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As calendars flip forward for the start of 2008, SWsoft, maker of Parallels software that allows Windows to run on Intel-based Macs, will take on a new moniker, the company announced Wednesday. In January, SWsoft will be known simply as "Parallels."
Along with its new name, the company will unveil a new logo and refresh its line of products, including its Virtuozzo software, with a new slate of names.
In addition, SWsoft revealed its new Optimized Computing initiative, which will offer users its desktop and server virtualization products in combination with its automation software.
"This is the first in a series of moves that will help our customers and partners realize the benefits of what we are calling 'Optimized Computing,'" said Serguei Beloussov, CEO, SWsoft. "This means enhancing Windows, Linux, Mac, x86 and ia64-based bare metal systems with innovative hypervisor-based virtualization, container-based virtualization and a suite of complementary automation solutions. Truly optimized computing requires virtualization, system automation and business automation components -- which our company is unique in providing."
New Year, New Name
SWsoft's decision to adopt the Parallels name, the name of the Herndon, Va.-based virtualization company SWsoft purchased back in 2004, is a move undertaken as the company fights for a share of the virtualization pie against larger competitors such as VMware (NYSE: VMW) and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT).
The problem for the software maker is that although its Parallels application is widely known to Mac users, many of them do not associate the software with SWsoft, the company said.
"Parallels is a known commodity in the Mac world. SWsoft ... I am not sure that many of its customers would know who they are," Natalie Lambert, a Forrester Research analyst, told MacNewsWorld.
"This name change will be to their benefit. It will give them creditability as they enter new markets. This is because they will be known to have successful products in tangential markets. Competing with the VMwares, Citrixs and Microsofts of the world will not be easy. Going to market with a brand name will go far," she added.
Aligning itself by name with its strongest and best known product is a shrewd attempt to elevate SWsoft based on the strength of Parallels, said Stephen Elliot, director of enterprise system management at IDC.
"They increasingly want to be seen as a virtualization leader. Company naming is an art form. What really matters is product and sales 
execution across consumer and enterprise markets. Balancing resource allocation for these markets is where the success or failure of the company will reside," he explained.
Changing its name to Parallels should prompt existing SWsoft customers to ask about roadmaps and corporate commitment to these products, Elliot told MacNewsWorld. At the same time, it will help the company as well as current and prospective customers identify and focus on the array of products the firm offers.
"What it does is help identify the company for what they stand for. Prior, it was quite confusing. There was a lack of focus on what the company stood for in terms of corporate marketing and product grouping," Elliot pointed out.
Parallel Products
The Optimized Computing initiative is based on the company's Parallels Open Platform -- an overlay platform that brings together its desktop and server virtualization system and business automation assets in conjunction with a continually expanding ecosystem of partner solutions for use in on-premise, hosted and Software as a Service (SaaS) usage models, according to SWsoft.
Although a significant portion of the company's new initiative is about marketing, Elliot said, it may also be an effort to join VMware's seemingly disparate product categories under a single umbrella during a banner year for the virtualization industry.
"They are riding the virtualization wave and looking to bring together their hodgepodge of products under one corporate marketing message," he explained. "It's a decent tag line for what they offer to customers and matches well with their existing portfolio."
This year saw significant gains for the industry. In August, VMware announced its initial public offering. Then in October, Citrix (Nasdaq: CTXS) revealed its US$500 million deal to purchase XenSource. Last month, Charles Phillips, president of Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL), called virtualization "hot" as he unveiled the company's own virtualization offering, Oracle VM.
The new year will also bring new versions of SWsoft's most popular software. SWsoft will roll out the fourth version of its Virtuozzo hypervisor technology, which partitions Linux and Microsoft-based operating systems on x86 servers using its virtual containers technology.
The company will also release a new virtualization management software that will manage both Virtuozzo and Parallels, as well as third-party virtualization technologies in a single and flexible solution, SWsoft said.
These changes could help SWsoft make up ground against VMware and Microsoft, Elliot stated.
"It could from the perspective of helping better identify what the company's products stand for and their long-term strategy as a company. It's rarely about company identity in this case and grasping a strong product brand that has high customer satisfaction and quality reviews," he continued.
"This is an important move for the company as it grows and enters larger markets where branding and identity matter. However, product execution and product marketing are also key indicators for long-term success for virtualization players," Elliot concluded.
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