Texas Christian University Gives Citrix Top Marks for Accelerating and Securing Applications with NetScaler Solution; Application Switch Delivers High-Speed PeopleSoft Access to 9,000 Students and Faculty

Business Wire, Nov 1, 2005

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Citrix Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:CTXS), the global leader in access infrastructure solutions, today announced that Texas Christian University (TCU) has deployed the Citrix(R) NetScaler(R) Application Switch to optimize and secure its campus-wide PeopleSoft infrastructure, supporting both students and university staff. With the integrated features of the Citrix NetScaler application delivery system, TCU has increased network reliability; expanded capacity for number of users supported, improved application performance and added a new level of security for applications accessed remotely. For students and staff, the Citrix NetScaler system provided a significantly faster, smoother experience during peak network times, such as registration and admissions, while lowering usage costs per person.

"Not only does the Citrix NetScaler application switch manage all of our Web servers, intelligently direct our traffic and accelerate our applications, but its security features protect our Internet-facing applications as well," said Bill Senter, technical services manager at Texas Christian University. "More than anything, the Citrix NetScaler system has given us peace of mind during peak network usage times, especially during registration, admission and grade distribution. Now my team and I can now spend more time on strategic projects to improve our network rather than merely maintaining it."

TCU, located in Fort Worth, Texas, consists of 8,600 students, 400 faculty members and an IT team of 50. The university runs all of its administration applications, including human resources, payroll, financial aid, registration, grades and admissions on a PeopleSoft platform. When PeopleSoft move to a Web-based architecture, TCU's IT management knew they would need to add load balancing, application acceleration and additional security to their infrastructure to receive the full benefits of a Web-enabled environment.

The university began an extensive search for a multi-function solution that could address all of its requirements in a single, easy-to-manage devise. Recommendations from CIOs of other universities prompted them to test the Citrix NetScaler application switch, which passed their exhaustive tests with flying colors. The switch's comprehensive functionality, including Layer 4-7 content switching, caching, compression, security and an integrated SSL VPN, provided TCU with multiple application delivery capabilities that cannot be solved with traditional load balancers or application acceleration point products.

During TCU's four-week test, the Citrix NetScaler system supported more concurrent users than the University had ever achieved in the past, while seamlessly handling all registration and admission transactions simultaneously. The NetScaler easily handled all application traffic, convincing TCU IT management that the budget it had previously allocated for new servers and bandwidth to support the PeopleSoft rollout could be spent elsewhere.

"In their mission to create efficient and interactive environments to support learning, higher education institutions are faced with IT issues such as slow application performance and the need to secure remotely accessed applications," said Wes Wasson, vice president of marketing, Application Networking Group, Citrix Systems. "The NetScaler's award-winning integrated platform gives colleges and universities unprecedented application performance while substantially lowering overall datacenter costs. In addition, the NetScaler's ability to scale provides a long term value for growth, whether it's a growing student population or the need to connect resources such as digital libraries, file systems or e-learning systems."

Citrix(R) NetScaler(R) Application Switch

The Citrix(R) NetScaler(R) Application Switch is a comprehensive network system that combines state-of-the-art application acceleration, layer 4-7 traffic management, SSL acceleration, and robust application security into a single, tightly integrated solution for optimization, considered the best delivery method for browser-based applications. Far beyond first-generation load balancers, the Application Switch dramatically speeds delivery of both Web and non-Web applications by up to 15x, leveraging advanced acceleration technologies, including data compression, static and dynamic content caching, SSL acceleration, and numerous network optimizations. Deployed in front of application servers to accelerate performance, the Application Switch significantly reduces the processing overhead on application and database servers. The Application Switch delivers the best access experience for everyone: maximizes multi-site access for the business, ensures continuous application availability for users, and reduces network complexity and costs for IT.

About Citrix

Citrix Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:CTXS) is the global leader and most trusted name in on-demand access. More than 160,000 organizations around the world use the Citrix Access Platform to provide the best possible access experience to any application for any user. Citrix customers include 100% of the Fortune 100 companies and 98% of the Fortune Global 500, as well as hundreds of thousands of small businesses and individuals. Citrix has approximately 6,200 channel and alliance partners in more than 100 countries. Citrix annual revenues in 2004 were $741 million. Learn more at www.citrix.com.