ModernGigabyte, perhaps best known for its automated billing system ModernBill, is based in Louisville, Kentucky and provides software to nearly 15,000 hosting resellers with more than two million customers worldwide.

The acquisition provides Parallels with a complete hosting control panel and billing system for small to medium-sized service providers and hosting resellers that purchase dedicated servers with pre-loaded software, says the company. Now, service providers will be able to integrate with over 15 control panels supported by ModernBill, as well as special bundled offerings with the Parallels Plesk Control Panel.

"Parallels' acquisition of ModernGigabyte gives service providers a competitive edge by providing a complete hosting solution that integrates back-office software with Parallels control panels," says Serguei Beloussov, CEO of Parallels. "The acquisition also opens up new sales channels for software vendors that develop applications based on the APS Standard, which will drive greater adoption of software as a service solutions."

Earlier this week, the company launched its Application Packaging Standard certification service in partnership with Tier 1 Research. The program ensures that service providers use high-quality, redundant infrastructure for APS-compliant application delivery.

Parallels says it will continue development of the ModernBill platform - which has been renamed to Parallels Plesk Billing - and will provide ongoing support for ModernGigabyte products through existing ModernBill support channels. ModernGigabyte's other solutions like ModernAuthorize, SSL Factory, ModernDNS and FraudGuardian will also be joining Parallels' portfolio, but the timeline for this hasn't been announced yet.

The acquisition builds Parallels' portfolio of automation software, which has grown in recent months through its acquisitions of Helm, Sphera, Positive Software and Ensim Pro.