Top 10 Challenges CISOs Face with App and Desktop Delivery
Why They’re Getting Harder Every Year
App and Desktop Delivery used to be a predictable, well-defined part of IT strategy. Today, it sits at the center of cyber risk, operational complexity, and regulatory pressure. For CISOs, it has become one of the hardest domains to secure, because the traditional playbook no longer works.
Below, we break down the most significant challenges CISOs face and why they matter more than ever in 2025 and beyond.
1. Securing Access in a Hybrid, Everywhere Workforce
Work is no longer tied to corporate buildings, or corporate-owned devices. Employees access critical applications from home offices, personal laptops, coffee shops, and international locations.
CISOs must enforce zero trust across:
- Identity
- Device Posture
- Location
- Permissions
- User Behavior
A single weak link in the chain can open the door to credential theft, account compromise, and ransomware.
2. Maintaining User Experience While Increasing Security Controls
Security traditionally slows users down. CISOs are now expected to deliver:
- Frictionless Authentication
- Fast Logins
- Responsive Apps
- Fewer Tickets
…while layering on MFA, continuous verification, containerization, DLP, DNS filtering, and more.
The modern CISO dilemma: security cannot break productivity.
3. Increasing Complexity of Legacy VDI Environments
Citrix and VMware environments were never simple. Now they’re even harder to secure as:
- Teams shrink
- Infrastructures age
- Vendors change licensing models
- Hybrid Apps mix cloud and on-prem delivery
Even small misconfigurations can create major vulnerabilities.
4. Vendor Licensing Turmoil & Forced Transitions
CISOs now face pressure around:
- Citrix licensing changes (LAS, 250-user minimums, higher pricing)
- VMware’s Broadcom-driven model
- Microsoft’s continual ecosystem updates
Security leaders are being pushed into strategic decisions with real risk and real budgets—under tight timelines and with minimal guidance.
5. SaaS Sprawl with Shadow IT Expanding the Attack Surface
Users adopt apps faster than IT can secure them. Multiple authentication mechanisms, unmanaged cloud services, and siloed application footprints make it nearly impossible to maintain consistent access policies.
The attack surface is no longer a network, it’s every App a user touches.
6. Ransomware & Lateral Movement Through App Delivery Channels
VDI and application gateways are high-value targets. Attackers exploit:
- Outdated NetScaler/Gateway appliances
- Unsecured ADCs
- Misconfigured Identity Policies
- Overly Permissive Network Paths
A single compromised session can lead to domain takeover, data exfiltration, and extended downtime.
7. Rising Compliance Requirements (HIPAA, GLBA, FIPS, PCI)
Regulators now expect:
- Complete audit trails
- Strong identity assurance
- Continuous authentication
- Enforced least privilege
- Session isolation
CISOs must design app and desktop delivery architectures that serve both security and compliance functions simultaneously.
8. Fragmented Tooling and Limited End-to-End Visibility
Identity platforms, endpoint tools, ADCs, VDI stacks, and cloud services rarely share a single pane of glass.
This fragmentation leads to:
- Slow incident response
- Blind spots across environments
- Difficulty correlating activity
- Inconsistent policy enforcement
CISOs can’t protect what they can’t see.
9. Business Continuity Across Multi-Cloud and Hybrid Workloads
Apps now live everywhere—on-prem, cloud, multi-cloud, distributed data centers, and colocation.
Resiliency must account for:
- Cloud Outages
- Ransomware
- Forced Licensing Lapses
- Single-vendor Dependency
- infrastructure Failure
Recent events have shown: no cloud or provider is infallible.
10. Delivering Modern Workspaces With Limited IT Staffing
There simply aren’t enough engineers who deeply understand Citrix, AVD, Azure Local, identity security, and ZTNA.
CISOs are forced to:
- Do more with fewer specialists
- Reduce tool sprawl
- Lean on trusted engineering partners for stability and modernization
This is fueling a shift toward engineering-driven managed services that treat app and desktop delivery as a mission-critical discipline—not an afterthought.
Final Takeaway
CISOs today sit at the intersection of usability, security, compliance, and modernization. App and desktop delivery is no longer a background function, it is a frontline security domain. Organizations that modernize their access architecture, unify identity, and adopt a zero-trust approach will be the ones that reduce risk, increase reliability, and give users the secure experience they expect.
