Hosting Software Vendors Announce Support for New Software-as-a-Service Standard

July 25, 2007; 12:17 AM

CHICAGO, HostingCon 2007, July 24, 2007 – A growing number of independent software vendors (ISVs) are announcing plans to sell hosted software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications based on the new Application Packaging Standard (APS) developed by SWsoft.

Several ISVs detailing their plans at HostingCon 2007 include:

·         Smart Online, Inc. (www.smartonline.com), based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, is announcing that its entire suite of small business productivity applications for accounting, human resources, sales and more will conform with the APS standard. The company is demonstrating the applications at HostingCon.

·         Roaring Penguin Software Inc. (www.roaringpenguin.com), an application vendor based in Ottawa, Canada specializing in anti-spam software for web hosts, is announcing that its CanIt product will incorporate the APS standard. The program, which the company is demonstrating at HostingCon, stops junk e-mail -- such as ads, fraud schemes, viruses and more -- before it gets to the mail server.

·         ShopSite, Inc. (www.shopsite.com), an electronic commerce software provider based in Orem, Utah, enables companies to establish an online store, including credit card payments. The company is currently packaging a version of the ShopSite program that will comply with the APS standard.  

·         CCMedia (www.ccmedia.com), a leader in advanced analytics solutions based in Taipei, Taiwan, is planning to incorporate the APS standard into its WebNibbler product, which generates web analytics reports to measure website traffic and help evaluate marketing campaign effectiveness.

·         FreshBooks (www.freshbooks.com), based in Toronto, Canada, plans to use the APS standard to deploy the application programming interface (API) for its FreshBooks application, the first and fastest growing online invoicing and time tracking service. 

The APS standard makes it easier for ISVs to sell their applications through hosting providers and take advantage of the expanding market for SaaS applications -- expected to grow to $19.3 billion by 2001 according to Stamford, Conn.-based research firm Gartner Inc.¹  The APS standard defines specifications that provide ISVs with a unified, open platform to create "pluggable" applications that can be delivered by any service provider with minimal integration costs and effort. 

"Today, the APS standard is backed by SWsoft and 1&1 Internet and gives ISVs access to more than 10 million potential customers," said Serguei Beloussov, CEO of SWsoft. "We are excited to see more and more application vendors embracing the APS standard to tap into the expanding market for hosted SaaS applications."

In June, 1&1 Internet Inc. announced 1&1 Click-n-Build, a new platform based on the APS standard that provides 1&1's web hosting customers with a choice of 20 web building tools, fully developed and ready to install with just a few clicks. A list of 1&1 Click-n-Build applications can be found at www.1and1.com.

In the SaaS model, businesses will have access to lots of applications without the hassles of installing and maintaining software, while paying only for what they need as long as they need it. The APS standard -- a key part of SWsoft's OPEN FUSION technology initiative -- creates a common hosting platform for SaaS applications that can be used by the global ecosystem of software vendors, service providers and their customers.

OPEN FUSION is an SWsoft technology initiative to improve integration among a wide range of systems, third-party applications and modules, and custom and in-house solutions. The OPEN FUSION platform enables optimized delivery of SaaS and traditional hosting services to help ISVs and service providers take full advantage of new opportunities in the market.

About SWsoft
SWsoft is a global leader in virtualization and automation software that helps consumers, businesses, and service providers optimize their use of technology. The company's software powers more than 130,000 servers and 500,000 desktops worldwide. The SWsoft product line includes Virtuozzo - the leading operating system virtualization solution, Parallels - the leading desktop virtualization product, and Plesk - the leading server control panel. Founded in 1999, the company has offices throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. For more information, visit www.swsoft.com.

1. Gartner press release “Gartner Says Service Providers Must Prepare Now for the Software as a Service Wave,” March 6, 2007, http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=501991.
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