Scality CEO Jérôme Lecat to speak at Parallels panel session about the opportunities non-traditional hosters offer for finding profitability in the cloud

ORLANDO, FLORIDA and SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – February 15, 2012 –Scality, the developer of RING, a software platform enabling cloud storage, announced that Scality’s RING Organic Storage™ software has been Application Packaging Standard (APS)-certified and integrated with Parallels Automation. As a result, the expansive Parallels partner network can easily deploy Scality’s organic storage infrastructure as service to their customers around the world. The announcement was made in Orlando today during Parallels Summit 2012, an event that attracts a global audience of over 1,200 leading participants from across the cloud and hosting industry.

Developers from Scality and Parallels worked closely on the alpha and beta phases to integrate Scality tightly with Parallels Automation via the Application Packaging Standard, and, in the process, have successfully deployed customers together, such as joint customer Tsukaeru, a successful hoster in Japan.

Jason Frisch, CEO, Tsukaeru, said, “At Tsukareu, we have been looking at the cloud storage market for a couple of years, but we did not want to have yet another platform to manage. The integration of Scality into Parallels Automation has made it easy for us to deploy a cloud storage offering that is on par with the leaders, while minimizing our costs. The initial reaction of our customers is very positive, especially as they target their backup to our new cloud.”

An interview with CEO Jason Frisch is available on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VxZvSp2FjY

The 451 Group confirmed the importance of automation and Storage-as-a-Service offerings to hosting providers in a January 3rd Insight article. Carl Brooks, an infrastructure services analyst at The 451 Group, wrote that “Cloud computing has demonstrated that ease of access and programmatic, automated portability of service are the way forward; furthermore, widespread consumerization means end users expect more ability to access applications and federate services than ever.”

In addition to the APS integration, Scality and Parallels have also reached an agreement that allows Parallels customers to purchase RING Organic Storage directly from Parallels. This solution constitutes a significant addition to Parallels APS offerings, and it is ideal for customers who want to bring in more revenue with cloud storage.

"Cloud Storage is the wave of the future," said Amir Sharif, VP Virtualization and IaaS. "Parallels, through its partnership with Scality, provides an inexpensive, automated cloud object storage system that makes it possible for cloud operators to scale their storage offering into petabytes."

Scality CEO to Speak in Parallels Panel Session
Scality is one of the sponsors of the Parallels summit in Orlando this week, where Jérôme Lecat, Scality’s CEO, will be on a panel with Jeffrey M. Kaplan, Managing Director of THINKstrategies, Inc. and Founder of the Cloud Computing Showplace.

The panel session, to be held at 11:10AM on Thursday, February 16th, will explore the impact of non-traditional hosters (such as telcos, cable companies, distributors and value-added resellers) on the cloud computing market. Panelists will explore the “perfect storm” driving the cloud, including shifting customer attitudes and macro-market challenges. The session will consider where customers are turning for cloud services and suggest new channels to market—for example, banks and universities.

Jérôme Lecat, CEO of Scality, said, “The pace of change in this industry is mind-blowing, and it’s not only technology that’s changing: users’ expectations and adoption habits are changing almost faster than businesses can keep up. Without the right ‘future-proofed’ technology to underpin your cloud services, it can be impossible to accommodate and optimize for these trends profitably.”

He added, “Parallels is always a good place to find out what innovations are happening before they are widely published, and this panel session will be no exception, with a great roundup of technology leaders and Jeff Kaplan as moderator.”

Jeffrey M. Kaplan, THINKstrategies, said, “Change is coming to the cloud computing world as non-traditional hosters enter the market to answer end users’ rising expectations. Our ‘Change is Coming’ panel session will look at the shifting consumer attitudes that are changing the hosting world and evaluate the opportunities and challenges presented by the proliferation of non-traditional hosters.”

Panelists in “Change is Coming: The Impact of Non-traditional Hosters Entering the Market” include:

•         William McCarthy, SVP, Insight Managed and Cloud Services, Insight North America
•         Ebrahim Keshavarz, VP of Small Business Product Management, AT&T Services, Inc.
•         Elliot Noss, President and CEO, Tucows
•         Glen Swanson, SVP, Business Customer Group, Best Buy
•         Jérôme Lecat, CEO, Scality
•         Sean Charnock, SVP, Business Development & Alliances, Softlayer Technologies

For more information please visit http://www.parallels.com/summit/2012/.