Parallels Adds Microsoft Azure Hosting for SMBs to Cloud Service Provider Offerings
Virtualization specialist and cloud services enablement vendor Parallels has launched a broad set of support offerings for Microsoft (MSFT) applications in the cloud. Parallels announced the news at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2013 (WPC13).
Parallels has rolled out the following solutions that support Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Lync 2013 and Microsoft Office 365.
- Microsoft Azure Pack for Hosting Providers — This brings Microsoft’s Azure platform into a domain hosting provider’s datacenter for as-a-service sales to service provider’s SMB customers.
- Microsoft Office 365 — New features supported by Parallels include include multi-language support. (Parallels says that it now tsupports more than one-third of Microsoft Office Hosted 365 partners around the globe.)
- Microsoft Lync Hosting Pack — Hosted Lync was rolled out in May, and Parallels says its partners have more than tripled the number of hosted seats in the past year.
These solutions build on Parallels' ongoing work with hosted Microsoft Exchange. The company said its partners have grown their hosted Exchange base by more than 40 percent year-over-year and now host a total of 750,000 email subscribers with more than 75 hosting providers around the globe.
Parallels Service Provider Marketing and Alliances Vice President John Zanni said in a prepared statement that the company sees an opportunity to expand collaborate hosted solutions to customers through its Microsoft partnership.
"With these combined solutions, no one else helps cloud hosting providers significantly speed time to market with the largest service providers in the market," he said.
According to Parallels, the company has been collaborating with Microsoft since 2007 to enable the delivery of cloud services for telecom companies, domain hosting providers, distributors, managed service providers and VARs.
Parallels offers a range of partner programs and more information is available on the company's website.
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