Horizon vs. Citrix in Enterprise-Scale Deployments: How Well Do They Work Under Pressure?

As more and more people work from home or alternate between the office and their couches, businesses must need their virtual desktops to be reliable. When we talk about Citrix Vs Horizon, we’re diving into solutions that are critical for big businesses. They just can’t have their systems crashing, taking ages to log in, or chugging along when tons of people are trying to get work done. Downtime is a no-go!

When it comes to setting up these virtual workspaces for thousands of employees worldwide two major players always come to mind- Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops and Omnissa Horizon. Both are heavy hitters, built to handle massive enterprise needs.

In this blog, we’re going to put Citrix and Horizon head-to-head. We’ll specifically check out how they perform for big companies, how easily they can grow as the company does, how simple they are for IT to manage, and how well they hold up when put to the test in huge, demanding environments.

A Look at the Platforms- Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops

Citrix Virtual Apps

When it comes to establishing virtual desktops, Citrix has long been a preferred option for large corporations. They have a very well-developed VDI/DaaS system that excels for several reasons:

First off, their HDX technology gives you an incredibly sharp user experience. You may then configure it whatever you want, whether you want it entirely in the cloud, in your own data center, or a combination of both. Because it can handle deployments across many geographies and cloud environments with ease, it’s particularly great for businesses with a global presence. Citrix is essentially incredibly reliable. It integrates seamlessly with other systems and scales up without any issues, even in complex global networks.

Omnissa Horizon

Being a part of the VMware family, Omnissa Horizon is a full VDI solution that performs very well with products like vSphere, NSX, and VMware Cloud. People adore Horizon because of its robust support for multi-cloud and hybrid configurations, its powerful VMware integration, its built-in security measures with policy-based access, and how simple it is to manage. It’s also much simpler for large organizations to have these VDI environments operating effectively and securely thanks to services like Anunta Tech’s Omnissa Horizon setup.

How Well Does It Work Under Load?

When it comes to big VDI setups, it’s all about how the system handles a heavy workload. We’re talking about needing to support thousands of users all at once, super-fast logins, and dealing with sudden surges in activity without everything grinding to a halt.

So, how do Citrix and Omnissa Horizon stack up under pressure?

Citrix’s Performance

Citrix performs exceptionally well in terms of “session scalability”. This essentially indicates that it can support a large number of users at once with little lag. Its unique HDX technology is excellent at maximizing bandwidth, so even when the system is completely loaded, customers will still receive a fast response.

Omnissa Horizon’s Performance

Omnissa Horizon, especially when paired with vSphere, also performs really well, offering solid scalability and quick response times. Horizon’s “Blast Extreme” protocol allows for fast and secure sessions. However, some folks report that in situations with high network latency (think users far away or on less-than-ideal connections), Citrix’s HDX might edge it out just a little bit.

If you’re dealing with a highly distributed environment with loads of traffic, Citrix often has a slight advantage in overall performance for enterprise VDI. But if your infrastructure is already heavily invested in VMware, Horizon really shines there, seamlessly integrating and performing exceptionally within that ecosystem. It often comes down to your existing setup and the specific demands of your user base.

Flexibility in Deployment and Scalability

How adaptable and expandable virtual desktops are for future expansion is a key consideration when setting them up.

Citrix Scalability

Citrix works well for multinational companies. It facilitates deployments across several areas and scales up or down with ease. For easy growth, it also interfaces well with public clouds like AWS and Azure.

Omnissa Horizon Infrastructure

One of the mainstays of the VMware ecosystem is the Omnissa Horizon Infrastructure. It offers smooth interaction and scalability with products like vRealize Automation, making it perfect for businesses that currently use VMware Cloud and vSphere.

Anunta Tech’s VDI solutions offer fully managed desktop infrastructures that can grow with your business and work with both Horizon and Citrix. This is great for businesses that want to grow quickly without having to start from scratch.

Management, User Experience, and Security

When it comes to handling these systems, the daily experience for users, and keeping everything secure, here’s the rundown:

Management

Citrix provides strong, all-inclusive administration. However, smaller IT teams may find it difficult to handle due to its complexity. A more streamlined, centralized admin experience is offered by Horizon’s extensive integration with VMware, particularly for current VMware users.

User Experience

Near-instant desktop access and speedy logins are offered by both. Citrix HDX, on the other hand, typically performs better on networks that are not optimal.

Security

It has features including encryption, multi-factor authentication, role-based access, and zero trust models are provided by both. An additional layer of granular control is added by Horizon’s native integration with VMware NSX for enhanced micro-segmentation.

With Anunta Tech’s secure VDI management services, policy-based security and end-to-end monitoring are in place on both platforms. This makes it easier to keep enterprise VDI security up to date.

Things to Think About When It Comes to Cost and Licensing

Alright, let’s talk about the money side of things – Cost of Ownership. This is a big one for any enterprise-level VDI deployment.

Citrix’s Cost

Despite having a ton of functionality, Citrix licensing may be somewhat complicated and costly, particularly for extensive rollouts. Sometimes, all those extensive capabilities and third-party system integrations come with additional, unexpected fees.

Omnissa Horizon’s Cost

For businesses that currently use VMware’s infrastructure, Horizon is typically more affordable. Because it is based on the VMware stack, the total cost of ownership (TCO) is frequently lower. When you take into account managed services from companies like Anunta Tech, who can optimize resource consumption and keep those expenses low, this is particularly true.

To make sure that costs stay low at scale, both platforms need careful planning for licenses and resources.

Conclusion

So, when it all boils down, both Horizon VDI and Citrix have their own strengths:

Choose Citrix if… you’re a really spread-out business, perhaps with teams in many different regions, and you need ultimate scalability. It also tends to perform best even when your network isn’t ideal.

Go with Omnissa Horizon if… you’re already deep into the VMware ecosystem and want a single, integrated platform for management. It’s often the more predictable and cost-effective choice for growth within that existing VMware environment.

When businesses want the best VDI for big businesses, the right choice often depends on their current infrastructure, the skills of their IT team, and how scalable they need it to be.

Call Anunta Tech for a personalized consultation or demo to find out which VDI solution is best for your organization’s performance needs.