NetApp Takes on Citrix, Expands Into Cloud Workspace Market with CloudJumper Buy

… using Citrix Cloud and Cloud Jumper’s Cloud Workspace Management Suite, among others for that purpose. CloudJumper’s CWMS aggregates other desktop and app components of the cloud workspace from AWS, Azure, Google and private clouds.

XenTegra, the most recent Citrix partner of the year, said in January it will also offer CloudJumper. During an interview at the time, XenTegra chief marketing and technology officer Pete Downing said CloudJumper offers two key benefits.

“One, I can simplify the rollout of WVD,” Downing said. “But I can also create an MSP offering on top of WVD that has value.”

Focus on Growth

Over the past year, closely held CloudJumper has grown out is ecosystem of OEM, ISV and MSP partners. Besides XenTegra, CloudJumper recently has partnered with Crayon, Igel, Liquidware and NVIDIA.

“With the reputation and resources of NetApp, CloudJumper will be an even more compelling offering for delivering and managing virtual Windows desktops,” said Jason Smith, Liquidware’s VP of marketing. Liquidware, which provides enhanced app layering solutions, is a longtime NetApp partner. Liquidware’s partnership with CloudJumper dates to its Independence IT days.

“NetApp field teams are already very familiar with our user experience, user environment management and layering solutions, as we have many virtual desktop customers in common and have had partner agreements in place for many years,” Smith said. “The CloudJumper deal will give the market more choices, and Liquidware solutions will make it seamless for our joint customers to coexist or onboard users with any other platform.”

CloudJumper has also extended its partner management with the recent hire of Amie Ray, enterprise channel sales manager. Other recent hires include Mike Celayeta, director of MSPs; Jim DeFlumeri, channel sales manager, and sales VP Mark Foust.

Lye said the entire CloudJumper team, led by president J.D. Helms, have joined NetApp. Helms will lead NetApp’s new modern workplace group as VP.

“We’ve given J.D. budget to grow faster his team,” Lye said. “And we have put together some obvious pieces of technology we had into his group that made great sense to expand on the value proposition of Cloud Jumper.”

Those pieces include NetApp’s SaaS backup service for Office 365 and the Talon global file cache for remote office management. NetApp acquired Talon last month to give NetApp Cloud Volumes and Azure NetApp Files a more robust centralized cache.

“We see huge synergy,” Lye said. “Between that technology and VDI, it’s often deployed together.”

Lye acknowledged that the acquisition of CloudJumper will bring NetApp into competition with Citrix.

“Citrix can continue to use Azure NetApp Files,” he said. “But as a brand, I want NetApp to be in the VDI space. It’s too big a market and we have too much intellectual property and credibility. We are going to compete with our good friends at Citrix. And we are going to do so, we hope, with a strong relationship with Microsoft and WVD.”