Parallels unveils cloud computing services designed for SMBs
February 14, 2012
Grazed from V3.co.uk. Author: Daniel Robinson.
Parallels has expanded its line-up of products aimed at cloud computing service providers, adding platforms that will enable them to deliver hosted PBX services and updating its Plesk control panel for web hosting, all with an eye to the SMB market.
Parallels announced the new cloud computing provider offerings at its Parallels Summit 2012 in Florida, where the firm also revealed research indicating that small-to-medium businesses are set to be the most enthusiastic adopters of cloud computing services in the near future.
"SMB cloud adoption is continuing to grow pretty aggressively, especially in the US," John Zanni, vice president of service provider marketing and alliances at Parallels, told V3…
"We found that companies with fewer than 20 employees are at three times more likely to choose a cloud service over an on-premise server."
"Our goal is to make service providers grow and profit from the SMB cloud, with service delivery software, expertise and our partner ecosystem," Zanni added.
To this end, Parallels announced Parallels Automation for Hosted PBX, along with previews of Parallels Plesk 11 and Parallels Plesk Automation.
Available immediately, Parallels Automation for Hosted PBX is a full-featured platform for delivering virtual PBX services from the cloud.
Parallels Automation for Hosted PBX enables service providers to offer SMB customers enterprise-grade telephony capabilities, whether they are replacing a legacy PBX or deploying one for the first time, Zanni said.
However, Parallels Automation for Hosted PBX is not tied to a single communications platform, and service providers can integrate either Broadsoft Broadworks or alternatives from vendors such as Apptix, Alteva or Sipcom.
Plesk 11 is the latest version of Parallels’ control panel for hosting environments, and now provides built-in business intelligence and active monitoring capabilities. Parallels said it has integrated Microsoft WebMatrix business metrics, WebStat and SEO indicators.
Plesk 11 will be available from 28 February, Zanni said.
Meanwhile, Parallels Plesk Automation is a completely new product designed to help service providers scale up.
Described as a multi-server automation solution, Plesk Automation integrates with Plesk and provides centralised management of customers and servers, making it easier for hosting companies to add new services.
"If you are a small hoster, you can start with Plesk 10 or 11 and then as you scale beyond one server, it is very easy to add Parallels Plesk Automation, which is fills the gap between Parallels Plesk and the full-fledged Parallels Automation suite," said Zanni.
Parallels also touted the growing popularity of its Application Packaging Standard (APS) for delivering software-as-a-service applications in a standardised package that can be easily deployed.
Even major software such as Microsoft Exchange, Google Apps for Business, McAfee Security-as-a-Service and VMware Zimbra are all now available in APS format, Zanni said.