Service providers will be able to offer their customers a greater variety of applications due to new specifications for packaging hosted applications, introduced today by SWsoft. The specifications will enable independent software vendors (ISVs) to deliver hosted applications to more end users.

The Application Packaging Format, part of SWsoft’s OPEN FUSION initiative, will make it easier for the hosting industry to take advantage of the expanding software-as-a-service (SaaS) market. According to Stamford, Conn.-based research firm Gartner Inc., the global SaaS market is expected to grow to $19.3 billion by 2011, tripling in size from the $6.3 billion it was in 2006.

Because of the intensive development and integration requirements, service providers today offer a limited variety of hosted applications. As a result, ISVs have little incentive to create hosted applications they can’t sell, and customers suffer from limited application choices. The new specifications provide ISVs with a unified platform to create "pluggable" applications that require no additional integration by service providers.

"By introducing a common, open platform for hosted applications, we hope to accelerate the development of new applications that can be delivered by any service provider," said Serguei Beloussov, CEO of SWsoft. "The specifications advance our OPEN FUSION initiative to enable a new generation of highly-integrated services and vastly increase business opportunities for the entire hosting ecosystem – from third-party software developers and ISVs to hosting providers and their customers."

SWsoft Drives Adoption of Standards
To speed industry-wide adoption of new standards, the Application Packaging Format specifications are available for free on the SWsoft Software Developer Network (SWDN) at http://swdn.swsoft.com/r/docs/package-format-specification-0.1-draft1/package-format-specification-0.1-draft1.html. The format will be supported in upcoming releases of SWsoft Plesk control panel and PEM datacenter automation software.

SWsoft will also introduce a site application certification program as part of its OPEN FUSION certification program, which will provide basic and advanced requirements using the Application Packaging Format.