Citrix to Acquire QuickTree

Citrix Systems, which develops application delivery infrastructure software, announced Sept. 5 that it will buy QuickTree, a small privately held company that creates software to help companies better manage the growing risk of Web services and XML-based applications by providing software that inspects and secures XML traffic.

The terms of the deal were undisclosed.

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QuickTree, in San Jose, Calif., operates on the concept that the burgeoning use of Web services increases the risk of exposing sensitive information and infrastructure to increasingly sophisticated XML attacks. To counter these measures, the company develops software dubbed QuickTree XSM, which inspects and secures XML traffic in network equipment like application and network firewalls, message gateways, SSL VPN devices and load balancers, according to QuickTrees Web site.

Citrix, on the other hand, provides software and services that help companies secure and optimize the delivery of both on-premises and Web-based, on-demand applications that are managed and delivered over a network and over the Internet. The QuickTree deal will beef up Citrixs application delivery infrastructure by incorporating more robust XML processing capabilities across its networking product line that includes the namesake NetScaler, WANScaler, and Access Gateway.

Given the rapid transformation of application development and architecture—particularly brought on by the SOA (service-oriented architecture) concepts that utilize componentized applications and Web services to change application functionality on the fly—the acquisition of QuickTree will also help Citrix better tackle the use of enterprise mashups and AJAX (Asynchronous Java and XML)-based user interfaces by providing capabilities to help IT managers deal with the performance, security and management challenges associated with AJAX and XML applications.

Citrix plans to integrate QuickTrees technology into its AppExpert policy framework, a move that will add QuickTree to Citrixs Application Networking Group and provide XML processing as a native feature in a companys existing application delivery infrastructure (provided theyre on Citrixs latest release that integrates QuickTree). The QuickTree capabilities will first be applied to Citrixs NetScaler product line, which an estimated 75 percent of all Internet users utilize on a given day, according to the company.

QuickTree is not Citrixs first acquisition this year. In August, Citrix acquired XenSource, a company founded by the developers of the open-source virtualization hypervisor called Xen. The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

Prior to the XenSource acquisition, Citrix acquired Reflectent in May 2006, a deal that brought end-point management and monitoring capabilities to the Citrix portfolio. Following that purchase, in August Citrix acquired Orbital Data for about $55 million, a deal that entered the company into the WAN optimization market. In December 2006, Citrix acquired Ardence, which brought on-demand provisioning for application delivery—and provided a lead into newer Web 2.0 markets.

"Citrix continues to research, develop and acquire leading technologies that give the company a unique position in the market, solving the complete end-to-end application delivery challenge for companies of all sizes," said Klaus Oestermann, vice president and general manager for application networking at Citrix, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. "As Web 2.0 technologies for the enterprise emerge, we see the increasing need for the entire application delivery infrastructure to be more XML-fluent. With the acquisition of QuickTrees core technology and engineering talent, Citrix is staying ahead of that trend and allowing its customers to remain on the cutting edge."

QuickTrees employees, including CEO Raghu Bathina, will join the Citrix teams in Santa Clara, Calif., and Bangalore, India, reporting to the Application Networking Group.

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