Web browsers can cause many of the same headaches as any other Windows app, from frequent updates to compatibility issues. Browser virtualization provides a simple way to deliver web apps painlessly and securely.

1. White Paper
citrix.com
Top Three Reasons to
Deliver Web Apps with
App Virtualization
Improve manageability, security and performance
for browser-based apps.
Web browsers can cause many of the same headaches as any other Windows
app, from frequent updates to compatibility issues. Browser virtualization
provides a simple way to deliver web apps painlessly and securely.

2. White Paper
citrix.com
Browser Virtualization
2
Many IT organizations switch from Windows client apps to
lighter-weight web-based apps in hopes of solving application
development, deployment and maintenance problems. While it’s
true that this approach offers many benefits, experience has
shown that many challenges remain, from compatibility across
browsers to security gaps to frequent browser update cycles.
Application virtualization offers a way to realize the benefits of
web-based apps without the drawbacks. By virtualizing the web
browser, you can streamline app development and lifecycle
management, improve security and ensure optimal performance
for web apps. In fact, this is one of the main reasons
organizations implement Citrix XenApp, the industry-leading
app virtualization solution from the technology provider of
choice for 98 percent of the Fortune 500.
This white paper introduces three top benefits of browser virtualization with XenApp®
,
including the ability to manage browser-based apps more efficiently, reduce common
security risks and delight users with faster-performing web apps.
Why web-based apps often fail to live up to expectations
The appeal of web-based apps is easy to understand. By moving from legacy thick
Windows client apps to lightweight web browser clients, you can eliminate the need to
develop a unique client for each app and test for multiple versions of Windows, and make it
possible for people to access most of their apps from a single web browser client. Benefits
like these have made web-based apps a mainstay of many organizations’ IT strategy—but
in practice, significant drawbacks remain.
While IT no longer has to worry about multiple versions of Windows, you do have to worry
about ensuring the compatibility of your web apps with the various web browsers people use.
Often, organizations are forced to continue to support outdated browser versions because
of the web apps written to them—an especially problematic approach for Microsoft Internet
Explorer 6, which has reached end-of-support in tandem with the underlying Windows XP
operating system. Even if you write to the latest standards, you’ll still need to test against
Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari and Opera, which differ
significantly from each other. Each of these browsers is frequently updated as well—even
more often than classical thick-client Windows apps—adding back much of the development
overhead you’d sought to eliminate.

3. White Paper
citrix.com
Browser Virtualization
3
Web browsers can also expose the organization to security risks such as the interception of
network communications, the loss or theft of information downloaded to the local computer,
and unauthorized access to the web apps bookmarked in a given browser. Performance is
problematic as well. Because of the chattiness of the HTTP protocol, web apps can struggle
to approach the performance of classical Windows apps, a problem that becomes worse
the further someone works from the corporate datacenter. This can be highly frustrating for
users, impeding both acceptance and productivity.
The solution to these challenges isn’t to abandon web-based development—the virtues of
this approach remain fundamentally sound. Instead, IT needs a way to zero in on the
management, security and performance problems of web apps so they can deliver full value
for the organization.
Three reasons to deliver web-based apps with Citrix XenApp
More than 330,000 organizations worldwide rely on Citrix®
solutions to help their 100
million combined users become more productive while improving the manageability,
security and mobility of their IT environment. Citrix XenApp, the market-leading Windows
virtual application delivery solution, has transformed IT by providing a streamlined way to
deliver Windows apps and data securely on any device, anywhere people choose to work.
A single, centrally managed image supports users in any location, increasing IT efficiency as
well as performance; because applications run in the datacenter, next to their database,
rather than on a client on a distant device, the solution cuts transaction times of client/
server applications by as much as 300 percent. XenApp also aids security and compliance
by making it possible to keep sensitive information protected within the datacenter rather
than on endpoint devices.
The advantages of XenApp apply for web browsers just as effectively as for classical
Windows apps, including the following three top reasons to deliver web apps with app
virtualization.
1. Efficiently manage your browser-based apps
Browser virtualization enables you to reduce web app management costs by as much as 90
percent by streamlining app deployment and lifecycle management. Centralized app
management and rapid provisioning help you consolidate laborious tasks such as regression
testing and pushing out app updates. This makes it much easier to distribute updates to
the entire workforce, with a consistent user experience across any device and browser. Just
as importantly, XenApp allows the freedom to update web apps without forcing expensive
device-side upgrades to support the requirements of the web app operating system. XenApp
also helps you scale up and down more fluidly and cost-effectively based on business
needs, and simplifies business continuity by allowing you to host browser apps in redundant
data centers.

4. White Paper
citrix.com
Browser Virtualization
4
2. Address common security risks
The centralization of applications and data within the hardened datacenter makes XenApp a
secure-by-design solution. Only screen update, mouse click and keystroke commands cross
the network to the user’s endpoint device, greatly reducing the risk of data exposure or
exfiltration. No data resides on the device, and nothing is left behind when the network
connection is terminated, aiding security and compliance. Granular access policy enforcement
lets you eliminate unnecessary VPN holes and reduce the risk of data loss or intrusion through
unsecured connections.
As people work in more locations and mobility plays a greater role in the workforce, XenApp
helps IT enable secure mobile productivity by creating advanced access control policies for
specific groups of users, devices or connection types. For example, you can create policies
allowing a group of users to access a wide range of applications and data while on the LAN,
a subset of those resources while on a tablet at home, and a smaller subset from a smartphone
connected through a public network. Another, less trusted group could be restricted to a small
subset of resources under all conditions. Administrators can go even further by restricting the
ability of users in insecure environments to copy, email or print data, or to save confidential
files to removable media. You can also limit access based on the security posture of the
specific endpoint being used, or limit users on public kiosks to viewing data and nothing else.
3. Delight Your Users with faster performing web apps
Browser virtualization provides simple yet powerful ways to solve the performance problems
associated with web apps. By moving the browser to the datacenter, next to its application and
database servers, you can cut transaction times by as much as 300 percent—regardless of
where people work. Instead of having to transfer significant amounts of data through the WAN
for every application transaction, the network carries only mouse and keyboard inputs and
screen outputs. This eliminates the impact of latency, chatty HTTP protocols and large data
transfers to deliver a user experience at least as good as the LAN can provide—and often even
better. As an added benefit for IT, faster application transaction times mean the application and
database servers perform more efficiently and can support higher user densities.
Illustrating the benefits of browser virtualization with XenApp
As in many enterprises, browser-based apps play an important role in the Citrix IT environment,
including both internally developed apps and third-party SaaS solutions. While the number of
such apps is growing quickly, the decision to virtualize the browsers used to access them is far
from a recent development. In keeping with the company’s vision for business mobility, Citrix
has long virtualized every app used in its environment, with only network connectivity, security
and the ICA®
client installed locally on endpoints. Today, browser virtualization delivers
extensive benefits for both IT and users.

5. White Paper
citrix.com
Browser Virtualization
5
Management
With browser virtualization, Citrix can allow users to choose any browser they prefer—Internet
Explorer, Firefox or Chrome—without the need for IT to test every browser and version on the
market. This especially significant as a broader range of devices enter the workplace, including
both Windows and Mac laptops—each with their own versions of each browser—and mobile
devices equipped with native browsers that often break web apps. Central management of
patches and updates reduces the number of versions in the environment and ensures that all
the latest fixes are applied in a timely manner. “We never have to worry about browser
compatibility, so we can allow people to choose the experience they prefer without increasing
complexity for IT,” says Joel Hagans, director of the company’s Citrix on Citrix group.
Security
“For someone in our global security office, security would be the top benefit of browser
virtualization,” says Hagans. “For those of us in IT, it’s about being able to do things in a
secure manner while remaining focused on a good user experience.” Integration with
Active Directory via SAML enables secure single sign-on, eliminating the need for multiple
web application passwords. When a user leaves the organization, access to all browser-based
apps can be cut off instantly through AD. Meanwhile, data never leaves the protection of
the datacenter.
Performance
Browser virtualization gives Hagans’ group a flexible way to ensure the best performance for
each app in each scenario. Most mobile apps are pushed down to a virtual desktop on the
device, while laptop users access their apps through Citrix Receiver; this speeds load time and
responsiveness. “For SharePoint and other file or data-intensive apps, we find that the best
experience is to have the XenApp server next to the application server,” explains Hagans.
“This enables very fast load and launch times, editing, saving and other interactions.” In the
event that a user’s network connection drops, the session pauses, then resumes seamlessly
on reconnection, without the risk of file handle conflicts or confusion.
Summary
Instead of eliminating deployment and maintenance challenges for IT, web-based app
development often ends up substituting one set of problems for another. Browser
virtualization offers a way for IT to realize the promise of web-based apps to simplify app
development and increase accessibility, without incurring new challenges for manageability,
security and performance. With Citrix XenApp, a single image of the browser can be hosted
centrally and delivered on-demand to any computer, providing a simpler, more cost-efficient
way to manage browsers and the apps that run in them. A secure-by-design architecture,
complemented with secure communications and granular access control, close the security
gaps that can be introduced by web-based apps. Centralization also improves web app
performance dramatically, while virtualization reduces network traffic and increases scalability.
As the experience of Citrix itself demonstrates, XenApp has an essential role to play in making
web-based app development successful and effective for today’s organizations.

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About Citrix
Citrix (NASDAQ:CTXS) is a leader in mobile workspaces, providing virtualization, mobility management, networking and cloud services to
enable new ways to work better. Citrix solutions power business mobility through secure, personal workspaces that provide people with
instant access to apps, desktops, data and communications on any device, over any network and cloud. This year Citrix is celebrating 25
years of innovation, making IT simpler and people more productive. With annual revenue in 2013 of $2.9 billion, Citrix solutions are in use at
more than 330,000 organizations and by over 100 million users globally. Learn more at www.citrix.com.
Copyright © 2015 Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Citrix, XenApp, ICA and FlexCast are trademarks of Citrix Systems, Inc. and/or one of
its subsidiaries, and may be registered in the U.S. and other countries. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be
trademarks of their respective companies.
White Paper
citrix.com
Browser Virtualization
6
Additional Resources
Introducing XenApp, Built on the FlexCast®
Management Architecture
XenApp Overview
Compare Citrix XenApp and VMware Horizon