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Hosting and Cloud Services Enablement Provider Parallels Expands African Operations

June 06, 2013
by Staff Writer

Hosting and cloud services enablement provider Parallels is expanding its African operations. The company is opening a new office in Johannesburg, South Africa which will provide the company with sales representation and better position it to benefit from expected growth in Africa's cloud arena.

The news comes alongside an announcement that the Parallels Automation Platform has been adopted by two key industry players in Africa: Information and communications technology provider, Business Connexion (BCX), and hosted infrastructure IT provider, Global Micro.

At present, only a relatively small number of African SMEs utilize cloud services. The African market is though expected to become one of the leading SME cloud markets in the near future. Parallels SMB Cloud Insights™, a research function that looks into cloud services utilization by SMEs, has suggested the African cloud market is currently valued at $1.6 billion. With a forecasted Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 46%, the value of the market will increase to $4.1 billion over the next three years. Utilization of Parallels' technologies will enable companies such as Business Connexion (BCX) and Global Micro to meet the challenges of such substantial growth.

The Parallels Automation platform enables users to establish, operate and manage cloud services and automate functions such as ordering, provisioning and billing. The platform will enable Business Connexion (BCX) and Global Micro to provide cloud offerings that meet the requirements of African SMEs. Coupled with the Application Packaging Standard (APS), the Parallels Automation platform enables independent software vendors (ISVs) to establish and sell Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions to South African companies through its service provider channel.

"We are excited about the Cloud opportunity that Africa presents," explained Parallels' CEO Birger Steen. "Diverse service offerings enabled by Parallels Automation and Parallels APS ecosystem have never been more relevant to SMEs and are critical to drive increased innovation and cloud adoption in Africa. We are looking forward to working with BCX, Global Micro, and other leading providers in Africa to bring those new and innovative services to market."

Established in 1999, Parallels employees more than 900 employees in North America, Europe, and Asia, and now has a strong presence in Africa.

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