What is our primary use case?
My main use case for Ivanti Virtual Application Delivery Controller (vADC) is for security. I have essentially secured all the Citrix Virtual Desktop environment by isolating each single process that was launched by all applications and desktops in order to deny the executable, the DLL, or every single file that could be used by a hacker inside a virtual desktop or a virtual app environment.
What is most valuable?
The best features that Ivanti Virtual Application Delivery Controller (vADC) offers are security. From my point of view, if you need really strict security, this could be a really good solution.
The strict security features of Ivanti Virtual Application Delivery Controller (vADC) stand out for me because essentially, you can have the hashing of all the programs that you can launch, the signature to check, the very deep analysis of the project, and the very deep log that helps you develop and analyze security. I treat the application as a firewall, and I block all and then begin to allow the passage for all the executables they need, especially for Java, since it's a big problem because when you enable Java, you can launch some Java programs that can destroy or scan your network. With Ivanti Virtual Application Delivery Controller (vADC), you can do this.
Ivanti Virtual Application Delivery Controller (vADC) has positively impacted my organization from the point of view of security. From the point of view of the usage of users, this is not a problem of Ivanti Virtual Application Delivery Controller (vADC). Sometimes, I get a lot of help desk returns because I don't know how users use the application. If you use, for example, an email and from the email you launch a Doc, the Doc will open Word and maybe the user needs also PowerPoint or other applications, and if you block, the problem is that you never know very well what users use. This is not the problem of Ivanti Virtual Application Delivery Controller (vADC), but the problem of the time of configuration in the project. Overall, you have to match security with usability of the application. If you block all the processes, this could be a little bit of a problem.
What needs improvement?
From my point of view, Ivanti Virtual Application Delivery Controller (vADC) could be improved with an agent, for example.
Something specific I would want to see in future versions of Ivanti Virtual Application Delivery Controller (vADC) is something that could automatically analyze the log and the sample of the usage of the user. Something that can analyze instead of a human being the behavior of the usage and then record the behavior or the usage, creating a template of the application. This is exactly what I do, for example, in some web application firewalls where I use a learning phase, and I track all user behavior to know how users can launch applications. I don't know if they have already done it, but at the time I used Ivanti Virtual Application Delivery Controller (vADC), there was not this feature.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Ivanti Virtual Application Delivery Controller (vADC) for about two years and I was working in Axa in Milano.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Ivanti Virtual Application Delivery Controller (vADC) is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of Ivanti Virtual Application Delivery Controller (vADC) is positive because essentially it's an agent that you can put on each machine, and you can scale it. Then there is a backend to configure, but it's scalable.
How are customer service and support?
The customer support for Ivanti Virtual Application Delivery Controller (vADC) is good and responsive.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
The previous solution I used was to work with the group policy, registry keys on the machine, etc., but it's not consistent work because after that you have tons of keys on all the machines, and the policies applied don't apply. There might be changes, and you don't know where to find the security you had put on Active Directory, so it becomes a mess. In this case, with Ivanti Virtual Application Delivery Controller (vADC), with a single click, if something doesn't go, it's not a problem. You disable the block, leave the log phase, etc. In Active Directory, you have to wait about ten minutes for the propagation of the delivery controller, and you have a latency. When the production is blocked, you cannot wait a lot of time. You have to unlock the people as soon as possible.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Before choosing Ivanti Virtual Application Delivery Controller (vADC), I evaluated other options such as working also at the Citrix level to do all this work, but the problem is that the Citrix level is a layer on top of Windows. If you have some security problems in Windows, also with Citrix, you cannot reduce the surface of attack because you can publish one application and not all desktops. There was also a mechanism in Citrix called WEM that could do something similar, and there was also something based on Microsoft to avoid users launching some executables, but I found that the solution of Ivanti Virtual Application Delivery Controller (vADC) was, from my point of view, the best option.
What other advice do I have?
On a scale of one to ten, I would rate Ivanti Virtual Application Delivery Controller (vADC) an eight.
I chose eight out of ten for Ivanti Virtual Application Delivery Controller (vADC) because from the point of view of the configuration, it took so much time on the security side to configure. This is a thing that could be really improved.
The reason I chose eight out of ten for Ivanti Virtual Application Delivery Controller (vADC) is because of the problem of taking a lot of time to make a very deep configuration.
The advice I would give to others looking into using Ivanti Virtual Application Delivery Controller (vADC) is that if you begin a project, you have to have a person that is in charge of following the project all day, which means a technical person, at least one or two. A project manager is also essential because you cannot block all the applications. You have to make all the phases: the test, reproduction, pilot, and production, so you have to split the team into multiple governance and prepare a really good team. Otherwise, the problem is that you might not achieve success. You have to speak with the application person, with the users, with the support, with the manager, and others.
