Citrix hikes prices worldwide

update Virtualisation and remote access specialist Citrix Systems yesterday told customers it would hike prices by 10 per cent in all countries except the United States, due to the changing value of the US dollar.

"Citrix is applying an approximate 10 per cent price increase across all international markets in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific, including Japan," wrote Nabeel Youakim, Citrix's acting vice-president of its Pacific division, in a letter to customers seen by ZDNet.com.au.

The letter stated that the adjustment was a result of what Citrix said was the "rising costs of doing business globally" and was based on the inflation of various currencies in comparison to the US dollar.

Youakim noted that the increase would be effective from 1 September, with the exception of some pricing relating to the company's Subscription Advantage package, which would remain unchanged until 1 January 2009, when the package would undergo the same price rise.

A spokesperson from Cisco's local public relations agency confirmed the letter was genuine.

Citrix's Australia-based director of field sales, Phil Dean-Jones, said the firm had had "no other choice" than to raise prices, and that it was a decision it had been examining for some time as the US dollar had trended down.

Asked if Citrix would hike its prices further if the US dollar fell further, the executive said the price increases revealed this morning were the first such the company had had to undertake in the time he'd been working for Citrix: more than 9 years.

Dean-Jones said Citrix would "absolutely" revise its prices downward if the US dollar rose in value again. He said there had been no fallout from local Citrix customers yet.