Citrix User Profile Manager v Appsense EM

The Citrix User Profile Manager (UPM) component has been designed by Citrix to alleviate many of the problems associated with traditional Windows Roaming profiles.

Aimed at users getting their desktop delivered with XenDesktop this technology takes roaming profiles to a new level of management.

The setup is pretty simple with a service agent being installed on the users virtual desktop. Then adding a Citrix Provided ADM template to AD. This ADM template controls all the management of the profile manager.

The ADM template allow controls such as

• Which users will use the UPM
• Location the profile will be stored
• Include Reg Keys
• Exclude Reg Keys
• Stream the Profile (speeds up logon)
• Default Profile Template
• Local Administrator Processing

A Great demo video is available from Citrix
Citrix Video Demo

Comparison with Appsense User Personalization

While the Citrix User profile manager is a big step forward in profile management over the standard windows Roaming profile , it does look quite simplistic when compared to the very mature product Appsense Environment Manager.
Essentially Appsense does everything the CUPM does but with more options and flexibility.

Here is a quick list of additional features in the Appsense EM product

• Advanced Triggers for application launch and close (+ other trigger conditions)
• Conditions like User location, Access method etc...
• Application settings are isolated to prevent conflicts
• Platform Independent (eg. Windows XP and Windows 7)
• Logon time Analysis tool
• Group Policy Integration
• Scaleable for Multisite Environments
• Reporting functionality for auditing application usage