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Microsoft System Center vs. Parallels Desktop for Mac

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Microsoft System Center

    Score8.4 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft System Center is an enterprise-grade IT Operations Management (ITOM) suite designed for the centralized administration of data center infrastructure, virtualized environments, and hybrid cloud workloads. The platform provides unified management across heterogeneous environments, including support for Windows Server, Linux, and Azure Stack HCI. System Center is Microsoft's ITOM stack for organizations that maintain a significant on-premise footprint, vs the company's Azure-based…

    $1,323

    per month

    Parallels Desktop for Mac

    Score8.6 out of 10
    N/AParallels® Desktop for Mac is used to run Windows on Intel or Apple silicon. Users can switch between Mac and Windows applications, while retaining the macOS appearance, or use the familiar Windows desktop aesthetic.

    $99.99

    per year

    Pricing
    Microsoft System CenterParallels Desktop for Mac
    Editions & Modules
    Standard Edition
    $1323
    Datacenter Edition
    $3607
    Parallels Desktop Standard Edition
    $99.99
    per year
    Mac App Store
    $99.99
    per year
    Parallels Desktop Pro Edition
    $119.99
    per year
    Parallels Desktop Business Edition
    $149.99
    per year
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Microsoft System CenterParallels Desktop for Mac
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Microsoft System CenterParallels Desktop for Mac
    Considered Both Products
    Microsoft
    No answer on this topic
    Parallels
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    91%
    Would buy again
    31 Answers
    96%
    Would buy again
    25 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    97%
    Delivers good value for the price
    33 Answers
    96%
    Delivers good value for the price
    24 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    91%
    Happy with the feature set
    31 Answers
    96%
    Happy with the feature set
    25 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    95%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    21 Answers
    96%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    22 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    97%
    Implementation went as expected
    28 Answers
    96%
    Implementation went as expected
    23 Answers
    Features
    Microsoft System CenterParallels Desktop for Mac
    Application Virtualization
    Comparison of Application Virtualization features of Microsoft System Center and Parallels Desktop for Mac
    Feature
    Microsoft System Center
    -
    Ratings
    Parallels Desktop for Mac
    9.1
    5 Ratings
    17% above category average
    Application support00 Ratings9.25 Ratings
    Ease of deployment00 Ratings9.35 Ratings
    Security00 Ratings8.85 Ratings
    User Ratings
    Microsoft System CenterParallels Desktop for Mac
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.3
    (58 ratings)
    8.8
    (35 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.8
    (5 ratings)
    Usability
    8.4
    (5 ratings)
    9.6
    (7 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.0
    (14 ratings)
    9.0
    (8 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    10.0
    (4 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Microsoft System CenterParallels Desktop for Mac
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Microsoft
    For companies with more than 10 Windows devices and needing to standardize the OS, AV, access, share resources, and install software. SCCM is the way to go. This software is unnecessary if the business is all remote users and not in an office-type setting. There are cloud offerings or none to accomplish what a business needs.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Parallels
    Parallels is great for an end user that is primarily a macOS user, but occasionally needs Windows access to a specific application or service that is Windows only, or Windows primarily. It obviates the need for multiple desktop units or remote VMs where spin up time is an issue. It is not quite perfect due to the ARM version of Windows requirement, but that particular case is common to all ARM use of Windows.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Microsoft
    • Allows the grouping of devices by user.
    • Allows controlling updates being deployed to user devices.
    • Allows for the repurposing of machines by being able to load new or updated software on machines that already are in the system.
    • Allows us the ability to wipe a machine clean and restore it back to the configuration that was assigned the machine.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Parallels
    • The configurations & space allocations can be done on parallels.
    • It integrates very well with the Mac; copying/pasting and sharing files can be done between the two platforms - Windows/Mac.
    • It supports virtual machines, Touch-ID (which works on Mac and will work on Windows, too), and bridges the gap between two operating systems.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Microsoft
    • The product could improve in the area of having better mechanisms in place with how the SCEP client is deployed/installed from the server on the management side. We have run into this firsthand with the client not installing on an endpoint, and then having to take the time to investigate why it was not installing.
    • A second improvement that can be made is to keep trying to improve the products detection rate for finding malware/viruses. The case can be made that there are some products out there that do a better job at this and have a higher detection rate.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Parallels
    • Having to buy a new upgrade whenever Apple updates the OS with its yearly releases seems a bit excessive.
    • The integration features between Windows and Mac are enabled by default, which can clutter both sides; I would rather it was not default.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Microsoft
    Microsoft System Center Operations Manager is tightly integrated to Microsoft Windows servers os monitoring with great product support.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Parallels
    Users are familiar with the application which will keep us going for a little while. However since we are seeing a decline for a need for the software, I wouldn't be surprised to find that this answer changes dramatically in the near future. We would probably keep it to some extent, but we would probably reduce our licensing count.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Microsoft
    It is not user-friendly for the most part. With IT infrastructure, sometimes it cannot handle excess requests. Every few months, you will need an upgrade in terms of server resources to keep up with incoming alerts and requests. This does not happen all of the time, but it does happen when there are too many requests.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Parallels
    It has a good integration, including the connection of peripherals. Taking files back and forth works well and I can attach my Home drive as a network drive in Windows. There is even integration with iCloud and other macOS services. There are also a few different display modes which are useful and fleixible (coherence, windowed, full-screen with multiple screens)
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Microsoft
    There is a fair amount of documentation out there to help you when you have questions or run into issues with this product as well as tutorials on some of the more common tasks. Between the documentation and the overall ease of use we haven't had to deal with direct Microsoft support for this product.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Parallels
    The Parallels documentation and support websites are great. I have not had much use for them, but a cursory check shows richly documented features aimed at both the layperson and the power user or software developer. Their website is well-designed and information is easy to find, and their list of known issues as well as bugfixes on point releases is clear and transparent. They aren't trying to hide any of the limitations of their software, and seem to be regularly updating it to fix new bugs that arise with Mac OS X updates.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Microsoft
    Easy to install with intuitive interactive interface during the installation process a and integration to MS SQL was smooth
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Parallels
    The only advice I can provide is think about who is using the product and build the image based on the true needs of the user.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Microsoft
    We previously used a mix of FOG and Clonezilla to image machines. The biggest issues with these products is that changing one piece of the image required you to rebuild the entire image itself. These pieces of software also did not allow you to manage applications and Windows Updates, causing IT to have to constantly touch machines after they were imaged and update or manage them with a much more hands on approach.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Parallels
    Main two features that made the balance decission go to the Parallels Desktop were the possibility to pause the Windows partition easily (allowing to consume less resources in Mac and save battery) and the other one is the user interface feature called "Coherence" with allows you to show the Windows application windows as if they were native to the macOS, allowing for a better user experience.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Microsoft
    • It has allowed the enterprise to standardize on a single platform for monitoring.
    • Easier troubleshooting of issues with Microsoft platforms.
    • Greater visibility of issues across platforms when applications are hosted in a mixed environment.
    • Additional costs for monitoring systems that are not directly supported with additional packs (iSeries, Linux on Power).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Parallels
    • Saves money on having to buy a Windows and MacBook, as the MacBook can run almost 99% of all Windows software and usually run it faster and share between your MacBook transparently.
    • Gives employers the most flexibility with regards to which OS to adopt across an enterprise
    • We are a media company and everyone uses Macs in our industry, Fortune 500 companies also use Windows and MS Project, Parallels gives you the most flexibility for almost all of these use cases
    • Improves efficiency as the MacBook Pro M3 systems are much faster than some of the fastest corporate issued Windows laptops. What takes me 3-10 seconds for a video export can take 5 minutes on a similar Windows laptop
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Parallels Desktop for Mac Screenshots

    Screenshot of Parallels Desktop running Windows applications, on a Mac.Screenshot of the ability to switch between operating systems without rebooting.Screenshot of Coherence Mode, which minimizes distraction.Screenshot of file sharing between Mac and Windows.Screenshot of application development and testing in Windows, Linux, and virtual macOS (Pro & Business Edition).Screenshot of license management in Parallels Desktop (Business Edition).