It's hard to believe that in two weeks, 5,000+ fellow Citrix users will be descending upon the city of Las Vegas and taking over the Sands Expo thanks toCitrix Synergy 2016.

The fun of Synergy kicks off on May 22nd this year with the official kickoff happening May 24th and continuing through May 26th (although this is Las Vegas, so I have to think there will be quite a few people who extend their trip on either side, just don't tell their bosses).

Citrix has gone through its fair share of changes over the last 12 months.  So, what do they have planned for this year's event?  How do they top the previous event?  And what kind of new company and technology information should we expect to learn about at Synergy? 

To find out more ahead of the show, I spoke with Tim Minahan, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Citrix. 

[ Watch live coverage from VMblog during Citrix Synergy 2016 on the Events page | Before you leave, read VMblog's Citrix Synergy 2016 Survival Guide ] 

As part of VMblog's live Citrix Synergy 2016 coverage coming up later this month, we're getting our schedule ready to learn as much as we can, as quickly as we can.  Citrix Synergy is always packed with great information coming from various breakout sessions, networking sessions, keynotes and more!  But one of the places we always learn a lot is in the Solutions Expo where valuable vendors from the Citrix ecosystem setup shop to display their wares. 

But with so many vendors exhibiting at the show, how do you know who to get on your schedule? And which booths to visit?  

I recently met with a company called IGEL Technologies while at a VMware UserCon in Austin.  And I was very excited to hear about what they were offering, beyond their thin client devices which is what I think most people associate with the company.  So I was very glad to hear that they would be at Citrix Synergy once again, where I hope to dig in a little deeper and see more of their various technologies at play in a larger setting. 

IGEL Technology America is one of the world's leading thin client vendors, one of America's fastest-growing thin client brands and Europe’s No. 1 in Linux-based thin clients.

Beyond thin client devices, IGEL's Universal Desktop Converter 2 (UDC2) software provides a highly effective alternative to traditional thin client hardware. The software is installed as the operating system on PCs, notebooks and select thin clients, and turns the hardware into a powerful software-based and universally deployable thin client allowing secure access to almost all centralized IT infrastructures.

The IGEL Universal Management Suite (UMS) is a user-friendly and extremely efficient piece of software that allows IGEL thin and zero clients as well as PCs, notebooks and thin clients from other manufacturers to be remotely administered.  

Are you going to Synergy?  If so, I invite you to get IGEL Technology on your "must see" list.  Want to learn more?  Check out this interview to learn about what they have planned for the upcoming Citrix Synergy 2016 event.

As part of VMblog's live Citrix Synergy 2016 coverage coming up later this month, we're getting our schedule ready to learn as much as we can, as quickly as we can.  Citrix Synergy is always packed with great information coming from various breakout sessions, networking sessions, keynotes and more!  But one of the places we always learn a lot is in the Solutions Expo where valuable vendors from the Citrix ecosystem setup shop to display their wares. 

But with so many vendors exhibiting at the show, how do you know who to get on your schedule? And which booths to visit?  

I was glad to hear that Lakeside Software was going to be sponsoring the event again this year.  For many years now, I've had the great pleasure of being briefed by this company and being exposed to their flagship product, SysTrack.

Lakeside Software transforms the way that enterprises deploy, manage, secure, improve, and report on end user experience by coupling the world's most lightweight agent with a robust data analysis engine to instantly grant complete visibility and control to administrators without impacting end user experience.Lakeside empowers EUC teams with comprehensive end user analytics and endpoint telemetry, enabling them to optimize user experience, mitigate risk, minimize cost, automate operational tasks, and make better decisions.  

Are you going to Synergy?  If so, I invite you to get Lakeside Software on your "must see" list.  Want to learn more?  Check out this interview to learn about what they have planned for the upcoming Citrix Synergy 2016 event.

Let's face it, it's been a wild 12 months for Citrix since last year's Synergy event.  But things appear to be taking shape quite nicely for the company, and I expect we'll get quite the education as to the direction of the company for the remainder of the year and beyond during Synergy 2016.  Things should prove quite illuminating.  But on a personal note, the one thing I will definitely miss at this year's conference will be Mark Templeton.  Not seeing and hearing him on the big stage or catching up with him 1:1 will be difficult after all these years.

But that means that conference attendees will also get their first look at the new Citrix CEO, Kirill Tatarinov.  Tatarinov, a 13 year veteran of Microsoft, where he was most recently Executive Vice President of the Microsoft Business Solutions Division, is putting the finishing touches on the company’s new plan.  Expect to hear all about it during the keynote presentations.Citrix Synergy 2016 takes place May 24-26th and this year the venue moves to fabulous Las Vegas at the Venetian and Sands Expo. Whether this is your first Citrix pilgrimage made to Synergy, or, whether you are an old pro and card carrying alumni member, I'd like to share a few tips and tricks with you to help make your coming event as smooth and as successful as possible.  I'm sure I'll miss a number of key tips or tricks, so please feel free to chime in to help others.

Let's begin!