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Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs Nutanix Frame comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Citrix DaaS (formerly Citri...
Ranking in Desktop as a Service (DaaS)
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
124
Ranking in other categories
Application Virtualization (1st), Remote Access (5th), Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (3rd)
Nutanix Frame
Ranking in Desktop as a Service (DaaS)
5th
Average Rating
8.8
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Desktop as a Service (DaaS) category, the mindshare of Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) is 43.6%, up from 42.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Nutanix Frame is 4.9%, down from 8.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Desktop as a Service (DaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

DavidWood1 - PeerSpot reviewer
Flexible Deployment, reliable performance, and fast transmission speeds
Provisioning Server is a fantastic option for image management in Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops. It offers excellent performance and reliability. On the other hand, while Machine Creation Services can be scaled easily, they can significantly increase storage consumption. For instance, creating a Windows 10 image in MCS typically requires at least 80 GB of storage, in addition to any separate disks needed. To store changes made by users in Machine Creation Services, the differencing disk must be equal in size to the base disk, leading to significant storage consumption. On the other hand, Provisioning Server uses image versioning, creating a new image version every time it's modified. As a result, virtual machines streamed from the server revert to their original state after a reboot, which is similar to their state during the first boot. Using the provisioning server, I start by configuring a virtual machine with either a 2016 or 2019 server operating system. I install the necessary Citrix client provisioning server target device software, followed by installing the required applications. After that, I capture the entire configuration to a file share. The image is then streamed from the file share to the hypervisor, which can handle multiple machines. In some large-scale deployments, we have used a single image to provision thousands of servers. Once the image is captured and stored on the file share, it is set to read-only mode, and any changes made to it are not accepted until it is put in read-write mode. When a virtual machine is rebooted, it returns to its previous state before the changes were made. This feature can be beneficial in situations like a virus outbreak, where a simple reboot of the virtual machines can remove any malicious code or changes. A provisioning server offers a faster recovery time from a bad change and is generally faster than machine creation services. With the provisioning server, changes are not accepted until the read-write mode is enabled, and if a virus outbreak occurs, rebooting the machines restores them to the previous state. On the other hand, machine creation services' speed is dependent on the storage's speed, and recovery time from a bad change can take longer, especially with a large number of devices. If a bad change is made with machine creation services, the replication process can take a while to revert, whereas, with a provisioning server, all machines can be rebooted quickly. Within thirty minutes, I can restore my system to its previous state using the provisioning server.
Hamada Farag - PeerSpot reviewer
A cost-effective and streamlined virtual desktop infrastructure solution with a user-friendly interface and simplified management
The singular management interface is crucial, particularly for the operations team as it minimizes complexity and enhances operational efficiency. The simplicity of the management tools is a key highlight, especially when compared to other solutions like Citrix, where there is often complexity due to various components such as controllers, storefronts, and different servers.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The installation and maintenance are good.​"
"The most valuable feature is the desktop experience so that users don't see much difference between the remote desktop and the local desktop... It also provides virtualization for high-end graphics so that they can be displayed. AutoCAD can be done on Citrix. The graphics are very good."
"It is a stable solution. We don't usually have problems with the platform...It is a very scalable solution."
"Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is a stable solution."
"From my perspective, the most valuable feature is the manageability."
"The most valuable feature is the watermark because most of the time our employees connect from a remote location. In case they photograph the DDA or some data, the watermark will show which user did so and from which IP they connected. That makes it more secure."
"The shadow feature is extraordinary and helps a lot when supporting remote users."
"The remote desktop feature allows employees to work from home."
"The scalability of the solution is quite good."
"Nutanix Frame is easy to install, manage, and upgrade."
"The singular management interface is crucial, particularly for the operations team as it minimizes complexity and enhances operational efficiency."
"The pricing of the solution and management are good features."
 

Cons

"I heard that Citrix found some loopholes in the product, and they have yet to be covered up."
"The product should expand its capabilities for integrating with other environments."
"The product's technical support services need improvement."
"The visibility the solution provides across SaaS, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments, for user and application traffic, is also limited if you do not enable all the services and is based on which services you are utilising. Citrix provides end-to-end visibility based on their services you are utilising."
"Direct connection of USB devices on the terminals to be used by streamed applications is very important for printing and the usage of token authentication, but the current version does not support this one hundred percent."
"It is not easy to set up."
"I think Citrix's support is good, but sometimes it is a little slow."
"If anything could be improved, it might be some of the Director functionality, and some of the dashboard customization, or the overall Director customization."
"It would be highly beneficial if they could offer a version that is entirely on-premises, eliminating the need for cloud connection except for data access."
"The solution can be made faster and it should improve performance wise."
"As the solution is not completely straightforward, you do need some experience to configure and implement it."
"The solution’s pricing could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing of Citrix Workspace is worth it. However, it is expensive. Citrix is probably more competitive now than VMware, but it is still a costly solution."
"The licenses are affordable, but the support is a bit expensive, though worth the value.​"
"We don't have a lot to compare it to, but we certainly think whatever we pay is worthwhile at this point in time. It's very reasonable."
"You can buy an on-cloud or on-prem license. You can switch between on-cloud users and on-prem users. Its licensing is cheap. It is from $8 to $15 per user. It is not that expensive when you compare the cost of buying new hardware with the cost of the license. For example, at $15 per user, it costs around $180 for a year, which is cheaper than buying a $600 PC that at a certain stage, you will again have to change because its hardware is not supported. It may also get damaged or stolen. So, you can compare the cost of the actual hardware that you have to buy and the time spent in supporting the clients with the cost of its license."
"I think it is a little high priced."
"Citrix solutions cost a lot in comparison with competitors, like Azure Virtual Desktop or VMware Horizon. Those solutions cost around 50 to 60 percent less, per month per user, than Citrix."
"Based not only on the cost of Citrix, but additional costs like firewalls, IPS, and other solutions, the total cost of switching users from using normal laptops with VPNs to connection via Citrix were so huge that the CEO of our company decided to postpone the deployment process."
"If you look at cost, then you must look at the number of users that you are covering. If you are only using it for some users, then it is very expensive. However, if you have a massive amount of users, then it begins to be interesting to use Citrix. Because once you are managing thousands of servers with one guy, your maintenance costs decrease per user."
"Nutanix Frame is a very expensive solution."
"It is a cost-effective option with comparable functionality to competitors."
"The licensing is based on the number of users of the solution."
"The pricing of the solution is very good."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
20%
Government
16%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops?
My focus has primarily been on publishing virtual applications.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops?
I rate the product’s pricing a seven out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.
What needs improvement with Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops?
I have found that Citrix DaaS is still a complex product, especially on the desktop side, which affects scalability. Although it works well on the apps side, the desktop aspect still has room for i...
What do you like most about Nutanix Frame?
Nutanix Frame is easy to install, manage, and upgrade.
What is your primary use case for Nutanix Frame?
Nutanix Frame can be used to transition hardware and replace traditional hardware architecture like physical servers, storage, and SAN switches.
 

Also Known As

Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, XenDesktop, XenApp (Citrix Virtual Apps), Citrix Workspace
Nutanix Xi Frame
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Exelon, Aeronamic, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Alameda County Medical Center, Alaska Department of Fish & Game, Aloysius Stichting, Amarchand Mangaldas, AmBev, Amnet Technology Solutions, Arval
JetBlue, International Speedway Corporation, SAIC Volkswagen
Find out what your peers are saying about Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs. Nutanix Frame and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.