Corel Acquires Secure Remote Access Tech Provider Awingu

Corel, a provider of professional creativity and productivity solutions, has acquired Awingu, a provider of secure remote access technology, for an undisclosed amount. 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 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.

Targeting mid-market and large enterprises, Awingu provides a secure way for organizations to facilitate bring-your-own-device (BYOD) or work-from-anywhere policies through its easy-to-use and secure unified workspace. With this technology acquisition, the Parallels RAS platform is designed to be a solution that gives customers the ability to access legacy and cloud-native applications and files securely.

“The future of work is now; we are living it. The pandemic further accelerated the need for organizations to determine and shift their remote and hybrid work infrastructures. Now, organizations are figuring out how they can cater to the flexibility that employees want with their workplaces while also ensuring secure and efficient access,” says Prashant Ketkar, chief technology and product officer, Corel. “We’re committed to helping organizations navigate this shift in the workplace, and with the addition of Awingu we’re one step closer to improving the experience for every stakeholder that interacts with our products.”

Awingu will continue to operate alongside Parallels’ offerings to deliver secure remote workspaces for customers in healthcare, finance, manufacturing, government and telco verticals. Awingu will expand its integration with Parallels to accelerate innovation and provide a unified capability for secure remote access to legacy and cloud-native applications. This will provide a range of solutions for customers leveraging on-premises assets, hybrid architectures and any cloud. 

“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,” says 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 CEO Walter van Uytven, will join Corel, bringing their strategic and engineering expertise to the organization to help accelerate product roadmaps.

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 company 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 at the edge. This ease of use and simplified deployment enables customers to implement Awingu in hours, not days, empowering IT departments of all sizes to enable secure remote workspaces for their end-users.

Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Ghent, Belgium, Awingu has been named a Gartner Cool Vendor in unified workspaces. Awingu is available in over 20 countries.

Corel is a KKR portfolio company. Awingu was previously backed by Pamica NV, an investment company of Awingu’s former executive chairman, Michel Akkermans.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.