LuxCloud, one of the first vendor-independent SaaS distribution platforms in Europe, launches with a global availability a white-labeled Open-Xchange email and collaboration platform as Software as a Service (SaaS).

Open-Xchange – which will be unbranded — is a key part of LuxCloud´s automated cloud service delivery and billing platform enabling resellers and system integrators to bring their small and mid-sized business (SMB) customers into the cloud.

LuxCloud operates a software services distribution platform allowing reseller partners to rapidly launch and profitably deliver cloud services. An increasing number of SMBs are opting for cloud services moving from a traditional and expensive on-premises licensing model to the new and affordable SaaS (Software as a Service) or “pay as you go” model. Instead of requiring resellers to set up their own infrastructure to participate in the cloud, they can utilize the LuxCloud platform. This modern cloud infrastructure provides fast time-to-market, greater flexibility and low investment risk; it can even be tested prior to ordering.

“With the rise of the cloud, traditional resellers and system integrators find it hard to retain customer loyalty as cloud giants Amazon, Google, Apple and Microsoft go after their customers,” said Marco Houwen, CEO of LuxCloud (photo © ITnation). “Business-class email is a killer application for small and midsized businesses and Open-Xchange is the proven category leader in cloud email and collaboration. The partnership between Open-Xchange and LuxCloud helps resellers generate new business in the under-served SMB market and remain visible in front of customers with individually branded services.”

LuxCloud’s platform automates the back office tasks involved with selling SaaS, and encompasses sales order placement, service provisioning and the management of service billing. LuxCloud´s automation services are characterized by high levels of flexibility, scalability and security, and include integration tools for control, compliance and resource accountability.

”Small businesses are increasingly looking to purchase multiple services — such as domains, website hosting, messaging and collaboration services and SaaS applications — from a single source,“ said Rafael Laguna, CEO of Open-Xchange. “Resellers can be up and running on LuxCloud´s white-labeled cloud platform in a few days instead of months. The platform is a great way for resellers to easily expand their product portfolio, solidify their relationship with existing customers and attract new customer audiences.”

Open-Xchange integrates email, calendar, contact and task management with advanced collaboration features such as information management and document sharing. Appointments and team meetings can be scheduled efficiently with team calendars. Using shared folders, team members get access to all important documents, tasks, appointments and contacts. Central storage of documents prevents duplicated work and reduces the amount of email traffic. Cutting-edge social network integration enables aggregation of email and contact information from external mail services and social networks.

Open-Xchange’s unique Social OX features give users the ability to consolidate any kind of existing webmail accounts — for example from Google and Yahoo — into a folder in Open-Xchange so they can be managed more easily. Plus, contact details from social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Xing can be added automatically to the Open-Xchange address book — giving users easy access to the latest contact information within their personal network. Also, users can merge their calendar and address books from Google into Open-Xchange.
With more than 42 million users, Open-Xchange is the world’s leading technology supplier of hosted groupware. SaaS partners include 1&1 Internet, STRATO, Network Solutions, Host Europe, Dotster, Surftown and Hostpoint.