Rackspace Acquires ObjectRocket for MongoDB Service

Rackspace Hosting is acquiring ObjectRocket, a provider of database as a service (DBaaS) offerings using the MongoDB database. The acquisition expands Rackspace’s big data play, allowing them to provide Open Cloud customers with demanding applications with a NoSQL DBaaS.

The acquisition is expected to close today, and the ObjectRocket offering will be available in early March for Rackspace customers . The offering will roll out first for customers in the company's Chicago data center, but will soon be integrated across Rackspace’s Open Cloud portfolio. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Rackspace is establishing itself in the high growth NoSQL database market. NoSQL offerings forego traditional approaches to databases, including the use of the relational database model or Structured Query Language (SQL), in favor of an approach that provides better scalability across a distributed architecture. The NoSQL approach has become popular for use in large cloud applications. A  recent report from The 451 Group projects that NoSQL software revenue will grow at an annual rate of 82 percent to reach $215 million by 2015. 

"Databases are the core of any application and expertise in the most popular database technologies will be critical to us delivering Fanatical Support in the open cloud," said Pat Matthews, senior vice president of corporate development at Rackspace. "As we look to expand our open cloud database offering into the MongoDB world, we are really excited to work with the entrepreneurs and engineers at ObjectRocket."

MongoDB has already been adopted by organizations such as Disney, The New York Times and Craigslist, among others. Built on a NoSQL, open source engine, MongoDB is able to store structured data in JSON-like schemas. By offering MondoDB as a service, ObjectRocket makes it easier to use for customers by eliminating much of the setup and configuration.

ObjectRocket will continue to be sold as a standalone service, so it’s still usable in conjunction with other clouds; it also leverages AWS Direct Connect to provide low latency and free bandwidth to AWS customers.

The ObjectRocket founding team collectively brings more than 50 years of experience in scaling large data systems, including MongoDB. They have also designed and managed systems that power some of the busiest sites on the web, and played key founding development roles at companies like Shutterfly, PayPal, eBay and AOL. 

"With Rackspace’s open cloud philosophy and our shared emphasis on providing the highest level of customer support, we feel this union is an ideal fit,” said Chris Lalonde, co-founder and CEO of ObjectRocket. "Since the beginning, our focus has been on creating a DBaaS platform that would perform, scale and support critical workloads in a superior manner.  Joining forces with Rackspace will enable us to achieve this goal, while delivering one of the most advanced MongoDB DBaaS solutions on the market."

At the beginning of the year, Rackspace CTO John Engates stated in his cloud predictions that “this is the year when Big Data makes its way into enterprise conversations." This acquisition reinforces that belief.