The remote application access decision usually is between traditional terminal services or new Web-enabled applications. Consider these issues.
Bandwidth. Web applications are bursty, while Citrix applications are streaming. You always know how much bandwidth Citrix will use, while Web stuff tends to spike, making traffic loads harder to get a handle on.
Response. Web apps tend to have slower response times – every time you click on “Next,” you’ve got to wait for data to upload or download. Depending on the application, performance could suffer vs. what it would be using Citrix.
Security. Web apps might hold data in the browser’s cache, which can be a security risk. Citrix uses SSL security and only keystrokes traverse the link, making it very secure.
Offline. Neither Citrix nor a Web-enabled application provides much of an offline experience because they both require access to a central server.
Expense. Citrix requires licensing costs for the server and the clients, whereas a Web client is free. Web-enabled apps might require costly upgrades.
Productivity. Citrix gives you the illusion of using that fat 32-bit client, while Web apps are more stripped down. Web apps, then, might require additional training time and dollars.
Platform choice. Both Citrix and Web apps can pretty much run on anything. Still, some Web apps are too RAM-intensive to run on a dumb terminal, whereas Citrix can always run on one.
