Citrix and Palo Alto Networks Team to Securely Deliver Applications over Next-Generation Networks

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Palo Alto Networks today announced a multi-phase partnership with Citrix that brings together leading network security and application delivery capabilities. In response to strong market demand, Palo Alto Networks and Citrix will deliver jointly validated solutions that are designed to simplify how enterprises accelerate application delivery on next-generation networks.

As businesses embrace mobility, consumerization and desktop virtualization, IT organizations are looking for ways to transform their networks into an end-to-end cloud delivery platform, making it easy for employees to safely access any application from any device or location.

It is this shared vision for how enterprises can best evolve towards cloud networks that has inspired Palo Alto Networks and Citrix to align product development plans to capture the power of flexible next-generation platforms. Additionally, the two companies are collaborating across technical support teams, consulting organizations, and partner communities to coordinate the introduction of joint solutions for mutual customers. This partnership will provide the right technologies to deliver applications with cloud-level scalability but without compromising on security, high performance or availability of critical data and applications.

Palo Alto Networks brings to the partnership next-generation firewall technology that gives organizations the ability to identify, control, and safely enable applications while at the same time inspecting all content for all threats in real time. Citrix NetScaler® delivers complementary network capabilities to deliver any business application, cloud service or virtual desktop with the fastest performance and highest availability. When used together, the two companies deliver native application intelligence, template-based management and high performance to optimize the delivery of any application to any user.

As part of today's announcement, Citrix and Palo Alto Networks have agreed on a multi-phase relationship starting with validated joint solutions for virtual application and desktop virtualization solutions Citrix XenApp® and Citrix XenDesktop®, as well as popular enterprise applications. Customers will be able to avoid complex, piecemeal solutions, and alternatively use guidelines and expert resources from two industry leaders to design a next-generation network infrastructure that achieves availability, security, performance, flexibility and visibility. In the near term, the two companies will back these solutions with global support for enterprise customers and channel partners.

For more information on today's announcement, visit: http://www.citrix.com/tv/#videos/6574.   

Supporting Quotes

Zeeshan Sabir, Senior Director, IT, Qualcomm
"Citrix NetScaler and Palo Alto Networks are providing solutions and a vision that clearly complement each other.  We look forward to deploying the two company's solutions more tightly and continue superior leverage while simplifying and scaling our data center and next generation cloud architectures."

Vid Sista, Director, Network & Security Practice, Accudata Systems
"This partnership comes at a very opportune time given that many of our customers are currently rethinking their network architectures. Enterprise customers look to us to bring together solutions that will give them the best in performance, availability, and security, which is exactly what this partnership is committed to providing."

Rene Bonvanie, Chief Marketing Officer, Palo Alto Networks
"Citrix and Palo Alto Networks share a common vision for how networks are evolving. There's synergy in bringing these two technologies together to deliver next-generation cloud network solutions."

Sunil Potti, Vice President and General Manager, NetScaler Product Group, Citrix
"Palo Alto Networks and Citrix have already established strong, but independent, positions in leading cloud-first network solutions.  Our alliance will provide customers with the freedom to leverage the leading advanced delivery controller and firewall solutions without compromising on integration, simplification and consolidation."

About Palo Alto Networks
Palo Alto Networks™ (NYSE: PANW) is the network security company.  Its innovative platform allows enterprises, service providers, and government entities to secure their networks and safely enable the increasingly complex and rapidly growing number of applications running on their networks. The core of Palo Alto Networks' platform is its Next-Generation Firewall, which delivers application, user, and content visibility and control integrated within the firewall through its proprietary hardware and software architecture. Palo Alto Networks' products and services can address a broad range of network security requirements, from the data center to the network perimeter, as well as the distributed enterprise, which includes branch offices and a growing number of mobile devices. Palo Alto Networks' products are used by more than 9,000 customers in over 100 countries. For more information, visit www.paloaltonetworks.com.

Palo Alto Networks, "The Network Security Company," the Palo Alto Networks Logo, App-ID, GlobalProtect, and WildFire are trademarks of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. in the United States. All other trademarks, trade names or service marks used or mentioned herein belong to their respective owners.

About Citrix
Citrix (NASDAQ:CTXS) transforms how businesses and IT work and people collaborate in the cloud era. With market-leading cloud, collaboration, networking and virtualization technologies, Citrix powers mobile workstyles and cloud services, making complex enterprise IT simpler and more accessible for 260,000 organizations. Citrix products touch 75 percent of Internet users each day and it partners with more than 10,000 companies in 100 countries. Annual revenue in 2011 was $2.21 billion. Learn more at www.citrix.com.

Citrix®, NetScaler® and SDX™ are trademarks or registered trademarks of Citrix Systems, Inc. and/or one or more of its subsidiaries, and may be registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.

For Investors
This release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  The forward-looking statements in this release do not constitute guarantees of future performance.  Those statements involve a number of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, including risks associated with the impact of the global economy and uncertainty in the IT spending environment, revenue growth and recognition of revenue, products and services, their development and distribution, product demand and pipeline, economic and competitive factors, Palo Alto Networks' and Citrix's key strategic relationships, acquisition and related integration risks as well as other risks detailed in each of Palo Alto Networks' and Citrix's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Neither Palo Alto Networks nor Citrix assumes any obligation to update any forward-looking information contained in this press release or with respect to the announcements described herein.

[The development, release and timing of any features or functionality described for the products of Palo Alto Networks and Citrix remains at the sole discretion of each company and is subject to change without notice or consultation.][NTD: confirm] The information provided is for informational purposes only and is not a commitment, promise or legal obligation to deliver any material, code or functionality and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions or incorporated into any contract.

SOURCE Palo Alto Networks