Parallels: Building and Leading a ISV, MSP, CSP, OEM Program From Scratch.
Situation
Parallels, a leader in Apple virtualization, acquired 2X Software, a small EMEA-based company, to enter the VDI and Virtual Application market. The acquisition aimed to expand Parallels’ virtualization portfolio, targeting large enterprise customers and new global markets. As the lead strategist, I was tasked with assessing the acquired business and developing a go-to-market (GTM) strategy to capitalize on high-potential opportunities in the VDI/Virtual Apps space.
My responsibilities included:
- Delivering data-driven strategic recommendations through qualitative and quantitative analysis.
- Creating an actionable framework for rapid execution.
- Presenting findings to the C-level executive team within one business quarter.
Action Plan
I designed a comprehensive action plan to evaluate the business, focusing on sales, channel strategies, technical capabilities, market positioning, customer/partner satisfaction, and a SWOT analysis.
Key actions included:
- Establishing regular feedback sessions with the SVP of Global Sales (weekly) and the President/CEO (monthly) to align on progress and direction.
- Analyzing sales data, including sales cycles, retention rates, and transaction averages.
- Collaborating with cross-functional teams (product management, marketing, sales, support, legal, operations, and development) to gain a holistic view of the business.
- Conducting interviews with current and former top customers and partners to assess Parallels RAS’s impact, challenges, and growth potential.
- Performing a market analysis using industry reports (Gartner, Forrester, IDC), competitor insights (Citrix, VMware, Microsoft), and personal industry connections.
- Thoroughly assessed the product capabilities to identify strengths, weaknesses and potential competitive differentiation.
- Delivering strategic recommendations to the executive team on time.
Initial Findings and Recommendations
The analysis revealed multiple areas for improvement but highlighted one GTM opportunity with the greatest potential for rapid impact: Parallels lacked a dedicated ISV/MSP/CSP/OEM focus and program, treating these partners like standard customers, which limited acquisition and expansion opportunity.
Project Result
The executive team approved the strategy and directed me to build and lead a new Service Provider program to capitalize on this high-impact opportunity.
Insights supporting the recommendation:
- The top five customers were large enterprise ISVs using Parallels RAS for application delivery in hosted solutions.
- Five of the top 15 customers were MSPs/CSPs leveraging Parallels RAS for app hosting or DaaS.
- Industry research forecasted significant growth in DaaS, hosting, and cloud-based VDI solutions vs traditional acquisition.
- Competitors like Citrix, VMware, and Microsoft had mature CSP programs driving substantial revenue.
- Parallels’ limited resources and VDI market experience made a tech partner ecosystem a scalable way to access enterprise customers without heavy investment.