Interview with Félix Casado, CEO of Virtual Cable
1. What are the main issues arising from the current strategies of Citrix and Omnissa?
The current strategies of Citrix and Omnissa (formerly VMware’s EUC division) are creating significant challenges. Citrix has adopted a licensing model based on more expensive and complex plans, clearly targeting large enterprises, which seems to neglect SMEs. Additionally, naming Arrow as its sole distributor has forced the channel to look for alternatives.
As for VMware (now Broadcom), it is pushing the migration from perpetual licenses to subscription models, resulting in substantial cost increases. The sale of Horizon (now Omnissa) and the cuts in investment generate uncertainty about the solution’s future, as well as concerns regarding support quality and changes in the partner program, which impact profitability. This situation has led to widespread demand for alternatives from clients, distributors, resellers, manufacturers, and hyperscalers.
2. How could Citrix and Omnissa’s actions impact the digital workspace market, particularly Microsoft Azure?
The unilateral decisions by Citrix and Omnissa are generating growing distrust in the digital workspace market, representing a significant risk for their partners, including Microsoft Azure. Perceived as unethical or lacking transparency, these actions are harming—or even excluding—many manufacturers, resellers, distributors, and end customers operating with workspace solutions, including Microsoft Azure. This erosion of client trust is actively driving users to seek alternatives, diverting thousands to competing platforms.
3. What role does Virtual Cable play in this new landscape?
In this scenario, Virtual Cable plays a crucial role. As the developer of UDS Enterprise, we have never focused our strategy on the niche markets targeted by Citrix and Horizon. Our strength has always been in Education, Public Administration, and SMEs, where we have a presence in more than 100 countries.
However, given the current situation, we have become the preferred and most recommended choice for manufacturers, resellers, distributors, and clients seeking alternative remote access solutions for desktops—both on-premises and in the cloud—including deployments on Microsoft Azure.
Clients see us as a reliable, transparent, agile partner fully aligned with their interests. With millions of users worldwide, more organizations are trusting us to break free from the closed models and restrictive conditions imposed by the sector’s two former major players.
4. What does UDS Enterprise bring to the Microsoft ecosystem?
UDS Enterprise significantly enhances the Microsoft ecosystem by enabling the deployment of virtual desktops and applications on Microsoft Azure or Hyper-V. We remove the entry barriers imposed by Citrix or Omnissa, providing a solution without hidden costs and vendor lock-in.
Our UDS Cloud on Azure solution is the perfect complement to maximize the value of Microsoft cloud technologies, offering users control, scalability, and an optimized experience. Additionally, we ensure smooth and efficient access to Office 365 through simple integration, streamlining architecture and reducing operational costs.
5. What concrete benefits does Microsoft gain from having a solution like UDS Enterprise?
Microsoft benefits substantially from integrating UDS Enterprise:
- Optimized ROI: UDS Enterprise is a compelling value proposition that improves the end-user experience with Microsoft 365 and Teams while optimizing operations and increasing ROI for companies using Microsoft Azure. We offer the best broker solution for Azure, naturally driving higher consumption of computing, storage, and networking resources in the cloud, improving profitability.
- Completes the orchestration layer in Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD): We provide a crucial orchestration layer for clients choosing Microsoft AVD as their platform, easing adoption and management.
- Azure growth without extra costs: We contribute to Microsoft Azure’s growth by eliminating the need for clients to incur additional costs for third-party solutions that add little value. UDS Enterprise includes high availability, load balancing, multi-tenant capabilities, and top-level security—all at a very competitive price.
- Expansion into new markets: Our partnership with Microsoft expands reach to new customer segments and use cases for both companies, which would be economically unfeasible with other, more expensive brokers.
6. What level of security compliance does your solution offer?
Our solution provides an exceptionally high level of security compliance. UDS Enterprise meets the strict European Union NIS2 and DORA regulations, designed to strengthen cybersecurity and operational resilience.
We are currently the only Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solution included in Spain’s National Security Scheme (ENS) taxonomy and endorsed by the National Cryptologic Center (CCN).
Additionally, at the request of our U.S. clients, we have initiated processes to comply with the government security standards FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standard) and DISA (Defense Information Systems Agency).
In short, UDS Enterprise provides robust security guarantees aligned with the most demanding international standards, ensuring clients can deploy their VDI environments with complete confidence.
7. What message would you send to Microsoft at this moment?
My message to Microsoft is clear: You have been, and continue to be, our best ally in the workspace area. However, the exclusivity strategy with Citrix and Omnissa is closing doors and harming both clients and longstanding ecosystem members.
It is crucial to acknowledge the need for change. Clients demand open, reliable, and accessible options. Virtual Cable, with UDS Enterprise, is the ideal partner for Microsoft right now, helping reinforce leadership and expand reach.
It’s time to distinguish what adds value from what detracts and to decisively choose partners who truly contribute to success.
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