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VMware Fusion

VMware Fusion

Overview

What is VMware Fusion?

Vmware Fusion is a virtual user session software built to run Windows applications on Macintosh to run any Windows applications.

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

VMware Fusion has become a valuable tool for users across various industries and professions. Users have found it particularly useful in …
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VMware Analysis

9 out of 10
May 16, 2017
Incentivized
It is being used by the entire organization. Generally we use Macs, so we use it for a Windows environment for programs that require that.
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Pricing

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What is VMware Fusion?

Vmware Fusion is a virtual user session software built to run Windows applications on Macintosh to run any Windows applications.

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  • No setup fee

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  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services

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Product Details

What is VMware Fusion?

VMware Fusion: Desktop Hypervisors for Mac

Software designed to give users the freedom to be more productive, agile and secure in a preferred environment. IT professionals, developers and businesses can use VMware Fusion desktop hypervisors for OS support, rock-solid stability and advanced features. With Fusion Player and Fusion Pro, run nearly any OS as VMs on Mac for development, testing, gaming or even simulating production clouds on local desktops.

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What is VMware Fusion?

VMware Fusion Technical Details

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Frequently Asked Questions

Vmware Fusion is a virtual user session software built to run Windows applications on Macintosh to run any Windows applications.

Reviewers rate Support Rating highest, with a score of 10.

The most common users of VMware Fusion are from Small Businesses (1-50 employees).
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Reviews and Ratings

(74)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

VMware Fusion has become a valuable tool for users across various industries and professions. Users have found it particularly useful in virtualizing firewalls, test systems, and OS-specific applications that are unavailable on Macs. It offers developers the ability to spin up Linux servers for early-stage development before pushing the code to an internet-facing dev server for client review. Additionally, users appreciate how VMware Fusion allows for easy maintenance of different VM images to safely and efficiently test various application environments. Furthermore, it has been used as a lab rat to test code against bleeding edge versions of PHP and popular web apps.

For businesses relying on Intel Macs, VMware Fusion proves essential by enabling them to run Windows-only business-related applications without the need for multiple physical hardware or rebooting. The software is also utilized by IT departments to test changes, such as group policy adjustments, before pushing them out. End-users in finance benefit from using VMware Fusion to seamlessly run different financial software on their Macs. Charter school management organizations have leveraged this software to virtualize MS Windows on iMacs for compatibility with Windows-only programs.

Overall, VMware Fusion fills the gap between Mac and Windows environments by allowing users to seamlessly run Windows-based software on their Macs, eliminating the need for separate computers. It provides a versatile solution for developers and quality analysts to test web development on Windows browsers like Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge. Users appreciate its simplicity in dealing with disk partitioning, assigning RAM to new operating systems, and its feature-rich offerings like capturing snapshots and changing networks. By providing access to critical Windows applications while still enjoying the benefits of a Mac system, VMware Fusion has been enthusiastically adopted by organizations using predominantly Macs.

Intuitive User Interface: Reviewers have consistently praised the intuitive and easy-to-navigate user interface of VMware Fusion. Many users have found it straightforward to locate and customize settings, such as adjusting the hard disk size. This user-friendly interface has made it convenient for users to manage their virtual machines without any hassle.

Snapshot Functionality: The option to create and restore snapshots in VMware Fusion has received high praise from a significant number of reviewers. Users have found this feature to be both useful and easy to use. It allows them to quickly revert back to a previous state if any issues arise during their work, providing them with peace of mind.

Seamless Integration with macOS: The seamless integration of VMware Fusion with macOS has been highly regarded by many users. They appreciate features like the ability to copy and paste between environments, run applications in full screen mode for an immersive experience, and launch apps directly from the Mac desktop. This tight integration enhances productivity and convenience for users working across different operating systems on their Mac computers.

Outdated User Interface: Some users have expressed that the user interface of VMware Fusion is in need of improvement, stating that it has taken a step back and lacks modern design elements.

Unreliable Remote Host Connections: Several users have reported experiencing spotty remote host connections with VMware Fusion, making it difficult for them to establish stable connections and causing frustration during remote work or collaboration.

Difficulty Configuring Boot Camp Install: Some users have found configuring a boot camp install to run inside macOS via VMware Fusion to be tricky. This process can lead to license activation issues for certain applications, adding complexity to the setup process.

Users commonly recommend VMware Fusion for several reasons. Firstly, they suggest using VMware Fusion as the best option for running Windows on a MacBook and as an alternative to having a second laptop. Users also believe that VMware Fusion is worth the license price due to the time-saving benefits it provides. Additionally, users recommend VMware Fusion for its simplicity and ease of use in setting up and running virtual machines. They praise its stability, hardware sharing capabilities, and ability to make Windows software compatible with a Mac. Ultimately, users suggest considering VMware Fusion if you need to run programs not available on MacOSX or if your company pays for a MacBook.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-6 of 6)
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Jim Chandler | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I use VMware Fusion on my Mac so that I can run business-related software that is only available on the PC. This allows me to run Windows-based software seamlessly on my Mac, which is a huge improvement over having to use two computers (one Mac, one PC) side-by-side on my desk or, worse yet while traveling.
  • Runs a full version of Windows on a Mac, allowing access to both environments.
  • Gives an immersive Windows experience when running the app in full screen. It is like having two computers in one.
  • Allows for copying and pasting from one environment to another, which is very handy.
  • It is very rare for this to happen, but sometimes the Windows environment loses the internet connection while the Mac environment still has it. Rebooting the Windows environment in VMware Fusion fixes it.
  • It does not always recognize printers that are set up through the Mac, particularly if they are connected via WiFi instead of hardwired.
VMware Fusion is great for a user of Mac computers who still needs access to Windows-only applications. It is very easy to have both MacOS and Windows running simultaneously and switch back and forth between the two seamlessly. If you are a Mac user and never need to access Windows-only applications, there is no need for VMware Fusion at all.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Our company switched from PC based to Mac based back in 2012. For the most part, our applications are MAC OS. However, we have not found a suitable Mac version of our bookkeeping software, QuickBooks. We found the simplest and most elegant solution is to partition our computer and run the PC version of QuickBooks on the Mac. I'm quite satisfied with the combo and the recent upgrade to VMware 11 is FANTASTIC.
  • Running PC software on a Mac.
  • Easy file transfer and file sharing across platforms.
  • Setup a bit too cryptic.
  • Options could use some easier direction.
We could NOT use our preferred bookkeeping software without this fantastic tool. Well implemented. I'm sure if there was another software application that required the Microsoft Operating System, I would not hesitate to install it on VMware.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
VMware Fusion is primarily used by clients who need to access Windows-specific applications on their Macs. In most organizations I manage, VMware is used as a last resort, when no Mac alternatives are available. Typically, VMware is used on a user-by-user basis, only those users that need to run a specific Windows program will have access to VMware, to reduce licensing costs. In addition, VMware Fusion is also used by myself personally to create multiple virtual machines across different OSs (Windows, Linux varieties, and macOS) for testing and experimentation purposes.
  • In general, VMware Fusion is very easy to set up and manage, with a fairly comprehensive step-by-step install process for different OSs.
  • For non-3D work, VMware is quite fast and can handle a number of CPU-demanding work loads.
  • VMware has tight integration with macOS through various ways of sharing files b/w virtual machines and the real machine, window management (such as using macOS' native full-screen mode and its Unity mode, wherein virtual applications appear to be running natively within the OS) and printer sharing.
  • VMware has a very good and reasonable licensing system - a single license is good for two computers, especially when compared to Parallels.
  • VMware Fusion is designed to work with other VMware products, such as VMware Workstation, ESC and vCenter Server. This allows VMware Fusion to create a virtual machine on a remote server.
  • For 3D work or 3D gaming, VMware Fusion falls short of the main competition of Parallels. Though, 3D work in general is not well suited for virtual machines.
  • VMware Fusion lacks some more professional features such as a headless mode, by being run as a service in the background. In order for a virtual machine to be up and running, the VMware Fusion application must be open and the virtual machine visible. By comparison, Parallels allows for a virtual machine to automatically open at login, and in the background without the Parallels program needing to be opened. This is a great feature if a VM is being used a server and does not require regular user interaction.
  • VMware Fusion's integration with Apple's Bootcamp technology is severely lacking when compared to Parallels. Whereas Parallels can boot directly from a Bootcamp partition, or even use a Bootcamp partition as a disk within a VM, VMware Fusion can only create a new VM based on a Bootcamp partition.
  • While Fusion supports most Linux variations, it lacks the ability to automatically download the freely available OS install images (unlike Parallels).
VMware Fusion is very well suited for creating virtual machines that are regularly accessed by users and not designed to just be run in the background as a service or server. Fusion's licensing terms also make it a more ideal product when used on a large scale as compared to its main competition in Parallels. In addition, Fusion is a good solution when other VMware products are already being used on other systems, and the interoperability between Fusion and other VMware products is quite good.

Fusion is not an ideal solution for those that need to run 3D programs, as its support for 3D-based workflows is somewhat lackluster. In addition, while a virtual machine can be run in the background as a minimized window, it really isn't designed to run a virtual machine as a background service.
Alex Waitkus, CISSP-ISSAP, OSCP | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
VMware Fusion is the preferred workstation virtualization application for Mac users. It allows users to virtualize a multitude of operating systems on their workstation. We have used Fusion to virtualize firewalls, test systems for development and running OS specific applications that are unavailable on Macs.
  • Managing workstation-specific virtualization for Mac.
  • Host/Guest resource management.
  • Feature and patch releases are added several times a year to make sure Fusion maintains its leadership role
  • With OSX - 10.14.1 and the latest version of Fusion - 11.0.2 the user interface has taken a step back IMHO.
  • I would like to see price decrease.
  • Better remote host connection capabilities - remote server connections are available but connections are spotty.
VM Fusion is the best virtualization platform for Macs. It is suited for any implementation for workstation virtualization.
Zach Cooper | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
VMware Fusion is being used by Mac OS users in our Platform Operations department. VMware Fusion provides us with the ability to quickly spin up development or testing environments and easily migrate them to our vCenter virtual environment if needed. It also allows us to seamlessly integrate required applications that only run on Microsoft Windows into the Mac OS experience.
  • Integrates other operating systems seamlessly with Mac OS.
  • Can cause your system fans to come on at full power at times but that may just be part of running multiple operating systems at the same time.
Works great for anyone who needs to run additional operating systems while also running MacOS simultaneously. Great for easily standing up local testing or development environments. If you require Microsoft Windows it is more cost effective to run it virtually than to maintain separate hardware just for this purpose.
May 16, 2017

VMware Analysis

Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
It is being used by the entire organization. Generally we use Macs, so we use it for a Windows environment for programs that require that.
  • Resume virtual machine state
  • Create virtual machines
  • Flexibility
  • Requires a fair amount of RAM to run constantly - I had to upgrade to 16GB
Emulating Windows is all that I use it for, and it does that seamlessly. Obviously there are slightly different functionalities between operating systems, but it is very intuitive. The setup can be done by people that have never set up a virtual machine before quite easily. I think there was one coworker complaining about its lack of multi-screen functionality though.
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