Virtualization solutions vendor Citrix Systems announced it has acquired Kaviza, a maker of a virtual desktop environment software for SMBs, for an undisclosed sum. Kaviza’s “VDI-in-a-Box” product represents a major milestone for Citrix, which has effectively extended its Citrix XenDesktop enterprise-purposed VDI product line with an offering targeting the small to medium businesses audience.

“The acquisition adds a unique VDI-only solution to the Citrix portfolio—allowing the company to further expand into the small and medium business market and accelerate its leadership in desktop virtualization across all market segments from small organizations to large enterprises.”

Kaviza’s offering eliminates the need for provisioning servers, separate connection brokers, load balances and shared network storage, making it pretty cost-efficient overall. It supports Citrix XenServer and VMware ESX, with Microsoft Hyper-V support coming soon, and leverages Citrix’s HDX virtual desktop user experience technology.

In a release, VDI-in-a-Box was described as a “VDI solution purpose-built for their [SMBs] needs,” rather than a scaled down enterprise offering. Kaviza’s product currently available via company resellers will also become available for customers via Citrix Solution Advisors starting July 1, 2011.

Citrix is planning on promoting its new investment at the Citrix Synergy 2011 conference in San Francisco, an event SiliconANGLE will be attending and covering live from theCube.

In addition to the Kaviza deal, Citrix just made yet another push in the desktop virtualization space. In a partnership with Rackspace, the latter is now offering a hosted desktop virtualization service , focusing on the mobile trend sweeping through the workspace. The Rackspace Hosted Virtual Desktop service includes integration with NetApp storage, thus addressing the issue of scaling the system.

Earlier, Citrix strengthened its business strategy by hiring two new executives. Cisco veteran Simon Hayes is now Citrix’s Vice President of Strategic Alliances, while former Sun exec Joe Keller will take on the role of VP of Alliances and Community Marketing.