Parallels® Desktop for Mac is used to run Windows on Intel or Apple silicon. Users can switch between Mac and Windows applications, while retaining the macOS appearance, or use the familiar Windows desktop aesthetic.
$99.99
per year
Parallels RAS
Score 6.9 out of 10
N/A
Parallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS, formerly 2X RAS), is application virtualization technology, billed as a solution to extend the life of legacy OS (like Windows XP) with its virtual desktop for any device.
Maltese company 2X Software developed the technology, but was acquired by Parallels (in Seattle, WA) in February, 2015 to extend their cross-platform support solutions.
N/A
Pricing
Parallels Desktop for Mac
Parallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS)
Parallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS)
Likelihood to Recommend
Parallels works just like a window or application on the Mac. Hence, it is beneficial to keep both OS versions hand in hand. Parallels is very useful when writing code for mobile/iOS applications. File sharing and paste functions are very easy to use. More than one machine can be taken on Parallels. It also integrates with Microsoft Intune. It can run other OS versions other than Windows.
Scenarios where time is a factor in having a solution in place and up and running safely and securely. Where there are older devices that ordinarily wouldn't be up to the task of running modern apps and services. Where users need to work away from the network, and security is a concern.
File Transfer - You can easily transfer files between Parallels virtualized desktops and the host desktop either through Copy and Paste functionality, or Drag and Drop. You can also configure shared folders.
Switch Between Virtual and Host Desktop - You can configure swipe gestures on a MacBook Pro to be able to switch between the virtualized and host desktop. You can also launch apps from the OS X Taskbar.
Performance - Apps in Parallels run quite smoothly on my 2015 MacBook Pro, as of 2020. Considering they are running on a 5-year-old computer, I give Parallels top marks for performance.
The printing driver is quite excellent, both in the Parallels Client and on the HTML5 client.
Setup is incredibly easy; the default setup is very functional, and adding features is a breeze.
Speed is very acceptable in general for end-users, the clients adapt quite well to the amount of bandwidth available, and features are available to adjust further.
The ability to do snapshots, backups, and other types of branching for VMs is a little confusing and takes a bit to get used to
The Parallels tools frequently pop up windows advertising functionality, while this is helpful at times it can also happen when you are doing a presentation or typing in a password.
Careful using the VMs on a shared cloud drive such as Dropbox or OneDrive, there are hundreds and sometimes thousands of files which are updated when running a VM and this can clog up your Dropbox or OneDrive sync for minutes to hours even on a 2gb connection.
Licensing, our perpetual license was forcefully removed from us after 8 years without warning, causing a doubling of the price, after providing a signed sales quote for renewal through our VAR. Parallels sales team did not seem to care, and was willing to throw away a customer who used their services for nearly a decade, and throw our VAR under the bus.
continued addition of new features for existing platforms, not just a focus on the hot new cloud offerings.
We are completely pleased with the ease of deployment and use with Parallels. It has proven to be reliable, and Parallels technical support is there when we need them. There is a large user audience online for peer consultations and discussions. In general, it is a functional and easily maintained utility which serves our needs.
The product is very useful and fairly easy to maintain. We enjoy the multiple additonal platforms we can now run our Windows only Client Server applications on, such as Macs, iPads, phones, etc. We also find that speed is improved for using this applications over a WAN, while it still FEELS like running the application locally.
It has a good integration, including the connection of peripherals. Taking files back and forth works well and I can attach my Home drive as a network drive in Windows. There is even integration with iCloud and other macOS services. There are also a few different display modes which are useful and fleixible (coherence, windowed, full-screen with multiple screens)
Parallels RAS was easy to setup, with great admin guides and resources. We especially liked the included Visio templates which made diagramming much easier. The reference deployment diagrams also simplified our deployment process. Our end users love Parallels RAS. Apps launch faster than Citrix, and the Parallels RAS client is far more reliable than Workspace.
If there are any issues with Parallels - they are usually more about the server operating systems than Parallels itself. It would be rare for us to have any reason to take Parallels offline - we schedule a reboot on the servers at 3am to keep the O/S itself fresh, but again - it is not a Parallels issue. If individual users have any issues we ask them to completely log out of parallels - which ends their session - and then back in - and that typically resolves the issue right away.
I am giving Parallels 9/10 on this one because the only application that sometimes seems slow or has issues - is Microsoft Outlook. It is sometimes the result of a pop-up that may not show up in the published application (vs full desktop). Other than that - pages load very quickly - and it does not seem to slow down other applications that are running at the same time. Most of our users run Outlook, softphone and Teams locally - and published applications for everything else. When they do that - it is very solid.
So, this rating is a little skewed toward older behavior from Parallels, as I haven't had to contact them recently. However, in an older version of Parallels, an "update" included pop-ups urging users to upgrade to the latest version, implying that their current version wouldn't work for the latest MacOS. I found it very frustrating to be getting ads for a new version of the software in a version I had already paid for. I contacted support about this and got a generic, uncaring response. It was pretty disappointing.
Good support in place if required, very helpful when it comes to upgrades or any issues faced. The support team is knowledgeable, friendly, and quick to respond to issues The company also provides a range of online resources, including a knowledge base, documentation, and forums, which can be helpful before raising a ticket
Overall, it was pretty simple compared to most other projects. Again, we had a strong familarity with the product so there was not much of a learning curve. Our 'biggest' issue is the end-user understanding of a 'local' application and a published application. For example - Online meetings need to run locally for camera/video to work smoothly so opening a link to a meeting from a published application continues to be an occasional issue.
Parallels provides what we need at a reasonable cost. VMware was a bit pricier, and Parallels has more of a "Mac-like" feel for the application itself. UTM and Crossover were a bit too "hacker-ish" for basic end users that just want to pop in and out of windows when necessary. Parallels is well supported and easy to use. It is also heavily used in Higher Education, which gives us a peer audience to work with.
Citrix has more bells and whistles within their product line, but we've actually been pleasantly surprised with the performance of Parallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS) vs our Citrix implementation. Citrix Netscaler has way more functionality than the Parallels Halb, but for the most part, we used none of that extra functionality and the Halb simplicity is refreshing. very little upkeep needed
We added our Integrated Services Staff to parallels, with filtered, published applications - in a single afternoon. We added licensing and installed the desktop client software on multiple platforms both in the office and at remote sites all on the same day - and got remote users that had never used the product up and running - very quickly.
The cost versus benefit is definitely in the users' favor - the licensing terms for simple desktop usage are very generous, and the business impact is enormous, being able to seamlessly jump from one OS to the other without dealing with multiple physical VMs or cloud remote sessions.
Our customers have had dramatic cost decreases due to no longer needing IT departments to work with our software.
We've been able to charge more for our hosting services due to our customers saving money in the long run. Parallels Remote Application Server has more than paid for itself, and the increased income has gone right back into the business.
Both our customers and our company have benefited from this transition.
