Parallels announced that Network Solutions, a provider of web-based technology for small business, has significantly broadened its range of open source hosted application offerings through the Application Packaging Standard (APS), which was developed to enable the software-as-a-service model development quickly and simply.

The company articulates that the APS applications have been added to the Network Solutions Open Source Library to enable web hosting customers to create new revenue streams by offering value-added services and better engage and interact with their own customers. The newly added services include blogging software WordPress, content management service Joomla and photo organizer Gallery2, it adds.

The company explains that utilizing software-as-a-service allows businesses to pay only for the applications they need, for as long as they need them, without the hassles of installing and maintaining software. The APS standard is a key enabler of SaaS and simplifies the integration of web applications into hosting environments. The standard is a packaging format that makes it easier for service providers to deliver hosted applications developed by independent software vendors (ISVs).

It further explains that  APS-certified applications can be easily "plugged" into hosting platforms that conform to the standard. While some of these applications are offered free on the Internet, they require significant time and skill to install and maintain. The APS standard streamlines installation and management of these applications while simultaneously removing the need for downloads registrations and passwords.

"By implementing the Application Packaging Standard, Network Solutions is able to offer its customers a greater variety of valuable applications with minimal cost and effort," said Jack Zubarev, President, Service Provider Division, Parallels. "We are pleased to see Network Solutions realize real business benefits as the result of our ongoing effort to work with the industry to drive an open hosting platform."

"Utilizing APS enabled Network Solutions to expand our Open Source Library as quickly and simply as possible," says Bill Jolly, Director of Product Management, Network Solutions. "The result is that our customers can easily tailor their hosting package with dozens of open source applications, allowing them to engage and interact with their users by installing blogs, wikis, forums and other applications with a single click."