Sources: Citrix Planning Major Re-Org Around Cloud And Mobility, May Sell Or Spin Off Other Businesses

Citrix Systems is planning a major corporate re-organization that will see the vendor concentrate on cloud and mobility products and sell or spin off other parts of its business, CRN has learned.

Citrix is mulling a sale or spinoff of its online services division, which includes its GoToMeeting collaboration and GoToMyPC remote access products, sources familiar with the matter told CRN Friday.

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Citrix picked up GoToMyPC and GoToAssist in its $225 million acquisition of Expertcity, a Santa Barbara, Calif.-based vendor, in 2003. Citrix's GoToAssist, GoToWebinar, GoToTraining and Podio products are also part of its online services unit.

Although GoToMeeting and GoToMyPC are two of Citrix's most recognizable brands, sources told CRN the online services business has never meshed well with the other parts of Citrix's business.

"I don't think selling the GoTo products would be surprising, and it would pull Citrix back into a more focused portfolio," said one source close to the company, who requested anonymity because he's not authorized to comment publicly on the matter.

A Citrix spokeswoman told CRN the company doesn't "comment on rumors about our business."

Citrix was an early pioneer in software that lets apps and data be delivered securely to mobile devices, and it still leads the desktop virtualization market. But Citrix is facing challenges to numerous parts of its business, including from VMware, which has poached key executive and added application virtualization to its latest release of its desktop virtualization software suite.

Citrix has seen a number of high-ranking executives leaving in recent months, including ones that weren't part of its layoff of 700 employees in February.

One of the latest to leave is Catherine Courage, senior vice president of user experience, who'd been with Citrix since 2009. Courage "is leaving to spend some time with her family," the Citrix spokeswoman said in an email.

Citrix issued a profit warning Thursday, cutting its first quarter earnings per share estimate from 70 to 72 cents per share to 63 to 65 cents per share. Citrix now expects revenue between $755 and $760 million, down from its earlier estimate of $780 million to $790 million.

Citrix reports first quarter earnings April 22.

In a press release, CEO Mark Templeton attributed the shortfall to "foreign exchange volatility" and the impact of a sales re-organization launched earlier this year.

"We underestimated the impact caused by our restructuring, organizational evolution, and changes to our field and channel strategies, which were the result of important decisions made to get the business ready for our next phase of growth," Templeton said in a statement.