Macs Are In Business, Virtually

Next Tuesday a new product from Parallels will go on sale that could make it more appealing for businesses to switch to Mac servers , the back-office hardware and software that let tech managers share files, printers and manage computers connected to local area networks.

Investors take note.

clipped from blogs.wsj.com One thing that has helped Apple make modest inroads into the business market in recent years has been a handy new breed of “virtualization” software that lets Macintosh users operate Windows applications at the same time they’re running Mac software. So far, virtualization software has made it easier for users of desktop software to switch to Macs. Parallels Server for Mac, a $999 product which has been in test mode, will be available in final form. The product will let companies that buy Apple’s software server product, called Mac OS X Server, continue to run Windows and Linux applications, like databases, e-mail servers and other programs. In a phone interview, Serguei Beloussov, CEO of Parallels, tells the Business Technology Blog that the product will remove one further obstacle to Mac adoption within big businesses. “It makes it a no brainer,” Beloussov says. Virtualization may be a boon for Apple