Book excerpt: Recent developments in parallel computing mean that the use of machine learning techniques and intelligence to handle the huge volume of available data have brought the faster solutions offered by advanced technologies to various fields of application. This book presents the proceedings of the Virtual International Conference on Advances in Parallel Computing Technologies and Applications (ICAPTA 2021), hosted in Justice Basheer Ahmed Sayeed College for women (formerly "S.I.E.T Women's College"), Chennai, India, and held online as a virtual event on 15 and 16 April 2021. The aim of the conference was to provide a forum for sharing knowledge in various aspects of parallel computing in communications systems and networking, including cloud and virtualization solutions, management technologies, and vertical application areas. It also provided a platform for scientists, researchers, practitioners and academicians to present and discuss the most recent innovations and trends, as well as the concerns and practical challenges encountered in this field. Included here are 52 full length papers, selected from over 100 submissions based on the reviews and comments of subject experts. Topics covered include parallel computing in communication, machine learning intelligence for parallel computing and parallel computing for software services in theoretical and practical aspects. Providing an overview of the latest developments in the field, the book will be of interest to all those whose work involves the use of parallel computing technologies.