Parallels CEO Serguei Beloussov delivers a keynote presentation at HostingCon 2009 in DC
In an email conversation with the Web Host Industry Review, Parallels CEO Serguei Beloussov, discusses the company’s upcoming Parallels Summit, scheduled for February 22-24 in Miami, Florida.
(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Once a vendor-and-partner meeting based on the company’s software platform, the Parallels Summit has evolved into an all-encompassing event that ranks among the most significant on the hosting provider’s calendar.
This year’s Parallels Summit will take place next week, from Monday, February 22 to Wednesday, February 24, at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach Resort, in Miami, Florida.
The event’s tagline is “profit from the cloud,” an expression of the company’s desire to help partners and hosting providers create a profitable business model from cloud-based hosting services, or to find their place within the market for cloud services.
In an email conversation with the Web Host Industry Review, Parallels CEO Serguei Beloussov, who will be a significant presence at next week’s event, discusses the company’s objectives for what has become one of the hosting industry’s most significant events, and offers some insight into what attendees can expect from keynotes, sessions, labs and from Parallels itself.
WHIR: The Parallels event has developed in a few years into a conference with a general significant to the hosting business. Is it important that attendees of the event be customers or partners of Parallels?
Serguei Beloussov: What’s cool about the Summit is that only about 20% of attendees are our existing partners and the Summit is the most significant event for the Hosting community. However, cloud computing has developed to a degree where we are now seeing large numbers of VARS, ISVs and small businesses coming to the event, and we are positioned to take a significant leadership role in the industry.
The tagline for your event is “profit from the cloud.” Obviously, Parallels has a particular point of view on how its partners can profit from “the cloud.” Can you elaborate on that?
SB: With small businesses accounting for over half of America’s private workforce and creating 60-80% of America’s net new jobs, I see a real opportunity to target this sector and help our partners boost profits. The Summit is the perfect place to hear successful companies tell their stories about how they remain profitable and grow their companies year-on-year. Businesses who want to remain competitive in the market come to the Summit to make new connections and develop strategies to help their customers move to the cloud.
A big part of the event is the hands-on labs. What can people who participate expect?
SB: One of the most popular aspects of last year’s Summit was the Hands-On Labs so we are planning an even better experience this year. We have expanded to two rooms with one room being a demo area for attendees who have just seen a business or technical session and want to see more right away and get answers to their questions. The second room is our traditional Hands-On Lab area where attendees can go 1-on-1 with our experts and see our solutions in action in real time. We have also added a reservation system so all attendees have the opportunity to see what they want to see and get their questions answered.
I’m sure you’re saving some announcements for the event itself, but can you tell us a bit about what you’re planning to present as far as new announcements, product roadmaps or other projections?
SB: The Summit has come at a very exciting time in the industry’s evolution and also the development of Parallels. We have recruited heavily throughout the year and have filled roles for our Chief Operating Officer, Chief Technology Officer, VP of Panel products, and VP of Automation products. All this leads to an exciting story about where Parallels is heading and what our product roadmap looks like. We will be taking a close look at the small business market, roll out our product roadmaps and have individual sessions on each product area.
You’ve got a lot of interesting keynotes and presentations lined up. Is there anything in particular that you’re looking forward to, or that you think attendees should make a point of checking out?
SB: I personally like the networking events we will be holding in the evenings. I get to meet some really interesting people and find out what other companies are doing while looking at ways for Parallels to help them. From a keynote perspective Melanie Posey from IDC will provide an industry perspective on SMB cloud opportunity; Warren Adelman from Go Daddy and Lance Crosby from Softlayer will give us an insightful look at what their companies are doing. And some of our key partners like Microsoft, Verisign, Intel, Apple and Google will provide their own, unique approach to the future of the cloud.
