Parallels introduced a new app-centric experience for Parallels Desktop for Mac Enterprise Edition, designed to help organizations overcome a common challenge of growing Mac adoption by providing employees with seamless access to the Windows applications they still rely on.
As Mac adoption grows across the enterprise, organizations do not necessarily have to choose between Mac and Windows, replace established applications, or maintain separate devices for employees who depend on Windows software. Parallels Desktop for Mac Enterprise Edition now gives IT teams a streamlined way to deliver supported Windows applications directly to Mac users through their existing Mac device management (MDM) workflows.
IT deploys the supported Windows application through its Mac MDM, while Parallels Desktop manages the required Windows environment and application installation behind the scenes. Users launch and work with the application directly from their Mac, without seeing or navigating the underlying Windows desktop or virtual machine (VM).
“More employees want to work on Mac, and the economics are making Mac an increasingly compelling choice for businesses. But for many organizations, the applications they depend on are still built for Windows, creating an app gap that can stand in the way of giving employees the devices they want,” said Christa Quarles, CEO of Parallels. “Parallels Desktop for Mac Enterprise Edition makes that app gap go away, giving employees the freedom to choose Mac without losing access to the Windows applications they need to do their jobs.”
Two ways to support Windows applications on Mac
The new experience gives IT greater flexibility to match how Windows is delivered to what each user actually needs.
For employees who only need specific supported Windows applications, IT can now start with the app rather than preparing and deploying a complete Windows environment. The application is packaged as a macOS app and distributed through the organization’s existing Mac MDM. Parallels Desktop handles the required Windows environment behind the scenes, reducing the steps between an application request and the employee’s first launch.
For users who need a complete Windows environment or greater configuration flexibility, IT can continue to deploy and manage full Windows VMs. Parallels Desktop for Mac Enterprise Edition also supports deployment of Linux and macOS virtual environments.
The result is not a replacement for VM-based deployment, but another option for IT. Organizations can use the app-centric experience when employees simply need access to specific Windows applications and deploy a complete virtual environment when the use case demands it.
A Mac experience for Windows-dependent applications
The new app-centric experience builds on Parallels Desktop’s Coherence technology to further abstract the Windows environment from the user. Employees see and launch the assigned application on their Mac rather than working through a separate Windows desktop.
Enhanced security controls enable IT to keep the underlying Windows environment hidden and restricted, limiting users to the applications assigned to them. IT can manage app assignment and deployment through existing Mac workflows while Parallels Desktop manages the Windows environment required to run those applications.
This approach can help organizations extend Mac to more employees and departments without requiring every Windows-dependent workflow to be replaced first. It can also reduce the need to issue or maintain a separate Windows device simply because an employee relies on a specific Windows application.
Support for commonly used Windows applications
At launch, the new app-centric experience supports a collection of preconfigured Windows applications and two security tools* across business, healthcare, financial services, engineering, communications and productivity use cases.
Supported applications include Adobe Acrobat, Bloomberg Terminal, Bluebeam Revu, Dragon Medical One, Microsoft Teams, Power BI Desktop, Microsoft Office applications, Microsoft Visio, Microsoft Project, Microsoft Access, Google Chrome and Genesys Cloud. Supported security tools include Sysmon and Nxlog. Customers may request support for additional applications through the Parallels Desktop Management Portal, subject to evaluation by Parallels.
Trial and availability
The new app-centric experience will be available exclusively with Parallels Desktop for Mac Enterprise Edition beginning November 3, 2026.
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