SWsoft
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software, Virtualization |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Headquarters | Herndon, Virginia , United States |
Area served | North America, Europe, Asia |
| Products | Server automation software, virtualization software (Virtuozzo, HSPcomplete, Plesk) |
SWsoft operated as a privately owned company specializing in server automation and virtualization software, serving as the parent organization of Parallels. Its software solutions were designed for data centers, focusing on clients such as web hosting firms, application service providers, and managed service providers. The technology facilitated operating system-level virtualization, enabling multiple operating systems—including Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Solaris—to operate simultaneously on a single hardware platform.
Established in 1997, SWsoft was based in Herndon, Virginia and maintained offices throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. Its research and development division was located in Moscow, Russia, complemented by sales branches in Germany and Singapore.
In December 2007, the company revealed plans to rebrand itself as Parallels starting in 2008, consolidating its entire product portfolio under the Parallels name.
Company history
- 1997 – SWsoft founded
- 2001 – Launched Virtuozzo and HSPcomplete
- 2003 – Acquisitions of Yippi-Yeah! E-Business GmbH and Plesk Inc (developers of Confixx and Plesk); introduction of PEM data center solution and Open Fusion platform
- 2004 – Formed partnership with Acronis; released Plesk 7.0; beta release of SiteBuilder; discreet acquisition of Parallels, Inc.
- 2007 – December: Declared rebranding to Parallels; acquired WebHostAutomation Ltd, creators of HELM Control Panel
- January 2008 – Transitioned officially to Parallels, Inc.
Uses
The virtualization software developed by SWsoft primarily streamlines management of data center operations and servers by consolidating numerous servers onto a single physical server running Windows or Linux. Its target market includes web hosting providers, service companies, and enterprise clients.
By avoiding the need for each virtual server to operate a separate operating system instance, the software reduces resource consumption. Nevertheless, its adaptability is constrained: each Virtuozzo virtual environment must utilize an identical OS version, with Linux versions necessitating a customized kernel.