For someone who started his career just before the beginning of this century, Citrix Summit and Citrix Synergy have always been fun training and networking events. I’ve attended them over the years as a Citrix partner, a Citrix employee, and even as the husband of a Citrix employee!

Citrix Summit is a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) event, so I can’t get into too much detail here. But I can give you a glimpse into my experience this year.

But first, let’s take a very quick look back.

As you might know, Citrix separated Summit from its annual user event in 2007 to give partners and employees a place to connect. While I haven’t attended all the Summits over the years, I’ve been excited to watch the conference transform. Today, it’s a launching pad for major news Citrix plans to announce at Citrix Synergy. And just a reminder, you can access Citrix Summit keynote presentations and breakout sessions via SalesIQ.

Citrix Summit 2020 was extra special for me because it was my first time back after a couple of years away. Following the launch of Citrix Workspace’s intelligent capabilities, this event was the perfect place to catch up on Citrix product announcements. Here were three of my highlights from the week:

  • Fearless Leaders
  • Keynote Demos
  • Developer Program

Fearless Leaders

Carey Lohrenz, the first F-14 Tomcat Fighter Pilot in the U.S. Navy, spoke as part of the Day 2 keynote. She advocated the need of fearless leaders to enable teams to achieve peak performance. She shared her experience as a pilot and business coach and gave us this recipe to apply to our daily activities — Be the Catalyst: Purpose, Focus, and Discipline.

How to Lead Fearlessly (click image to view larger)

Keynote Demos

We had great keynote demos at Summit, including Alysia Eve showcasing Citrix Workspace and Sameer Metha giving attendees a look at how Citrix Analytics can improve the user experience, adding value for our virtualization customers. We announced Citrix Analytics for Performance at Summit and are excited about how it can empower IT admins to solve performance issues. Learn more about Citrix Analytics for Performance.

From left to right, keynote speakers PJ Hough, Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer; Sameer Mehta, Sr. Director, Product Management; Alysia Eve, Sr. Manager Product Marketing; Marissa Schmidt, Sr. Director, Product Management; Carisa Stringer, Sr. Director, Product Management; and Tim Minahan, Executive Vice President, Business Strategy and Chief Marketing Officer.
Announcing general availability of Citrix Analytics for Performance!

Developer Program

There were a lot of great program updates at Citrix Summit. I’d also recommend that you read this blog post from John Panagulias, Director of Citrix Ready, and check out the short video below that he recorded while there to launch the Citrix Developer Program for Workspace.

Chris McMasters and Kyle Edgeworth from the City of Corona (California) shared how they leverage Citrix Cloud Government and Azure Government to reduce cost and improve business continuity.

Of course, there are always networking opportunities at events like Summit, and I look forward to the opportunity to catch up with old friends and connect with new faces. Between the sessions, events, and all the hoopla, I got to spend time with former colleagues from Citrix Consulting who are now working across the companies and at our partners.

Citrix partners are the focus of Summit and are front and center as we celebrate the year that was and look ahead. If you plan to attend next year, my best bit of advice would be to download the mobile app and build your agenda early so you can get the most out your time. Some sessions were so popular I couldn’t even get in. I used this app countless times to look up sessions and stay on top of all the happenings!

Get started early and register today for Citrix Summit 2021. You don’t want to miss out!

— Cedric Courteix, Manager, Customer Success