Rackspace Cloud Monitoring: Disrupting RMM Software?

Rackspace is coming down from the cloud, and seeking to help customers and MSPs to proactively manage/monitor on-premises equipment plus cloud infrastructure.

Meanwhile, RMM software is going up to the cloud, extending beyond on-premises monitoring to remotely track cloud services like Office 365 and more. A prime example here is Level Platforms, where CEO Peter Sandiford has been evangelizing on-premises and cloud monitoring for more than two years.

Some MSPs and customers are bound to try Rackspace’s cloud monitoring tool because it claims to deliver a “single dashboard” for all infrastructure management. Plus, it’s cloud-based — meaning that it should offer fast set-up.

As Rackspace CTO Jon Engates said: “This product provides one easy solution to monitor all IT infrastructure from a single interface, regardless of vendor or location.” Assuming that statement is true, MSPs could be intrigued.

The Rackspace solution could be far too narrow for many MSPs. Most RMM software extends out to desktops, notebooks, printers, tablets, smartphones and more. If I had to guess, I think Rackspace is mostly interested in server infrastructure and server application monitoring.

Most MSPs have spent years integrated various management platforms together. It’s unclear whether Rackspace will integrate into PSA software like ConnetWise, Autotask and Tigerpaw.

I don’t know how much Rackspace’s Cloud Monitoring tool will cost — though the company tends to price aggressively.

Rackspace itself depends on numerous third-party monitoring and management tools, including CA Technologies’ Nimsoft.