Parallels is Bringing Desktop Virtualization to Chrome OS for Enterprise

In June, Google revealed that it was partnering with Parallels to bring legacy application support to Chrome OS for Enterprise, and there was a lot of speculation about how that would be pulled off. Now we know: Parallels is porting its Desktop virtualization solution to Chrome OS for Enterprise so that users can run Windows apps locally on Chromebooks.

The product will be called Parallels Desktop for Chromebook Enterprise.

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“Parallels Desktop for Chromebook Enterprise will make it simple for IT administrators to provision Chromebooks with Windows virtual machines and the required full-featured Windows applications employees need to run,” Parallels senior vice president Nick Dobrovolsiky said in a prepared statement. “IT admins will be able to easily manage familiar automated corporate Windows image deployments they prepare, provision, and automatically provide to their employees. Those virtual machines are fully capable Windows installations; admins can install applications, manage them remotely, and support users with familiar tools—just like they do with physical Windows PCs.”

Parallels Desktop for Chromebook Enterprise will be released “later this year,” Parallels says, and it appears that it will work similarly to the firm’s Parallels Desktop for Mac.

Parallels also points out that Parallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS) and Parallels Access solutions work across Chromebook, Android, iOS, PC, and Mac, and provide remote access to full Windows desktop environments and applications.

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Conversation 9 comments

  • ThemainJP

    Premium Member
    06 August, 2020 - 11:37 am

    <p>What would be the advantage of doing this over simply installing Chrome on a managed Windows laptop?</p>

  • earlster

    Premium Member
    06 August, 2020 - 11:38 am

    <p>Will this run on ARM based Chromebooks, or Intel only? The press release does not have any requirements listed.</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      07 August, 2020 - 9:14 am

      Am guessing only Intel given what it does, but, yeah, it doesn’t say.

  • scovious

    06 August, 2020 - 1:30 pm

    <p>It almost seems like everything Google creates is just what someone else made first, but now it needs way more RAM. Android, Chrome, and now virtualization. Does Google secretly own the RAM supply chain or something?</p>

  • kdjones74

    Premium Member
    06 August, 2020 - 3:16 pm

    <p>I love the idea of a simplified workstation to manage, like ChromeOS or Windows Lite, but this solution would have all us managing two OS's for each workstation.</p><p><br></p><p>Smells like a solution in search of a problem IMHO.</p><p><br></p><p>I don't know why Microsoft doesn't make a Windows 10 deployable OS based on the version of Windows on a Surface Hub. I work for a hospital system and we have "autologon workstations" in our clinical areas, where doctors/nurses need to quickly log on/off. Full Windows 10 takes too long, but Windows on Surface Hub is rather quick to switch between users.</p>

  • IanYates82

    Premium Member
    06 August, 2020 - 5:27 pm

    <p>This could only appeal to the anti-Windows crowd that still has to run Windows apps. Beefing up a Chromebook to run Windows – in a VM!! – negates a lot of what people like about Chromebooks.</p><p>There will be a market for this, but I'm not sure it's a big one.</p>

  • hrlngrv

    Premium Member
    07 August, 2020 - 1:07 am

    <p>If one needs to buy a Windows license to use this, what would be the benefit over just buying a laptop with Windows as the host OS? Definitely seems like a solution desperately seeking a problem.</p>

    • wright_is

      Premium Member
      07 August, 2020 - 6:19 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#559531">In reply to hrlngrv:</a></em></blockquote><p>Unless you have a 100% ChromeOS organisation and you have 1 or 2 users that also need a Windows application. You keep the users on ChromeOS for everything but the 1 or 2 Windows applications they need. Which, if that is the case, you probably won't be able to provision Windows easily.</p>

  • crunchyfrog

    07 August, 2020 - 11:47 am

    <p>Hmm, I guess this picks up where Google left us hanging with Campfire. Great idea, too bad I got rid of my i5 PixelBook. </p>

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