Virtualization firm VMware, which develops software to run multiple operating systems and applications on one computer simultaneously, went public last Monday (August 14^th) at $29 per share, but opened Tuesday at $52 before closing Friday at $55.55, a near 100% surge. The initial public offer was one the most anticipated of the tech sector since Google in 2004. In its first day of trading, VMware gain of $957 million was the largest for a technology IPO this year since Google raised $1.2 billion in 2004.VMware, which allows running multiple operating systems and applications on one computer or server simultaneously, is the market leader in the breakthrough virtualization software market. The technology eliminates the need for extra hardware and lowers energy costs.

VMware is the world’s leading provider of virtualization solutions for x86-based servers and desktops. Through a pioneering approach to virtualization, VMware technology works to separate the software from the underlying hardware. This allows a single computer to run multiple operating systems and applications, delivering significant improvements in efficiency, availability, flexibility and manageability.Founded in 1998, VMware is headquartered in

Palo Alto, California, with offices around the world. VMware’s customer base consists of more than 20,000 organizations of all sizes, including 100% of Fortune 100 companies. VMware delivers technology designed to substantially lower IT costs, provide more flexibility in choosing operating systems, and offer a more automated and resilient systems infrastructure capable of responding to variable business demands. [VMware]

The firm sold 33 million shares, which represents only 10% of the available stock. The rest remains held mostly by parent company , an information-storage business, which bought VMware in 2004 for $625 million. Based on Friday’s market performance, the company was valued at a little more than $20 billion.