Runa Capital (
www.runacap.com),
a global technology venture capital fund, and Parallels, the hosting
and cloud services enablement leader, today announced a cooperative
investment program to stimulate and support the development of
next-generation cloud and other hosting applications and services. The
companies have created a go-to-market plan that will co-invest in
selected independent software vendors (ISVs) who certify and package
their software under the Application Packaging Standard (APS) program
for cloud-enabled application and services.
The Runa Capital-Parallels APS Accelerator Program will focus on
making strategic investments, consisting of both financial and
co-marketing support, for new and emerging ISVs that create innovative,
APS-certified revenue-generating applications. A key focus will be on
those ISVs creating software that appeal to both service providers and
small and medium businesses (SMBs), the fastest growing IT segment for
cloud and other hosted solutions. The joint announcement was made in
Orlando today during Parallels Summit 2012, an event that attracts a
global audience of over 1,300 participants from across the cloud and
hosting industry.
The Runa Capital-Parallels APS Accelerator Program will consider
those ISVs with certified APS Standard software. APS takes a
standardized approach to simplifying the distribution and deployment of
hosted applications, and creates valuable new revenue opportunities for
the ISV and service provider alike. The growing APS catalogue allows
services providers to select from over 300 APS-enabled applications and
services that are easy and ready-to-deploy.
“Part of Runa Capital’s mission is to serve as an incubator for the
hosting and cloud industry. By investing in those ISVs who embrace the
ASP Standard, we can ensure companies in our portfolio have an enormous
head-start for building their sales channel,” said Serguei Beloussov,
senior partner at Runa Capital. “We’re focusing on ISVs that APS-certify
their applications and services because once certified, these apps are
easy to deploy and maintain.”
“The Runa Capital-Parallels APS Accelerator Program will benefit ISVs
by not only providing financial and co-marketing support, but also
giving them access to a vast sales channel of more than 5,000 Parallels
service providers and resellers who serve more than 12 million small and
medium businesses (SMBs),” said John Zanni, Vice President of Marketing
and Alliances at Parallels. We’re excited to be partnering with Runa
Capital on this program, as it will benefit both the next-generation of
ISVs bringing innovative APS-certified applications to market and also
the entire hosting industry, as we continue to seek new opportunities to
profit from the cloud.”
ISVs interested in the program should first contact Runa Capital at aps@runacap.com
for more information before they decide to APS-certify their software.
Only those ISVs with APS-certified applications are eligible for
consideration for the Accelerator Program. The APS Standard program is
open to all companies regardless of participation in the Accelerator
Program.
More information on the APS Standard is available at www.APSStandard.org,
which includes a listing of APS applications, technical documents and
guidelines for ISVs on how to package applications in APS. Parallels
also offers ISVs an APS packaging course and a student guide, as well as
certified APS system integration partners to provide experienced
development resources to accelerate time-to-market.