by CUGC HQ

Chris Jeucken CTA Alphen aan den Rijn, NL	Chris Twiest CTA Dieren, NL

What Citrix technologies are most important to your work?

Chris Jeucken: I am an EUC consultant for ConoScenza in the Netherlands. I spend most of my time designing and deploying EUC environments for our customers. Most of the time we use Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops combined with a Citrix Gateway.

Chris Twiest: I work as Technology Officer at RawWorks in the Netherlands. I advise clients on EUC deployments and architecture and I focus on creating our own services. Because this is in the EUC space, of course Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is the most important to that. But a new close second is the Citrix Cloud Workspace Portal.

What are the biggest tech challenges you face and how has Citrix technology helped you resolve them?

CJ: The biggest challenges in all EUC deployments I have done were applications. Mostly legacy applications to be exact. A lot of companies and government agencies use very old applications on which they are dependent. The Citrix deployment itself usually is a breeze, and you are up and running quite quickly. But then comes the months-long struggle to get all those apps running. Another struggle is the management of the Citrix Gateway. Most IT organizations see these as network devices and therefore they are managed by the networking department, even though all the knowledge is with the people in the virtual workspace department. This makes troubleshooting and modifications slow and tedious.

CT: I think that one of the biggest challenges we all face is the amount of different applications still in use at companies. With the Citrix Cloud Workspace Portal, I can now really design a solution for each type of application and give end users a uniform access portal. I think that’s one of the biggest challenges I’m resolving right now.

How are things with the Dutch CUGC group? What do you enjoy most about your involvement?

CJ: The Dutch CUGC group hosts a semi-annual event in the Netherlands. These events are always excellent. Great venues, great presentations and most important: an excellent opportunity to converse with other EUC consultants and vendors in the business. Attending these events really is a must if you are in this line of work.

CT: The Dutch CUGC Group is a pretty big one for such a small country. This also means that everybody knows everybody which makes the meetings a great way to catch up with everyone and at the same time gain extra knowledge. Just knowing that community helps you grow. For instance, if you have a problem at a customer or need extra help you can just reach out in the community and see if anyone is available (often they are) to help you. And, help the customer, which then again helps your reputation.

You recently created a script and presented it to the Dutch CUGC as well as to the entire CUGC community via blog and webinar. Talk about your experience in taking an idea and going from the local to the global audience. 

CJ: For me, presenting is always a good way to improve myself on the social side. The most important thing is to know the topic very well and, as strange as it may sound, know the fact that you know the topic. It makes presenting so much easier than when you are in doubt. I have to admit that before presenting I’m usually a bit unnerved, but that goes away the moment I begin. The positive feedback after the presentation makes it all worth it.

CT: Chris Jeucken and I like to set scripting/automation challenges for ourselves. It’s always fun to see that we end up first off with a working script but also an interesting presentation. I didn’t expect so many people to find our experience and the script to be interesting. It really gives us drive to do more. And that the global community also wanted to hear about our script is just awesome, and I didn’t expect so many people listening in. As of the enjoyment, well yes I do really enjoy presenting. Only I still have to get used to a webinar because there is no direct interaction with the crowd. Especially when you make a joke and you don’t hear anyone laughing. 😉

Any favorite words of wisdom?

CJ: Mistakes are just as valuable as successes, as long as you learn from them.

CT: If you have to do something twice it’s probably worth scripting or automating it.

Finally, what do you do for fun?

CJ: Spending time with my wife and son, going to air shows and playing video games.

CT: For fun I like to visit concerts and festivals with my wife. And I like to play guitar, drums and games.