Citrix is ready to take on the packed Internet of Things sector as part of the interestingly named Project Octoblu that will help save enterprise users time when using virtual workspaces.
The company's aspirations in the IoT sector comes in the form of a cloud-hosted software platform to handle devices and the first such peripheral to work in collaboration with the platform is the Citrix Workspace Hub, according to V3.
Octoblu, the cloud platform, has been created to manage machine-to-machine interaction between devices by using sensors and wireless connectivity. It uses a graphical programming language that makes it simple for developers to create workflows that control how devices or apps on the Octoblu platform work.
Citrix has been able to bring the solution to market after it acquired machine-to-machine software firm Octoblu in December 2014 and the platform is expected to be similar to the one it bought as part of that deal.
Citrix's Workplace Hub, also announced, is a small prototype that is designed to let users carry a virtual workplace with them at all times. The device has VGA and HDMI ports so that it can be hooked up to displays when required and further connectivity comes from the integrated Wi-Fi and low-energy Bluetooth chip.
Echo's in on the fun
It uses Citrix's Receiver tool to automatically access a user's XenApps and XenDesktop workspaces and it can detect when a user is on the move or out of range of connected devices so that the virtual workspace is loaded onto a mobile device straight away to remain secure. When used in conjunction with Octoblu it can also complete various tasks automatically thus saving business users time.
The last part of Project Octoblu involves a partnership with Amazon that leverages its Echo voice recognition speaker. The plan is to marry Amazon Echo's voice recognition with the Workplace Hub and Octoblu in order to allow voice control in workplaces.
