Rackspace Announces Microsoft Cloud Support

Rackspace on Monday said it now supports Microsoft’s cloud platform, including System Center, Hyper-V, Windows Azure Pack and Windows Server, in all of its U.S. data centers.

Part of its managed cloud strategy, Rackspace says the move gives customers options, whether it be the company’s own OpenStack-powered Rackspace Private Cloud, or Microsoft technology.

“Rackspace customers who use Microsoft software tend to be looking for the ‘whole package,’ meaning they want a place to host their servers along with a partner who can work with them to ensure they run better here than anywhere else in the world, wrote Rackspace’s Jeff DeVerter, in a blog. “Microsoft’s cloud platform does what traditional operating systems do – it manages applications and hardware – but at the scope and scale of cloud computing. That is exactly what we have now – world-class Microsoft cloud platform technology backed by an army of ‘Rackers’ passionate about building and managing those clouds.”

The company also announced on Monday that is now a member of the Microsoft Cloud OS Network.

“I am extremely excited to see Rackspace deepening their support for Microsoft technology and their entrance into the Cloud OS Network,” wrote Marco Limena, VP of hosting service providers at Microsoft, in a blog. “The combination of their Fanatical Support and the Microsoft cloud platform delivers a compelling solution for customers that require a private hosted solution.”

Rackspace calls this a natural move after years of supporting Microsoft servers, now applying it to managing Microsoft clouds. The company expects this partnership will enable IT pros to maximize their resources; focus personnel on managing solutions, not hardware; use public and private cloud in ways that are best for their own business and manage through a single pane of glass; apply Rackspace Fanatical Support at the cloud and VM levels in ways that work best for them.

It was only in August that Rackspace announced its step into Microsoft virtualization and private cloud offerings.

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