Wrapped Apps Provides Free SaaS-Enablement to Software Authors ElastX Beta Program for Shareware Authors and Micro-ISVs

(PRWEB) July 16, 2008 -- Today at the Software Industry Conference in Boston, Wrapped Apps opened the gates on its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) beta program for Shareware authors and Micro-ISVs. This program provides authors of software applications with insider access to information on the ElastX initiative and Wrapped Apps technicians to SaaS-enable ("wrap") their applications. It will be followed by the launch of a fully automated "wrapping center" where authors will be able to upload their applications, wrap them, and test them online. SaaS-enablement by Wrapped Apps will be free to all qualified software authors.

This is the first stage of Wrapped Apps' ElastX initiative, which will provide businesses and consumers on the Internet with one-click, immediate access to thousands of applications without the hassle of downloading, installing, subscribing or purchasing them. When fully rolled out in the fall of 2008, ElastX will serve up on-demand applications through multiple marketplaces on the Internet.

ElastX is based on Wrapped Apps' unique "wrapping" technology, which can within minutes transform a traditional Windows application into one that can be offered over the Internet through a web browser, usually with no changes to the application's source code.

"In the past, independent software vendors (ISVs) have had to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars to create SaaS versions of their applications," said Alain Mercier, CEO of Wrapped Apps, "and once they had done that, they struggled to operate and market them effectively. Our ElastX initiative solves all of these problems, from the technical transformation of the application right through to delivering it as a pay-as-you-go service to the customer."

"I've looked at the Wrapped Apps' technology for SaaS-enabling shareware applications, and I'm very impressed," says Michael Callahan, aka Dr. File Finder, regarded as the world's leading expert on shareware and the Chairman of the Shareware Industry Awards Foundation. "It clearly provides a very promising way for shareware authors to make more money from their applications."

"We believe the on-demand model holds great promise for shareware developers," said Tomas Diago, President of Softonic, Europe's leading software download site with over 70,000 freeware, shareware and trial version software titles available. "Our thousands of ISVs and the hundreds of thousands of daily visitors to our site could greatly benefit from this additional service."

"Wrapped Apps is in a unique position to provide this solution," said Bill Stewart, founding member of Free Open Source Solutions Inc. and author of LivingInternet.com. "Their automated 'wrapping' technology enables ISVs to SaaS-enable Windows applications in minutes and usually without any changes to the source code."

Wrapped Apps will be working with software authors throughout the summer to SaaS-enable their applications, as well as recruiting shareware download sites, online software stores and other portals to offer ElastX applications to their customers in the fall of 2008. More information about the ElastX initiative and the SaaS-Enablement Beta Program is available at www.elastx.com.

About Wrapped Apps:

Wrapped Apps provides software vendors with a complete platform to offer their applications on-demand, over the Internet, on a Software-as-a-Service model (SaaS). In contrast to other approaches, which require extensive re-writing of applications and the development of SaaS-specific functionality, Wrapped Apps can provide web-enablement, multi-tenancy and other SaaS features with little or no changes to existing applications. The Wrapped Apps approach saves money, reduces time-to-market, and does not disrupt the software vendor's development schedule. Wrapped Apps is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, and has customers and business partners throughout the world.

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