Parallels lines up for cloud health kick
Virtualisation vendor leans on Microsoft to accelerate healthcare market's cloud adoption
Virtualisation specialist Parallels has made a trio of announcements aimed at helping partners break into the healthcare, cloud and enterprise markets.
First off, in conjunction with software giant Microsoft, it has vowed to invest $5m (£3m) over the next two years in speeding up the adoption of cloud services by healthcare organisations across the globe.
Speaking to ChannelWeb, John Zanni, vice president of alliances at Parallels, said the money will be spent on technical enablement, product development and go-to-market activities.
"We have seen a lot of interest in cloud from the healthcare market, but not a lot of adoption because of regulatory compliance issues and the sensitivity of the data involved," explained Zanni.
"What is needed is a private cloud solution specifically designed for the healthcare market, which takes these issues into account."
As part of this, the two vendors recently unveiled the Health Community Cloud Automation (HCCA) product, which will provide healthcare organisations with access to Microsoft products hosted within a private cloud.
The vendor has also announced that its Parallels Automation product is now available for use by Microsoft's global network of Office 365 Syndication Partners.
These partners allow VARs to resell Office 365 without partnering with Microsoft directly, as well as bundle the package with other vendors' services.
The addition of Parallels Automation means Microsoft's Syndication Partners can now automate the billing, management and deployment processes associated with Office 365 rollouts.
Zanni claims this should make Office 365 quicker to deploy, freeing up partners to pursue new business.
"Because we work directly with Microsoft, we understand their APIs [application programming interfaces] and we are experts at integrating our systems with theirs," said Zanni. "This faster time to market, combined with the ability to bundle other products, will really help to differentiate partners."
Lastly, the firm has also released an enterprise version of its flagship Desktop 6 for Mac software, which lets end users run Windows and Apple applications on Mac computers.
This move has been promoted by the growing demand for Mac computers in the workplace, said Zanni, and includes a couple of new licensing features designed to make the software easier for IT managers to control.
For instance, the product comes equipped with a unified volume activation key – which means IT departments do not have to manage multiple, individual licences – and an annual subscription licence that gives users access to regular software updates and support services.
"This is going to open up opportunities in the enterprise market for our existing partners, and allow us to explore the possibility of partnering with [enterprise-focused] companies we have not engaged with before," he added.