Category Archives: Cloud Services

APAC-Partners, APS, APS Partners, Cloud Services, Parallels APAC Summit, Parallels Automation, Parallels Cloud Services

Powering Cloud Automation Through Partnerships

 

When SoftLayer began back in 2005, the term “cloud computing” was rarely used if at all. The founders of SoftLayer had an ambitious vision and plan to build a service platform that could easily automate, scale and meet the demands of the most sophisticated IT users. They were obviously onto something. Since then, we’ve emerged as the world’s largest privately held Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) provider, helping the next generation of web savvy entrepreneurs realize their dreams. But we didn’t do it alone. We had partnerships in place—including working with Parallels.

 

Today, the industry is trying to scramble and figure out how this “new” IT shift will work out. Our partners at Parallels had a similar ambitious undertaking—trying to automate and enable a complete gamut of hosting and cloud services. This created a framework for our partnership. We worked with their engineering and sales teams, starting back in 2005, which resulted in Parallels Plesk Panel being offered as an option on every SoftLayer server. That was just the beginning. We are now deployingParallels Automation for hosting partners, and have plans to integrate with the Application Packaging Standard for delivering the broadest array of cloud and hosted applications.  Plans to integrate with other products like the forthcoming Parallels Cloud Server 6.0 (now in beta for trials) are also on the horizon. It all comes down to helping hosting companies and other joint customers thrive and succeed.

 

To find out more about our partnership with Parallels and how it can help streamline your entry into cloud computing, click here. We were also the only “Diamond” sponsor at the recent Parallels Summit 2012 APAC in Singapore this year, and look forward to Parallels Summit 2013 in Las Vegas early next year.  We share a heritage and understanding with Parallels borne from a need to simplify and solve IT problems on a broad scale. Now that’s what I call a like-minded partnership.

 

George Karidis

Chief Strategy Office

Softlayer

 

Cloud Services, Guest Blog, Parallels APAC Summit, Virtuozzo Containers

Virtualization as a Differentiator in Southeast Asia

 

This post is part of our ongoing Parallels Partner Series, featuring the insights of service providers who are growing by meeting the cloud computing needs of Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs).

 

Vodien chose Parallels to be our virtualization partner, and it has been a fruitful partnership on our journey to become a top web hosting provider in Singapore and across the Southeast Asia region.

 

Our key strengths lie in providing product flexibility to customers along with a superior customer support experience.  A significant enabling component of our strategy is based on Parallels Virtuozzo Containers, and we leverage this technology to enable a complete range of web hosting products, from shared hosting to cloud services.

 

What makes us popular as a provider to web hosting customers is that the virtualized hosting environment helps them immediately scale based on their current needs.  As web applications and demand grows, customers can choose to select a higher-tiered web hosting package, and all of this can be accomplished immediately with Parallels Virtuozzo Containers. This allows our customers to enjoy both a cost savings and a more controllable upgrade process, even amidst unpredictable resource-usage.

 

This flexibility based on Parallels technology, combined with Vodien’s 24×7 Super Support team (who provides 2-hour resolution of any customer issue), and our Service Level Agreements (that guarantee the up-time of our network and hardware) truly differentiates our web hosting offering in Singapore and Southeast Asia.

 

Bill Poh
CEO, Vodien
www.vodien.com

 

Cloud Services, Control Panels, Guest Blog, Plesk Panel 11, SMB

Getting Smart About Webhosting Bundles (Guest Blog)

 

Parallels is happy to present a guest blog post from Infratel CEO, Bryan Goode. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

 

All Add-Ons Are Not Created the Same

 

It is now common to hear industry leaders urge hosting companies to bundle additional services with hosting packages.  Research has consistently shown that adding new services to hosting plans increases average revenue per user [ARPU] and has a positive effect on customer churn rates.

 

But wait, you say – where do I start?  How do I decide what services to bundle with my hosting packages?  Which add-ons best help me increase ARPU and reduce churn?  

 

At Infratel, we believe that you should consider two criteria when deciding which add-ons to include in a bundle:

 

  1. 1) Is this add-on related to the main, anchor product in my hosting plan?
  2. 2) Is this add-on relevant to customers who buy my hosting plans?

 

With these criteria in mind, we’re pleased to announce Infratel ClickConnect for Websites, the ideal add-on for webhosting bundles.  

 

Infratel ClickConnect for Websites is built specifically to be bundled with webhosting plans and allows your users to add ‘Click to Call’ functionality to a site in 30 seconds or less – helping your small business users convert more website visitors into customers!  

 

To make the opportunity even better, Infratel ClickConnect is the entryway into additional telephony services for your customers.   

 

Recent research shows that small businesses truly need a professional phone presence and fewer than 30% of your small business webhosting users have this type of a presence – representing a huge untapped market for the webhosting industry.

 

Get started today bundling Infratel ClickConnect for Websites with your webhosting plans.  To celebrate the Plesk 11 launch, for a limited time we’re offering you a FREE subscription for your own use when you bundle Infratel ClickConnect for Websites with your webhosting plans.  Click here to contact us today!

 

Bryan Goode

 

Cloud Services, Events, Gartner, Marketing, Parallels Automation, service provider, WPC12

Parallels Named a “Cool Vendor” in Cloud Services by Industry Research Firm

 

 

RENTON, WA and TORONTO – July 10, 2012 – Parallels® (www.parallels.com), the hosting and cloud services enablement leader, today announced technology research firm Gartner has recognized Parallels as a Cool Vendor for 2012 in the recent report, “Cool Vendors in Cloud Services Brokerage Enablers, 2012.” The report recognizes those firms with new and innovative technologies for delivering cloud brokerage services. This announcement was made during the 2012 Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, taking place this week in Toronto through July 12.

 

Recognized for its Parallels Automation software, including Parallels Automation for Cloud Marketplace, Parallels is helping service providers profit from the growing demand in Small and Medium Business (SMB) cloud services. Parallels Automation is a complete operational and business support system that automates all aspects of delivering, managing and billing for service providers, enabling them to offer services ranging from Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) to Platform and Software as a Service (PaaS and SaaS).  Parallels also pre-negotiates wholesale contracts with ISVs and SaaS providers, and arranges relationships with customer support companies, enabling providers to create a Cloud Services Brokerage quickly and efficiently.  Additionally, Parallels Automation for Cloud Marketplace has a flexible architecture that makes it easy for providers to add additional applications enabled by the open Application Packaging Standard (APS). 

 

“We are honored to be recognized by Gartner as a Cool Vendor in Cloud Services Brokerage Enablement,” said Jack Zubarev, President of Parallels. “With Parallels Automation, including our Cloud Marketplace and our growing list of APS packaged applications, we are making it easy for service providers to quickly and efficiently deliver the full suite of Microsoft hosted applications that meet the diverse needs of SMBs.”

 

Parallels recently announced the general availability of Parallels Automation 5.4, the latest version of the most comprehensive hosting and cloud services delivery system used by hundreds of service providers worldwide — from the world’s largest telecom operators to top hosters and providers of vertical solutions (see the Gartner report for a list of reference partners). Parallels Automation 5.4 now includes support for delivering Microsoft® Lync and other Microsoft® hosted applications, and its built-in Parallels Windows Server® Provisioning Engine helps service providers manage the migration of Microsoft Hosted Exchange® and other applications from Microsoft’s former Hosted Messaging and Collaboration (HMC) solution.  

 

The full Gartner report is available courtesy of Parallels here.

 

About Parallels
Parallels is a worldwide leader in hosting and cloud service enablement and desktop virtualization. Founded in 1999, Parallels is a fast-growing company with more than 900 employees in North America, Europe, and Asia.

 

For information on Parallels, visit www.parallels.com/spp, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ParallelsCloud and Like Us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ParallelsCloud.

 

Disclaimer: 

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. 

 

 

Cloud Services, Events, Small Businesses, SMB Cloud Insights, Webinar

Global SMB Market: Hosted Infrastructure

 

Part 2 of a 5-part series detailing Parallels SMB Cloud Insights™ research. View part 1 here. 

 

In part one of our Global SMB Market insights™ series we defined some of the key global SMB market categories and segments. Now, we’d like to look closely at how SMBs around the world are adopting and using each major cloud service, beginning with hosted infrastructure.

 

Hosted infrastructure, also known as infrastructure-as-a-service, includes dedicated servers, virtual private servers (VPS), managed hosting, and utility (or elastic) computing.  As we mentioned in the previous post, whether or not an SMB uses hosted infrastructure depends a lot on where it’s located and the level of economic development and cloud services maturity there. Take a look at Table 1 to get a better idea of what we mean:

 

Developed with Mature Cloud Services


Hosted infrastructure is relatively common in these markets, with about 20% of SMBs already using hosted servers. Encouraging the micro and small SMBs (aka Cloud Converters) that are using in-house servers to switch to hosted servers can lead to even further growth. 

 

Hosted servers don’t require maintenance or technical expertise, which is a huge advantage for SMBs who don’t generally have in-house IT staff, but price is a top factor keeping them from making the leap. Service providers should consider offering lower-priced options to these SMBs, but also on educating them about the true cost of owning an in-house server. Pushing VPS offerings is likely the best route to take with these SMBs, as they deliver all the security and isolation benefits of a dedicated server at a fraction of the cost. 

 

Developed with Maturing Cloud Services


Fewer than 15% of SMBs in these countries use hosted services, so the hosted infrastructure market for this group is definitely still growing. Since many of them are currently using in-house servers to about the same degree as they do hosted services, they make a good target for service providers looking to encourage conversion. 

 

We also identified a significant opportunity among companies that currently don’t use servers at all—the Cloud Leapers. The best targets among these Cloud Leapers are the micro SMBs, approximately 65-70% of which have no servers. 

 

Developing with Emerging Cloud Services


In developing countries less than 10% of SMBs use hosted infrastructure and 75% have no servers at all, which is unsurprising given their limited Internet access. The market should grow as Internet usage does though, with much of the growth driven by Cloud Leapers moving directly to hosted servers. Willingness to adopt hosted infrastructure is high, so as infrastructure improves and bandwidth and connectivity issues fade, usage is poised to increase dramatically.

 

Any questions or thoughts to share on hosted infrastructure in the global SMB market? Check in soon for the next blog segment on our SMB Global Market insights: Web Presence!

 

Want to know more? Parallels has updated and enriched its wildly popular research on SMBs and their move to the cloud. We’ll present our findings in a webinar on May 30th. In this webinar, we will share the results of our latest US SMB research, including how SMBs are adopting cloud services, how much is being spent on each type of service, and how service providers should market to SMBs to benefit from the upcoming growth in this booming market.

 

Register now!

 


 

 

APS, APS Partners, Cloud Services, Events, Marketing, Parallels Automation, Saas, service provider, Small Businesses, Software as a service, Webinar

APS and SaaS Webinar for Service Providers featuring Solgari, Ecwid, VMWare and Quest

 

Our recent case study describes how leading Hong Kong hosting service provider, Pacificnet Hosting Limited (PacHosting), used Parallels Application Packaging Standard (APS) to broaden its portfolio and reduce time-to-market for new services. With APS, PacHosting was able to create new revenue opportunities in the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) space and rapidly ramp-up services. We have arranged for some leaders in the SaaS field to explain how your business can profit like PacHosting by offering the most in-demand applications to small and medium business customers. This is a great opportunity for service providers to learn how to easily market and sell high-demand commercial applications and services, and how Parallels can help providers of any size be successful in increasing ARPU and reducing customer churn.

 

This month’s scheduled presentations include:

 

Solgari – Discover the fantastic opportunity to provide Solgari Hosted PBX & Voice Services to your business customers

Ecwid – Find out how you can grow your ecommerce base with our 100% AJAX widget shopping cart

VMware – Learn how Zimbra Collaboration Server allows you to offer an advanced enterprise email & calendaring solution at a low TCO

Quest – Discover the many benefits of Quest’s OnDemand Migration for Email

 

Webinar starts Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at 8am PDT. Don’t miss it – Register now!

Cloud computing, Cloud Services, News Round-Up, Saas, Small Businesses, SMB, Software as a service

News Round-Up 5/5/2012: What Makes the Cloud Cool, Feds in the Cloud, 10 Things Your Cloud Contract Needs

 

There have been some exciting announcements and fascinating news articles recently regarding cloud services and service providers. Every week we will round up the most interesting topics from around the globe and consolidate them into a weekly summary.

 

Cloud Computing Gains in Federal Government

The Federal Government is warming to the speed, agility and functionality of cloud computing.

 

State companies helping Army with cloud computing

The U.S. Army has turned to cloud computing, and to Wisconsin companies, to improve its intelligence gathering in Afghanistan.

 

Saas Offering Provides Detailed Analysis of Your Software Portfolio

Are you faced with the need to do a software portfolio analysis but find the prospect daunting given the scattered nature of your operation? A new SaaS-based offering might fit the bill.

 

SaaS Business Apps Drive SMB Cloud Computing Adoption

Lots of small and medium businesses have discovered the benefits of software-as-a-service. These SaaS applications are driving cloud adoption among SMBs. 

 

Here’s What Makes The Cloud So Cool

Mike Pearl from PriceWaterhouseCooper provides a useful plan of attack for business adoption of cloud computing.

 

10 Things You Just Gotta Have in Your Cloud Contract

CFO’s guide to the wild and wooly world of cloud services in which contracts are mutable, companies come and go, and politics a continent away could materially impact your business.

 

 

Also in the news:

 

 

 

Cloud Services, Events, Hosting, IaaS, Marketing, Webinar

Best Practices for Growing your VPS and Cloud Server Business

 

Parallels recently published a case study looking at how leading Australian web hosting provider, Net Logistics, was able to create new revenue opportunities through Virtual Private Servers (VPS) offerings. In the case study, Net Logistics Business Development Manager, Joseph Salim, described how it took just three years to go from no VPS offerings to VPS accounting for 40% of their customer base. Today, 60% of all new customers buy VPS from Net Logistics. 

 

 

The demand for Virtual Private Servers continues to explode, and can include everything from a single VPS to elastic, hourly-billed cloud infrastructure. Deploying cost effective VPS and cloud server solutions is the key to accelerating revenue and realizing profit. In our upcoming webinar on May 9, the focus is on growing your VPS and cloud server business. Lowell Anderson, Parallels Director of IaaS Product Marketing, will share the results of our latest market research and the best practices to optimize your cost structure and drive profits from your VPS solutions. Liam Eagle, Editor in Chief of Web Host Industry Review (The WHIR), , will moderate the discussion through a range of topics including market survey results describing VPS revenue opportunities, buyer preferences and what drives purchasing for VPS services, best practices for profiting from VPS services and how to plan for the future. 

 

 

Would you like to find out how your business can capitalize on this market opportunity by offering VPS to your customers? Please join us May 9, 2012 at 11am-12pm Pacific, 2pm-3pm Eastern for our Best Practices for Growing your VPS and Cloud Server Business webinar. 

 

 

To register or invite customers to attend, click here. 

 

Cloud Services, IT, SMB, SMB Cloud Insights

SMB Cloud Services and the Changing Role of IT Professionals Who Service Them

 

Cloud computing is affecting the role of IT professionals who typically manage a business’s technological infrastructure, and depending on who you ask the cloud is either an exciting new development or a serious challenge to job security.

In Parallels SMB Cloud Insights Report, we explore how cloud services have enabled companies large and small to make massive budget cuts and gain efficiency by forgoing expensive equipment and annually-licensed software. “Parallels SMB Cloud Insights research continues to confirm that SMBs are at the forefront of cloud adoption,” says Birger Steen, CEO of Parallels.  “This research is part of our commitment to service providers to give them both the expertise and technology they need to address the quickly-growing market for SMB cloud services.”

 

The rise in cloud services marks a shift in IT responsibilities and Parallels is leading that charge by offering targeted services to for hosters to deliver to SMBs that are either converting to the cloud, switching to the cloud, or expanding the cloud services they already have in place.

In addition to serving SMBs with dedicated IT professionals on staff, Parallels research also identifies the cloud delivery opportunities to serve SMBs with no IT staff as well as SMBs that hire outside IT consultants.

Parallels research shows that 45% of SMBs in the U.S. have no IT staff, leaving “do-it-yourself” owners or senior members of the company to handle purchasing decisions, installation, and maintenance of all IT solutions. For the SMBs that hire outside IT consultants (which 18% of micro SMBs do), Parallels allows the consultants (usually hosting resellers) to offer cloud services to the SMB end customer without having to manage the infrastructure themselves. In both cases, cloud services benefit business and the bottom line.

 

With cloud services in place, IT professionals can focus on what they are often highly undervalued for in business: strategy and innovation. A successful career in IT may mean having a cloud-focused skillset and being able to think strategically on a big-picture level.

 

In the move toward IT as a service, IT professionals will be measured less by how many fires they put out on any given day and more by the value and efficiency they add to internal and client-facing business processes. “Instead of managing infrastructure, tending the help desk, and commissioning server instances to be created,” Brandon Butler of Network World writes, “IT workers of tomorrow are more likely to be managing vendor relationships, working across departments and helping clients and workers integrate into the cloud.”

Learn more about this transition in any of our Parallels SMB Cloud Insights Reports, and stay tuned for a 5-part blog series exploring areas such as hosted infrastructure, web presence, hosted communication and collaboration, business applications, and more.