Q: If Microsoft Virtual Desktop Infrastructure and Remote Desktop Services don't support iOS and Android, do I need to use Citrix?

A: Many components in a virtualized desktop can be delivered by virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). Each user connects to a client OS running inside a virtual machine (VM) or enters a session virtualization where users connect to a session on a shared server OS. In addition to just providing an OS, the complete solution also requires the following:

The in-box virtualized desktop solution in Windows Server 2012 supports both VDI and session virtualization and has all of the items above, delivering a complete solution. However, regarding the last point, the client for endpoint devices, Microsoft only provides RDP clients for Windows-based devices and doesn't provide an RDP client for iOS or Android platforms.

Third parties do provide RDP clients for those platforms. This means just because Microsoft doesn't provide a client for iOS or Android, doesn't mean you can't leverage a Microsoft virtualized desktop from those devices. You would just need to use a third-party RDP client-- for example Wyse has an iOS RDP client in the Apple Store.

Citrix does provide clients for their protocol for many types of devices and has advantages in terms of handling slower speed, higher latency links and some other features. But just because you have iOS devices or Android doesn't mean you can't use the Microsoft virtualized desktop solution.