Citrix Channel Plans Fixed on Workspace

Citrix says much of its channel activity in the coming months will focus on training partners on its digital workspace platform, Workspace.

Workspace enables users to access their business apps, desktops and data streams from anywhere, from different devices through a single dashboard.

Citrix’s Justin Sutton-Parker

“Certifications will come together to be more focused around Workspace,” said Justin Sutton-Parker, director of channel, Northern Europe. “Where there were lots of different brand names for our products, we’ve got to join it together a little more around Workspace and make it slightly more concise for the partner to go through certification and understanding in that area.”

With Workspace’s focus on enabling employee productivity, the partner needs to put the user at the heart of the sales conversation, the exec told Channel Futures.

“They’ll get the technical training, enablement and how to position it for customers, because it’s a slightly different sell. The market has moved on to focus on users, and ‘what is the user experience?’ It’s making sure that partners can convey that message,” said Sutton-Parker.

Citrix claims employees today use more than a dozen apps to get work done — often four or more just to complete a single business process like submitting expenses, booking travel, submitting purchase orders or approving time off.

“Organizations are talking about user engagement, employee engagement, and how productivity is driven by that. So partners are now putting the user at the centre of the experience. And that takes a little bit of explaining,” said Sutton-Parker.

Citrix last month demonstrated some additional intelligent features for Workspace for partners at Citrix Summit. First announced at Citrix Synergy last year, they include machine learning-fueled microapps and workflows, universal search and virtual assistance.

This is an opportunity for partners to look at developing skills around micro apps, said Sutton-Parker.

“If you’ve got that interface, partners need to become conversant in micro apps — some already are, some are on the learning curve. They are asking, ‘What skills do I need?’ And Citrix is helping them with that as part of the program, to make sure those skills have developed so they can move with the times. If we’re helping them to evolve, then we also helping them to be more successful,” he says.