Parallels (company)

Parallels International GmbH

Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Software, Virtualization
Founded	1999 (1999)
Founder	Serg Bell
Fate	Acquired by Corel (2018)
Headquarters	Bellevue, Washington , United States
Area served	Worldwide (including United States, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Japan, China, Spain, Malta, Australia, Mauritius)
Products	Parallels Desktop for Mac, Parallels RAS, Parallels Toolbox, Parallels Access, Parallels Desktop for ChromeOS, Parallels Desktop as a Service
Owner	Corel (parent company)
Number of employees	800+
Parent	Alludo
Website	www.parallels.com

Parallels International GmbH is a software firm based in Bellevue, Washington, focusing on virtualization solutions designed for MacOS. Established in 1999 by Serg Bell, the company has grown to employ more than 800 professionals across 14 nations, including the United States, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Japan, China, Spain, Malta, Australia, and Mauritius. Functioning as a subsidiary of Alludo, Parallels reported revenue figures around in 2008. Its range of products encompasses Parallels Desktop for Mac, Parallels RAS, Parallels Toolbox, and Parallels Access, catering primarily to virtualization and hosting automation sectors.

History

SWSoft was a privately owned company specializing in server automation and virtualization software aimed at data centers, particularly serving web hosting providers and application service firms. Their product Virtuozzo was among the first to introduce system-level server virtualization technology. In 2003, SWSoft expanded its portfolio by acquiring Plesk, a commercial platform for web hosting management.

In 2004, SWSoft purchased Parallels, Inc., a transaction publicly disclosed in 2007. That year marked the release of Parallels Workstation 2.0 for Windows and Linux platforms, followed by the launch of Parallels Desktop for Mac in mid-2006. The corporate headquarters relocated from Herndon, Virginia to Renton, Washington. The primary development centers were situated in Moscow and Novosibirsk, Russia. Parallels was initially founded by Serg Bell, who originated from the former Soviet Union before relocating to Singapore.

At Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in 2007, Parallels introduced Parallels Server for Mac, a solution enabling IT administrators to operate multiple server operating systems on a single Mac Xserve device.

In the same year, Parallels encountered legal action from German firm Netsys GmbH alleging copyright infringement related to its German distributor Avanquest. Additionally, 2007 saw the launch of the Parallels Technology Network.

In 2008, SWSoft merged with Parallels under the unified Parallels brand and acquired ModernGigabyte, LLC. June witnessed the debut of Parallels Server for Mac; by September, Parallels Desktop 4 was released for Windows, Linux, and Mac platforms. The Windows/Linux virtualization product reverted to the Parallels Workstation name with its version 6.0.

Between 2009 and 2011, Parallels broadened its offerings with releases such as Desktop 5 and 6 for Mac, Server for Mac 4.0 Mac mini edition, Parallels Transporter, Workstation 6 Extreme, Desktop 7 for Mac, Parallels Mobile for iOS, and Workstation 6.

From 2012 through 2014, the company phased out Parallels Server products for Mac, Windows, and Linux while launching Desktop versions 8 and 10 for Mac along with Mac Management tailored for Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager.

In February 2015, Parallels acquired 2X Software and rebranded its service provider division as Odin before divesting the Odin Service Automation Platform to Ingram Micro. That year also saw releases of Parallels Mac Management v4.0 and Desktop 11 for Mac.

Preceding products like Virtuozzo and Plesk were separated from Parallels in 2017.

Corel completed its acquisition of Parallels in December 2018.

On October 20, 2020, Google collaborated with Parallels to enable enterprise users to run Windows applications through Chrome Enterprise.

In February 2023, Microsoft joined forces with Parallels to facilitate support for Windows 11 on Macs powered by M-Series chips via Parallels Desktop 18.

Most recently, on January 30, 2024, Parallels unveiled its latest offering: Parallels DaaS.

Products

• Parallels Desktop for Mac – a virtualization platform supporting both x86 and ARM architectures on macOS.
• Parallels RAS – an application virtualization system that allows remote access to Windows applications hosted on shared servers or through the cloud.
• Parallels Toolbox – a suite of productivity tools designed for both Windows and macOS environments.
• Parallels Access – a remote desktop solution for iOS and Android devices enabling connection to Windows and macOS, discontinued as of April 30, 2024.
• Parallels Desktop for ChromeOS – a virtualization platform specifically created to run Windows on ChromeOS.
• Parallels Desktop as a Service – a cloud-native Desktop as a Service (DaaS) offering that delivers secure and immediate access to virtual desktops and applications.