Corel this week announced it had acquired Parallels, a provider of widely used desktop virtualization software that allows the Windows operating system to be emulated on Apple Macintosh systems.
The primary driver of the acquisition is the simple fact that while there is not much synergy between the two vendors’ product lines, both Corel and Parallels share a common go-to-market strategy, especially in the education sector, says Parallels CEO Jack Zubarev.
“There’s almost a 90 percent overlap in customers,” says Zubarev.
The Corel portfolio today include CorelDRAW, WinZip, ClearSlide, MindManager and WordPerfect. Many of those applications are deployed on Macintosh platforms.
At the same time, Parallels has been extending its reach to include a Parallels Remote Application Server that Zubarev notes allow Windows applications to be accessed both on a remote server as well as a public cloud. Also, Parallels has developed Parallels Mac Management for Microsoft SCCM, which allows Apple Macintosh systems to be managed from within a Microsoft Systems Center Configuration Manager. Corel plans to continue to invest in developing both those offering as part of an effort to extend its reach beyond the traditional desktop, says Zubarev.
It’s not clear to what degree Parallels virtualization software might be able to pull along Corel applications within the context of the same deal or vice versa. But at the very least, the Parallels portfolio should gain access to a larger base of channel partners that could result in larger deal sizes by combine applications and desktop virtualization software in the same solution.
At the same time, VARs that have specialized in Corel application software might be able to extend the scope of their offerings to now include desktop virtualization software at a time when there are more end users than ever trying to navigate daily between Windows and Macintosh environments.
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