Citrix Ships MetaFrame for the Solaris Operating Environment

Business Wire, March 13, 2000

Business Editors

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 13, 2000

Newest Member in the Growing MetaFrame Family Gains Acceptance From Customers Field-Testing the Application Serving Solution

Citrix(R) Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:CTXS) today announced general availability and pricing of MetaFrame(TM) for the Solaris(TM) Operating Environment, the first solution in Citrix's new MetaFrame for UNIX(R) Operating Systems product line. MetaFrame for the Solaris Operating Environment is a new application server solution that extends the reach of UNIX and Java(TM) applications across an enterprise, or from an Application Service Provider (ASP), to users anywhere, including branch office and mobile workers. MetaFrame for the Solaris Operating Environment has been field-tested by users worldwide, including Deutsche Bank, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, the Mayo Foundation and Photon Dynamics.

MetaFrame for the Solaris Operating Environment delivers compatibility and interoperability with MetaFrame for Windows(R), and follows the same pricing model. This not only enables the delivery of Windows, Java and UNIX applications to a single portal, but also provides customers the freedom to interchange user licenses between the two products. Expansion of the MetaFrame product line to UNIX platforms is a step in Citrix's strategy to deliver high-speed access to any application, with any device, over any connection.

"Our MetaFrame for UNIX product line increases the value we bring to enterprise customers and application service providers by simplifying access from a single device to a growing array of applications, running on different platforms," said Edward Iacobucci, chairman and chief technical officer for Citrix. "Many users have told us they need to access standard Windows applications like Microsoft(R) Office, as well as customized UNIX applications specific to vertical industries like the medical field, and this newest member of the MetaFrame family enables that through a single application portal."

"Citrix MetaFrame for the Solaris Operating Environment extends the Sun platform by providing greater choice and flexibility to users in how they deploy business-critical applications," said Anil Gadre, Sun Microsystems vice president and general manager, Solaris Products. "By adding MetaFrame for the Solaris Operating Environment to the application solutions they already provide, Sun resellers can offer a complementary, end-to-end, server-based computing solution that enterprises need for rapid application deployment."

"Citrix's release of a UNIX-based version of MetaFrame offers ASPs an additional application server environment for deploying a mix of applications to their users," said Meredith Whalen, program manager for IDC's Internet Services and ASP Research. "Interoperability between MetaFrame for Solaris and MetaFrame for Windows enables ASPs to offer an increasing variety of UNIX, Windows, video, and Java-based software applications. In the next phase of the ASP revolution, customers eager to have a service offering that meets their own specific business needs will require their ASPs to provide this level of application variety."

MetaFrame for the Solaris Operating Environment Customer:

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) relies on complex mapping technology to determine the impact of development and other activities on the state's air and water quality. The department was considering purchasing UNIX-based software called ERDAS(R) Imagine, but the files - such as aerial photos and satellite imagery - are too large to serve over the WAN to users in the three DEP branch offices. Also, the department's suite of Oracle(R)-based tools had to be written for distributed PCs.

"Working with our Citrix systems integrator, St. George Consulting, we can now develop UNIX server-based Oracle applications that integrate with our mapping software, and deliver them to our entire team of scientists using Citrix MetaFrame for Solaris," said Mike Smith, senior programmer/analyst for the Maine DEP. "With access to these enhanced tools, staff members can make faster, better-informed decisions about environmental issues. Citrix has opened our eyes to a new way of deploying applications we thought were impossible to deliver over standard networks."

Packaging, Pricing and Availability

MetaFrame for the Solaris Operating Environment is available immediately through MetaFrame for UNIX authorized members of the Citrix Solutions Network(TM), a growing coalition of value-added resellers, distributors and systems integrators worldwide. Suggested retail pricing is $5,995 for a 15-concurrent user license and a one-year enrollment in Citrix's Subscription Advantage program. Subscription Advantage customers receive automatic delivery of enhancements, updates and maintenance releases to the base server software and installed system management services.

Customers can also purchase MetaFrame software without Subscription Advantage for $4,995. Additional MetaFrame user licenses can be added in increments of 5, 10, 20 or 50 concurrent users for $995, $1,995, $3,990 or $9,975, respectively. Citrix Load Balancing Services is also available with MetaFrame for Solaris at a suggested retail price of $1,495 per server.