Do you want your Mac to work like a Windows machine? There are many reasons that small to mid-size businesses like yours want this kind of functionality, but the most common reasons are:
- I don’t like Macs.
- My employees don’t know how to use Mac OS.
- I want to make use of what’s on a remote computer – at home or another office.
- The applications I want to use aren’t available for or don’t work well on Macs.
If any of these reasons sound familiar to you, you’re in the right place! Let’s talk about VMware Fusion 10 and Parallels Desktop 13. To run a cloned or virtual Windows machine on your Mac, these are the two big players on the market.
What are the advantages of using Parallels Desktop 13 or VMWare Fusion 10?
You can:
- Run Windows on a Mac.
- Utilize a virtual Windows machine.
- Save time.
- Save money.
- Save space.
If you want a seamless Windows experience on your Mac, either one of these software packages will do the job for you. They were each developed by leaders in the field, and their developers stand behind these products. Depending on the package you buy, you may have to spend more money if you want ongoing support.
So, with Parallels Desktop 13 and VMware Fusion 10 both on the market, how do you choose which is right for your internal workflow and broader network configuration?
It’s certainly possible to pick up one of these options, install it, and hope for the best. But that’s exactly what you would be doing–hoping for the best.
The truth is, this is a level of technology that isn’t as simple as plug-and-play. For Parallels Desktop 13 or VMware Fusion 10 to work as they should require an IT professional to set up and maintain it. Without the correct configuration and ongoing support, either of these applications could be a drain on your time rather than a boost to your business.
What’s the difference between VMware Fusion 10 and Parallels Desktop 13?
As we dive into the nuts and bolts of these two impressive software packages, we learn that despite their identical purpose, they are, in fact, very different. Yes, both will allow you to use a cloned or virtual Windows machine on your Mac computer, but that’s pretty much where the similarities end. It seems that each developer decided to emphasize different features within the user experience. This makes for two unique offerings that essentially accomplish the same purpose.
Because these two products are so similar, deciding which to use for your small to mid-size business may come down to the finer features included in the recent–almost simultaneous–releases of VMware Fusion 10 and Parallels Desktop 13.
While the developers would point out dozens, if not hundreds of tiny differences between the two, here are the ones that most people are interested in.
Parallels Desktop 13
- Cortana Integration
- Folder Sharing – Between OSX and Windows
- Maintenance Mode for the Virtual Machine
- Virtual Machine Icon in Mac Dock
- Compatible with macOS High Sierra
- One Click Windows 10 Install
- Supports Retina Display
- Presentation Mode
- Customize Touch Bar for Windows applications
- Drag and Drop to Open a Document in Windows
- Search Feature for Virtual Machine Configuration
- Virtual Machine Starts Automatically – Windows Always in Background
- Coherence Mode – Windows Apps Made to Act Like Mac Apps
- Wizard to Free Up Disk Space in Virtual Machine
- Safari Plugin for “Open in Explorer” Function
VMware Fusion 10
- New, Easier, User Interface
- Touch Bar Integration
- Run Mac and Windows Applications Side-by-Side
- Share Virtual Machines with other VMware Fusion users
- Utilizes the Latest Releases of Windows 10 without trouble
- 18 Months of E-mail Support
- Eligible for Upgrade Pricing – For Next Release
- Unity View – Uses Windows Apps Like You Use Mac Apps
- Supports Retina Display
- Supports Mac Metal – for Better Graphics and Battery Life
- Import Virtual Machines from Parallels Desktop
- Migration Assistant
- MacOS 10.13 Host and Guest Support
- Virtualization-Based Security – for Compliance Standards.
- Virtual Trusted Platform Module
- SSD Based Storage
What hardware do you need to run VMware Fusion 10 or Parallels Desktop 13?
Here are the hardware and software requirement specs for each software package (taken directly from each developer’s page). It’s essential that you take the time to ensure your Mac fits within the given criteria.
Hardware:
- A Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, Intel Core M or Xeon processor
- 4 GB of memory (8 GB recommended)
- 850 MB of disk space on the boot volume (Macintosh HD) for Parallels Desktop installation
- Additional disk space for virtual machines (varies by operating system installed)
- SSD drive is recommended for better performance
- Internet connection for product activation and select features
Software:
- macOS High Sierra 12.13 or later
- macOS Sierra 10.12.5 or later
- OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 or later
- OS X Yosemite 10.10.5 or later
- Apple Mac launched in 2011 or later*
- Also supports the 2010 Mac Pro “Six Core,” “Eight Core” and “Twelve Core” models.*
- Minimum 4GB of RAM
- 750MB free disk space for VMware Fusion and at least 5GB for each virtual machine
- Mac OS X 10.11.0 or later
- Operating system installation media (disk or disk image) for virtual machines.
- Microsoft Windows is not included with VMware Fusion.
Recommended graphics hardware for Windows DirectX 10 or OpenGL 3.3 support:
- NVIDIA 8600M or better
- ATI 2600 or better
Minimum requirements for Metal support:
- See Apple’s documentation regarding Metal supported Macs: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205073
*Support excludes the 2012 Mac Pro “Quad Core” using the Intel® Xeon® W3565 Processor due to CPU architecture incompatibility.
Need some help deciding between Parallels Desktop 13 and VMware Fusion 10? We can help! The team of friendly IT professionals at Ivy Networks are standing by to answer your Mac and Windows questions. We would be happy to advise you on the right product for your requirements plus implement and maintain it to give you the best user experience for your investment. (603) 554-8880 or hello@ivynetworks.com