Parallels Acquires ModernBill

Parallels said this week that it has acquired ModernGigabyte, LLC, maker of ModernBill automated billing system. The deal further strengthens Parallels market leadership in the hosting automation market, allowing it to bundle control panel and billing software in a single offering.

ModernGigabyte is based in Louisville, Kentucky and provides software to nearly 15,000 hosting resellers with over 2 million customers worldwide.

"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," said Serguei Beloussov, CEO of Parallels (formerly SWsoft). "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 (SaaS) solutions."

Application Packaging Standard (APS) is an open standard that helps hosting providers provision applications for their customers by specifying a standard package for hosted software. It is part of the Parallel Open Platform enables SaaS with Parallels virtualization and automation technology to integrate with third-party applications and systems.

"ModernGigabyte customers will benefit from Parallels industry-leading virtualization and automation solutions, depth of resources and support, and strategic focus on the hosting industry," said Jonathan McCarrick, vice president of sales, ModernGigabyte. "ModernBill is already integrated with multiple Parallels hosting products, so now customers will be able to purchase the software as part of a pre-integrated solution from one company."

Parallels will continue development of the ModernBill platform and will provide ongoing support for ModernGigabyte products through existing ModernBill support channels. In addition to the ModernBill software, Parallels is acquiring - and will continue to support - ModernGigabyte's other hosting solutions including ModernAuthorize, SSL Factory, ModernDNS and FraudGuardian.

ModernBill will be renamed Parallels Plesk Billing and join the Plesk Products system, which includes the Parallels Plesk Control Panel, Parallels Plesk Expand, Parallels Plesk Plus and Parallels Plesk Sitebuilder.

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Both companies are privately held.