Rackspace Expands Private Cloud Offerings to Microsoft
Rackspace is getting its Azure on. The OpenStack-focused company has is bringing Azure-like services to its own private cloud through the announcement of support for multi-tenant Microsoft clouds.
Rackspace (RAX) is getting its Azure on. The OpenStack-focused company has is bringing Azure-like services to its own private cloud through the announcement of support for multi-tenant Microsoft (MSFT) clouds.
Essentially, this is another step in the ever-evolving Rackspace managed cloud services story. Choosing not to compete on price—instead hoping organizations are interested in using and paying for cloud support contracts with their cloud services—Rackspace has been building out its cloud offerings lately. And in many of those cases, Rackspace is partnering with competitors such as Microsoft and Google (GOOG) to bring its Fanatical Support offerings to other cloud providers’ services, as well as bringing others’ cloud offerings in house.
This latest announcement includes support for Microsoft Hyper-V, System Center, Windows Server and Windows Azure Pack. As noted on our sister site, The VAR Guy, the addition of more Microsoft technology to its private cloud portfolio will provide its customers with more choice.
The launch of the Microsoft cloud solutions on the Rackspace Private Cloud represents another modification of Rackspace’s go-to-market strategy, and it seems more and more the company is engaging with those many would consider its largest competitors instead of going head-to-head in a battle for cloud supremacy.
Jeff DeVerter told sister site MSPmentor that supporting the Microsoft cloud platform is a key component of its managed cloud strategy. It’s certainly providing customers with choice, but it’s also creating a divergent path for Rackspace. One one hand, it’s still one of the biggest users and proponents of OpenStack, but on the other, it’s increasingly supporting and providing services based on other cloud vendor’s technologies.
It’s a bold move, but one that seems to be working so far. Rackspace’s financials are looking pretty good, as the company beat expectations for the third quarter. The company is showing an increase in profit. The company’s future is certainly looking brighter.
