Parallels organized another successful Summit with a near record number of attendees. SmarterTools exhibited at the Parallels Summit 2009 and had the opportunity to meet many Summit participants.

Hosted Services (SaaS) and More

Most of the attendees were interested about the upcoming release of SmarterTrack 4.x, SmarterTools Hosted Services, and our new Hosted Affiliate program.

New features planned for SmarterTrack 4.x include an integrated survey system, multi-lingual support, a tabbed Portal, agent to agent chat, support for multiple brands, and more. To get a sneak peak at SmarterTrack 4.x, participate in the SmarterTrack 4.x BETA test.

Earlier this year, SmarterTools unveiled plans to offer select products as a hosted service (SaaS), with Hosted SmarterTrack being the first such service. In preparation for the launch of Hosted SmarterTrack, SmarterTools enhanced its infrastructure to include a Tier 3 data center. Limited spaces are available for the Hosted SmarterTrack BETA. For more information, visit the Free Hosted Trial page.

With the addition of hosted services (SaaS) to SmarterTools’ offerings, a new partner program for Hosted Affiliates was created. This partner option provides companies with the opportunity to earn recurring revenue while adding up to $750 in value to their current shared, dedicated, and VPS offerings. For more information on how your company can maximize its earnings with SmarterTools Hosted Services, visit the Promoting Hosted Services page.

Plesk and SmarterMail Partnership Announced

Many Summit participants were also excited to hear that SmarterTools and Parallels have joined forces to provide Parallels Plesk Panel for Windows customers with free access to SmarterMail Lite, a specially-developed version of the SmarterMail mail server that provides unlimited email accounts and domains at no additional cost when used in conjunction with upcoming versions of the Parallels Plesk Panel for Windows. See the SmarterMail Lite and Plesk Panel Flyer for more details.

Hosting Success Presentation Attracts a Crowd

On the final day of the Summit, Jeff Hardy, vice president of business operation for SmarterTools, gave a presentation to a packed audience called “A Roadmap for Hosting Success in Challenging Times: SmarterTools and Parallels (PDF).” Jeff discussed finding value and maintaining price in hosting environments; the new Plesk 9.0 initiative with SmarterMail to increase value and lower email costs for hosting companies; bundling software and services to increase customer acquisitions without increasing costs; using business intelligence to develop efficiencies and drive success; and more.

Additional material detailing the use of customer service and sales departments to create effective business intelligence can be found in the presentation “Customer Service and its Discontents: How to Turn an Overhead Expense into the Most Powerful Tool in Your Business Arsenal (PDF).”

And the Winner of the SmarterTools Scooter Giveaway is…

At the end of his presentation, Jeff announced the winner of the SmarterTools Scooter Giveaway. We heard that our friend Takeshi Eto from Discount ASP was only one number away from winning (as was ZipServers) and that Liam Eagle at The WHIR blogged about the presentation and scooter giveaway.

In the end though, it was Andy Ridinger of Mural Consulting who was selected in a random drawing as the winner of the SmarterTools Scooter Giveaway. Congratulations again, Andy! We hope you enjoy your new scooter.

The Parallels Summit is Over.

Time to Plan for WebhostingDay.

All in all, the Summit was a great success. Thanks again to Parallels for hosting another great event. We’re looking forward to returning next year. In the meantime, the SmarterTools team is preparing for WebhostingDay in Germany March 18-20. If you are also planning on attending this event, please let us know.

Parallels Plesk 9 Launch Party: View from miX in Las Vegas

Soaring high into the sky atop THEhotel at Mandalay Bay, miX has one of the most outstanding views of the Strip.

This post was written by Tiffany D., a marketing and technical communications specialist for SmarterTools. If you liked this post, please consider subscribing to the SmarterTools Blog so you don’t miss an update.