As we enter the home stretch in our planning for what promises to be yet another amazing Citrix Synergy, I’ve found a little time to reflect on what has been an incredible decade of change across the technology industry and in global business.

Why? Well, let’s start here. Citrix Synergy 2018 is the 10th (yes, TENTH!) anniversary of my former employer, Bechtel, being selected for the prestigious Citrix Innovation Award. You can take a trip down memory lane with me (and see a very young Christian) by watching the video below.

As you’ll see in the video, I’ve been fortunate enough to experience the buzz and delight of being selected to participate in the Citrix Innovation Award. I am very excited to see that three simply outstanding contenders have been selected as finalists for this year’s prestigious prize:

  • Beazley Insurance, an insurer with 1,800 users across the US, Europe, and Asia.
  • Health Choice Network (HCN), a not-for-profit nationwide and collaborative management services organization serving health centers, health center controlled networks and partners.
  • WAGO Kontakttechnik, a German manufacturer of electrical connections and electronic components for decentralized automation.

Award finalists will be recognized on Tuesday, May 8, during the Opening Keynote at Synergy 2018, where this year’s winner will be announced.
Driving business-enabling innovation has been both my vocation and my passion for almost 25 years — and even though my cloud computing career started in 2008 — I am still every bit as determined in 2018 to help our global customers power the next generation of their business through the application of Citrix Cloud-delivered solutions that help power the Secure Digital Workspace.

This year is also extra special as it marks my first Synergy as Global CTO of Citrix. In the three years that have passed since I joined the company, we’ve seen incredible transformation, the emergence of a clear, well-defined strategy, and a laser focus on execution. Our employees “get it,” the industry analysts “get it,” and our customers “get it” — at Citrix, we are powering a world in which people can work anytime, anywhere, and from any device. We are the enablers of productivity and with improved productivity comes a dramatic improvement in business outcome.

Many people ask me “What is it like being CTO? What do you do?” It’s almost impossible to answer that because the job is so varied and, well, so very, very cool. No two days are the same and the reason for that is that we, Citrix, are relentless in our pursuit of deepening our understanding of our customers, pushing the boundaries of technology innovation, delivering the best-in-class products and services and creating sustainable relationships with key technology partners.

These are the four main areas of my role and they are all equally important and rewarding. But, we’re just getting started.

At Synergy 2018, during the Keynote and the many breakout sessions, you will see first-hand how we are shaping the industry by putting our customers first and creating the products and services that allow every organization on the planet to embark upon their digital transformation journeys at the pace of their business.

As Gandhi once noted:

A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so.

This is a statement, a mantra that we live by here at Citrix. You will see it adorned on the display screens in our Executive Briefing Centers around the world and you will see it in the focus of Synergy 2018.

Of course, Synergy wouldn’t be Synergy without a little glimpse into the answers to the question, “What’s next?” If, like me, you’re constant and uncompromising in your professional curiosity, then join me, James Bulpin and Thomas Berger for SYN 128 – The Future Of Work, where we will explore some of the emerging trends in technology and how they may impact us in the next few years.

It’s going to be a great event. I would love you to join me there.