Citrix Online
Encyclopedia
Citrix Online is a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. that sells web-based remote access, support, and collaboration software and services. Its products are GoToAssist, GoToMeeting
, GoToMyPC
, GoToManage, GoToTraining, GoToWebinar, and HiDef Corporate.
Citrix Online is considered a key example of the software as a service
/application service provider
software business model.
The division is based in Santa Barbara, California
.
Professor Klaus Schauser and graduate students Bernd Oliver Christiansen and Malte Muenke. Investors included Sun Microsystems
, ZDNet
, Bertelsmann Ventures, and Wit Capital.
The company went live with a web-based marketplace for technical support services, called Expertcity, in December, 1999. A user of the service would submit a technical support question through a simple webform
and receive Dutch auction
bids from online experts to resolve the problem. Upon selecting one of the experts, the user would be connected to him via a chat interface
and, optionally, via desktop sharing
, whereby the expert could see the user's screen and remotely control the user's mouse and keyboard. This "remote desktop" technology formed the kernel of later products for Citrix Online.
Expertcity discontinued their support marketplace service on January 1, 2002 by transferring it to Tech24, Inc. Tech24 subsequently phased out the service and transitioned to phone-based support.
The remote desktop technology behind the support marketplace enabled additional products. June 2000 saw the debut of DesktopStreaming (now GoToAssist), a corporate product that lets companies use desktop sharing for technical support between their own customers and support representatives. GoToMyPC
, which allows a user to remotely access his or her own desktop, followed in early 2001.
In 2003, Citrix Systems
acquired Expertcity, then a major player in web-based desktop access, in a transaction valued at approximately $225 million in cash and stock. Expertcity became the Citrix Online division of Citrix and retained many of the key developers of the original company.
At the time of the acquisition, Expertcity was developing GoToMeeting
, a product that uses the remote desktop engine to allow multiple users to view and control a single desktop, enabling both collaborative support and collaborative presentations. In 2006, Citrix Online adapted GoToMeeting to support the growing market for web-based training and web-based seminars. The resulting GoToWebinar product and the GoToTraining product that launched in 2010 allow hundreds of attendees to view a single screen and join in a phone conference.
In 2008, Citrix acquired Vapps, Inc., an audio conferencing provider, and created Citrix Online Audio, LLC. Shortly after, they released HiDef Corporate,a flat-rate, hosted audio conferencing service.
In 2010, Citrix Online acquired Paglo Labs and released GoToManage, an IT management and support tool.
GoToMeeting
GoToMeeting is a Web-hosted service created and marketed by Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems. It is a remote meeting and desktop sharing software that enables the user to meet with other computer users, customers, clients or colleagues via the Internet in real-time.- Technology...
, GoToMyPC
GoToMyPC
GoToMyPC is a remote control software service that enables the user to operate their computer from another computer, over the Internet. Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, produces GoToMyPC.-Technology and business development:...
, GoToManage, GoToTraining, GoToWebinar, and HiDef Corporate.
Citrix Online is considered a key example of the software as a service
Software as a Service
Software as a service , sometimes referred to as "on-demand software," is a software delivery model in which software and its associated data are hosted centrally and are typically accessed by users using a thin client, normally using a web browser over the Internet.SaaS has become a common...
/application service provider
Application service provider
An application service provider is a business that provides computer-based services to customers over a network. Software offered using an ASP model is also sometimes called On-demand software or software as a service ....
software business model.
The division is based in Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
.
History
Expertcity, Inc. was founded in 1997 by UCSBUniversity of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
Professor Klaus Schauser and graduate students Bernd Oliver Christiansen and Malte Muenke. Investors included Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
, ZDNet
ZDNet
ZDNet is a business technology news website published by CBS Interactive, along with TechRepublic and SmartPlanet. The brand was founded on April 1, 1991 as a general interest technology portal from Ziff Davis and evolved into an enterprise IT-focused online publication owned by CNET...
, Bertelsmann Ventures, and Wit Capital.
The company went live with a web-based marketplace for technical support services, called Expertcity, in December, 1999. A user of the service would submit a technical support question through a simple webform
Form (web)
A webform on a web page allows a user to enter data that is sent to a server for processing. Webforms resemble paper or database forms because internet users fill out the forms using checkboxes, radio buttons, or text fields...
and receive Dutch auction
Dutch auction
A Dutch auction is a type of auction where the auctioneer begins with a high asking price which is lowered until some participant is willing to accept the auctioneer's price, or a predetermined reserve price is reached. The winning participant pays the last announced price...
bids from online experts to resolve the problem. Upon selecting one of the experts, the user would be connected to him via a chat interface
Online chat
Online chat may refer to any kind of communication over the Internet, that offers an instantaneous transmission of text-based messages from sender to receiver, hence the delay for visual access to the sent message shall not hamper the flow of communications in any of the directions...
and, optionally, via desktop sharing
Desktop sharing
Desktop sharing is a common name for technologies and products that allow remote access and remote collaboration on a person's computer desktop through a graphical Terminal emulator.The most common two scenarios for desktop sharing are:* Remote log-in...
, whereby the expert could see the user's screen and remotely control the user's mouse and keyboard. This "remote desktop" technology formed the kernel of later products for Citrix Online.
Expertcity discontinued their support marketplace service on January 1, 2002 by transferring it to Tech24, Inc. Tech24 subsequently phased out the service and transitioned to phone-based support.
The remote desktop technology behind the support marketplace enabled additional products. June 2000 saw the debut of DesktopStreaming (now GoToAssist), a corporate product that lets companies use desktop sharing for technical support between their own customers and support representatives. GoToMyPC
GoToMyPC
GoToMyPC is a remote control software service that enables the user to operate their computer from another computer, over the Internet. Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, produces GoToMyPC.-Technology and business development:...
, which allows a user to remotely access his or her own desktop, followed in early 2001.
In 2003, Citrix Systems
Citrix Systems
Citrix Systems, Inc. is a multinational corporation founded in 1989, that provides server and desktop virtualization, networking, software-as-a-service , and cloud computing technologies, including Xen open source products....
acquired Expertcity, then a major player in web-based desktop access, in a transaction valued at approximately $225 million in cash and stock. Expertcity became the Citrix Online division of Citrix and retained many of the key developers of the original company.
At the time of the acquisition, Expertcity was developing GoToMeeting
GoToMeeting
GoToMeeting is a Web-hosted service created and marketed by Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems. It is a remote meeting and desktop sharing software that enables the user to meet with other computer users, customers, clients or colleagues via the Internet in real-time.- Technology...
, a product that uses the remote desktop engine to allow multiple users to view and control a single desktop, enabling both collaborative support and collaborative presentations. In 2006, Citrix Online adapted GoToMeeting to support the growing market for web-based training and web-based seminars. The resulting GoToWebinar product and the GoToTraining product that launched in 2010 allow hundreds of attendees to view a single screen and join in a phone conference.
In 2008, Citrix acquired Vapps, Inc., an audio conferencing provider, and created Citrix Online Audio, LLC. Shortly after, they released HiDef Corporate,a flat-rate, hosted audio conferencing service.
In 2010, Citrix Online acquired Paglo Labs and released GoToManage, an IT management and support tool.
Current
- GoToAssist (formerly DesktopStreaming) — services for businesses to facilitate remote technical support
- GoToManage — remote support and monitoring for IT environments
- GoToMeetingGoToMeetingGoToMeeting is a Web-hosted service created and marketed by Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems. It is a remote meeting and desktop sharing software that enables the user to meet with other computer users, customers, clients or colleagues via the Internet in real-time.- Technology...
— collaboration and meetings with up to 15 attendees - GoToMyPCGoToMyPCGoToMyPC is a remote control software service that enables the user to operate their computer from another computer, over the Internet. Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, produces GoToMyPC.-Technology and business development:...
— remote desktop access for individuals and small and medium enterprises - GoToTraining — training and development with up to 200 attendees
- GoToWebinar — seminars and presentations with up to 1000 attendees
- HiDef Corporate — audio conferencing with web-based administration and control
Discontinued
- BuddyHelp — desktop sharing for individuals to facilitate remote technical support
- ExpertLive (formerly Expertcity) — technical support marketplace