Monthly Archives: October 2006

Networld Interop 1994 was a real sign that things were looking up for Citrix.  This is where we won not only the Internet category but also the show category from McGraw Hill.  The catalyst was being able to do TCP/IP with WinView and the promise of doing Windows applications across the Internet.  I remember being completely surprised about the win, especially with much bigger players all around us with plenty of Internet solutions (anyone remember Spry’s Internet in a Box? – very clever marketing).

 I’m including pictures of the show guide.  What makes it interesting is that it has one of Citrix’s first ads.  The ad focuses on “Fast Remote Windows” and also includes a tagline that I had forgotten about.  See if you can spot it.

Networld Interop 1994

As you might have guessed by now, I kept a lot of the material for Citrix between 1993 and 1997.  I often wondered what I would do with it all and now there is finally a purpose.

I was just thinking yesterday that this kind of stuff might actually be a bit boring.  Well, it probably is for most people.

I guess I’m posting this stuff so that people that are interested will have a chance to see something that is now very hard to find.

The history of Citrix is obviously tied to its original products.  Our success really came from a number of factors which evolution played a major part.

What we learned in WinView led directly to WinFrame and likewise to MetaFrame.

So, in a way, this type of articles reveal what led to our acceptance in the market.  In this case the focus seems to be on NetWare integration and TCP/IP support.

Here’s the review published on Picasa Web albums:

WinView 2.3 (LAN Times) 1995

I imagine that very few few people would remember what some of the early marketing slogans were.

I only remember them because they were so bad.

Between 1993 and 1995 we had someone running marketing before Mark came.  He was well known for his ability to balance a cup of coffee on a briefcase (as he was carrying it like you would normally) while still managing to have a smoke.  It was an impressive sight with next thought being “why would you bother?”.

Its been so long I don’t remember his name.  He worked for months to come up with a new tagline associated with WinView.

He presented everyone with his new idea:

“Fast Remote Windows”

The common reaction was “I could have come up with that in five minutes”.  It was not very effective for the potential customers and really didn’t explain what we did.

Eventually, we were presented with a “better” slogan.

“Remote Windows That Fly”

It really wasn’t much different than the last one.  I’ve included a picture of the wing of a balsa plane I must have picked up from that era.

 It really wasn’t until Mark Templeton came that our marketing messages started to hit the market well.  It was a long road getting there, but the market finally caught on to what we could do.

Citrix didn’t win the Networking Software category (Microsoft did) but we were one of two finalists.

I’ve included the original article where it mentions WinView and why it was selected.

Also note all the names of the developers.  Not everyone was mentioned at the time, which I remember causing a stir.  It was nice to see our names in lights.

At this point, it was fairly dark in our history.  There was hope with WinView, but we didn’t know if it was enough.  These kind of articles helped to turn the tide.

PCMagazineDec1993

This timeline is based on what is currently at the Citrix web site. It looks to be fairly accurate. I’ve taken the time to get all the years onto one page to take away the annoyance of having to pick one year at a time.

http://www.citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/milestones.asp?myear=1989

1989

• Incorporated in Delaware (April)
• Edward Iacobucci (founder) set up first office in Richardson, Texas
• Microsoft granted Citrix OS/2® license
• Introduced Citrix ICA
• Secured $3 million in first-round venture capital ($1 per share)
• Relocated to Florida (Coral Springs)
• Hired first 5 engineers
• Employees: 18

1990

• $3 million second-round financing secured
• Attended first tradeshow: COMDEX Spring
• Debut of Citrix MULTIUSER OS/2
• Employees: approximately 30

1991

• Shipping of first product: Citrix Multi-User
• $5 million third-round financing secured
• Net revenues: $300,000
• Employees: approximately 40

1992

• Citrix multi-user V.2.0 shipped.
• Licensing agreement with Microsoft for Windows NT Server
• Application access agreement with Novell
• Introduction of A+ Server Series, delivering Netware support
• 650 resellers signed up
• Net revenues: $1.8 million
• Employees: approximately 50

1993

• WinView for Networks shipped
• WinView v.2.2 shipped
• Tech-Data signed as first national distributor
• Launch of Authorized Reseller Program
• Net revenues: $5 million
• Employees: approximately 65

1994

• Five-year anniversary celebration
• WinView v.2.3 and TCP/IP for WinView shipped
• Internet initiative with FTP software
• Networld + Interop: Best of Show for WinView 2.3
• Named to the Industry 100 (Soft*letter)
• Net revenues: $10 million
• Employees: approximately 65

1995

• Launch of Citrix WinFrame
• Tektronix and Wyse became Citrix OEMs
• Launch of the Windows-based Terminal (WBT) concept
• Citrix named remote computing market leader (GartnerGroup)
• IPO Dec. 8; stock opened at $15, closed at $30
• Net Revenues: $14.5 million
• Employees: approximately 80

1996

• Expansion of Citrix WinFrame® product line (WinFrame/Access, WinFrame/Enterprise)
• Ingram-Micro signed as distributor
• Launch of CSN channel program (Citrix Solutions Network™)
• # Citrix ICA agreements with Microsoft (for Internet Explorer) and Sun Microsystems
• Inc. 100: Citrix ranked #18
• Market capitalization: $1.1 billion
• Net revenues: $44 million
• Employees: approximately 146

1997

• Opened new headquarters building in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
• Citrix and Microsoft announced 5-year joint marketing/development and licensing of Citrix MultiWin™ for $175 million
• Datapac acquisition completed; the first acquisition by Citrix which established Citrix’s Pacific sales, marketing and development organization
• Market capitalization: $2.2 billion
• Net Revenues: $123.9 million.
• Employees: approximately 300

1998

• Deloitte & Touche named Citrix one of “Nation’s Fastest Growing Technology Companies”
• Citrix split three-for-two
• Citrix named to Standard & Poor’s MidCap 400 Index
• Citrix ICA surpassed 2 million concurrent ports
• Citrix shipped Citrix MetaFrame application server software
• Development facilities opened in Salt Lake City and Redmond, Wash.
• Citrix hosted “Thinergy”, the first global conference on server-based computing
• Citrix recognized as top growth company by Soft*Letter 100
• Citrix Board of Directors effected two-for-one stock split
• Insignia acquisition completed; started Citrix’s UK based development activities in High Wycombe
• APM acquisition completed; became Citrix’s UK Cambridge based development site
• Market capitalization: $4.428 billion
• Net revenues: $248.6 million
• Employees: approximately 600

1999

• Added to Standard & Poor’s 500 Index
• Citrix stock split two-for-one
• FORTUNE magazine ranked Citrix in top five of 100 fastest-growing companies
• Forbes ASAP: named Citrix “America’s Most Dynamic Software Company”
• Included in FORTUNE’s inaugural e-50 index
• Windows NT Magazine (Australia) named Citrix MetaFrame and Citrix WinFrame® as the products of the year
• Launched Citrix VideoFrame™ 1.0
• Acquisition of ViewSoft, Inc. for Web-based application deployment/management
• Formation of Internet Business Unit – Citrix iBusiness
• Founding member of the Application Service Provider (ASP) Consortium
• First 14 members of Citrix iBusiness ASP program join
• Citrix Developer Network created 3,000 members in 90 days
• 17 consecutive quarters of growth
• Offices: Florida, Utah, Washington, Australia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Switzerland
• Patents: more than 20 registered U.S. patents
• Annual return: 1,425% on one share of Citrix stock (December, 1995 – March, 1999)
• Market capitalization: $11 billion
• Net Revenues: $403.3 million
• Employees: approximately 1,000

2000

• Announcement of subsidiary in India – Citrix Software Limited
• Distribution agreement with Beijing Stone Investment Co. for China market
• Aquisition of Innovex Group to deliver consulting services to channel partners/customers
• Launch of Citrix NFuse Classic application portal software; launch of Citrix MetaFrame 1.8 for Windows 2000 Server; licensing agreements for NFuse Classic signed by corporate portal solution providers: Brio, Corporate Yahoo!, Epicentric, Plumtree, Sequoia, TopTier, Viador
• Launch of Citrix MetaFrame for the Solaris Operating Environment, MetaFrame for the AIX® Operating System and MetaFrame for the HP-UX® Operating System
• Introduction of Citrix Extranet, a VPN solution and the latest addition to Citrix Management Services products
• Launch of Citrix MetaFrame 1.8 Feature Release 1, the first feature release under the new Citrix modular product delivery system
• Citrix iForum™ 2000 conference sold out with 3,200 attendees, 60 percent more than 1999
• Citrix Independent Computing Architecture (ICA®) adopted by 24 million users worldwide; more than six million concurrent user license
• Citrix iBusiness ASP Program passes the 100-member mark; Traver Gruen-Kennedy re-elected chairman of the ASP Industry Consortium
• Training milestones: 18,000 Citrix administrators certified; 250 Citrix Authorized Learning Centers worldwide
• MetaFrame named best ASP enabling technology by Open Systems Advisors (Crossroads 2000 A-List Award)
• BusinessWeek ranked Citrix 29th out of 100 “Hot Growth Companies” and 6th best performing company in BusinessWeek 50, March 27th edition
• Citrix named #27 in FORTUNE’s 100 Fastest-Growing Companies list
• Citrix named to Deloitte & Touche “Fast 500” for 4th consecutive year
• Stock split two-for-one
• Employees: approximately 1,350
• Net Revenues: $470.4 million

2001

• Microsoft and EMC joined Citrix Business Alliance™
• Citrix Independent Computing Architecture (ICA®) adopted by 35 million users worldwide; more than nine million concurrent user licenses
• 95 percent of Financial Times FT 100 use Citrix
• Acquisition of Sequoia Software to extend virtual workplace vision
• Launch of Citrix MetaFrame XP™ for Windows
• Launch of Feature Release 1 for MetaFrame XP and MetaFrame for UNIX®
• Launch of Citrix Secure Gateway
• Citrix NFuse software named the best corporate portal product by Open Systems Advisors (Crossroads A-List Award)
• Citrix won CMP XChange Xcellence Award for “Best Web Program/Strategy”
• Citrix MetaFrame XP and NFuse won Excellence in Technology award at Gartner’s Midsize Enterprise Summit
• Citrix won “Best of Breed 2001” award from Computerweek South Africa
• Employees: approximately 1,900
• Net revenues: $591.6 million

2002

• Citrix® and Microsoft® signed agreement giving Citrix access to key Windows® server operating systems code
• Citrix named Microsoft Global Gold Certified Partner
• Citrix established Center of Excellence for SAP in Walldorf, Germany
• Launch of Citrix MetaFrame XP™ FR 2
• Launch of Citrix NFuse® Elite access portal server
• Citrix opens offices in Malaysia and Korea
• Citrix and IBM agree to collaborate on server consolidation solutions
• 95 percent of Fortune 500 use Citrix; 100 of Fortune 100 use Citrix
• Citrix won 2002 Pinnacle Technology Award as best established technology company in Florida
• Citrix won Midsize Enterprise Innovation Award for vision of virtual workplace
• Citrix named to KM World Magazine’s “100 Companies that Matter in Knowledge Management”

2003

• Citrix signed definitive agreement to acquire Expertcity, Inc.
• Introduction of Citrix Certified Integration Architect™ certification
• Citrix® MetaFrame® Access Suite won the VARBusiness Tech Innovators Choice Award in the Infrastructure category
• Microsoft selected Citrix as its first ever Global Independent Software Vendor Partner of the Year
• Citrix MetaFrame Access Suite won the Midsize Enterprise Innovation Award for Best Manufacturing Solution
• Launch of Citrix Password Manager
• Citrix launched first global advertising and branding campaign
• Citrix® MetaFrame® Conferencing Manager won Windows & .NET Magazine’s “Best of Show” Award at Tech Ed 2003
• SAP customers gave Citrix a Member’s Choice Top 25 Gold Star Award for greatest positive impact on SAP deployments
• Citrix supported the Microsoft® Windows® Server 2003 launch as a Platinum sponsor
• Launch of Citrix® MetaFrame XP™ Presentation Server, Feature Release 3
• Launch of Citrix MetaFrame® Conferencing Manager
• Citrix was awarded a U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule, allowing Federal agencies to purchase Citrix solutions
• Citrix announced the MetaFrame Access Suite of products and MetaFrame Secure Access Manager, the first product in the suite
• MetaFrame software is used by nearly 50 million people worldwide
• Two new members named to Citrix Board of Directors: Tom Bogan, president and COO of Rational Software, and Gary Morin, executive vice president and CFO for Lexmark International
• Citrix won 2003 Crossroads A-List Award for NFuse® Elite as best portal for the mid-sized enterprise
• Net revenues of $588.6 million.

2004

• Citrix signed a five-year agreement with Microsoft Corporation enabling Citrix to deliver more comprehensive access solutions on the Windows® platform and improve the access capabilities available in forthcoming version of Windows Server™ codenamed “Longhorn”
• Net6 Inc. acquisition completed
• Citrix GoToMyPC® won a Readers’ Choice Award from Windows IT Pro for Best Remote Control Product
• PC World named Citrix GoToMyPC to “Best of 2004” product list
• Citrix won two awards at Gartner’s EnterpriseVision 2004 event: Best Alliance Strategy and Best Enterprise Vendor
• Launch of Citrix® MetaFrame® Secure Access Manager 2.2
• Citrix GoToMyPC wins PC Magazine, CNET and PC World Awards
• Citrix GoToAssist™ wins TMC Labs and Customer Interaction Solutions Magazine Awards
• Citrix GoToMeeting™ previews at IDG’s DEMO event with the power to transform online meetings
• Expertcity acquisition completed
• Introduction of Citrix accessPARTNER Network
• Net revenues of $741 million

2005

• NetScaler Inc. acquisition completed
• Announced Citrix Access Essentials™, Citrix’s first product specifically developed, packaged and priced for small and midsized businesses
• Announced Citrix Access Suite™ 4.0 which includes Citrix Presentation Server™ 4.0, Citrix Password Manager™ 4.0 and the new Citrix Access Gateway™ 4.0, an SSL VPN appliance
• Citrix GoToMeeting™ Corporate named Editors’ Choice in Web Conferencing by PC Magazine
• CRN named two Citrix executives “Channel Chiefs”
• Citrix appoints new directors to its board of directors – Murray Demo, EVP and CFO for Adobe Systems and Godfrey Sullivan, president and CEO for Hyperion Solutions Corp.
• CEO Mark Templeton awarded Excalibur Award for excellence in business and community leadership
• Presentation Server won Editor’s Choice Award from Network Computing
• Net revenues of $909 million
• Citrix Access Gateway appliance named Product of the Year by SearchNetworking
• Internet Telephony’s Product of the Year Awards, 2005: Application Gateway was chosen as a Product of the Year
• Microsoft Global ISV Partner of the Year
• Teros, Inc. acquisition completed
• Citrix positioned in the Leaders Quadrant of the most recent Gartner Inc. Application Delivery Products Magic Quadrant Report
• Citrix positioned by Gartner, Inc. in the “visionary” quadrant in the “Magic Quadrant for SSL VPN, North America, 3Q05” report

2006

• Reflectent Software, Inc. acquisition completed
• Launched Citrix® GoToMyPC® 5
• Citrix announced an extension of its Access Gateway SSL VPN product line with the new Citrix Access Gateway™ Enterprise Edition
• Citrix announced the release of the Citrix® NetScaler® Application Firewall Standard Edition, a new version of Web application firewall designed specifically for midsized enterprises and business units within large companies
• Launched Citrix® GoToWebinar™; the first do-it-yourself affordable way for anyone to conduct online events
• Orbital Data Corp. acquisition completed
• Microsoft and Citrix expand partnership to improve application access and address branch office complexity
• Launched Citrix® WANScaler™ 8000 series of wide area network optimization solutions

Anil Roychoudhry has just written a great writeup on how the Seamless feature began.

Anil was one of the original Datapac developers and is now a manager within the Sydney site for Citrix.

http://citrite.org/blogs/anilr/2006/10/20/history-of-seamless/

I highly recommend this article to find out how Seamless was created.

I just found this by accident.  It is a phone list from March 4, 1996 for Citrix employees.  Not only is it the correct spellings for everyone but it also is a good indication of the size of the company at that time.  Note that the second and third columns are really just the same names sorted by last and first names.  Even at that time it was impressive that we still fit on one sheet.

If you click on the link below you will be taken to Picasa Web Albums which will allow you to zoom in and find names.  These numbers are no longer valid since it was based on the 210 University site.

Brad sent me a copy of the original employee list with ID numbers. I thought it would be good to share it here. This was the list of employees as of November 5th, 1990.

Original Employee List (with numbers)

Thanks to Mark Blackledge for helping me fill in some missing names.