Citrix: Connecting people with security and speed

In a connected digital world, people use dozens of applications daily in their work and personal lives to organize calendars, shop online, and communicate. And no matter which applications people use, they expect that the apps will work together seamlessly.

The keys to effective integration are APIs. A robust library of APIs allows developers to connect applications and deliver new services quickly and easily. But to get the most out of APIs, companies need an API management platform that will deliver manageability and security.

Citrix understands the importance of connected cloud solutions better than most companies. As a leader in digital spaces, Citrix solutions allow customers to work whenever, wherever through virtual apps and desktops. One reason that Citrix is so successful is its compatibility with over 30,000 partner applications, devices, and systems through the Citrix Ready Marketplace.

With a commitment to innovation, the company’s web and integration team continually works on APIs to improve productivity and speed to market for internal developers and external partners.

However, as the team looked to quickly expand its API library, it realized that the company needed a leading API platform.

“We researched every API platform and the clear leader was Apigee,” says Adam Brancato, Senior Manager of Customer Applications at Citrix. “With Apigee, we expanded our API support from 10 APIs to more than 50 APIs in a year.”

Simple API development

The Apigee API management platform is remarkably easy to understand and Citrix developers can start developing APIs right away. As a result, Citrix has expanded its APIs more than fivefold. Citrix now supports a wide range of APIs for both internal and external use, including email, support cases, single sign- on, licensing, accounts, assets management, contacts, Salesforce integration, order validation, and more.

For partner developers, APIs cut down integration time dramatically. Developers no longer flood the Customer Applications team with requests for information. Instead, they can connect with an API in minutes and push out new services and integrations in less time.

“Apigee is a big win for us and partners,” says Adam. “With far fewer people we’re able to connect systems faster and accelerate time to market for services. The more products and services we can connect with Citrix, the more attractive we become in a competitive market.”

Making the most of internal resources

Internal teams now work with APIs to save time and boost productivity. Product keys were once generated and uploaded manually. With so many available products, simply managing the product keys was nearly a full time job. Now a simple API takes customer requests for additional Citrix licenses and generates a new key on the fly.

The product trial team also uses APIs to create an entire trial experience, prompting customers to create or sign in to their Citrix account, generate a trial product key, and direct customers to the download link.

“Working with APIs frees up resources so that we can concentrate more on developing new services and polishing our applications,” says Adam.

Keeping applications secure

For Adam, one of the biggest benefits of Apigee is its high standards for security. Out-of-the-box security policies in Apigee help encrypt and secure data. APIs add a layer between Citrix data and partner applications, which allows Citrix to expose relevant data and functionality with a reduced risk of compromising security for customers.

“We don’t have to figure out how we’re going to pass on information between multiple authentication systems,” says Adam. “Apigee helps us minimize threats by making it easy to manage API keys. If any key is compromised, it’s a matter of minutes to remove access.”

Visibility into API usage

Apigee built-in analytics provide a clear view into exactly how APIs are used so that Citrix can continue to optimize performance. Developers can look at an API used to create accounts and determine how many times an account creation fails. Traffic showing the most popular APIs can help Citrix determine the types of APIs developers are looking for.

“Apigee has a lot of built-in analytics that run automatically on every API, and Citrix can track any custom metric it wants,” adds Adam. “We’re gaining real-time visibility into our APIs, and that is helping us grow a strong API program for internal and external developers.”