Oh, how many wonderful discoveries
Parallels has in store for us here.
And Citrix, the careless ignoramus,
will suddenly disappear for a moment.
This article is a logical continuation of "" and is dedicated to my closer acquaintance with Parallels, primarily with their product Parallels RAS. I recommend reading the previous article for a full understanding of my position. Some readers may find my article somewhat aggressive towards Parallels. However, if aggressive marketing does not surprise us, then constructive criticism should not either. This introductory article will discuss the market positioning of the Parallels RAS product.
Parallels, a bit of history
I believe that Parallels should be considered from the perspective of its historical development. My acquaintance with the company began over 10 years ago, due to the then-necessary use of Windows 7 on MacOS via Parallels Desktop. I should note that this acquisition truly made my life easier. I do not know how much this need still exists in 2020, and how many users buy Macs to run Windows on them. In this market segment, the competitors to Parallels Desktop are VMware Fusion and a free product from Oracle, VirtualBox. In the context of our narrative, the interesting fact is the acquisition of Parallels by the Maltese company 2X Software in 2015. In 2018, the company acquired Parallels, which did not affect its operations in any way. In 2019, the parent company Corel ceased to exist independently, as it was acquired by the investment firm .
If we look solely at Parallels' portfolio, we can see that all its products, except for RAS (Remote Application Server), are targeted exclusively at computer users running macOS, both private and corporate, and in this, it is clearly a leader. All further discussion will focus exclusively on the Parallels RAS product.
With the creator of Parallels RAS, at that time the company I encountered this over six years ago. At that time, I was interested in MDM (Mobile Device Management) vendors. The first sentence on the About page of 2X Software began with the phrase “2X Software is a global leader in virtual application and mobile device management solutions.” I was somewhat taken aback by such a bold claim, assuming that there were actually two real leaders, AirWatch and MobileIron, and I even had to consult the Gartner Magic Quadrant — Unified Endpoint Management of that time. But 2X Software was not listed among the leaders, and it was not even mentioned in the Gartner comparison. I sincerely understand that if someone calls themselves Napoleon, it's not necessary to convince them otherwise; they need compassion. Maybe I'm mistaken, but even in self-promotion, one shouldn’t drift so far from reality. (The company offered its clients two products: X2 RAS 2X MDM).
How popular is the product, how is it positioned, and what is its actual market share?
Discussing market share is arguably the most challenging question for any IT vendor, as there are no real methods for independent assessment. The same applies to popularity. As an independent source, I suggest considering five reports created by the following organizations:
1. IDC (International Data Corporation). In this case, we will examine and compare two reports:
- IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Virtual Client Computing Software 2016 Vendor Assessment
- IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Virtual Client Computing 2019 – 2020 Vendor Assessment
The charts clearly show that Parallels' position has undergone, in my view, significant changes over the past four years, and not in a positive direction.
In 2016, being in the group of major players, Parallels got very close to the leader group, but four years later Parallels has lagged behind, moving closer to the contenders group. Is this a success?
2. VDI like a PRO. In this case, we are talking about a report created by three widely recognized experts in the EUC field. The report is based on a survey of a significant number of participants (2018 – 750, 2019 – 582, 2020 – 695):
- State of the VDI and SBC union 2017 — Authors: Ruben Spruijt and Mark Plettenberg
- End User Computing State of the Union 2018 — Authors: Ruben Spruijt and Mark Plettenberg
- End User Computing State of the Union 2019 — Authors: Ruben Spruijt, Christiaan Brinkhoff and Mark Plettenberg
- End User Computing State of the Union 2020 — Authors: Ruben Spruijt, Christiaan Brinkhoff and Mark Plettenberg
The survey included the following questions:
- 2018 – 2019 "What VDI solution is used in your local infrastructure?"
- 2018 – 2019 "What SBC solution is currently deployed in your local infrastructure?"
- 2020 What SBC and VDI solution is currently deployed in your local infrastructure?
I assume that, like me, you are surprised at how such a development has become possible? How did Parallels manage to achieve such remarkable popularity in 2019 and fall to zero in 2020? First of all, in 2019, Parallels was one of the sponsors of the report, alongside Bitdefender. The sponsorship itself is not a problem, but let's not confuse sponsorship with charity. Sponsorship implies preserving investments and returning them in another form. A little story from life. The wife of a friend of mine opened a beauty salon; I was asked to positively mention it in one of their social networks, which I, of course, did as a favor... After a while, the salon's page had a significantly large number of positive feedbacks.
As for the product positioning in the market, it is somewhat unusual. If you read the materials on the Parallels RAS page, you will probably, like me, be surprised by the constant one-sided comparisons of Parallels RAS with Citrix products. By the way, why Citrix and not VMware? Do they see Citrix as the real market leader they are trying to emulate?
If we refer to the aforementioned reports, it will be hard not to notice another product taking a leading position: VMware Horizon. So, does it mean that Parallels RAS is only better than Citrix, but worse than VMware Horizon? And why is there no explanation of why a client needs Microsoft RDS (the basis for CVAD, Horizon, and Parallels RAS) at all as an addition to an existing, usually small and budget-friendly RDS infrastructure? The existing comparison with Microsoft seems unconvincing.
To explain what Citrix is, I used to compare it to car tuning. So, let's start by noting that all the products mentioned above serve the same primary purpose, namely transmitting the workspace image (HSD/VDI) located in the data center to any user device. The distance from the user to the data center should not negatively affect the quality of their work. Thus, the protocols for ensuring terminal access are a key element. If we return to our car tuning comparison, Microsoft RDP is our good basic configuration (continuously improved with each new version), while Citrix HDX or VMware Blast Extreme represents our high-quality, serious tuning. Speaking of tuning, it comes in various forms. Full tuning alters key basic parameters of the engine, chassis, braking system, etc. Brands like Brabus, Alpina, and Carlsson can be categorized as serious tuning. Alternatively, one can visit a workshop around the corner and for a relatively small amount spruce up the 'base configuration.'
Parallels RAS does not have its own data transmission protocol but utilizes the 'base configuration' of RDP. Parallels RAS is primarily a more user-friendly and relatively straightforward infrastructure management console for RDS, replacing some components with its own.
Some bold claims
I believe this article is not entirely suitable for a detailed discussion of the product architecture. Furthermore, if the statements on the official page are to be believed, Parallels RAS is so simple and intuitive that deployment can take just a few minutes: 'Installing and configuring Parallels RAS is simple and straightforward. The default setup can create a fully functional environment in just a few minutes without requiring any training.'
This raises the question of what deployment is being referred to. Let's imagine that a potential customer downloaded the trial version and decided to approach the product installation more seriously than just 'Next, Next, Finish,' opting for the 'Custom' installation mode.
Answer yourself one simple question: what components need to be installed first? And remember, you have a few minutes. I understand that this is all advertisement, and other Parallels documents mention two to three weeks from PoC to Roll-Out. But should advertising differ so much from reality?
The following diagram is an example of architecture for 5000 users; impressive, isn't it? As they say, you can never have too many good components.
Conclusion
Parallels RAS is indeed a curious solution, and it is developing regularly with new features being added frequently, but...
Dear colleagues, perhaps it's time to evaluate your product more realistically and avoid making unfounded claims about the 'undeniable' shortcomings of competitors' products, especially Citrix, and instead describe realistic Use Cases?
I would also like to remind you of another undeniable fact that for any major system integrator, it is important to offer clients a choice of several of the best solutions on the market, objectively presenting their advantages and disadvantages. Many clients limit their choices to the current leaders in the Magic Quadrant, initially filtering out all niche solutions.
I would be glad to hear about your experience with integrating the aforementioned product, if any.
Always open to constructive comments.
To be continued…
P.S. I'm interested in collaborating with colleagues from Parallels RAS to improve the quality of the material.
Source: habr.com
