Parallels Announces WorldHostingDays Asia Initiatives

Cloud enablement leader to publish results of its annual Asia Pacific SMB Cloud Insights™ report to showcase the rapid growth of cloud adoption in the region; company’s CEO Birger Steen to deliver keynote speech  

SINGAPORE – 9 September 2013 – Parallels, a leading hosting and cloud services enablement provider, today announced its active involvement and commitment to the cloud and hosting industry by participating at WorldHostingDays Asia (WHD.asia). After two years in Thailand, the world’s largest series of hosting events, is moving to Singapore for the first time and will take place at the iconic Marina Bay Sands Hotel. During the event, Parallels will unveil the latest of its Asia-Pacific Parallels SMB Cloud Insights™ report, which will provide insights into the growth and uptake of cloud services by Asia Pacific small and medium businesses (SMBs), as well as updates on the company’s latest offerings and partnerships.

“Cloud adoption in Asia-Pacific continues to grow at an exponential rate and Parallels is delighted for its part in helping accelerate that growth by helping SMBs benefit from all the cloud can offer,” said David Dzienciol, vice president and general manager, Parallels Asia Pacific. “WHD.asia is the region’s premier event for the hosting and cloud services industry, and we are pleased to welcome to the event, our partners and potential partners across the region, as well as peers in the industry, to discuss common concerns, objectives and opportunities, share updates and strategies, and gain new insights relevant to our business and industry.”

Parallels CEO Birger Steen is delivering a keynote speech on Tuesday, 24 September at 2:00pm.  Titled “Innovative solutions delivering growth for your business,” Birger will share insights into the Asia SMB Cloud buying trend, best go-to-market strategies and product augmentation to meet the growing demands of SMBs in the region.

Key highlight for the Wednesday session is the opening keynote by Simon Piff, associate vice president, Enterprise Infrastructure, IDC Asia-Pacific.  Piff will share how the markets in Southeast Asia are transforming their business strategies, as well as their changing attitudes towards cloud computing.  He will also highlight current challenges and barriers to cloud adoption that are limiting the market opportunity, how SMB customers are currently utilizing cloud computing in the ASEAN markets, and their plans for future adoption.

Parallels is a Diamond partner of WHD.asia.  Details of the event are as follows:

Date: 24-25 September 2013

Venue: Level 4, Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands, 10 Bayfront Avenue, Singapore 018956

Registration for the event can be done at:
http://www.worldhostingdays.com/eng/whd-asia-registration.php

Symantec and Parallels Remove the Complexity of Securing Websites and E-Commerce Transactions for Small and Medium Businesses

Parallels Plesk Panel with new Symantec SSL certificates services delivers easier and secure e-commerce solution to drive increased sales for service providers and web designers

Singapore – September 21, 2012 – Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC), and Parallels (www.parallels.com), a hosting and cloud services enablement leader, today announced they have joined forces to help service providers and website designers grow their revenue by offering a vastly simplified process for customers to acquire Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificates and other website security solutions.  Service Providers and Web designers who use Parallels Plesk® Panel  can now offer Symantec Easy SSL featuring a comprehensive Website Security portfolio including GeoTrust, Thawte and other Symantec brands as part of a secure e-commerce solution. This integration will appeal to Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) wanting to provide a safer web experience when it comes to secure connections, transactions and protecting customers against malware threats.  Parallels Plesk Panel now automates the process of ordering, acquiring and installing Symantec-issued SSL certificates, allowing hosters and other service providers to easily resell, provision and track revenue from SSL orders.  This solution is being demonstrated during the Parallels APAC Summit held in Singapore from September 21-22, 2012.

Parallels, as the world’s market share leader  in web server automation and control panels, partnered with security technology leader Symantec to develop an easy to resell and deploy SSL certificate and website security solution, which is now integrated within Parallels Plesk Panel.  Parallels teamed with Symantec based on the company’s experience as the global leader in providing SSL certificates, with more than 800,000 active SSL certificates issued worldwide and 65 percent of Extended Validation (Green Bar) certificates according to the July 2012 Netcraft report.  Symantec’s Norton Secured Seal is the most recognized trust seal on the Internet, and provides rigorous SSL security and Certificate Authority policies  along with 24/7 global support.

“Symantec and Parallels are keenly aware of the vast and growing potential to sell hosted and cloud services to the SMB market through the service provider and hosting channel,” Fran Rosch, Vice President of Identity and Authentication Services, Symantec.  “This alliance enables us to provide a greatly simplified SSL certificate solution for this channel that will make it easier for their SMB customers to communicate and transact securely.”

“Parallels remains laser focused on creating revenue-driving opportunities for our partners, while addressing the issues that keep their SMB customers from adopting cloud and other hosted services,” said John Zanni, vice president of marketing and alliances, Parallels.  “Symantec’s leading security technology will further strengthen the ability of our partners to create, market and sell bundles of in-demand applications and services, such as a complete and secure e-commerce solution.”

Parallels Turn-Key Solutions Deliver Secure Online Transactions
SSL certificates offer a substantial market opportunity for hosters and web design firms seeking to offer their customers the full suite of necessary services for enabling and securing
e-commerce websites.  In a recent U.S. online consumer study conducted by Symantec, 90 percent of respondents stated they abandon online transactions upon receiving browser warnings indicating the absence of a secure connection.  In addition to SSL certificates, website owners also require online storefront and shopping cart platform capabilities, plus a secure merchant/payment processing account – which is especially important to verify card-not-present transactions.

The new integrated Symantec SSL certificate capabilities in Parallels Plesk Panel address a crucial component that ensures the security and integrity of these other requirements.  The Symantec SSL certificate integration will also be offered under Parallels Payment Network, a robust suite of services for service providers and website designers who want to offer turn-key solutions for SMB customers seeking to launch or enable e-commerce websites.  In addition to Symantec’s automated SSL certificate processing, Parallels Payment Network also includes industry-leading PCI-compliant e-commerce solutions from Chase Paymentech (merchant accounts for North America) and Pinnacle Cart (online storefront/shopping cart services).

“Security is essential to be able to provide a true complete e-commerce site solution,” says Mike Auger, CEO of Pinnacle Cart. “We have been collaborating with Symantec for years and we are extremely excited that they have been added to the Parallels Payment Network. This combination of e-commerce services – all without any start-up costs – makes the Parallels Payment Network the smart choice for service providers and website designers seeking to grow their revenues by reselling a turn-key, complete e-commerce site solution.”

With the addition of Symantec’s Website Security Solutions for Parallels Plesk Panel, Symantec now offers the broadest portfolio of integrated protection solutions across Parallels portfolio of hosting and cloud enablement software.  Parallels makes it easier and more cost effective for service providers to offer their SMB customers applications such as Symantec.cloud Email and Endpoint Protection, EV.Cloud Archiving, Symantec Website Security and Norton consumer solutions.

Parallels SMB Cloud Insights™ for Asia Pacific Details the Most Profitable Opportunities for Delivering Cloud Services to Small and Medium Businesses

SMB cloud market expected to grow by 38 percent annually and reach US$19.8 billion in 2015 

SINGAPORE – 21 September 2012 – Parallels, a hosting and cloud services enablement leader, today released the key findings of Parallels Asia Pacific SMB Cloud Insights™, a detailed report illustrating how service providers can profit by delivering cloud services to small and medium businesses (SMBs).  Parallels estimates that Asia Pacific SMB cloud services market opportunity in 2012 is worth is US$7.6 billion, and will grow 38 percent annually (CAGR), reaching US$19.8 billion in 2015.  Parallels also expects China, which has 3.3 million SMBs, and India, which has 3.5 million SMBs, will continue to be the leading growth markets for cloud services in Asia Pacific.  SMBs across APAC have a high willingness to adopt cloud services, indicating that they are likely to go straight to the cloud, rather than taking the intermediate step of installing in-house IT solutions.  

“While the opportunity for service providers to serve SMBs in developed Asian markets remains vibrant, developing countries are poised for significant cloud services growth as they continue to build out their Internet infrastructure and drive demand for web presence and hosted infrastructure,” said said David Dzienciol, Regional Vice President and General Manager Parallels in Asia Pacific.  “Parallels SMB Cloud Insights™ for the APAC region not only highlights the opportunities available for service providers to take advantage of the cloud, it offers specific strategies to differentiate themselves by creating market-specific bundles of the most in-demand applications and services.”

Country specific findings in Parallels SMB Cloud Insights™ for Asia-Pacific include:

Australia
Parallels predicts the Australian SMB market will grow by AUD$630 million over the next three years, reaching AUD$1.5 billion in 2015.  As a more mature market with SMBs having well-established web presence, Australia’s demand for new cloud services continues to be driven by hosted infrastructure and business applications.

Japan
Japan, while also a mature market, still represents an estimated ¥131 billion (US$1.6 billion) market in 2012 across all categories of cloud services.  Japanese SMBs have grown their use of online applications by 20 percent since last year.  Service providers can also benefit by creating bundles of cloud applications, as 34 percent of Japanese SMBs report significant interest in buying a discounted package of cloud services.

China

·         Parallels estimates that the Chinese SMB cloud services market opportunity in 2012 is worth ¥10.8 billion RMB and expects it to grow by 31 percent annually (CAGR) over the next three years, reaching ¥24.2B RMB (US$3.8 billion) in 2015.  72 percent of Chinese SMBs still have not deployed servers.  Parallels expects this group to drive much of the growth of the hosted infrastructure market in the near term.

India
Parallels estimates the Indian cloud services market to be worth 11.9 billion (US$216 million) in 2012, and expects it to grow 45 percent annually (CAGR), reaching 36.9 billion (US$664 million) in 2015. 78 percent of Indian SMBs report they are planning to add hosted servers/hosted infrastructure capabilities in the next three years.

The new APAC Regional report expands the Parallels SMB Cloud Insights series to fifteen current regional profiles, including new individual reports for China and India, plus reports for Japan, Australia, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, United States, Mexico, Brazil, and a global profile.  The existing reports are available for download at http://www.parallels.com/SMBreport2011, and the new China, India and APAC Regional reports will be available immediately to Parallels Summit 2012 APAC attendees, then available online on September 24.

Parallels Continues Its Asia Pacific Growth and Leadership in Cloud Enablement

Company previews innovative products for hosting automation, infrastructure and cloud storage, and releases new SMB cloud research during the Fourth Annual Parallels Summit 2012 APAC

SINGAPORE – September 21, 2012 – Parallels® (www.parallels.com), a hosting and cloud services enablement leader, today announced another successful year of solid growth across Asia Pacific, as the company reported a rapidly expanding list of service providers and hosters who are partnering with Parallels to deliver cloud and hosting services to small and medium businesses (SMB).  Given the importance of the APAC SMB cloud market, which Parallels estimates will grow 38 percent year-over-year to US $19.8 billion by 2015, the company continues to invest in developing innovative software, recruiting executive leadership and adding other resources to enable its APAC partners to better meet the growing SMB demand for cloud services.  The company’s accelerated growth in APAC includes the recent introduction of Parallels Plesk Panel 11, which has been adopted 85 percent faster in Asia than previous versions, thus becoming the fastest growing product in company’s history.  Parallels also announced its latest reports on Asia’s accelerating SMB cloud markets, and launched previews of its newest software for hosting automation, infrastructure and cloud storage, giving service providers more capabilities and opportunities to sell and upsell cloud and hosted services and applications.

These developments were announced today at the fourth annual Parallels Summit 2012 APAC in Singapore, where leading service providers and industry experts gathered to discuss the latest trends and share best practices to further the growth of cloud and hosting services.  “The Asia Pacific region continues to present vast opportunities for delivering cloud and hosting services,” said Birger Steen, CEO of Parallels. “Asian service providers – and their SMB customers – are rapidly realizing the economic and operational benefits of using the cloud.  Parallels stands at the forefront of this ongoing shift by making the investments in platforms and solutions for service providers.  Combined with our expertise and ecosystem, Parallels is uniquely qualified to help our APAC partners meet the needs of SMBs seeking to migrate to cloud services.”

Parallels Software: Latest Success and New Previews 

Partners in Asia and around the world continue to embrace Parallels Plesk Panel 11 in record numbers, citing the combination of powerful new features, ease of use, improved server performance and enhanced security.  Many enhancements originated from APAC partner feedback and are designed to meet the needs of region’s service providers, including:

Support for Microsoft Windows Server, Asia’s Most Popular Operating System – As Microsoft Windows Server is the dominant operating system of choice, Parallels has announced support for the latest versions of Microsoft technologies, including Microsoft SQL Server 2012 and the recently-announced Microsoft Windows Server 2012. For Parallels Plesk Panel Linux users, Parallels has also announced the availability of support for both the CentOS and RedHat 6.3 operating systems.

Improved Security - Parallels invested significantly to further fortify Parallels Plesk Panel 11 with security hardening to counter multiple attack vectors, including industrial-grade 256-bit password encryption to protect file transfers (FTP), databases, and e-mail functions.

Improved Server Performance - Parallels Plesk Panel 11 automatically installs and configures an NGINX modern web stack, and leverages its high performance web server design to manage latent connections with far fewer server resources than Apache. This reduces the maximum concurrent website connections, decreases server CPU and memory resource consumption, and improves the efficiency for serving site visitors with slow connection speeds – common across APAC - by up to 40 percent.

Asian partners continue to embrace Parallels Plesk Panel at a record pace.

"Kryptos believes in building business and customer relationships through strong alliances and partnerships,” said Prasanna Ram, CEO of Kryptos. “By leveraging its innovations, such as Parallels Plesk Panel, we have been able to improve our services dramatically and the partnership has enabled us more rapidly offer new hosting and cloud services to our customers.” 

Parallels has also announced the preview release of Parallels Cloud Server 6 Beta.  This exciting new technology combines Parallels Virtuozzo Containers together with world-class hypervisor technology, and dramatically improves server reliability and performance by turning existing unused disk space into scalable, resilient cloud storage.   Also available is the preview of Parallels Business Automation Standard 4.3, the newest version of the most proven billing and automation solution for managing and scaling small and medium web hosting businesses. Parallels Business Automation Standard 4.3 provides even more value to hosters and other service providers, with a variety of advanced features based on customer feedback including centralized e-mail, antivirus, antispam and database management, and support for MySQL 5.x.  In addition, the new version reduces supports costs by enabling the simple re-creation of virtual private servers (VPS), enabling end users to switch to any server operating system a provider offers.  The public preview of Parallels Cloud Server Beta 2 is available for download at www.parallels.com/products/pcs/.  The Parallels Business Automation Standard 4.3 preview is available for download at www.parallels.com/products/pba-standard/whats-new/.

Parallels Automation Growth Continues in APAC 

Parallels Automation, the leading hosting and cloud services delivery system for large service providers, is designed to deliver a vast portfolio of Microsoft services (such as Office 365) and other hosted applications that can generate instant value and drive revenue for service providers.  Many of APAC’s leading service providers have now deployed Parallels Automation, including ASG/Domain Central, Datec, GMO Cloud, KT, iiNet, Ozhosting.com, PacHosting, Shinjiru, Tsukaeru.net, ReadySpace, Ride, Telekom Malaysia and UberGlobal.

“Parallels Automation has tremendously benefitted iiNet with its ability to address mission critical business needs, and taking it a step further by enabling us to quickly offer on-demand software that SMBs need to be successful in today’s competitive environment,” said Kevin Clark, Hosting Manager at iiNet, Australia’s second largest DSL Internet Service provider.  “The new monetization opportunities that have risen for us as a result of our partnership will play a huge role in our expansion program.”  

APAC Partner List Continues to Expand

Over the last twelve months, Parallels has also built relationships with many new service provider partners across APAC, including Vodien, CtrlS, WebVisions, Krypt, ThaiBizHost and Kryptos, who join the list of established Parallels partners including Softbank Korea, Telekom Malaysia, ZNet, Directi, and Net4 India. Further driving Parallels’ business in Asia Pacific is the addition of system integration and reseller partners that enable ISVs, VARs, ISPs and small hosting providers resell cloud services with minimal upfront costs and faster time-to-market. Companies entering the hosting space can now collaborate with Parallels’ new partners including CtrlS in India, and Sunny Vision in Hong Kong, as well as existing partners with a significant APAC footprint including LuxCloud, UberGlobal, and ReadySpace.

New Parallels SMB Cloud Insights™ for APAC, China and India: $19.8 Billion SMB Market by 2015

Parallels continues to invest on expanding its market expertise and intelligence to help service providers success with go-to-market strategies.  These resources include the Parallels Partner Program and PartnerNet, open to hosters and service providers at any level, as well as Parallels SMB Cloud Insights™, the company’s series of 15 proprietary research reports with actionable insights for selling cloud services to SMBs.  This week, Parallels is releasing its latest findings on the SMB cloud markets in China, India, and for the entire APAC region.  The research anticipates a 38 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for SMB cloud services across APAC, with the total market growing to an estimated US $19.8 billion by 2015.  To download the reports, go to www.parallels.com/smbreport/.

New Regional Leadership in APAC

To further drive the company’s success in the region, Parallels has recently appointed David Dzienciol as Regional Vice President and General Manager for Asia Pacific. In this role, Dzienciol is leading sales and marketing for both Parallels Service Provider and Desktop Virtualization business divisions in APAC. He brings a strong track record of successfully driving APAC business growth and increasing market share through the implementation of results-driven strategies.

Parallels and Quest Software Expand Alliance to Deliver E-Mail Migration and Other Hosted Solutions for Asia Pacific Service Providers

Key Solutions -- including Microsoft Exchange Migration and Desktop as a Service for Parallels Automation Cloud Marketplace- Enable Service Providers to Differentiate Offerings and Drive More Revenue

SINGAPORE, September 19, 2012 – Parallels (www.parallels.com), a hosting and cloud services enablement leader, and Quest Software, Inc. (Nasdaq: QSFT) today announced they have expanded their existing global alliance, which will now significantly benefit service providers in Asia Pacific. In a region where the demand for small and medium business (SMB) hosting and cloud services is accelerating at a rapid rate, the Quest and Parallels alliance will help cloud service providers to drive revenue faster and differentiate their services with value-added support for a set of solutions. 

As part of the agreement, Quest has packaged its Microsoft Exchange Migration service and Desktop-as-a-Service software under the Application Packaging Standard (APS). Service providers using Parallels Automation can now offer Quest OnDemand Migrator for Email to convert email accounts to hosted solutions such as Microsoft® Office365 or Hosted Microsoft® Exchange., Quest’s Desktop-as-a-Service deployment and management services are also now available to Parallels partners..

“In Asia, cloud is no longer a buzzword, but a reality that is rapidly changing ways how organizations of all sizes work,” said David Dzienciol, Vice President and General Manager, Parallels Asia Pacific. “It is clear that SMBs in the Asia Pacific region are starting to have a better understanding of the benefits of migrating to the cloud. Parallels is firmly committed to enabling service providers at every level to rapidly deliver cloud services to the SMB market as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible, and our expanding alliance with Quest will continue to support this ongoing effort.”

“We’re excited to expand our long-standing relationship with Parallels into the Asia Pacific region, combining our value-added migration and desktop virtualization solutions and Parallels’ market-leading service provider platform,” said Michael Sotnick, Vice President, Worldwide Channels & Alliances, Quest Software. “Having migrated more than 3.6 million mailboxes to Microsoft Hosted Exchange and virtualized over 110,000 desktops in Asia Pacific alone, Quest’s experience in migrating to hosted e-mail and Desktop as a Service brings peace of mind to both the service providers and their customers.  Quest and Parallels continue to address the  needs among service providers to scale and diversify their offerings, while at the same time driving revenue and faster time to value for their customers.”

The APS standard benefits Quest and other Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) by providing access to a vast sales channel of more than 9,000 Parallels service providers and resellers that serve more than 12 million SMBs. In turn, hosters and other cloud service providers have access to Quest's applications and the growing variety of other APS-enabled applications and services that are easy and ready-to-deploy. 

Parallels Automation is the leading hosting and cloud services delivery system used by thousands of service providers worldwide, from the largest telecom operators in the world to top hosters and providers of vertical solutions. Parallels Automation 5.4, the latest version of the Parallels Automation, offers a suite of communications and collaboration features, including a full-featured virtual PBX enablement solution for delivering hosted BroadSoft BroadWorks PBX and hosted Microsoft® Lync™ services. These features are designed specifically to meet the growing demands of SMBs for hosted PBX and other cloud applications in Asia Pacific and around the globe.

Symantec to Participate in Parallels Summit 2012 APAC as Platinum Sponsor

September 12, 2012 – Parallels (www.parallels.com), a hosting and cloud services enablement leader, today announced Symantec is the Platinum Sponsor of Parallels Summit 2012 APAC, the annual gathering of the region’s leading cloud services providers and industry visionaries. During the Summit, Symantec’s executives will shed insight into the rise of cloud information protection services and its impact on security for small and medium-sized businesses (SMB). 

Symantec’s speakers include:

·         Stephen Banbury, vice president, SMB and .cloud Channel & Alliance Marketing at Symantec, who brings his decade-long experience in the security and cloud industries to a keynote on Friday, September 21st at 12:00pm. His presentation will focus on the risk associated with organizational data, devices and intellectual property during the cloud migration and the need to ensure that cloud implementations do not inadvertently become a force multiplier for security threats.

·         Bernard Laroche, senior director, Partner Marketing at Symantec, will speak on Saturday, September 20th at 11:25 am. Bernard will discuss how service providers can increase their customers’ confidence in the cloud by incorporating hosted security services from Symantec that are integrated into Parallels platforms.

“Symantec’s participation in the Summit comes at a time when cloud-based services are rapidly transforming how customers choose to address their IT management challenges, including the area of security,” said David Dzienciol, regional vice president and general manager, Parallels, Asia Pacific.

Symantec’s alliance with Parallels is part of an ongoing commitment by both companies to offer service providers unique bundled cloud services that are flexible, easy to manage and reduce costs, while helping their customers succeed. Parallels’ platforms make it easy and cost effective for service providers to leverage Symantec’s broad portfolio of security solutions, fully integrated into Parallels Plesk and Parallels Automation. Symantec also offers integration with the Application Packaging Standard (APS) and Parallels Automation for Cloud Marketplace (PACM), allowing service providers to offer additional Symantec software and services to their SMB customers. 

“The growing demand for cloud services has created new opportunities for service providers to generate recurring revenue streams and gain insight into customer operations through the management of their IT environments. Symantec and Parallels are committed to equipping service providers with integrated services that help their customers leverage the cloud to grow and succeed,” said Fran Rosch, vice president, identity and authentication services, Symantec.

A detailed agenda of planned sessions and activities at the Parallels Summit 2012 APAC is available at http://www.parallels.com/summit/2012/apac/.

Parallels Announces SoftLayer Technologies as Parallels Summit 2012 APAC Diamond Sponsor

SoftLayer’s Chief Strategy Officer to share why partnerships are important for non-traditional hosting companies entering the cloud services market

SINGAPORE, September 6, 2012 – Parallels (www.parallels.com), the hosting and cloud services enablement leader, today announced that SoftLayer Technologies will participate as the Diamond Sponsor at Parallels Summit 2012 APAC, the annual gathering of the region’s leading cloud services providers and industry visionaries. Parallels Summit 2012 APAC attendees will hear from SoftLayer on the latest trends and strategies at a keynote address on partnerships and business growth in the area of cloud services delivery. 

Since 2005, SoftLayer has been in a global partnership with Parallels, offering joint services to help companies succeed in the cloud. As a platinum partner, SoftLayer is one of the largest cloud services providers collaborating with Parallels. Today SoftLayer has more than 100,000 servers under management and offers Parallels Plesk Panel as an option on every server; helping to make it one of the most widely distributed control panels in the industry.

“SoftLayer has been a strategic partner of Parallels, working closely with us to help service providers grow and profit as small and medium businesses in Asia Pacific increasingly move to the cloud for their IT needs,” said David Dzienciol, Regional Vice President and General Manager, Parallels in Asia Pacific. “We are confident Summit attendees will benefit from hearing SoftLayer’s point of view on how they can maximise the benefits for their company within the current cloud services environment.”

During his keynote on September 21 at 2.40 pm, SoftLayer’s Chief Strategy Officer, George Karidis will address how non-traditional hosters such as telecommunications companies, cable companies and value-added resellers need to adopt a strategic approach to finding the right partners as they enter the rapidly growing cloud services market to leverage opportunities. 

“How cloud service providers go to market has changed more in the past year than in the previous six. That’s why SoftLayer is sharing its own approach to leveraging partners to drive business growth at Parallels Summit 2012 APAC,” said George Karidis, Chief Strategy Officer, SoftLayer Technologies. “We are also offering Summit attendees the right information for success by sharing how companies need to adopt a strategic approach and engage the right partners to leverage opportunities and drive business growth.”

A detailed agenda of planned sessions and activities at the Parallels Summit 2012 APAC is available at http://www.parallels.com/summit/2012/apac/.

Former Apple Executive Bertrand Serlet Joins Parallels Board of Directors

Distinguished industry veteran and former head of software engineering at Apple bolsters
Parallels board with decades of industry expertise

SINGAPORE, July 18, 2012 – Parallels, a global leader in cloud services enablement and desktop virtualization software, announces the appointment of Bertrand Serlet, former senior vice president of software engineering at Apple, to its board of directors.

Serlet will serve as a non-executive director, bringing to Parallels his distinctive professional experience of having led the development of Mac OS X from its inception until his departure from Apple in 2011. Serlet’s distinguished background and unique insights will help Parallels accelerate growth and continue creating software that simplifies life for consumers and businesses.

“Bertrand is the rare combination of a software visionary and master of execution. We’re thrilled to be bringing his world-class experience and expertise to Parallels as the company continues its fast-paced growth and global expansion,” said Birger Steen, CEO of Parallels.

Serlet worked at Apple for 14 years, where he led the development and creation of OS X and was frequently a key speaker at Apple industry events. Serlet previously spent eight years with NeXT contributing to NeXTSTEP, OpenStep and WebObjects, and four years as a researcher at Xerox PARC. Serlet holds a doctorate in computer science from the University of Orsay, France.

“With Parallels Desktop, Parallels became a critical developer for the Mac platform, and I got to know and appreciate the Parallels leadership team. I also discovered Parallels deep involvement with the cloud, represented by its rich portfolio of products. I look forward to drawing on my career at Apple to help guide Parallels as it continues on its impressive growth trajectory,” said Serlet.

The Parallels product portfolio addresses a wide range of consumer, small and medium business (SMB), enterprise and service provider needs. Parallels Desktop for Mac is the No. 1-selling software1 for running Windows and Mac applications side-by-side on a Mac without rebooting, and is used by more than 50 percent of the Fortune Global 200. The company’s cloud enablement software is used by more than 9,000 service providers who rely on Parallels to deliver thousands of applications and cloud services to more than 10 million SMBs in more than 130 countries.

Parallels Plesk Panel 11 Adds Over 80 Features and Improvements, Including Faster Web Site Performance

Latest Version of Market-Leading Hosting Control Panel Designed to Help Web Hosters and Web Designers Make More Money

SINGAPORE – June 27, 2012 – Parallels (www.parallels.com), a global leader in hosting and cloud services enablement and desktop virtualization, today officially launched Parallels® Plesk® Panel® 11, the newest version of its market-leading hosting control panel software. The over 80 improvements in Parallels Plesk Panel 11 are based on customer feedback and Parallels’ vision for the hosting and cloud industries. New features include the latest Web technologies and faster performance in dedicated and virtualized environments, the addition of enhanced Web presence tools, and free priority support for hosters who select the premium Plesk Unlimited dedicated license.

“Parallels remains laser-focused on helping smaller and growing Web hosters and Web site designers drive more revenue and expand their businesses,” said Birger Steen, CEO of Parallels. “Parallels Plesk Panel 11 joins our unmatched investments in helping these players succeed and grow, including valuable expertise, best practices, marketing tools and other go-to-market resources that are available to our partners, including those who join our new Member level at Parallels PartnerNet.”

"Parallels Plesk Panel is the most widely used server control panel today. ReadySpace wants our customers to get the latest before others in Asia, so Parallels Plesk Panel 11 will be made available on all Cloud Servers running Linux upon launch day," David Loke, Executive Director, ReadySpace.

Parallels Plesk Panel 11 has enhancements in key feature areas to help hosters and Web designers to simplify their business operations, lower their costs and drive more revenue. These features include:

Better Server Performance with NGINX – Linux users can now reduce their CPU and memory usage by up to 50%, through the use of the NGINX server in Parallels Plesk Panel 11. The NGNIX server is installed and configured automatically in in Parallels Plesk Panel 11, and accelerates Web site access and application response times beyond what is available in default Apache Web servers.

New Parallels Web Presence Builder – Parallels Plesk Panel 11 includes the new Parallels Web Presence Builder, an intuitive Web site building tool for small businesses and novice users. It allows Web hosters to provide industry-competitive self-service design tools for their SMB customers. Parallels Web Presence Builder includes drag-and-drop modules that let users easily customize their Web site content, and automatically update their Facebook pages to mirror the content, look, and feel of their Web site. For Web designers, Parallels Web Presence Builder can also be sold as an entry level Web site building tool, which can later be leveraged to upsell customers to more advanced, custom site designs.

New Free Support Options – Parallels is introducing the most comprehensive selection of support options in the hosting panel industry, focused on the specific needs of hosters and Web designers who rely on Parallels Plesk Panel to run their online businesses.

· Customers with business-critical needs who purchase an Unlimited dedicated Plesk SKU license, will now receive free support by e-mail.

· Customers who purchase Unlimited dedicated Plesk SKU with Parallels Plesk Power Pack will receive free premium support (via e-mail, phone, Skype, or live chat).

Improved Web Site Experiences for Mobile Users – Since 50% of all Internet traffic is currently estimated to originate from mobile devices, site owners need a solution to leverage their existing Web sites for a better mobile experience. Through a partnership with Unity Mobile, Parallels Plesk Panel users can now take existing Web sites and render them for optimized viewing and browsing from any mobile device. Further, the included NGINX Web server in Parallels Plesk Panel functions as a proxy server for slow connections – such as 3G – to speed Web site delivery to mobile devices.

Improved Security – Parallels Plesk Panel 11 provides enhanced server security and proactively helps avoid potential vulnerabilities. Password storage and encryption is now unified. Server Administrators can enforce minimum password strength levels. Security updates are now highly visible and easier to apply in Parallels Plesk Panel 11.

“As you evaluate and consider adopting the new Parallels Plesk Panel 11 release, the most important thing I'd like existing and prospective customers to understand is that Parallels listened,” said Craig Bartholomew, Vice President Panel Products, Parallels, in his open letter to customers. “We have heard you loud and clear that you want us to focus on the fundamentals: Web server performance, security and support. You also wanted us to stay consistent in our product offerings – making it easy to upgrade, easy to learn and easy to train others on, and fast for getting core tasks done in the user interface. Parallels Plesk Panel 11 delivers on all of those things and more.”

Many of the new features and enhancements in Parallels Plesk Panel 11 focus on innovation and support for the newest Web technologies:

· Support for the latest operating systems, including openSUSE 12.1, Ubuntu 12.04, and Debian 6, which is the most popular Linux distribution for Web servers

· Full support for IPv6, either standalone or "dual stack", which allows Web sites to run on IPv4 and IPv6 interfaces simultaneously

· Parallels Plesk Panel 11 also works across both the Linux and Windows Server platforms so that the same experience can be delivered to all customers

· Support for Microsoft’s WebMatrix Web development tool, making it simple for novices and pros alike to use this popular software

· The Parallels Plesk Panel 11 user interface is now customizable, and can be simplified or extended based on the needs and the technical responsibilities of the user

· Hosted application support is included through the use of the Application Packaging Standard (APS) v1.2. APS packaged applications can now be easily deployed on Parallels Plesk Panel servers (see http://www.apsstandard.org for more information) – including applications using the DNS, PHP, Apache, and OS aspects of APS.

· A new Software Development Kit (SDK) is provided to create Parallels Plesk Panel extensions in both Linux and Windows Server, allowing ISVs and Web developers to customize and extend the functionality of Parallels Plesk Panel 11

Parallels Plesk Panel 11 Launch Partners

Parallels Plesk Panel 11 is now available for purchase from over 60 of the world’s leading hosters via the Parallels Launch Partner Directory. Launch partners include: 123-reg, 01link Network Services, abaton, arysys.es, Catalyst2, Cirrus Hosting, CMO Internet Dienstleistungen, Dogado Internet, Dualtec/Nomer, eHosting Limited, Firstserv, GoDaddy.com, Heart Internet, Hetzner Online, HostDime, Host Gator, Hostepartner.fr,

Hosting UK.net, Internet Central, Layershift, Leaseweb, Lexxa, LicenseCube, Locaweb, Lowcosthost.de, Media Temple, Melbourne Network Solutions, Netissime.fr, NuBlue, OVH, Oxyd.fr, Openprovider, PacHosting, PoundHost, PowerDNN, PSW Group.de, QWEB Internet Services-Servers.nl, Ratiokontakt, ReadySpace, RealHosting, REG.ru, Rusonyx, Server4You, ServerNest, Signetique, Simply Mail Solutions, Snel Internet Services, SoftLayer, Steadfast Networks, Storm Internet, Superb Internet, Thaibiz, UKHost4u, Usonyx, ViUX Systems, Webfusion, Websolute | BSA, weblink.ch, web-vision.de, Ximbo, XLHost, Zan-Guo-CE Int'l Co., Ltd., and Znet.

Parallels Expands Partner Program Benefits to Smaller and Growing Web Hosters and Website Designers Seeking to Expand Their Businesses

Partners at any size can now leverage Parallels expertise, resources and tools at the new Member level, while Bronze Partner membership is now offered to firms in Europe and North Africa

SINGAPORE – June 18, 2012 – Parallels® (www.parallels.com), the hosting and cloud services enablement leader, today announced expanded access of its Partner Program specifically for smaller and growing web hosters and website designers. Parallels’ unmatched depth of valuable expertise, best practices, tools and other go-to-market resources are now available to hosters seeking to grow their businesses by delivering cloud services.

“Smaller and growing web hosters and design firms now have access to the best resources available for accelerating their revenue and profitability,” said John Zanni, Vice President, Service Provider Marketing and Alliances, Parallels. “Key benefits of our program include expertise on how to implement proven strategies and tactics for improving customer value through better operations and for delivering a broader set of hosted services and applications.”

New access for Parallels Partners includes:

A new Member level, specifically designed for small web hosters who are seeking business growth and who aspire to achieve advanced partner benefits as their revenue and customer base expands.

The introduction of the Bronze Partner program level for Europe and North Africa (EUNA).The Bronze Partner program is designed for high impact web hosters who typically operate on a local or regional level, and who can benefit from tools and resources to help them grow their businesses to the next level. Membership in the Bronze Partner Program has proved popular with similar-sized hosters in North America, with membership tripling over the past year.

All members of the Parallels Partner Program can take advantage of recent enhancements and resources centrally located on the Parallels PartnerNet portal, including:

SMB Knowledge Headquarters – tools, whitepapers, research and webinars help service providers to gain insights on SMB cloud usage and cloud services opportunities. Based on its interactions with thousands of service providers, and its ongoing series of SMB Cloud InsightsTM research, Parallels is the single best source for information on trends and actionable recommendations for targeting, marketing and selling cloud services to SMBs.

Best Practices – assets, case studies, templates and other go-to-market resources provide proven strategies and tactics for service plans, pricing, offerings, promotions, bundling and upselling cloud services.

Parallels Partner Forums –partners can interact with Parallels and other service providers to overcome challenges and better realize market opportunities. Partners can benefit from sharing and learning best practices and techniques to become more proficient in their sales, marketing and support activities.

For more information about signing up for the Parallels Service Provider Partner Program, visit http://www.parallels.com/spp/partnerprogram

Parallels Appoints David Dzienciol as Regional Vice President and General Manager Sales, Asia Pacific

Former Asia Pacific Regional Vice President and General Manager
Jan-Jaap Jager promoted to Vice President of Strategic Account Sales for The Americas

ASIA PACIFIC – May 29, 2012- Parallels (www.parallels.com), a global leader in cloud services enablement and desktop virtualization software, today announced the appointment of David Dzienciol as Regional Vice President and General Manager, Sales in Asia Pacific (APAC). Dzienciol will lead sales for Parallels Desktop Virtualization and Service Provider business divisions in APAC. He joins Parallels after successfully working in a similar role at Symantec, where he served as Vice President of Channel and Small and Medium Businesses (SMB) for Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ).

“Asia Pacific is an important market where demand for and sales of Parallels products and services has grown significantly year over year,” said Jim Herman, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales for Parallels. “David Dzienciol’s track record of driving business growth helped establish Symantec as a leading provider of security and makes him a great fit for Parallels. Dzienciol will build upon his proven experience to fuel continued growth of Parallels to benefit our customers and increase market share.” Dzienciol succeeds Parallels APAC Vice President and General Manager Jan-Jaap Jager, who was instrumental in effectively leading the Parallels APAC team and growing the company’s regional footprint over the last six years. Jager has been promoted to a new role as Vice President of Strategic Account Sales for The Americas, and will now be based in Toronto, Canada, to focus on managing and growing top strategic accounts for Parallels.

Award-winning Parallels solutions include the No. 1-selling software for running Windows on a Mac without rebooting, Parallels Desktop for Mac, which is used by more than half of Fortune 200 companies. Additionally, Parallels hosting and cloud services delivery solutions enable service providers to deliver and profitably grow hosting and cloud services for more than 10 million SMBs worldwide. Parallels is a private, profitable and fast-growing company with more than 900 employees throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Technology Experts Guy Kawasaki, Tiffani Bova and Marsha Collier to Deliver Keynote Speeches on the Impact of Cloud at Parallels Summit 2012

Speakers and track sessions with noted industry leaders provide valuable insights for managing, marketing, bundling, selling and reselling cloud services to small and medium businesses during the event from February 14-16, 2012, in Orlando, Florida

SINGAPORE – January 30, 2011 – Parallels® (www.parallels.com), the hosting and cloud services enablement leader, today officially announced its roster of highly-noted keynote speakers for Parallels Summit 2012, the leading global annual gathering of the cloud industry, scheduled from February 14-16, 2012 at the Gaylord Palms Hotel and Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Parallels’ featured keynote speakers – including Guy Kawasaki, technology entrepreneur, best-selling author, and Apple’s first Chief Evangelist; Tiffani Bova, noted Gartner analyst and IT value chain and channel building expert; and Marsha Collier, online marketing, customer service and social media guru – are industry experts whose collective advice is highly sought-after for creating strategies to market IT services to small and medium businesses (SMBs).

Parallels leadership will also deliver keynote speeches – including CEO Birger Steen; Serguei Beloussov, Executive Chairman of the Board & Chief Architect; and Jack Zubarev, President of Marketing and Alliances. These hosting industry leaders will share their insider knowledge on the seismic shift in SMB IT purchasing, and their vision for how to capitalize and profit from the new cloud landscape.

“I’m pleased to launch Parallels Summit 2012 with the opportunity to highlight our momentum, growing expertise and expanding leadership role in the cloud and hosting ecosystem,” said Birger Steen, CEO, Parallels. "It will also be my privilege to welcome to our stage three of the leading tech and small business experts – keynote speakers Guy Kawasaki, Tiffani Bova and Marsha Collier. Year after year, Parallels Summit is the most valuable opportunity for professionals from across the entire global cloud services ecosystem – including hosters, telcos, VARs, system integrators and ISVs – to acquire valuable insights and actionable strategies for Profiting from the Cloud.”

Parallels invites attendees to register 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, hosting companies, communication service providers (CSPs) to value-added resellers (VARs) and independent software vendors (ISVs), Parallels Summit 2012 is an unrivaled opportunity to build relationships with the leading players in the cloud space, while gaining valuable strategies for selling, upselling, reselling, bundling and delivering a wide range of profitable cloud services to SMBs.

Conference attendees will also have access to go-to-market intelligence, action plans, profitability blueprints, plus technical and marketing training and product certification from Parallels and other industry experts. In addition, participants at Parallels Summit 2012 will receive a detailed overview of Parallels’ product roadmap in advance of public announcements.

Keynote speakers at Parallels Summit 2012 include:

· Guy Kawasaki, the foremost authority on technology adoption, was the original chief evangelist at Apple. In his second act, Kawasaki’s excelled at being a serial entrepreneur and networker, social media guru, best-selling author and featured columnist for American Express OPEN Forum for small business on his blog, Powering Small Business Success. In his keynote, Kawasaki will share insights from his life experiences on how to tap into the potential of customer “Enchantment” – the Art of Changing Hearts, Minds and Actions, as chronicled in his recent book of the same title. Regardless of your company’s size or how you deliver services, Kawasaki will explore why enchanting your customers is the key for service providers (or any entrepreneur) to build a business – it’s the path to differentiate yourself in the marketplace as you earn likability and trustworthiness.

· Tiffani Bova, Vice President, Gartner Research, is a 15-year technology veteran, covering IT sales and channel strategies at the noted research firm. Bova's area of specialization includes the development of comprehensive indirect channel programs, the impact of alternative models on the traditional channel and trends in IT distribution. She spends a significant amount of time with IT vendors at all levels that are looking to launch or enhance an existing channel program, while improving the leverage of their distribution partners and ultimately expand their global reach. Bova will provide insight for channel partners and the requirements they need and should expect from their vendor partners to be successful in today's market. She will also discuss the development of comprehensive indirect channel programs, go-to-market sales coverage models and the impact of alternative models on the traditional hosting and ISV channels in her keynote session, “The Role of Cloud Services Marketplaces in Your Value Chain Strategy.”

· Marsha Collier, recently named by Forbes as one of the “Top Ten Most Influential Women in Social Media,” will detail the online tactics for taking customer engagement to the next level in the keynote session, “Online Strategies for Improving your Marketing and Customer Service.” As the author of more than 35 books in the Wiley "For Dummies" series and host of Computer and Technology Radio, Collier will define the art of customer service, connection, and engagement. Collier also shares her on-target insights for better leveraging the Internet for marketing and customer service on her daily blog “Marsha’s Collier’s Musings.” All attendees at Parallels Summit 2012 will receive a copy of Collier’s latest book, “The Ultimate Online Customer Service Guide”.

· Birger Steen, CEO, Parallels, will deliver a keynote entitled, “Capitalizing on the changing SMB IT landscape,” an examination of how the consumption of IT as cloud services by SMBs has become the default choice. In this session, Steen will share Parallels’ vision for the hosting and cloud industry, and also provide an update on Parallels strategy and a preview of next generation products. He will focus on how service providers can profitably continue to meet SMB customer needs as their IT spending evolves. Steen will also recognize the winners of the Parallels 2012 Partner Awards, honoring Parallels’ service provider partners across eight categories for their outstanding achievements with Parallels products, solutions and services.

· Serguei Beloussov, Executive Chairman of the Board and Chief Architect, Parallels, will examine “Hosting and cloud in the year 2020.” Beloussov is a cloud expert, entrepreneur, and technical visionary who has spent the last 12 years developing software to enable cloud services. Beloussov’s keynote address will paint a picture of hosting, cloud and IT 10 years from now. Beloussov will share his vision and predictions for how today’s market trends will influence the hosting and cloud industry of the future.

· Jack Zubarev, President, Marketing & Alliances, Parallels, will present a keynote entitled, “Putting hosting and cloud services delivery all together.” Zubarev will connect the dots across the ecosystem, showing how the hosting and cloud services business model is transforming as the industry enters its next phase. He will also discuss how Parallels strategy and product roadmap will continue to deliver the highest profitability for service providers.

Attendees 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 Symantec, Microsoft, OpenSRS, Open-Xchange, Scality and eNom, among the over 50 event sponsors from across the entire hosting ecosystem.

A detailed agenda of planned sessions and activities is available at http://www.parallels.com/summit/2012/agenda/.

To register, and for information about training and certification sessions, please visit http://www.parallels.com/summit/2012/.

Shinjiru Implements Parallels Plesk Panel to Profit from the Cloud

Malaysian Web hosting pioneer increases Average Cost per Unit (ARPU), enhances customer satisfaction and simplifies customer service management with Parallels Plesk Panel

SINGAPORE AND KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – January 10, 2012 - Parallels®, the hosting and Cloud services enablement leader, today announced its partnership with Shinjiru, the leading hosting service provider in Malaysia. Shinjiru currently uses Parallels Plesk Panel to provide a complete server control panel and automation solution to its small and medium businesses (SMB) customers in Malaysia. The deployment continues to greatly enhance the company’s ability to improve customer loyalty by empowering users with enhanced self-service capabilities.

Shinjiru can significantly cut down time spent on creating websites, managing email addresses, and deploying applications to a server as Parallels Plesk Panel’s intuitive user interface lowers the barriers of entry for end-users and simplifies service management and customer support. In addition, Shinjiru can increase Average Cost Per Unit (ARPU) by upselling packages and offering a variety of new solution including web applications, popular add-ons such as domain names and SSL certificates, as well as access to built-in Web Presence Builder capabilities.

“Parallels is committed to making Cloud a reality by offering a broad range of easy-to-use solutions that can resonate to each service providers’ specific needs and demands,” said John Zanni, vice president of service provider marketing and alliances of Parallels. “Shinjiru has seen great success with the adoption of Parallels Plesk Panel and we are confident the company will continue to set new standards and drive further growth in Malaysia’s Cloud economy.”

Parallels Plesk Panel is a complete web hosting system that includes fully automated billing and provisioning, an integrated web presence builder, and access to over a hundred web-based applications that can be used to create customized service plans that meet a variety of customer needs. A key component of Parallels Plesk Panel is the Parallels Partner Storefront, which enables service providers to offer their customers a wide variety of applications, without development effort, by partnering with Parallels in a revenue-share business model.

“We were in search for a control panel that offered great competitive features as well as user-friendly interface for our end-users,” said Terence Choong, chief executive officer of Shinjiru.

“With its global credibility, Parallels Plesk Panel was an obvious choice and it has since helped us increase our revenues as it allows our end users to directly download and install a wide range of open-source and commercial applications via the Parallels Partner Storefront.”

Through its successful implementation of Parallels Plesk Panel, Shinjiru has recently been awarded the Excellence in Parallels Plesk Panel Award at the Parallels APAC Summit 2011. The company achieved this feat by demonstrating a strong commitment to Parallels Plesk Panel and demonstrating strong success and creativity in its shared web-hosting services. As a result of Parallels Plesk Panel implementation, Shinjiru now has a strong and growing base of satisfied customers, as well as possessing deep knowledge and expertise in the solution.

Parallels Empowers ReadySpace to Successfully Launch Revenue-Generating Cloud Services to Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs)

Singaporean Web hoster uses Parallels Automation for Cloud Marketplace (PACM) to create and manage storefronts that deliver market-leading applications to SMBs

SINGAPORE – December 19, 2011 - Parallels®, the hosting and Cloud services enablement leader, today announced that its partner ReadySpace, a Cloud and managed hosting provider with offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia, is deploying Parallels Automation for Cloud Marketplace (PACM) to rapidly offer profitable Cloud services to its small to medium businesses (SMB) customers. With PACM, ReadySpace is well positioned to focus on customer development efforts on revenue-generating services, rather than its billing and administration systems.

ReadySpace can now instantly launch a customized storefront with a set of applications that come complete with pre-negotiated licensing terms and white label support, which dramatically improves both time-to-market and time-to-profitability. In addition, PACM enables the company to offer hundreds of applications from a portfolio of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) from leading independent software vendors (ISVs).

“Parallels Automation for Cloud Marketplace is a one-stop solution that simplifies the process of delivering efficient Cloud services to SMBs,” said John Zanni, vice president of service provider marketing and alliances of Parallels. “With this deployment, ReadySpace is well equipped to expand its superior expertise of serving the enterprises to SMBs by enabling its customers go from zero to actual market launch in a matter of days.”

Designed to enhance the user experience by providing relevant services at affordable prices from various ISVs, Parallels Automation for Cloud Marketplace enables ReadySpace to provide its customers a seamless point of contact to manage these vendors without having to negotiate directly them. In addition, Parallels Automation for Cloud also simplifies the selection of SaaS applications, negotiation of business terms, platform integration, preparation of GTM tools and the setup of a support chain.

“We’ve witnessed great success in delivering Cloud services to enterprises in Southeast Asia but resonating with SMBs was a different story as it required different strategies and tactics,” said David Loke, Executive Director of ReadySpace. “Parallels Automation for Cloud Marketplace was a perfect solution as it enabled us to provide our customers with the ability to self-service their operational needs effectively and quickly in a seamless manner.”

Service Providers can learn more about Parallels Automation by visiting the Parallels Cloud Services website at http://www.parallels.com/cloudservices/.

Parallels Names New Chief Financial Officer and Chief Technology Officer, Positions Itself for Accelerated Growth

Appointment of CTO Michael Toutonghi, CFO David Arkley, and Europe & North Africa VP and GM Jesper Frederiksen bolsters executive bench and positions Parallels for accelerated global growth

SINGAPORE, December 6, 2011 – Parallels, a global leader in cloud services enablement and desktop virtualization software, today announced the appointment of new Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Michael Toutonghi, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) David Arkley and Vice President and General Manager of Europe and North Africa (EUNA) Jesper Frederiksen, who all fill key roles for driving Parallels’ continued growth. As one of the world’s fastest growing software companies, Parallels generates more than U.S. $100 million in revenue and employs a global workforce of over 800 staff across the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Parallels Desktop for Mac is a leader in enabling users to run Windows applications on a Mac without rebooting, with a 78 percent market share1 and is used by more than 50 percent of Fortune 200 companies, while Parallels Hosting and Cloud Service Delivery solutions enable service providers to deliver and profitably grow hosting and cloud services for over 148 million small businesses worldwide.“Parallels has a history of innovation and attracting top talent. Michael, David and Jesper have proven track records and are huge additional assets for our company and leadership team,” said Parallels CEO Birger Steen. “Their appointment is the latest in a series of steps that we are taking to further strengthen our strategic execution and accelerate growth on a worldwide scale.”

CTO Michael Toutonghi will serve Parallels as its technical visionary and evangelist, driving alignment across the entire hosting and cloud automation product lines and guiding engineering efforts throughout the company. He will focus on strengthening Parallels Automation position as the platform of choice for hosting and cloud service providers, while identifying next-generation capabilities for customers and partners. He will work closely with the CEO, senior vice president of engineering, board of directors and executives across the company to ensure technical strategy aligns with Parallels’ broader vision and customer requirements. Toutonghi is inventor or co-inventor of 19 issued patents and brings a deep technology background to Parallels. He is one of a select group of only 22 Technical Fellows at Microsoft Corporation who are recognized as being instrumental in developing and driving technical strategies for Microsoft and the technology industry.

CFO David Arkley joins Parallels’ leadership team with a seasoned background as an insightful financial expert and advisor. He will be a key contributor for shaping the company’s future direction as it continues its growth trajectory. He brings more than 20 years of experience in financial services and strategy, most recently in a senior financial role with Itron, Inc., the leading provider of energy and water resource management solutions for nearly 8,000 utilities in 130 countries around the world. Arkley served in a variety of roles within Itron, including as CFO of Itron North America, where he was critical in positioning the domestic business to grow to $1 billion plus in revenue, and as vice president of mergers and acquisitions, where he led the $1.7 billion acquisition of Actaris Metering Systems.

In addition to the two C-level executives, Jesper Frederiksen also joined Parallels in November as VP and GM of EUNA. Frederiksen will provide leadership and oversight of all sales activities across in Europe and North Africa. Jesper was most recently with Symantec, where he was vice president of EMEA for the Symantec.cloud business. He previously held positions at Google, Postini, Net IQ, VERITAS Software and KVS.

Parallels Asia-Pacific SMB Cloud Insights Reveals Strong Expected Growth in Cloud Services Across the Region

Proprietary research determines 75 percent or more growth in Cloud services adoption anticipated in Australia and Japan; double-digit proliferation of hosted servers also expected in China and India as Internet infrastructure continues to expand

SINGAPORE – November 21, 2011 - Parallels, the hosting and Cloud services enablement leader, today released the key findings of Parallels Asia-Pacific SMB Cloud Insights™, a report illustrating how service providers in Australia, China, India and Japan can profit by delivering Cloud services to small and medium businesses (SMBs). Parallels has determined that the market opportunity to serve SMBs in the developed Asian markets such as Australia and Japan remains vibrant, while developing countries such as China and India are poised for explosive Cloud services growth as they continue to build out their Internet infrastructure.

Parallels Asia-Pacific SMB Cloud Insights™ addresses the types of Cloud services that hold the most appeal for SMBs and details the best opportunities for service providers to drive growth and revenue across APAC hosting markets. In addition to basic hosting and Web presence for developing markets, service providers should focus on value-added hosted applications and services such as social media presence, content management and online customer relationship management (CRM) tools.

Parallels sampled 1,600 SMBs in the four countries —representing a broad cross-section of industries and sizes — to learn about their attitudes and current and planned adoption of Cloud services. The report also identifies the opportunities to provide Cloud-based operational services such as hosted infrastructure/hosted communications, online backup and storage and hosted e-mail and archiving.

“SMBs in Asia-Pacific, like much of the world, are rapidly realizing value of embracing Cloud and other hosted services,” said John Zanni, vice president of service provider marketing and alliances of Parallels. “The introduction of Parallels SMB Cloud Insights™ for Asia-Pacific provides a new perspective on the business value of Cloud services in the region, and we are confident the specific market insights we provide will enable service providers at any level to profit from the Cloud in Asia-Pacific.”

In Japan and Australia, Parallels determined that SMB adoption of Cloud services lags behind the rest of the developed world in nearly every service category, primarily due to the lack of education on the business and technical aspects of Cloud services. However, given the countries’ strong IT infrastructure, service providers should expect both the Japanese and Australian SMB markets for Cloud services to grow by 75 percent or more in the next several years, eventually matching the Cloud adoption levels in Europe and the U.S.

“We are already seeing Australian SMBs understand and leverage the benefits of cloud services via our Parallels platform,” said Michael McGoogan, CEO of UberGlobal. “The SMB Cloud Insights™ research further highlights that there is a great opportunity for our reseller partners. These resellers can now really take advantage of the Cloud, profit from it and at the same time, differentiate themselves by adding their own unique value and service to their customers.”

China and India both have millions of SMBs who could potentially benefit from Cloud services, with only a small fraction of these businesses are currently using them, as only 36 percent of the Chinese population and 8 percent of the Indian population are online.* As Internet infrastructure proliferates in these markets in the next few years, Parallels envisions many of the SMBs will forego the stage of buying and maintaining in-house IT infrastructure such as servers, and instead embrace Cloud services and applications, presenting a massive growth opportunity for service providers to leverage.

“As the Internet infrastructure continues to expand at a rapid rate, more and more Chinese SMBs are looking towards the Cloud to increase their efficiency and productivity,” said Dennis Ng, CEO, PacHosting. “Parallels SMB Cloud Insights™ for Asia-Pacific will give service providers a new level of confidence for tailoring on-demand Cloud solutions that can resonate to the specific needs and demands of growing SMBs.”

Country specific findings in Parallels SMB Cloud Insights™ for Asia-Pacific include:

Australia

· Parallels estimates the Australian SMB Cloud services market for hosted infrastructure, Web presence, and hosted communication and collaboration at A$480 million in 2011. Of this spending, hosted infrastructure has the largest share, with A$230 million; Web presence has A$190 million; and hosted communication and collaboration has the remaining A$60 million.

· Only 12 percent of Australian SMBs report using hosted servers. Service providers should target replacement of in-house servers as 40 percent of SMBs with in-house servers are planning to switch to hosted servers in the next three years.

Japan

· Parallels estimates the Japanese SMB Cloud services market for hosted infrastructure and Web presence services to be ¥63B (US$795 million). ¥32B (US$405 million) of this total consists of hosted infrastructure, and ¥31B (US$390 million) consists of Web presence services.

· Pricing remains as the biggest concern for adopting hosted servers with 77 percent of SMBs with in-house servers citing price as the main reason for not switching to hosted servers. This presents ample opportunity for Virtual Private Server (VPS) offerings in the market.

China

· Parallels estimates the Chinese SMB Cloud services market for the traditional hosted services—specifically, hosted infrastructure and Web presence— at 4.1B RMB (US$640 million) in 2011. Of this spending, hosted infrastructure has the largest share, with 3.2B RMB (US$500 million), and Web presence with 900M RMB (US$140 million).

· 80 percent of SMBs with no servers are planning to adopt hosted servers in the next three years and 62 percent of SMBs without websites report that they plan to add a website in the next three years

India

· Parallels estimates the Indian SMB Cloud services market, which includes hosted infrastructure and Web presence services, at 5.5B INR (US$123 million) in 2011. Of this total, hosted infrastructure has the largest share, with 4.3B INR (US$97 million), and Web presence has the remaining 1.2B INR (US$26 million).

· Huge growth opportunity in the overall Cloud services market due to the low Internet adoption rate. Only 5 percent of the SMB population uses servers of any kind and 8 percent of Indian SMBs have a website or email.

Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac Makes Windows Programs Roar with Mac OS X Lion Features

MALAYSIA, October 12, 2011 – Parallels® today announced the availability of Parallels Desktop®7 for Mac (www.parallels.com/desktop/seven), the fastest, most intuitive and immersive version yet of the No. 1 selling software for running Windows and Mac applications side-by-side on a Mac without rebooting. Over three million current Parallels Desktop users can upgrade to Parallels Desktop 7 starting today. More than 90 new and enhanced features in Parallels Desktop 7 include Mac OS® X Lion integration, performance boosts and a powerful new Parallels Mobile app and My Parallels services platform for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch devices. Parallels Desktop 7 is packed with features most desired by users, extending its lead as the best solution for businesses and consumers worldwide.

“As Macs have become more popular than ever, a growing number of Mac users, including enterprises, find they need to run critical Windows programs on their Macs. Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac lets you run popular apps like Windows Internet Explorer, Access, OneNote, Quicken and more, even the most demanding graphical programs, without rebooting and without compromise on speed and usability. Run Windows applications like they were made for your Mac,” said Parallels CEO Birger Steen. “The people have spoken and Parallels listened to make the best even better. Whether you’re a business, individual or student, Parallels Desktop 7 gives you the best Windows on Mac performance plus mobility from any iPad, iPhone or iPod touch.”

According to results from more than 4,000 benchmark tests conducted by independent publisher MacTech, Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac outperformed its closest competitor in 92 percent of 3D graphics tests and 84 percent of general performance tests.[1]Parallels Desktop 7 performance is even faster. It outpaces its competitor by 120 percent when copying files within Windows, and 40 percent when starting and resuming Windows, according to testing conducted by Parallels. It is also 60 percent faster than Parallels Desktop 6 for resuming Windows and up to 45 percent faster for 3D graphics in some applications.

Parallels Desktop 7 delivers the most immersive and integrated Windows on Mac experience ever so customers can enjoy the full benefits of the Mac hardware they love. Highlights include:

· Enjoy Lion functionality including Full Screen, Launch Pad and Mission Control, for your Windows programs

· Run multiple copies of OS X Lion or Windows and their applications on your Mac

· Use your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch to watch and listen to Flash videos in Windows on your Mac; access and run your OS X, Windows, Chrome, Ubuntu and other operating systems, their applications and files on your Mac anytime from anywhere

· Windows on Demand - purchase and automatically install Windows on your Mac right from Parallels Desktop 7in the U.S.–Parallels does all the work for you!

For people who want to switch from PC to Mac, Parallels also announced the availability of Parallels Desktop 7 Switch to Mac Edition™, which includes Parallels Desktop 7 plus Parallels High Speed USB transfer cable, as well as almost two hours of video tutorials that make it easy to learn how to use your new Mac.

Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac Enterprise Edition (www.parallels.com/desktop/enterprise) empowers businesses and IT departments to support Windows based business applications for Mac users with a configurable, policy-compliant solution that easily fits into existing business processes and helps reduce the cost of deploying and maintaining client-based software.

Today Parallels also separately announced (www.parallels.com/press) the new Parallels Mobile app with My Parallels service for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch devices works with Parallels Desktop 7 and is for sale in the App Store. The new Parallels Mobile app lets you remotely access and control both your Mac and Windows applications, and files from anywhere. Its new Windows features include audio support for Flash and the ability to copy and paste text between Windows programs on your Mac and your Apple mobile devices. Details are available at www.parallels.com/mobile.

Parallels Desktop 7 has more than 90 new and improved features including:

Simple Switching, Simple Daily Use

· You asked for it: New look and feel delivers on top customer requests for usability

· Make Windows programs roar: Enjoy Lion functionality including Full Screen, Launch Pad and

Mission Control, for your Windows programs.

· Keep your routine: Run Windows programs like they were made for your Mac, with seamless integration, improved virtual printing, shared folders and more.

· Moving to Mac made easy: Move your programs, files, and user settings – even browser favorites – from your PC to your Mac with a complete set of switching tools. Make your new Mac just as familiar as your old PC.

· Webcams: Enjoy using your Mac’s iSight or FaceTime HD camera in both OS X Lion and Windows programs

· Windows on demand: U.S. customers can purchase and automatically install Windows on your Mac right from Parallels Desktop 7 – Parallels does all the work for you[2]

Speed and Performance

· Fastest ever: Start, stop and resume Windows more quickly than ever. Access and work faster with Windows and Mac files.

· Brilliant graphics: Experience Parallels’ maximum speed and performance for 3D and graphic intensive applications with improved full screen support and up to 1GB of video memory

· Richer audio: Enjoy music, movies, videos and games more than ever before with support for 7.1 surround sound and a new 5.1 sound driver

Mobility and Manageability

· Get more done: Work or play longer with improved battery life performance

· Connect anytime, anywhere: Access Mac or Windows applications and documents from your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch with the new Parallels Mobile app –including new capabilities such as audio support and cut-and-paste within Windows applications running on your Mac.

· Flash video with sound on the go: New audio integration with Flash means you can watch and listen to Flash videos on your iPad and iOS devices by remotely running Windows Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player on your Mac with the new Parallels Mobile app

· Multiple virtual machines: Run multiple copies of OS X Lion or Windows and their applications on your Mac. Easily open virtual machines created by other Parallels products as well import virtual machines created in third-party software.

· Anti-Virus and Internet Security for both Mac and Windows: Enjoy peace of mind with a free 90-day trial of Kaspersky Anti-Virus for Mac and Kaspersky Internet Security for Windows.

Availability and Pricing
Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac is available today as an upgrade for current Parallels Desktop users. It is available to the general public, both a downloadable version and packaged software for delivery, from www.parallels.com. Packaged software will also be available from Machines, Epicentre, Mac Studio and Switch.

The standard retail price (SRP) of Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac is RM349.00 and a student edition is available for RM179.00. Parallels Desktop 7 Switch to Mac Edition is RM549.00. Upgrades are available now for existing Parallels Desktop for Mac customers for RM179.00. Details are available online at www.parallels.com. Volume pricing and site-license opportunities for Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac Enterprise Edition are available by contacting the Parallels Sales Team at http://www.parallels.com/desktop/volume-licensing.

Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac is available in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian and Japanese. Additional localised versions will soon be available in, simplified and traditional Chinese, Korean, Czech, Polish and Portuguese.

A free trial of Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac is available starting September 6th, along with in-depth information, videos and screenshots of the new features at www.parallels.com/desktop/seven.

Customers who purchased Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac from an authorized reseller on or after August 1, 2011, are eligible to upgrade to Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac at no additional cost. If you purchased from parallels.com or have registered your product activation key you will automatically be emailed instructions on how to upgrade to Parallels Desktop 7 at no additional cost.

The new Parallels Mobile app is available in the App Store on (or shortly after) September 1 with a US$4.99 introductory price; the standard retail price is US$19.99. Current users of the free Parallels Mobile app will receive a free upgrade to the new Parallels Mobile app when it becomes available.

Parallels Rapidly Expands Asia-Pacific Presence, Driving Regional Demand for Hosting and Cloud Services Experiences Over 75 Percent Regional Growth

Announces new deployments, partners and distributors from across the region

SINGAPORE, 23 September 2011 – Parallels® (www.parallels.com), the hosting and Cloud services enablement leader, today announced it has dramatically increased its presence in Asia Pacific, as the company hosted the first day of its annual Parallels APAC Summit in Singapore. Parallels recent growth developments include the signings of several new major partners, distributors and deployments, as the company continues to help its partners stimulate and meet the growing demand for Cloud services from small and medium businesses (SMB) across the region.

“We’re extremely pleased to experience the visible results of the aggressive investment we’ve made in Asia Pacific over the last four years, as we continue to drive and meet the growing demand from SMBs for Cloud services,” said Birger Steen, CEO of Parallels. “We will continue to invest heavily in the region and help our partners experience profitable growth.”

Strengthening Regional Presence

Over the last twelve months, Parallels has built new relationships with large hosters and Communications Services Providers across the region, including KT, the largest telecommunication service provider in Korea, leading the way. Parallels’ growing list of Service Provider partners also includes Datec, iiNET, Ride, Softbank Korea, Telekom Malaysia and UberGlobal in Australia. These and other partners continue to rely on Parallels for its Cloud services delivery solutions to help them meet the growing IT needs of the regions’ SMBs.

“Our Asia Pacific partners represent strong regional hosting brands, and we’re delighted to be able to help them quickly and easily profit from the shift to the Cloud. We are thrilled to see the growing diversity of players who continue to market their own unique value propositions focused on serving the diverse IT needs of small and medium businesses in this region,” added Steen.

“There are a number of SMB customers in Korea who have been waiting for critical business applications that are easy to subscribe to with no upfront costs. And being small and nimble, they do not want to worry about updates and software maintenance,” said Jung Min Woo, Vice President at KT. "Parallels Automation has the ability to address this critical business need, and takes it another step further by enabling our reseller partners to quickly offer on-demand software that SMBs need to be successful in today’s competitive environment."

New Distributor Partnerships

Parallels has also expanded its network of distribution partners in developing markets with the appointment of Kryptos in India, PromptNow in Thailand, and Vinacis in Vietnam. These three new distributors will significantly grow Parallels’ presence in each market through their relationships and expertise in hosting and Cloud services provider space. This market expansion allows other hosters and Cloud services providers and resellers to increase their own profitability, deploy new services quickly, and reduce operational costs.

“We’re excited to partner with Parallels and leverage its expertise to improve our offerings through best-in-class automation and virtualization solutions for our customers in India. Our goal is to enable even more of our customers to rapidly adopt Cloud services effectively and with less effort, thus helping them profit from the Cloud,” said Prasanna Ram, CEO of Kryptos.

Enabling New Cloud Entrants

Further driving Parallels’ business in Asia Pacific is the addition of a portfolio of leading partners who help ISVs, VARs, ISPs and small hosting providers resell Cloud services with minimal upfront costs and quicker time-to-market. Players entering the hosting space can get started today with Parallels’ partners including LuxCloud, UberGlobal, and ReadySpace.

“By partnering with Parallels, we can provide our SMB customers with the ability to self-service their operational needs effectively and quickly. Furthermore, we wanted to enhance the user experience with more services at affordable prices from various ISVs. Parallels Automation for Cloud Marketplace provides ReadySpace with a seamless point of contact to manage these alliances without to negotiate directly with the ISVs,” said David Loke, Group Executive Director, ReadySpace.

Since establishing its presence in Asia Pacific, Parallels has partnered with regional hosters and Cloud service providers to help build and meet the demand for Cloud and hosting solutions among SMBs. Parallels will continue to invest and innovate in its hosting and Cloud services delivery software, expertise and partner ecosystem to make it easy for service providers to grow and profit from the Cloud by meeting the IT needs of SMBs. The company’s own regional growth is reflective of its just-released proprietary research, “Parallels SMB Cloud Insights™”, that reports on the most profitable and growing markets and services for the SMB Cloud market in Asia-Pacific. This new research indicated the rapidly accelerating rate at which SMBs in the region are realizing the benefits of migrating to Cloud infrastructure and hosted services.