What is IDS? Information Delivery Systems is a server based computing solution that web enables applications. Like Citrix? Yes, but it is considerably easier to administer, costs much less, and only publishes applications (as opposed to entire desktops). How is IDS different from the other Citrix alternatives on the market? IDS does not require Windows Terminal Server Cals. It is not based on the traditional RDP technology, but rather on our partner company's RXP protocol. This technology relies on GDI calls instead of screen scraping allowing IDS to run faster and thinner (yes we have in writing from Microsoft that TS Cals are not required). But what if I need a secure solution for my clients? IDS security can be turned all the way up to 256 bit AES with SSL Certification on each application server. So, what will be different for my end users? There are no major differences from the end user's perspective except that they will be able to print from any machine that has a PDF reader on it. IDS has a universal print driver that eliminates the traditional printing issues of server based computing (though you can load native print drivers). Why have I not heard of IDS before? IDS was designed by ACS, Inc. during our days as Citrix Gold Partners delivering I/T needs in schools systems around the Southeastern part of the United States. ACS found a number of issues beyond pricing that kept Citrix from being a perfect solution in schools. ACS found another company with a solution designed for small business application virtualization, and partnered with them to develop IDS as an enterprise worthy install for large school systems. Having placed this solution in a number of school environments over the past few years, IDS has begun to push the product to many different markets because of the simplicity, performance, and price benefits over other thin client solutions in the market. This sounds great, but what if I just don't have time to invest in testing right now? The end users may not see much difference between IDS and Citrix, but the engineers surely will. For example, the evaluation version of IDS that is on this website is a 10 minute installation and requires one reboot. Then you are ready to publish your first application. But, how could something so simple be as good as something else so complex? Good question. The simple answer is that we don't really know, but we do know that we have well over 50,000 users out there and we average about 2 support calls a month that relate to a direct problem with IDS (*Please note that we are the second line of support for many of the licenses because we have resellers in place as the first line of support; however, we feel the product is still well proven in that we do not hear of software issues from the resellers either). Well, 50,000 users sounds like a respectable number, but how many are on any given network? The largest deployment using IDS has been 2000 concurrent users in a school system in Alabama (about 6000 teachers/ administrators). So, what's my benefit? Whether you are an institution that needs remote access/ application hosting or an information technology company who needs a new solution to carry for your clients, IDS offers your end users fast, reliable, and secure application virtualization at a fraction of the cost of Citrix. You spend immeasurably less time supporting the software so that you can spend more time doing things that need to be done. This sounds like a profitable opportunity for me, so what should be my first step towards testing this solution? Well, you can click on the demo in the top right portion of this screen and see IDS publish the Microsoft Suite from one of our locations in Macon, Georgia. Or, you can download the software yourself and put it on a Windows 2003, 2008, or XP machine for unlimited users for 30 days. Or, you can contact us at
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with any questions or concerns you may have. We look forward to speaking with you real soon.
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