In July 2010 on our sister site MSPmentor we wrote about Parallels, a U.S.-based software company that was fast emerging as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) and cloud deployment standard. Parallels had just released its latest automation software that it claimed could help hosting providers deploy and manage SaaS versions of Microsoft Exchange 2010 and Office Communications Server 2007 R2 services. Now Parallels announced it is targeting IT delivery for SMBs, telecom operators and IT resellers in Asia-Pacific, where the cloud computing sector is valued at about $11.4 billion.

Parallels is hitting potential Asia-Pacific clients with its cloud virtualization software for billing systems that will enable SMBs to offer web-based documents, e-mail and hosting, among other applications. Parallels has appointed MFEC as its local distributor in the region.

Parallels must be doing something right. Charter Communications announced at the Interop Conference in May it had signed “thousands” of new clients to its Custom Hosting Offerings since deploying Parallels Automation. Parallels claims more than 5,000 MSPs are using its cloud services and delivering them to roughly 10 million SMBs globally. Parallels is trying to expand its clientele with its newest Asia-Pacific offering, and AMI-Partners thinks Parallels has chosen the right region to do so. AMI predicts SMBs in Asia-Pacific are planning to invest another $11.4 billion in cloud computing services. That means a major payday for the right cloud solution provider. The opportunity is not lost on John Zanni, vice president of U.S. Marketing and Alliances: “SMEs need local support and consulting from reliable IT service providers, opening an opportunity to small, cloud-based service providers,” he said through a prepared statement.

Parallels’ move to target Asia-Pacific is nothing new, however; the company put cloud computing “at the top of the agenda in Asia” way back in May 2009 by hosting its first cloud services networking event in the region — the Parallels APAC Summit 2009.

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