Question regarding "to use or not to use Citrix"

Hi, I do not know if this is the right kind of forum to ask this, but I will give it a go anyways.

I am trying to figure out if I need to use citrix or if it would be a complete waste of money

What I have today is a business critical system running on Windows terminal server 2003. The critical part is that it needs to be up at the highest % possible.

The setup contains

14 Terminal servers

2 AD

2 Session directory (clustered) also acting as Disk cluster with a separate scsi box for raid.

I also have a set of application servers running in the background with real time databases running on them, which the terminal clients access via TCP through a windows application.

I am using NLB (Network load balancing) in combination with a Hardware Loadbalancing system.

All of this is working fine for the 400-500 users I have on it.

But now for the future we are thinking of seamless application publishing of the software (we use a desktop today). 1 realtime program and use of Word/Excel (incl RTD links)

It is not an adminitrative heavy system.

We add users, they log on, run the programs, and generate very little support, we also only touch the farm so to speak for patches and such in a controlled manner via MS update server. We seldom upgrade the applications.

We also kept far away from printing services, we have added a function in which the client can mail print objects to themselves and print them at home.

So what would be the main reasons for adding Citrix to this equation, instead of waiting for Windows server 2008 with an addon for seamless.

What would be the economical impact of upgrading to a Citrix environment and what benefits would it bring that Windows 2008 server cannot provide?

Do anyone have experience in this ?

Is the benefits big enough and the price fair enough to upgrade to citrix from Terminal server?

//Bobo

I can't give you any prices, just contact the nearest Citrix reseller for that. It will not be cheap, though.
In general, you should buy Citrix because you have a specific need for a feature which isn't available in native Windows TS. You don't seem to have such needs.

But here are 2 articles which might be worth reading:

Are Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services Good Enough For Me? - Part I - by Dan Shapiro

and Part II

You can get all the details of the features in Citrix on the citrix website, and about Windows 2008 TS here:

What's New in Terminal Services for Windows Server 2008