Attendees at Citrix Synergy 2015 were treated to the customary barrage of updates from the virtualization powerhouse yesterday in what marks a major step forward along its journey toward the hybrid cloud. The arguably most significant change is coming to NetScaler, the application delivery software that ties the on- and off-premise components of the package together.

The main emphasis in the new release is consolidation, with an improved gateway now allowing end-users to access all of their applications, mobile as well as cloud-based, via the same link and using a single set of login credentials thanks to support for Active Directory. Meanwhile, that activity can now be monitored on the back end through a new tracking interface that promises to provide a centralized view of traffic across every type of connection.

Administrators can act on the insights gained from the console using complementary new access controls
that Citrix says allow for more effective regulation of applications running under XenDesktop and XenDesktop, which are also receiving enhancements on the monitoring front. The new session recorder offers deeper visibility into how users are interacting with  services to better inform troubleshooting efforts.

Applications virtualized in XenDesktop or XenApp and delivered through NetScaler can be accessed from a newly modified version of Citrix’s cross-platform client that has been merged with its app store to provide what is touted as a unified experience across every device. That also extends to XenMobile, which – you guessed it – has also been updated with new features as part of the mega-launch at Synergy 2015.

The main highlight, though, is not the changes to the software itself but rather the debut of a cloud-based implementation aimed at lowering adoption barriers that Citrix promises will simplify interoperability with XenDesktop and XenApp. The company is also pursuing that focus via commonality in the back-end with a brand new solution service that unifies all three under a common management interface across both on- and off-premise deployments.

The introduction of Citrix Workspace Cloud, as the solution is known, comes only a day after arch-rival VMware announced plans to deliver similar functionality through an effort called Project Enzo that’s also being demonstrated at Synergy 2015. That competition is good news for customers, but they have a long wait ahead until either option hits general availability. The race over the future of desktop virtualization, however, is already on.