Virtualization Daily

Parallels has won a MacWorld Editors Choice award for Parallels Desktop on Mac OS X. It’s an obvious choice for the award as Parallels is easily one of the most important pieces of Mac software released this year. So congratulations to the folks at Parallels, it’s yet another kudo for what has to have been a wild ride of a year for those guys.

The Parallels case is actually a really interesting situation to look at. Prior to the beginning of this year I don’t know anyone who had even heard of them. They were very much an also ran in the Windows and Linux virtualization markets thanks to the dominance of VMWare. But VMWare made a pretty interesting mistake when Apple announced that Mac OS X was being ported to Intel CPUs. Typically the Mac market doesn’t reward companies for quick ports of products from other platforms. Mac users like to see a Mac specific user interface that’s very focused on usability and generally staying out of the users way. This is considered a critical element of what makes the Mac experience so pleasant when compared to the more dominant platforms. However, in the case of Parallels, there was so much pent up demand for what the product does it just didn’t matter that it was a simple port from another platform. It worked well enough, in fact it simply worked, and in a rare case for the Mac, that’s all the market really required. The end result? Parallels has taken off. In fact, it’s pretty much become standard equipment for owners of Intel based Macs.

In contrast, VMWare took what is usually the commendable and correct route for developing a Mac product, they started out by building a Mac specific user interface from scratch. Normally that’s what the Mac market likes to see, but in this case it wasn’t really necessary and it really looks like it’s going to cost VMWare the Macintosh market. Plus, in an interesting twist, Parallels in now ahead in Mac UI integration and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. The Mac is everything to them, whereas to VMWare it’s just a niche platform. I’m in the beta program for VMWare Fusion on the Mac and it’s a long way from being ready. By the time it reaches final release, Parallels will have an even more advanced version out that will gain much of what was missing on a UI level from the initial releases.

Virtualization on the Mac is an interesting area because it had one very solid killer app, running Windows applications without rebooting. VMWare failed to realize the importance of this and the level of demand that was being created. The switch to Intel chips was a critical juncture for the Mac and having a solid way to continue using the few Windows apps that people required was essential to enable switching. Parallels filled that need well enough and has been rewarded.
They now own the Mac virtualization market and while it may be a niche market, the level of penetration of virtualization among the user base is vastly higher than it is for Windows users. Again that whole killer app thing. On Windows, there’s really little reason for the average user to take any interest in virtualization, but on the Mac, it’s a critical element for stepping away from that which came before. It represents freedom, and makes an Intel based Mac the single most powerful machine you can own. Parallels is riding that wave and VMWare has missed an opportunity that could prove more costly than they realize.

So again, congratulations to the folks at Parallels. I and every other Mac user I know, truly appreciate the gamble you took on the Mac market. I’m thrilled to see you rewarded for it.