Corel Grows Enterprise Apps Footprint with Parallels Acquisition

Sean Michael

Updated · Dec 21, 2018

Ottawa, Canada based Corel Corporation has a diverse portfolio of both consumer and enterprise applications brands, and is now expanding into the remote application and virtualization space.

Corel announced on December 20 that it has acquired the Parallels business, which includes Parallels Desktop for Mac, Parallels Toolbox for Windows and Mac, Parallels Access, Parallels Mac Management for Microsoft SCCM, and Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS). Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Parallels Desktop for Mac is a well-known tool in the macOS community, enabling users of Apple’s desktop system to run Windows on Mac hardware in a virtualized mode. The remote access technologies provide virtual desktop and other application delivery capabilities needed for enterprise applications.

“Parallels and Corel share a common vision, market leadership, and passion for innovation,” Jack Zubarev, CEO of Parallels, wrote in a media advisory. “We look forward to continuing to serve our customers and partners with best-in-class software as part of Corel.”

Corel offers a wide range of applications including illustration software (CorelDraw and CorelCAD), photo editing (Paint Shop Pro), and video tools including Video Studio Pro and WinDVD.

Corel also still manages, supports and develops WordPerfect, which was one of the first broadly successful word processing programs. Corel acquired WordPerfect from Novell in January 1996, and has continued to update and maintain the software ever since.

Parallels

Parallels has been particularly busy lately, releasing multiple updates to its enterprise applications portfolio.

On Nov. 6, Parallels Toolbox 3 launched, providing new desktop utility tools for both Windows and macOS. On Nov. 1, Parallels announced the Remote Application Server (RAS) 16.5.1 release, providing delegated session management for its virtual application delivery technology. Back on Aug. 21, Parallels Desktop 14 for Mac became generally available, enabling users of the new macOS Mojave to run Windows alongside Apple’s latest desktop operating system.

“From our highly complementary product portfolios to our shared business models and strategies, Corel and Parallels are a great fit,” Patrick Nichols, CEO of Corel, wrote in a media advisory. “Thanks to the combined power of our technologies and teams, we see tremendous opportunities to drive continued growth and success for our businesses and, most importantly, our customers.”

Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at EnterpriseAppsToday and InternetNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.

Sean Michael
Sean Michael

Sean Michael is a writer who focuses on innovation and how science and technology intersect with industry, technology Wordpress, VMware Salesforce, And Application tech. TechCrunch Europas shortlisted her for the best tech journalist award. She enjoys finding stories that open people's eyes. She graduated from the University of California.

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