Recent developments by Parallels has enabled Windows 10 to run on an Android or iPad tablet – a long-awaited development that has been hit by several snags over the years.
iPad Pro challenges
When Apple launched the iPad Pro, the company promoted it as a laptop replacement. On its UK site, Apple says:
“There are apps for anything you want to do — photography, drawing or just getting some work done.”
While there are over 1.3 million apps that already work on the iPad Pro, businesses committed to Office 365 have not been catered for fully. There are versions of Word, PowerPoint, OneNote and Excel for the iPad, but these are cut-down versions that lack the full features of the desktop Office 365 applications, although they are sufficient for accessing documents on OneDrive and performing quick edits.
Apple has its own business apps such as Pages and Keynote, but these, too, lack the full features of Office 365 applications.
Another service missing from the iPad Pro is full mouse support. Critics of the iPad Pro say that although it is an impressive gadget, it is unlikely to replace the full functionality of a laptop or desktop computer.
Comparatively, Google’s Android tablets do not claim to be full computer replacements, but they also cannot run full versions of Office 365.
The change
This could all change thanks to the virtualisation platform Parallels. Parallels already has software that allows users to run the Windows operating system within OSX on a Mac laptop, but has now created a Windows 10 virtualization system known as Parallels Access that runs on the iPad Pro and Android devices. This is free to all Parallels subscribers.
Parallels describe its Access system as:
“The fastest, simplest, most reliable remote access to your computer from anywhere. Access all your applications, files, and computers in one place.”
The way the system works is to remotely access a user’s Windows PC through a web browser. The user can then run the full suite of Office 365 applications, SharePoint or any other software installed on their PC.
The system has Apple Pen and mouse support and can access Windows 10 Tablet Mode to operate apps by touch. It can also be run on iPhones.
The system benefits remote workers who can now get access to all Office 365 features on their tablet.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has announced:
“[The iPhone is] a replacement for a notebook or a desktop for many, many people. They will start using it and conclude they no longer need to use anything else, other than their phones.”
This was widely thought to be a fanciful dream, but Parallels Access could help make that dream come true.
There are other programs that can remotely access your PC. Walt Mossberg, co-founder of tech news site Recode, said:
“There are a bunch of programs that claim to do this, but I have found that Parallels Access does it most smoothly and best of all of them...and I can recommend it.”
At WM Reply, we welcome any way in which more workers can access Microsoft's professional applications. If you would like help introducing them to a mobile device, why not speak to us today?