- Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops design, upgrade and migration
- Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365 rollouts
- VMware Horizon environments and cross-platform moves
- FSLogix and profile container strategy that survives scale
- Golden image lifecycle, app layering and provisioning
- Logon time and user-experience troubleshooting with real telemetry
The desktop is where users judge IT
Storage can be slow and nobody files a ticket. Add four seconds to a logon and the help desk hears about it all day. Virtual desktop environments are unforgiving that way — they concentrate every infrastructure weakness into something the user feels immediately.
I’ve worked with Citrix environments since they were called Metaframe. Most of what I get called in for falls into three buckets.
Migrations and upgrades
Moving from an unsupported version, from on-premises control plane to Citrix Cloud, from Horizon to AVD, or off a general-purpose platform onto something purpose-built. These are rarely just version bumps — the profile strategy, image pipeline, and published application inventory usually all need rework at the same time. I plan them as parallel builds with staged user migration, not in-place gambles.
New builds
Sizing that reflects your actual workload rather than a reference architecture: session density from real measurement, storage tiering that matches profile and image I/O patterns, and a gateway design that survives someone’s home internet.
Rescue work
Environments that technically function but nobody trusts. Logons that take ninety seconds. Profiles that corrupt weekly. A golden image that’s been updated by six people over four years and can’t be rebuilt. This work starts with telemetry — logon phase breakdown, storage latency, session host counters — because guessing at VDI performance is expensive.
Areas covered
- Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops: site design, delivery groups, policy, StoreFront, NetScaler/ADC gateway, Cloud Connectors, Director and monitoring
- Profile and state: FSLogix containers, redirection strategy, container sprawl and the storage design that keeps it fast
- Image lifecycle: repeatable, scripted image builds instead of tribal knowledge
- Application delivery: layering, MSIX app attach, and honest assessment of which apps just shouldn’t be virtualized
What you get
A design document your team can maintain, a rebuildable image pipeline, documented policy baselines, and a measurable before/after on logon time.
Common questions
Should we move to Citrix Cloud, AVD, or stay on-premises?
It depends on your app portfolio, data gravity, licensing position and internal skill set — and sometimes the answer is a mix. I'll give you a comparison based on your environment rather than a recommendation I'm paid to make. I don't resell licensing.
Our logons are slow. Can that be fixed without a rebuild?
Usually, yes. Most slow-logon problems trace to profile handling, GPO processing, or storage latency, all of which are measurable and fixable in place. A rebuild is a last resort, not a starting point.
Can you support us after the project ends?
Yes — retained hours for escalations, image refreshes and upgrade cycles are a common arrangement.