Monthly Archives: November 2006

The Reluctant Messenger

Posted on November 25, 2006 | 3 Comments

You know the story. A leader in anger will kill the messenger of bad news. However, I believe there is more to the story. Often you find that the messenger takes pleasure in bringing bad news in the hope of tearing something apart and getting some twisted pleasure of seeing things fall into a heap.

A reluctant messenger will want to avoid the wrath and keep his job. If you think about it, how could it be any other way?

And yet, in our modern blogging world (sort of like email broadcasting), it is possible to send volumes of negative feedback with little worry about reprecussion. The exception to this is if you have done so anonymously and have been detected. Or maybe you work for the company that you are complaining about.

Again, it is pretty obvious, isn’t it?

Anyways, I’ve been thinking about this for some time and I’ve come to the realization that it only helps to complain when you actually can and will do something about it. In other words, you can’t just talk about whatever it is, you have to be prepared to step up and actually follow through with action to correct the situation.

And, of course, this is where it gets difficult.

How can I change something so big? With so many people involved, surely you need a captain to steer the ship.

I’ve come to the conclusion that the only way to create positive change is to:

  • Worry primarily about those things you do have responsibility for
  • Only give advice to the people in charge if they are receptive to feedback
  • Stop complaining and more doing
  • Find a way to lead by example
  • Instead of waiting for approval, assume that you will eventually get approval
  • Work as a team with similar goals and thoughts (this does not mean clones)
  • Form a vision for yourself and sell it if it applies to others

Okay, that was a bit hokey. The point is that I have been struggling with changing things for years. I really do miss how easy change was during the early days of Citrix but I must accept that we are a much larger boat now and that I have to work with how that boat moves instead of trying to force the boat in the direction that I want it to go.

The point of this particular blog is to state that I’m looking for another way to bring about change within Citrix. I am going to assume that you have opinions about changing Citrix as well.

Why not take a chance and voice what you’d like to see change for the company?

What is your message?


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Posted in Citrix Future

Office Space

Posted on November 24, 2006 | 2 Comments

It is common knowledge among programmers that the movie OfficeSpace is just a bit too close to the truth. The cubicles are small, the programmers are fidgety, and the management is… well, just management.

During my time at IBM it sometimes felt like I was in a Dilbert cartoon. The funny thing is that most other people that I have worked with can relate to this idea.

A few posts ago I begged for someone to get me some pictures of 210 University (the second Citrix location during 1990 to 1997). You can imagine how surprised I was to find these very pictures in some old photo albums I have here in Australia. Don’t ask why I kept them and especially don’t ask why I took them in the first place. I do know, but am not willing to confess.

Thanks to Picasa, I’m sharing them here. Click on the below picture to see the collection.

The first picture is of my cubicle (with a view) at 210 University. Obviously it was a night shot so you can’t see the view. Being on the 7th floor, it was pretty good. This picture was taken in December 1996 right before the move to Ft Lauderdale. You can actually see the moving stickers on the furniture.

In the collection, there are also pictures of the new office. Not that exciting I admit.

The pictures I like the most are the ones of the actual 210 University building. These pictures start from the back parking lot and work up to the main entrance. Seems like old times.

I really didn’t enjoy this move to tell you the truth. It signalled growth but it also meant the end of the fairly tight Citrix family. I had rallied to have us move up to Boca Raton instead of Ft Lauderdale to take over parts of the IBM campus (which IBM abandoned around 1995). Looking back it would have been easier for Citrix to grow in the Boca area than where it is now. It could have had its own campus in similar beginnings to Redmond. I digress..

The good news was that each employee got their own office when they moved. It was quite a luxury. It was also the first time that we took over an entire building (I can’t remember its address).

I only stayed at the new offices for around two months. I boarded a plane on February 19, 1997 for Australia and never returned. I left everything in the office behind. I heard later that the vultures decended once I announced I wasn’t coming back. No, it was my plan to come back but it just didn’t happen. Even I was surprised to decide not coming back. Things in Australia were just too good. :)

Since being here, I have heard many times stories of men and women from overseas moving to Australia to marry their Australian partners. Makes you wonder what is going on. Sometimes you hear the opposite story where an Australian man or woman will move to places like America or the UK, but I swear it seems to be about ten times more likely that the future partners come to Australia. I digress again…

I hope you enjoy what I would consider fairly rare Citrix pictures. If you happen to be an old time Citrix employee and have old pictures, please forward them to me. I promise to return them when I’m done. :)

Office


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Posted in Citrix History, Favourite

1992 Microsoft Alliance Agreement

Posted on November 21, 2006 | Leave a comment

The agreement with Microsoft affirmed Citrix’s and Microsoft’s commitment to building a multiuser NT system in 1992.  Looking back, this was a very pivotal decision for both companies to work together on the NT code base.

At the time, Citrix was firmly commited to doing Multiuser OS/2 so this was a very large strategic change.  This would have been due in part to the rift between Microsoft and IBM on OS/2 and also the realization that NT would eventually own the future of high end computing.

Quotes from press release:

“We have worked closely with Citrix to assure that its expertise in multiuser operating environments meshes with our existing and future systems software products,” said Paul Maritz, senior vice president of Microsoft’s Systems Division.  “We expect Citrix to play a key role in providing multiuser and network extension capabilities complementary to new releases of Microsoft Server products.”

“Working with Microsoft, Citrix will be an important player in the future of personal computer and workstation operating systems,” said Edward E. Iacobucci, Citrix chairman.  “This agreement with the world’s leader in microcomputer software clearly demonstrates the quality and effectivelness of the Citrix team and technology.”

I’m including the original scanned in document on Picasa Web Albums:

Microsoft Alliance Agreement 1992


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Posted in Citrix History

1996 Holiday Party

Posted on November 14, 2006 | Leave a comment

This was the last party I attended with Citrix while still in America.  In February of 1997 I was off to Australia.

I’m surprised I still have material about this event.  I remember that the yacht was massive and that it just managed to hold the employees of that time.  I can remember Roger and Ed greeting people as they got on the yacht and also that everyone was dressed extremely well.  This was the golden age of the small version of Citrix coming from very humble beginnings.

Here’s more information about the yacht.

The photo album is pretty interesting.  Everyone is dressed up and there is a fair sampling of the people I knew at the party.  I also included the original invitation just to capture an idea of how big Citrix was at the time and how it celebrated. 

Company Holiday Party 1996

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Posted in Citrix History

Citrix Backgrounder 1992

Posted on November 10, 2006 | Leave a comment

Some of the oldest documents I have about Citrix come from my interview folder when I interviewed in December 1992.

Essentially someone went and found the best brochures and documents of the time in the hopes of convincing interview candidates that Citrix was a real company with a real future.

This document sums up where Citrix was in late 1992.  It is interesting reading and I think it shows that the roots of what Citrix is runs pretty deep.

Please let me know if reading it with the web albums works okay for you.

I’m considering translating some of these documents into PDF format.  The only issue becomes where to host it.

Citrix Backgrounder 1992

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Posted in Citrix History

In the Spirit of Innovation

Posted on November 6, 2006 | 6 Comments

As you may already know, Citrix has an internal program for gathering product ideas from employees. In a previous post, I asked for customers to submit ideas so that I could forward these ideas into the product ideas database. The good news is that two of you (Alexander and Simon Bramfitt) submitted ideas that are now officially being reviewed.

I have not yet heard back any news but that is to be expected since I only submitted them in the last couple of weeks.

The reason for submitting this post is fairly simple. I want to gather some interest in helping Citrix define what products customers want the most. It can range from fairly simple improvements all the way up to totally new product lines. Citrix is much more receptive to this kind of feedback recently and it really is a great time to speak up.

Our original Citrix history is full of examples of listening to customers to make a greater impact on the market. It is often the last 5% of work that makes all the difference to everyone involved. Sometimes it just takes a few more bits of things added to truly make a highly successful product.

From my own perspective, I’m excited to have the chance again to reach out on the web to have a better understanding of what people are looking for. I must admit that keeping customers happy can be a very rewarding experience. It is even better when people are surprised with the level of service and their expectations have been surpassed.

The area I’m most interested in right now is related to the current PortICA project. Instead of just saying an open ended question, I’ll instead focus on more specific questions:

  • Does having ICA be hosted in XP instead of Windows 2003 have value for you? If so, why?
  • What kind of features from Presentation Server do you consider the most valuable on Windows XP desktops?
  • Do you use RDP to Windows XP today and are you unhappy with any of its features (or lack thereof)?
  • Are you interested in supporting more graphically intensive applications like OpenGL remotely on XP?
  • Are you a believer in any current desktop initiative (DVI, VDI, DDI) and what makes it so compelling?
  • What is your biggest issues with Presentation Server that might be solved with ICA on XP?
  • Do you have any plans to push desktops using virtualization software like VMware?

You obviously don’t need to answer all of these questions. Pick the ones you like the most. Please leave feedback and I promise to share it with the PortICA group.


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Posted in Citrix Future, Citrix Ideas

Where are they now?

Posted on November 4, 2006 | 2 Comments

Over the years, many of the original Citrix employees have left and found other jobs or ventures. Some of these people I have located again.

Probably the most concentrated new venture I have found so far is mVisible. It is not far from Ft. Lauderdale and boasts a wide selection of former Citrix talent. The leaders of the company come straight from old Citrix engineering. I have worked closely with both Bill Madden and Scott Kinnear even before working at Citrix. Scott I met in 1986 and Bill in 1989 at IBM Boca Raton. Their project is to make ringtones based on music that you already own. I’ve heard through the grapevine that it is a very good market. Others at mVisible include George Vanderhoof, Charlene Cummins, and Kurt Perry. It is impressive to see this much ex-Citrix talent in one place. Myk Willis is the founder and CTO and I even heard that the business was first started at his house. If you want to find out more about what mVisible is about, please read here.

Another place which has attracted a lot of attention is DayJet. Ed Iacobucci is the CEO and given that he is the founder of Citrix carries much weight. His venture is to put together an airline based on “Per-Seat, On-Demand” jet service. It is an innovative idea which would allow business flyers to get straight to their destination without having to charter a whole plane. It is driven by clever scheduling software developed by some of the original Citrix engineers. It certainly is not a totally ex-Citrix shop but it still has a few old timer names. Vicky Harris, Erich Stellar, and Ed Janeczek all work at DayJet. Each of these people played a major role in early Citrix development.

Even as early as 1993, there were ex-Citrix people working on new projects. Greg Gruse, Mike Hines, and Glen Hamblin all left to work on a project to dynamically record music CDs in conjunction with Blockbuster Video. The venture never caught on due to the record industry not releasing the right to sell music this way.

Probably one of the more famous old timers is Al Chechetka (sp?). AlC (as he was known) was in the early test department and had a certain way of looking at things. Not long before he left (1994?) he told all of us that he was going to the Australian Outback to find himself. Most of us thought this was pretty funny. Just a few years later I left Citrix to live in Australia. A few of us have joked that I took the trip that AlC never took.

AlC, if you are there, drop me a line. At the very least, correct my incorrect spelling of your last name. :)

In fact, any of you old Citrix people that read this blog, please let me know what you are up to now. I’m also curious to find certain bits of information like:

  • The last names and correct spelling for people on the oldest employee list that are missing
  • A more expansive list of employees (up to around 1996) with numbers
  • Any interesting stories (Help me out GeorgeV!)
  • Any pictures of the old building at 210 University
  • Any pictures between 1989 and 1996 of Citrix people/events

That should be enough for now.

Thanks

Update April 24, 2011 DayJet is now out of business. mVisible is better known as Myxer.

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Posted in Citrix History

Back to the Citrix Future

Posted on November 3, 2006 | 1 Comment

If you had told me in 1993 that in the year 2006 we would be a 3000 employee company with close to $1B in revenue, I don’t think I would have believed you. I would have especially disbelieved you the week that they told us there might not be enough money to pay us that pay cycle (http://citrixblogger.org/2006/09/12/early-citrix-history/).

But, here we are and we are certainly a different company than 1993.

In this post, instead of focusing on the past, I’m going to speculate a bit on the future.

First of all, the most challenging aspect to future Citrix is its relationship with Microsoft. Either we need to learn to dance with the tiger (borrowing an old quote from the IBM/Microsoft days) or we will need to change our tactics to more directly compete with Microsoft. Companies can still thrive with Microsoft being a direct competitor, but it takes a lot more focus. So, if Citrix can deal with Microsoft effectively (either as a dance partner or as a competitor), then Citrix will continue to thrive. The idea of co-operating with Microsoft depends on Microsoft needing Citrix to do certain tasks. There is evidence of this with recent agreements but this kind of work needs to be more fully expanded and Microsoft really needs to think that it cannot fully address the multiuser market without Citrix has to offer. Since 1997, there has been erosion based on Microsoft developing their own solutions to match what Citrix has. The only way to play this game is to always stay ahead of Microsoft on feature set.

Ever since 1997, Citrix has had a bit of identity crisis. With so much core focus on producing system software for business applications, it was hard to shift gears and look at expanding our market to other areas beside ICA.

Our most recent affinity is with the Access story and the idea that we can bring a solution together that includes many pieces to make a better whole. Instead of selling you ICA, we can sell you everything that enables your access from remote sites. This includes things like VPN, Web integration, WAN optimization, and in general the concept of using appliances to solve common networking problems. A continuance of this trend would look for continued integration from end to end for the user experience. The hope is that it will become so much easier and cheaper if everything is meant to work together.

Anyways, by this point I haven’t told you much about where Citrix will be. Perhaps I have revealed that there is a pending crisis with how Citrix looks at its business.

Instead of rambling on and making this a longer post than it already is, I’ll stop and ask the question.

What do you think the future of Citrix should be?


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Posted in Citrix Future