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Vista could be a boon for Citrix

Vista's hardware requirements got you down? Merrill Lynch is betting that you'll call Citrix.
Written by Larry Dignan, Contributor

Vista's hardware requirements got you down? Merrill Lynch is betting that you'll call Citrix. In a Dec. 5 research note, Merrill said thin-client software companies like Citrix are likely to benefit over the Vista upgrade cycle.
"We believe Microsoft’s Vista product cycle could drive incremental demand for Citrix’ core Presentation Server business, though we expect impact to be gradual and sustained over a multi-year adoption cycle," says Merrill's technology team.
Citrix is likely to benefit in three ways:  
--Citrix customers upgrading to Vista would have to also upgrade their subscriptions. These roughly 7 to 9 million customers would need to either buy new Citrix licenses or become current with their subscriptions.
--Vista’s bandwidth and processing demands could favor virtual desktops deployed on servers and accessed via thin client or PC, says Merrill. In other words, companies wouldn't have to spend as much upgrading hardware to go with Vista.

--Citrix could allow CIOs to phase in a Vista upgrade on their own timetable. "Citrix Presentation Server’s virtualization capabilities provide a means to manage phased migrations to Vista, which could be particularly attractive to larger organizations," says Merrill.

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