TechIQ recently reported that SWsoft was going to be creating a server class product for Mac OS X.  The article said:

SWsoft, the company that makes the popular Parallels virtualization software for Mac OS X and Windows, is preparing an encore for departmental servers, The VAR Guy hears. The move could provide VARs with an innovative solution for running Windows, Mac OS and Linux side by side on a single departmental or small business server.

Rarely has a company “out innovated” Apple on its own platforms. But the existing Parallels Desktop for Mac is widely considered a better solution than Apple’s own Boot Camp software for running Windows and Mac OS X on Macintosh hardware. Those in the know suspect SWsoft will have another hit on its hands when the company extends its software to departmental and small business servers.

Mac OS X servers have several server niches, managing such tasks as multimedia storage and running open source email systems from Zimbra. But SWsoft could make Mac OS X a more attractive option within organizations that are seeking to standardize and maximize their hardware with virtualization software. Watch for SWsoft to target departmental servers before year’s end.

Back in August, I spoke with Parallels Marketing Manager, Ben Rudolph, where he said:

We’re going to be releasing our Parallels Server and Parallels Enterprise Server products in beta later this year, with an intended GA launch in early 2007. Parallels Server is going to be a powerful, out of the box server virtualization product that is designed to give growing companies access to the same virtualizationtechnologies that the “big boys” are using, at a price that won’t cripple their budget. Parallels Enterprise Server is a high-end server virtualization product that is designed for larger companies with significant server resources. This product will include a number of our productivity enhancing management tools and offer several high-end features like dynamic load balancing and automatic fail-over protection. They’re going to be a great compliment to the client-side virtualization solutions that we have now.

Obviously, with the success the company has been having with their Mac OS X virtualization, it probably makes sense for the company to put most of its focus on that market.  It will be interesting to see what products Parallels and SWsoft come out with in the first half of this year.