"As Web 2.0 technologies for the enterprise emerge, we see the increasing need for the entire application delivery infrastructure to be more XML-fluent,' said Klaus Oestermann (pictured) , vice president and general manager for application networking at Citrix Systems, Inc, as Citrix announced this week the acquisition of QuickTree's core technology and engineering talent.

With the acquisition of QuickTree’s core technology and engineering talent, Citrix is staying ahead of that trend and allowing its customers to remain on the cutting edge,”  Oestermann added.

QuickTree is a small privately-held software technology provider on the forefront of addressing the key security and performance challenges of XML and web services.

"This move will further strengthen Citrix’s end-to-end application delivery infrastructure by enabling us to incorporate more robust XML processing capabilities across the Citrix application networking product line, which includes Citrix NetScaler Citrix WANScaler and Citrix Access Gateway and is focused on the acceleration, optimization and secure accessibility of applications.," Oestermann said.

Citrix will integrate the QuickTree technology into its AppExpert policy framework used by its application networking products to configure application-specific and user-specific policies. The new XML-fluent AppExpert capabilities will first be applied to the company’s NetScaler product line, enhancing its application traffic management, attack defense and optimization features.

"With an estimated 75 percent of all Internet users going through a Citrix NetScaler system on any given day, Citrix has long been the leader in application delivery infrastructure for the world’s most demanding web applications," noted Oestermann. "Merging that expertise with QuickTree is a logical next step to enhance the delivery of both enterprise and consumer XML-based applications and improve the experience for end users."

The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Effective immediately, QuickTree employees, including CEO Raghu Bathina, will join the Citrix teams in Santa Clara, CA and Bangalore, India, reporting into the Application Networking Group.