Just a heads up. Our friends at Talkin’ Cloud informed us that their 3rd Annual Talkin’ Cloud 100 survey is now open! You can nominate your own company so all Parallels Partners should to take a few moments to participate!

The deadline for nominations is March 28th. The results will be revealed in May 2013.

The Talkin’ Cloud annual list tracks the world’s top 100 cloud services providers, cloud aggregators, cloud brokers, cloud integrators, VARs and MSPs focused on cloud computing and cloud services. The results are based on such metrics as annual cloud services revenues, percentage growth, dollar growth, cloud computing project revenues, and more. Learn more about the Talkin’ Cloud 100.

Click here to participate.

On the heels of being named a Finalist for IBM’s 2013 Beacon Award for Best Industry Solution for Telecommunications, Parallels was honored to receive another award from IBM. This time we were a Finalist for the Best Cloud Solution for the 2013 IBM Tivoli Business Awards. Congrats to the other Finalist, Computer Gross Italia S.p.A, and the Winner, Front-safe A/S.

The 2013 IBM Tivoli Business Awards recognizes IBM Tivoli Business Partners who have demonstrated excellence in delivering exceptional business value with Tivoli software.

Our very own Matt Vasey and Todd Carter were recognized during the Tivoli Business Partner Forum on Sunday, March 3, 2013.

Business Wire is offering Parallels Summit 2013 exhibitors/sponsors/presenters several value added communications tools to maximize and enhance your event public relations and investor relations ROI:

• Online Press Kit – Create an easily accessible and shareable online press kit which includes its own dedicated wire advisory, social media sharing links, ability to swap files, reporting and more starting at $295.
• News Release Distribution – Distribute your news and related Powerpoint/Multimedia via Business Wire and reach key media, analysts, relevant trade media, investors and much more worldwide. In addition, all news releases automatically receive the NewsTrak reports.

Receive 10% off of all news distribution for this event. Simply email tradeshow@businesswire.com for information.

About three months ago, we announced an expanded Partner Program which included a new Member level and all-new Parallels PartnerNet portal. There are now over 1,000 users in PartnerNet, and it is just getting started!

For any existing or potential Parallels Partners that haven’t yet registered, here’s 3 good reasons why you should to take a moment and do so:

1. 1) Complete your Company Profile (located in the top navigation) and this will link externally to the Partner Locator found on the Parallels website. (NOTE: this feature is only available for Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum partners, and is not available for Members.)
2. 2) Be sure to take advantage of the Parallels Plesk 11 launch resources page – there is some fantastic product collateral, messaging, and guidance available, localized into multiple languages.
3. 3) Visit the SMB Headquarters for access to our primary research and SMB-focused materials, as well as our Marketing Best Practices page for whitepapers and checklists that you can use.

-Joshua Beil
SP Marketing
jbeil@parallels.com
@joshbeil

In anticipation of this week’s Parallels Plesk Panel 11 launch, two new best practices whitepapers have been published in the Marketing Best Practices section of Parallels PartnerNet.

The first white paper details how Parallels Plesk Panel 11 is the only Web hosting control panel with an integrated website design package, SaaS storefront, and billing system. By leveraging these and other key features of Parallels Plesk Panel, you can increase your average revenue per user (ARPU), reduce customer churn, reduce administrative costs, and minimize the cost of customer acquisition. This white paper outlines the key features of Parallels Plesk Panel—features that will help you maximize your profits and grow your business.

The second whitepaper dives a bit deeper into Parallels Plesk Panel 11 with Web Presence Builder. The Web Presence Builder tool directly addresses two of the most important things that an SMB needs besides hosting itself – help with website design and social media integration. By following the best practices in this paper, you will be able not only to boost ARPU but also to enhance customer “stickiness.”

– Josh Beil
Director of Service Provider Marketing
@joshbeil

If you want to position your Web hosting services for maximum growth and revenue, you can’t use a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, you need to identify the specific market segments you’re addressing, determine what their needs are, and frame each offer accordingly, using the style, language, and bundles that will appeal to that particular segment.

In our latest Best Practices paper (available for download on the Marketing Best Practices page within the new Parallels PartnerNet), we identify the best practices our service provider partners listed for effectively merchandising Web services to two groups of customers—those who are less technically oriented and those who are more technically oriented—plus general merchandising recommendations that apply to all customers. By following these best practices, you’ll be able to both maximize your conversion rates – from browsers to buyers – and drive increased revenues.

To download the complete whitepaper, or just a self-diagnostic checklist tool, go to Marketing Best Practices page. Not registered? Sign up today!

– Josh Beil
Director of Service Provider Marketing
@joshbeil

On the heels of relaunching the Parallels PartnerNet portal, a new whitepaper has just been published and is available for download on the Marketing Best Practices page — you must register for PartnerNet first.

Here is an excerpt: 

As small and medium businesses (SMBs) increase their use of cloud services, providers of shared Web hosting services are asking themselves, “What steps can I take to grow my Web hosting business and maximize my profits from the cloud?” This whitepaper will help you answer that question. It presents four critical factors that affect your profitability as a shared Web hoster and shows how you can use Parallels Plesk Panel to optimize each factor, resulting in business growth and increased profitability.

– Josh Beil
Director of Service Provider Marketing
@joshbeil

Parallels has introduced a new version of the Service Provider Partner Program designed to provide you with:

• * More expertise for targeting SMB opportunities
• * Guidance and best practices for upselling and reselling more services
• * More timely access to product news
• * Tools to use in your go-to-market efforts

Among the new features available through the all-new PartnerNet Portal are:

• * Best practices and guidance – Market and customer needs, product strategy, technical operations, pricing, packaging.
• * Webinars, worksheets, and whitepapers are also available.
• * Go-to-market tools – Email templates, demos and more
• * SMB Knowledge Headquarters
• * Direct product downloads – no form to fill out
• * An expanded self-editable profile which populates a new Partner Locator (Bronze and above)

The Partner Program now includes a new free Member level designed for web hosters, website designers and other service providers who use Parallels solutions and want to develop a relationship with Parallels and gain access to PartnerNet resources but do not need the additional benefits of Bronze and higher levels. Additionally, the Bronze program is now expanded worldwide and includes availability in Europe and North Africa. 

• * You can get more details on the new program elements here.
• * Non-partners can apply for Bronze or higher levels here. 
• * Non-partners can apply for the Member level here.
• * Existing partners who have not already registered for access to the new PartnerNet can do so here.

We are please to publish another best practices whitepaper on Parallels PartnerNet, this one focused on optimizing your Virtual Private Server (VPS) business using Parallels Virtuozzo Containers (PVC). These best practices are the result of our years of experience in providing PVC to our service provider partners, combined with the latest customer and VPS market research and our most recent PVC product improvements. By  implementing these best practices, you will be able to establish and grow your VPS business and maximize the revenue per container from your PVC infrastructure.

This paper begins with the results of a survey we recently conducted among some of our most successful partners, to find out what lessons they’ve learned over the years that have contributed most
to their success. It then goes on to discuss best practices for growing your VPS business, and it ends with a 1-page checklist for maximizing revenue per Container.

CLICK HERE to register or login to PartnerNet to get a copy today.