selling virtual apps and desktops as a unified product/license was what Citrix should have done years ago. Oh well. Gabe Knuth put out a TechTarget article the other day with no less than 11 alternatives to Citrix (and VMware, and MSFT) for addressing remote work. Time will tell if what CSG is doing with Citrix will be enough, or if it was always a way to wring the last profits out of the company before it's scuttled.
...but the Boomers gettin' paid yo!
Citrix always had autonomy. It had to answer to public shareholders (since 1995), same as it has to answer to private owners now. Having autonomy has nothing to do with it. Having strong and brave leadership has everything to do with it. The problem is the same as it always was. Nothing but virtualization. Virtualization, virtualization, virtualization. That's the answer. What was the question?
It's too late now to "change" Citrix. The people in charge of it now (the Business Unit) are the same ones who drove the car into the ditch. Charging customers extra to re-buy their existing licenses and calling it "universal" is a joke.
TK is a bean counter. What the F does he know about innovation? Customer loyalty? Valuing employees? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And customers know this and are not interested in going the long term with CSG, it’s not worth it to deal with company with one foot in the grave. Employee morale is the lowest ever, and if you don’t think that impacts how we represent the company….well, then you’re an id--t bean counter.
Innovation and core strengths to TK refers to ‘putting everyone in India’ and run products for a fraction of the costs …
"focus on our core strength" - I challenge anyone on the leadership team to name just one strength that is likely to keep customers from leaving CSG at their earliest opportunity. The only notable change I see is a guy at the top that's in way over his head.
Autonomy? HAHAHAHA