Citrix Wants To Hit $1B: What's In It For You?

this a company worth partnering with? I am not sure just yet, so let's take a careful look at Citrix today based on some firsthand research and observations gleaned from its recent partner event held in Orlando, Fla., just a few short hours away from the company's Fort Lauderdale headquarters.

In the spirit of full disclosure, Citrix invited me to attend the partner summit to serve as a keynote speaker. While there, I got a chance to learn more about the company's plans. When Citrix invited me, I had a good feeling for the company, but I cannot say I possessed an intimate understanding of its operation the way I do, say, Microsoft or ViewSonic. I quickly found I was not alone. While discussing Citrix with a partner executive of one of the world's largest IT companies, he said he couldn't believe how a $500 million software company had seemingly "slipped through our fingers." Seems Citrix has long flown under the radar of many vendors and integrators. Strange as it may seem, there are not that many $500 million software developers out there. In fact, Citrix is much more than that. Its 2003 revenue, after all, topped $588 million, 12 percent more than the year before. Analysts estimate the firm's revenue could approach $700 million in the next two years, although the company's energetic chief executive, Mark Templeton, has much loftier goals.

I watched carefully as Templeton rehearsed his pitch for not only the 1,500 or so partners who journeyed to Orlando, but for the more than 800 worldwide sales and marketing employees Citrix had flown in for the event. Citrix officials told me it was the first time the company had its entire sales force together, so there was a great deal of pressure on Templeton to nail his speech to his sales team and partners. Templeton definitely practices as hard as he plays. While I caught only a few minutes of his pep rally to the Citrix troops (before being politely thrown out by a member of Citrix's PR team), he clearly has the ability to motivate.

Templeton is not only trying to define a new IT category around access infrastructure software and services, but to ensure that his name is permanently carved in the annals of business history. He desperately wants Citrix to become the next $1 billion software company. It's as though he were launching an expansion football team intent on the Super Bowl in its first year. In fact, his quest is reminiscent of what BEA attempted a few years ago as its leadership tried to break the $1 billion barrier by building a company dependent on a broad base of partnerships. But it fell short and its channel strategy went haywire. (With the economy rebounding, however, BEA could break that $1 billion mark this year.)

Templeton, meanwhile, is fully aware of what transpired with his friends at BEA and says Citrix must generate more revenue from partners to grow. Citrix is like BEA in that it is a three-headed monster. It is a large ISV. It is a supplier to other ISVs and hardware firms that incorporate the MetaFrame access technology into their products. And, finally, it is a supplier to a small group of integrators and VARs. Yes, it sells directly to customers. Yes, its channel is way too small given the potential its technology holds. And, yes, Citrix is much too passive in getting its message to the broader partner community. For a company that lives in fear of possibly being overrun by Microsoft's access software, you would think it would be more aggressive on the partner front to ensure its viability.

But all of that might be about to change. The company introduced a new three-tiered global partner network program ushered in by top salesman John Burris, who proclaimed, "This is not a change in the name but a change in the game." It also surprised its own salespeople with a compensation change that offers incentives to sell through partners. Furthermore, solution advisers can receive a cash reward of up to 10 percent of the value of the licenses sold via their efforts. It's a good start.

While Templeton's billion-dollar goal resonated with those gathered, he still needs to connect with those unfamiliar with Citrix. "The best way to sell is word-of-mouth," Templeton told those assembled. "Let the customer speak for you." Perhaps. But imagine the impact his story would have if more integrators were prepared to tell customers the benefits of MetaFrame. Getting to $1 billion would be a heck of a lot easier if there were more in it for solution providers. Do you think Citrix can make it to a billion? Let me know at [email protected].