Citrix spruces up mobile portfolio with ShareFile, Podio updates
It's a busy day at Citrix -- especially on the mobile front with several updates to its mobile apps for Podio and ShareFile.
For Podio, the updates are centered around boosting collaboration.
The iPhone version has been "completely redesigned" with more direct access to workspace apps. It also now includes more voice controls for vision-impaired users. The Android version has also been spruced up with more task management and calendar features.
Furthermore, Podio added support for use in Dutch and Japanese on top of the nine existing languages supported by the online work platform (Chinese, Russian, German, Italian, Spanish, French, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish and English).
These are fairly basic updates, but ShareFile's upgrades have more of a strategy behind them.
Essentially, Citrix is aiming to differentiate its ShareFile service in the face of the likes of Dropbox and Skydrive with more offline and security features.
The ShareFile mobile app is getting richer content editing capabilities, specifically the ability to edit Microsoft Office documents and Adobe PDFs while on the go and even when offline.
This is touted to include "similar tools" to the desktop Office apps, such as editing text, tracking changes, spell check, printing, highlighting, and presenting in slideshow mode. Citrix explained that the idea is to prevent users from having to purchase and/or rely on more than one editing app to complete work on mobile devices.
Citrix also took the time to update security for the ShareFile app, adding the option for IT to restrict use of third-party editors that employees might try to install. IT managers can further manage corporate content on ShareFile thanks to remote wipe, encryption, passcode lock and poison pill features.
However, the app is still only available for iPhone and iPad. Citrix is promising support for "other devices" soon.
Finally, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company has also introduced its new NetScaler Insight Center, a cloud-based solution designed to offer "a 360-degree view" across all mobile, web and virtual desktop traffic to serve as a big data analytics platform within a company network.
Citrix has been at work on its mobile strategy considerably since the company's Synergy conference last year.
For example, in trying to get ahead of the competition at answering the demands of BYOD (bring your own device), ShareFile was introduced as a cloud-based file sharing service intended to allow data to follow workers on any device.
Podio was also acquired last spring for its collaborative work platform for project management, sales, recruiting and communications. While still a standalone service to some extent, those services have been blended in with Citrix's GoToMeeting software and associated products.