February 19, 2008 – (HOSTSEARCH.COM) – Parallels announced today that the Application Packaging Standard (APS) is now available for shopping carts supporting PayPal Express Checkout. Introduced by Parallels (formerly SWsoft) for software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications, the standard makes it easier for merchants offering PayPal's payment system to provide their web applications via service providers.
"We are committed to advancing virtualization and automation technologies that help service providers, software vendors and their customers take advantage of the fast-growing SaaS opportunity," said Serguei Beloussov, CEO of Parallels. "The APS standard extends the benefits of the Parallels Open Platform to PayPal shopping cart providers, making it easier and less expensive for them to deliver a variety of SaaS applications to their customers."
The APS Standard provides a programming format that helps service providers rapidly integrate applications for low-cost SaaS deployment. End users benefit from access to new applications without the hassles of installing and maintaining software, while paying for only what they need as long as they need it.
According to a recent survey of 400 service providers worldwide by Parallels, more than 70% plan to offer SaaS applications this year -- nearly double the number that currently offer SaaS.
"The APS standard makes it easier for shopping cart providers to package and deliver SaaS applications," said Gene Alston, business development director at PayPal. "We are excited to work with Parallels to help our partners offer PayPal Express Checkout to online merchants with minimal cost and effort."
Applications developed with the APS standard by PayPal shopping cart providers will be featured in the APS Application Catalogue with the tagline "PayPal Express Checkout Included." The catalogue is available at www.apsstandard.com/app.
The Parallels Open Platform enables SaaS with Parallels virtualization and automation technology through integration with a wide range of third-party applications and systems.
The APS standard is a key element of the Parallels Open Platform and is used by ISVs and service providers to seamlessly integrate applications to offer to the more than 10 million businesses and individuals that use Parallels products.
Parallels (formerly SWsoft) is a worldwide leader in virtualization and automation software that optimizes computing for consumers, businesses, and service providers across all major hardware, operating system, and virtualization platforms. Founded in 1999, Parallels is a fast-growing company with 900 employees in North America, Europe, and Asia.
