Corel, a player in professional creativity and productivity solutions, has announced it has acquired Awingu, a provider of secure remote access technology, for an undisclosed amount.
What does Awingu bring to Corel’s portfolio?
Awingu will become a part of the Parallels brand portfolio. The combination of Awingu and the Parallels® Remote Application Server (RAS) platform will give end users added flexibility and freedom they need to securely work from anywhere, at any time, on any device, or OS.
Parallels, part of the Corel group, is an all-in-one seamless application delivery and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) solution that provides remote access to virtual applications and desktops delivered through on-premises, hybrid, or cloud-based environments.
Business Australia indicates that as Australians adjust to life after lockdown, workplaces are seeing the rise of “commute-avoidance” from employees. More Australian workers prefer to be able to work anywhere, or within 15 minutes of commute from their homes.
Ideal for both mid-market and large enterprises, Awingu provides a secure way for firms to facilitate bring your own device (BYOD) or work from anywhere policies through its secure unified workspace. With this acquisition, the Parallels RAS platform will become a one-stop solution that gives clients the ability to easily access legacy and cloud-native applications and files, while alleviating the worry of data security and infrastructure complexity from IT teams.
“The future of work is now. The pandemic further accelerated the need for firms to determine and shift their remote and hybrid work infrastructures. Now, firms are figuring out how they can cater to the flexibility that employees want with their workplaces while ensuring secure and efficient access,” said Prashant Ketkar, Chief Technology and Product Officer, Corel.
“We’re committed to helping firms navigate this shift, and with the addition of Awingu we’re closer to improving the experience for every stakeholder that interacts with our products.”
What does the deal mean for Awingu-Parallels’ offering?
Awingu will continue to operate alongside Parallels’ offerings to deliver secure remote workspaces for clients in healthcare, finance, manufacturing, government, and telco verticals.
Awingu will expand its integration with Parallels to accelerate innovation and provide a unified capability for remote access to both legacy and cloud-native apps. This will provide a range of solutions for clients leveraging on-premises assets, hybrid architectures, and any cloud.
“I’m excited to join the Corel organisation with the Awingu team. Both companies have a customer-first mindset and share the mission to ensure a seamless, secure, and effective workspace no matter where an employee is located,” said Walter van Uytven, CEO, Awingu.
“Together with Parallels RAS, we’ll bring a broader, richer set of solutions across the secure remote desktop and app streaming industry to our customers.” The Awingu team, including Chief Executive Officer Walter van Uytven, will subsequently join Corel, bringing their strategic and engineering expertise to the organisation to help accelerate product roadmaps.
Why is Awingu the perfect partner?
Unlike most solutions in the market, Awingu does not require agents on the server or software to be installed on end-user devices. Awingu is “clientless” and runs entirely in the browser, where it aggregates all organisation’s files and applications, including SaaS and legacy Windows or Linux applications into one online workspace with one login.
The ability to aggregate traffic provides an audit mechanism to secure actions in remote workspaces, enabling administrators to implement a zero trust security solution. This ease of use and simplified deployment enables clients to implement Awingu in hours, empowering IT departments of all sizes to enable secure remote workspaces for their end-users.
Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Ghent, Belgium, Awingu was named a Gartner Cool Vendor in unified workspaces. Awingu is available in over 20 countries and partners with firms like Microsoft, Blackberry, and Barracuda and serves clients like the Port of Antwerp, Peloton, UDLAP University, and ConvergeOne. Corel is a KKR portfolio firm. Awingu was backed by Pamica NV, an investment firm of Awingu’s former Executive Chairman, Michel Akkermans.