Nutanix and Citrix are joining forces to provide both the infrastructure and software to support customers as they transition to hybrid working arrangements.

The two companies will offer secure, on-demand and elastic access to apps, virtual desktops and data across all kinds of devices, from any location, and at any scale, Citrix and Nutanix have announced. 

This partnership sees Nutanix providing hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) with the virtualisation firm Citrix bringing desktop as a service (DaaS) and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) deployments to the table. 

Under the agreement, Nutanix will become a Citrix preferred choice for HCI hybrid and multi-cloud deployments through the Nutanix Cloud Platform. This will support Citrix’s Virtual Apps and Desktops services on top of these cloud environments, with customers able to take advantage of Nutanix’s HCI, whether on-prem or in the public cloud.

Citrix will, in turn, become the preferred enterprise end-user computing system on the Nutanix Cloud Platform. Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, which is part of the flagship Citrix Workspace productivity suite, allows businesses to access their systems, information and tools in a singular experience, with contextual security policies layered on top. 

The two companies claim that customers will be able to take advantage of a unified digital workspace platform that delivers both applications and security, as well as IT efficiency and productivity across a variety of sectors.

This venture means Citrix and Nutanix are the latest firms to attempt to enact a hybrid work strategy in the products and services on offer. This effort sees the companies throwing their weight behind desktop as a service (DaaS) and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) as a means for workers to access essential tools and services in a secure manner across all kinds of environments, including the office, the home, and otherwise.

In the delivery of these services, Citrix and Nutanix will also collaborate on go-to-market programmes and enablement, as well as product roadmaps and customer support.

Earlier this month, both Google and Microsoft independently announced their own hybrid work products through a reconfiguration of their core Workspace and Teams platforms.

Facebook, too, is trying to tackle hybrid work through its Horizon Workrooms virtual reality (VR) experience, which beams workers into a cartoonish office-type environment where they can socialise and collaborate with their colleagues.