Featured image courtesy of Adobe Max. This week, we’re heading to Adobe Max! We’re really excited to get to go to Los Angeles and hang out with so many creative leaders, designers, developers, strategists, video pros, photographers, and more! Come visit us on-site at Adobe Max at booth #615 to talk about all of the amazing work creative […]
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Today, the Parallels team is exhibiting at the Arizona Technology Summit conference in Phoenix, AZ (Booth 138) and demoing the latest version of Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS). Parallels RAS is one of the most effective broker connections for VDI & RDS with an unbeatable price and a seamless end-user experience, while also lowering costs and reducing complexity. […]
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We’ve completely revamped our Parallels Cloud Service Provider blog and moved it to a new URL: spblog.parallels.com. If you happen to find yourself reading this post, we invite you to join us at our new address!
by Alex Danyluk, Senior Director, ISV & SaaS Alliances, Parallels
The march to the cloud is accelerating and undeniable. And every link in the IT distribution chain, from companies that develop software to customers, is adjusting to the new cloud distribution model. At the center of this new chain are various types of new and traditional distributors, from traditional hosting companies like HostWay and Hostnet, to managed service providers (MSPs) like Apptix and ApprRiver, to telecommunication companies like Sprint, Telenor and America Movil, to non-traditional service providers like Dell and Staples.
While there is great diversity in the distribution, they all share some common challenges and needs. They all want to sell a rich basket of independent software vendor (ISV) goods that are well integrated with each other and are easy for distributors and their customers to manage. They also want to enhance customer and user interface (UI) experiences. These needs create a challenge for both the new distributors and ISVs that want to reach these new diverse distribution channels. Each ISV and distributor needs to integrate their systems one by one, integrating provisioning, billing, portals and inter-application interoperability.
The cost and time to connect these ISVs with cloud distributors is a barrier to growth and adoption. Several companies, including Parallels, recognized this problem a few years ago and helped create the APS standard (www.APSstandard.org) to build a replicable model for connecting ISVs to distributors. To date, more than 400 ISV applications are APS packaged, distributing their offers via hundreds of distributors around the globe.
Following the APS standard, an ISV can build a connector once to easily enable distribution through APS-enabled disruptors. APS integrations can automatically set up user accounts when a customer purchase is made and assists with billing information, as would be expected from such a standard. APS goes further to ensure the customers and distributors have an excellent experience. APS has the ability for two different services to exchange information so that services like Symantec anti-virus and Microsoft Hosted Exchange automatically knows how to work with each other when a customer purchase both. ISVs can also embed rich customer HTML5 screens, further enhancing the user experience.
With APS, both ISVs and distributors now have a means of not only enabling the distribution of cloud services in the new cloud distribution model, but also enhancing the overall customer and service provider experience for advanced cross product integration capabilities and rich UI experiences.
On September 9, 2:30-3:30, in the Sequoia Room, at VentureBeat’s CloudBeat conference, I’ll be participating in a panel with Uday Keshavdas, Director of Business Development at Box and Joan Fazio Senior Director, Emerging Channels and Verticals, Commercial Marketing at Symantec, and we look forward to continuing the discussion there.
In case you missed it, in June Parallels announced the availability of Parallels Web Presence Builder 11.5. This latest release delivers usability and performance improvements as well as new features that are sure to delight web hosters by helping them to attract and retain new SMB customers.
But the real news about this release is not just the features, it’s about availability. Now shared hosters can offer Web Presence Builder via any of the following hosting platforms: Parallels Plesk Panel, Parallels Plesk Automation, Parallels Automation, Parallels Business Automation Standard and cPanel. And if you’re not using any of these, we have an option for you as well.
While third-party site builder tools are typically provided as a ‘checkbox’ in a hosting plan, Parallels Web Presence Builder enables you to put your website builder to work for you attracting new business by enabling you to lead with a customized, full-feature do-it-yourself business website. From the smallest hoster with a single Parallels Plesk Panel to some of the largest telcos worldwide, Web Presence Builder meets the needs of a wide range of hosters, enabling them compete in this space.
To learn more about Web Presence Builder and its value for shared hosters, please join us on Thursday July 18th at 11:00 (PDT) for a special webinar: Attract SMBs With Your Own Business Website Offer. In this webinar we will provide an overview of Web Presence Builder and its benefits, see it in action, discuss deployment options, and hear from a hoster who offers it to their customers.
Please join us if you can! Register Now.
Did you know that there are over 400 services that can be sold through Parallels Service delivery platform? These are all based on the APS standard. It is important to have such a broad portfolio as the cloud needs of SMBs are quite diverse. At the same time, there are a core set of services that customers expect. They include Web Hosting, Email, Collaboration and Infrastructure. In most cases the preferred choice of customers are Microsoft products. This is why Parallels has always made sure that Parallels software and Microsoft software work well together and that we always have the latest and greatest versions available.
We make this happen by spending time with Microsoft engineers in the product groups and Microsoft sales and marketing in the field. It assures us that we are building solutions that are optimized for service providers and bring out the best of Microsoft products and services.
This has enabled above market growth rates from our service provider partners for Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Office 365, and Microsoft Lync.
This week we have updates for all of these products as well as a few more including Microsoft Lync Hosting Pack and soon, Microsoft Azure Pack for Hosting Providers.
If you want to offer Microsoft-based cloud services and offer them soon, let me know.
Thank you Microsoft for being a great partner.
John Zanni, Vice President SP Marketing and Alliances
Starting a hosting or cloud business is easy. Whether you are a small hoster or web designer, infrastructure provider, managed service provider or telco, it just takes buying the right software to automate those services. Parallels has a whole portfolio for the small to the large business. That does not mean you will be successful.
Service providers fail because they think that putting a catalog up is sufficient. It is not. The most successful providers have an end to end marketing and sales enablement plan to go with the offer. They take into account up-sell and cross-sell scenarios. They have a strong feedback loop so that they can tune their offers.
We, at Parallels, believe that it is part of our responsibility to give you the tools you need to be successful. That is why we created PartnerNet. This is the location for our partners to get all the best practices and information needed to be successful.
We will be bringing a taste of PartnerNet to you at Microsoft WPC. Come meet with Birger Steen, our CEO, Mauro Meanti, SVP and GM SP Business and of course, yours truly while we present “Succeeding in the SMB Cloud with Microsoft and Parallels” on Monday, July 8 at 4:30 PM in the Hilton Americas. After that session, you will know what it takes to sell those Microsoft cloud services and more. You can also come to the booth and drop off your business card for a chance to win a Surface!
See you there!
John Zanni, Vice President SP Marketing and Alliances
As a Gold Sponsor for Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) next week (July 7-11), we’re anxious to connect with any of you who will be attending this year’s event in Houston. Come see us in booth #1701.
On Monday, July 8th from 4:30-5:30pm, you can catch Birger Steen, Mauro Meanti and John Zanni presenting “Succeeding in the SMB Cloud with Microsoft and Parallels” in Grand Ballroom G of Hilton Americas.
If you won’t be attending WPC13, but are interested in engaging with our executives and WPC team at the event, we encourage you to do so vicariously via Twitter.
Introducing #AskParallels…ask a question of the Parallels WPC team and receive a short video response direct from WPC13. Just tweet your Parallels/Microsoft-related question(s) using hashtags #AskParallels and #WPC13. You can ask your question any time between now and July 11th.
Remember…#AskParallels and #WPC13, let’s get this Q&A started!
Members of Parallels’ leadership team will also deliver keynote speeches – including Birger Steen, CEO; Serguei Beloussov, Executive Chairman of the Board & Chief Architect; and Jack Zubarev, President, Marketing and Alliances. These hosting industry authorities will share what Parallels has been developing in the last year including the latest innovations in Parallels software, offering attendees deep insight into their customers, and access to the broadest ecosystem of partners – all to make it easy for you to sell cloud services to SMBs.
Parallels Summit will feature rich sessions with integrated in-depth content arranged in three distinct tracks:
In addition to the keynotes and training sessions, conference attendees will receive a detailed overview of Parallels product roadmap in advance of public announcements. Parallels SMB Cloud Insights™ research will be updated with all new analysis for US, Global, Mexico, and Brazil exploring what services SMBs say they want to buy from cloud service providers.
“I am looking forward to Parallels Summit 2013. Gathering the brightest and most innovative minds in the industry, Parallels Summit creates moments for attendees to make important connections,” said Birger Steen, CEO, Parallels. “Attendees will discover the latest solutions, gain insight from industry experts, network with their peers and move their business forward. All this in just a couple of days because the entire ecosystem will be there.”
Parallels invites you to register now and join the more than 1,500 industry influencers, leading technology analysts, media editors and reporters and online influentials from across the globe. From cloud service providers and developers, hosting companies, communication service providers (CSPs) to value-added resellers (VARs) and independent software vendors (ISVs), Parallels Summit 2013 is an unrivaled opportunity to build relationships with the leading players in the cloud space.
Attend Parallels Summit and you can also meet and interact with other leading players in the hosting industry, including key executives and technical staff from Platinum and Gold event sponsors IBM, Symantec, Microsoft, Enom, LuxCloud and OpenXchange among the over 50 event sponsors from across the entire hosting ecosystem.
Register today at http://www.parallels.com/summit/2013/.
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.