OpenStack Everywhere: Rackspace Simplifies Cloud Adoption by Delivering Managed Private Cloud Everywhere

April 7, 2016

San Antonio - April 7, 2016 - Rackspace® (NYSE: RAX) today announced companies can run a fully-managed private cloud in any data center around the world without bearing the high cost, risk and operational burden of doing it themselves. By delivering OpenStack® everywhere, the new integrated software, hardware and services solution can answer CIO demand for managed services for private cloud on their own terms – meeting customers at every step of their cloud journey whether it is in a customer or third party data center, a Rackspace-supported third party colocation facility or a Rackspace data center.

Companies are on a transformational journey inside and outside their data centers – adopting a hybrid approach to public and private cloud to deliver improved customer experiences, increase reliability and reduce infrastructure and operational costs. OpenStack has fast become a dominant platform for private cloud, but the complexity and cost of hiring talent to deploy and operate it themselves has enterprises wanting to consume OpenStack as a managed service.

“Companies realize they can free up money and resources for more strategic business investments when they turn their IT capital expenses into operating expenses,” said Darrin Hanson, GM and VP of OpenStack Private Cloud at Rackspace. “When OpenStack is consumed as a managed service, businesses can remove non-core operations, reduce software licensing, and minimize infrastructure acquisition and IT operations costs.”

Today’s announcement from Rackspace further extends the company’s strategy to make cloud computing simple for enterprises. By delivering OpenStack as a managed service in any data center the customer chooses, Rackspace helps companies adopt private cloud to increase performance, simplify compliance and improve data sovereignty and security.

[caption id="attachment_40345" align="aligncenter" width="599"] Customer Cloud Maturity[/caption]

How it Works

Customers deploy a Rackspace designed purpose-built OpenStack private cloud in any data center, anywhere in the world, with a fully tested integrated modular rack of hardware, software and services.

Rackspace experts then manage the end-to-end deployment, monitoring and operations of the integrated solutions and help on-board the customers to their new OpenStack private cloud environment.

From the floor tiles all the way up the service stack, Rackspace extends Fanatical Support® to the customer’s OpenStack private cloud – fully managing the underlying OpenStack software, hardware and networking.

Customers receive industry-leading service level agreements combined with the world’s foremost OpenStack operational expertise from Rackspace backed by a 99.99 percent OpenStack API uptime guarantee.

“As a media capture, management and distribution service, it is mission critical for Encompass Digital Media to deliver a seamless and top notch user experience to our clients,” said Robert Bond, senior vice president of product engineering at Encompass Digital Media, Inc. “The ability for Rackspace to deliver OpenStack private clouds through an as a service model is important as it allows us to deploy a fully managed cloud infrastructure service to our clients. The option to deploy production-ready OpenStack private clouds in the location of our choice can improve our speed to market and reduce acquisition costs. In leveraging the Rackspace product portfolio, industry leading OpenStack expertise and managed cloud delivery capabilities, Encompass Digital Media can now focus on its core business and deliver new revenue streams.”

“Rackspace continues to break down the barriers of enterprise cloud adoption by giving companies even more choice and flexibility in their data center transformation. With this new solution, Rackspace is making OpenStack possible for its customers no matter what the environment,” said Patrick Moorhead, founder, president and principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy. “There is an increase in hybrid cloud adoption and Rackspace is operationalizing and simplifying it with this approach.”

Rackspace Private Cloud powered by OpenStack is now available in the customer’s data center of choice in regions around the world. To learn more about the new software, hardware and managed services solution, please visit https://www.rackspace.com/cloud/private/openstacksolutions and the Rackspace Blog.

About Rackspace

Rackspace (NYSE: RAX), the #1 managed cloud company, helps businesses tap the power of cloud computing without the challenge and expense of managing complex IT infrastructure and application platforms on their own. Rackspace engineers deliver specialized expertise on top of leading technologies developed by AWS, Microsoft, OpenStack, VMware and others, through a results-obsessed service known as Fanatical Support®. The company has more than 300,000 customers worldwide, including two-thirds of the FORTUNE 100. Rackspace was named a leader in the 2015 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Cloud-Enabled Managed Hosting, and has been honored as one of Fortune’s Best Companies to Work For in six of the past eight years. Learn more at www.rackspace.com.

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If such risks or uncertainties materialize or such assumptions prove incorrect, the results of Rackspace Hosting could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including any statements concerning expected development, performance or market acceptance associated with Managed Private Cloud Everywhere; anticipated operational and financial benefits from Managed Private Cloud Everywhere; any statements of expectation or belief; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions including the possibility that expected benefits from Managed Private Cloud Everywhere may not materialize because this product is not generally accepted in the marketplace, which could occur due to certain factors including (i) a failure to market the product cost effectively, differentiate the product from competitive products or communicate differentiations effectively, (ii) the reliability, quality or compatibility associated with the product, (iii) changes in technology which adversely affects the product’s benefit, (iv) slowdowns in the general economy or technology industry that impact consumer spending habits, (v) internal strategy decisions that impact the product, and (vi) and other risks that are described in Rackspace Hosting’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015 filed with the SEC on February 25, 2016. Except as required by law, Rackspace Hosting assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

Media Contact:

Christina Weaver

210-312-4593

Christina.weaver@rackspace.com