Last updated on May 2, 2022
KFA Connect Found the Antidote to Citrix With Parallels RAS
About KFA Connect
- KFA Connect is a leading provider of order processing management and logistics software solutions. They bring over 30 years of expertise from across the commercial spectrum including telecoms, online retail, wholesale, the motor parts industry, engineering, manufacturing and agriculture.
- Experts at systems integration—often providing creative solutions to complex requirements.
- KFA Connect develops innovative software solutions to run sales order processing, logistics, management reporting and eCommerce functions.
- Specialists in eCommerce (Magento 2) development as well as eCommerce integration.
- Support services include supporting the applications they have developed and ERP (SAP Business One) support.
The Challenge
KFA Connect seeks to provide modern bespoke software for their customers’ processes and ways of doing business. They had previously implemented remote applications through Citrix Virtual Apps (formerly XenApp), but customers found it difficult to manage.
The typical customer of KFA Connect usually has minimal internal infrastructure resources, and those using Citrix were typically experiencing pain points around upgrades, management and overall cost.
The need for a different solution was catalyzed when a total system failure of a legacy Citrix system left a customer searching for a replacement system. KFA Connect returned to the market for a solution that offered similar functionality to Citrix but was easier to manage by their internal IT Staff.
The Solution
After exploring various alternatives, KFA Connect decided to implement Parallels® Remote Application Server (RAS) due to its simplicity and enterprise range features. The IT team immediately noticed differences from the beginning, with the rapid and easy installation of Parallels RAS.
Their team was impressed with the breadth of platform coverage—from traditional Windows and Mac to newer platforms like iOS and Android and everything in between. Customers and employees can use Parallels RAS to access remote resources from anywhere on their device of choice.
Maintenance has been easier than expected. KFA Connect still offers to upgrade customer Parallels RAS systems when necessary, but generally, it has proven to be a simple ‘auto-update’ type process. Likewise, at almost every site, customer resources are sufficient to manage the systems themselves. Publishing applications was tricky on Citrix Virtual Apps compared to Parallels RAS, where it is practically a two-click process.
“We selected and implemented Parallels RAS based on our experience with other Parallels products, namely Parallels Desktop for Mac, and Plesk. However, despite this somewhat ad-hoc selection process we were immediately impressed by the ease at which our proof of concept system was up and running, and then further impressed by time to production for the live system. Parallels provides a full suite of remote access and remote desktop applications to companies of all sizes, from SME to large corporate. But critically without reliance on a high cost, high skill internal workforce.”
The Results
Parallels RAS has provided a considerable return on investment, providing KFA Connect with the ability to meet business demands quickly. Parallels RAS facilitated a 10-20-fold increase in bandwidth usage when making applications available to external resources.
Moreover, security has been greatly improved. While KFA Connect previously had many exposed ports, by using Parallels RAS, they were able to reduce the number to one. As Parallels RAS follows security best practices, KFA Connect has been implementing recommended changes to protocols, easily applying these changes directly.
KFA Connect is pleased with Parallels RAS, using it to provide access to a thick client ERP package for their sales representatives on the road across the EMEA region. They found the implementation to be an unmitigated success. In particular, remote user experience (UX) has been significantly improved, especially in marginal network coverage zones.
The initial success led them to standardize Parallels RAS for their SaaS offering when providing thick client applications, and they would have no hesitation in recommending the software to others. Parallels RAS has seamlessly fulfilled the needs of KFA Connect, freeing them to focus on their customers’ demands.
About Parallels
Parallels is a global leader in cross-platform solutions, enabling businesses and individuals to access and use the applications and files they need on any device or operating system. Parallels helps customers leverage the best technology available, whether it’s Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, Android or the cloud.
The company’s solution portfolio includes the award-winning Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS), an all-in-one application delivery and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) solution that enables users to work remotely from anywhere, on any device, at any time.
