Case Study: Texas A&M University achieves anywhere-any-device access and IT innovation with Citrix

Citrix solutions give Texas A&M University students and staff the freedom to innovate

Texas A&M University, a large research-intensive school, faced a common IT and learning challenge: students in the Industrial Systems Engineering program needed access to high-end design and simulation applications, but were limited to university lab PCs—forcing long walks, crowded labs, and restricted hours. The department also wanted a secure way to extend access off campus and support students’ own devices.

By virtualizing applications with Citrix XenApp/XenDesktop and centralizing processing in the data center, the university enabled secure, anywhere access to demanding apps (MATLAB, SOLIDWORKS) on Macs, Windows machines, Chromebooks and mobile devices. The shift reduced reliance on traditional lab PCs (moving to Chromebooks and zero clients), consolidated labs, improved IT productivity, preserved on-campus data security, and unlocked new BYOD instructional models—prompting a college-wide rollout and cost- and space-saving gains.

Texas A&M University

Mark Henry

Manager of Virtualization and Learning Technologies