Rackspace Adds Private Edition Cloud, Acquires SharePoint911

Rackspace Hosting (RAX) announced a partnership for building private edition clouds and an acquisition of solutions provider SharePoint911.

Private Edition Cloud

Rackspace and solution provider Redapt announced that the two companies have joined together to deliver Rackspace Cloud: Private Edition as a complete infrastructure and support solution. The solution is aimed at allowing companies that need the consumption model of cloud but the control of private hardware to scale their private cloud infrastructure in an open environment. Powered by OpenStack hardware, Redapt will deliver a fully configured solution that can plug-in to the customer's data center of choice. Prior to delivery, Redapt will do integration, testing and configuration at Redapt MergeCenters in North America and Europe.

“Other companies and coalitions have solutions that lock in customers, but our complete infrastructure and support solution is open in every way possible making it easier for companies to grow and change their IT needs,” said Jim Curry, general manager of Rackspace Cloud Builders.  “The combination of Redapt and Rackspace enables a customer to have a fully packaged private cloud off the shelf and operationally managed/supported by OpenStack experts – anywhere they choose”

The solution is designed to give customers the benefit of public clouds, but on their terms, delivered anywhere and then operated, managed and supported by Rackspace.

SharePoint911 acquisition

On Thursday Rackspace announced its acquisition of SharePoint911, an industry leader in SharePoint consulting, training, and “JumpStart” services within SharePoint. The unification of both companies provides capabilities to deliver unparalleled SharePoint hosting solutions along with expert services to the enterprise market. Maineville Ohio based SharePoint911 is widely recognized in the Microsoft SharePoint community and its team includes six Microsoft MVPs (Most Valuable Professional), and the authors of over ten SharePoint books.

“Rackspace’s acquisition of SharePoint911, a company dedicated to end-user SharePoint adoption, is a key strategic development, given that one of the primary barriers to broader SharePoint usage in businesses is the lack of comprehensive design, development, training, and end user support services to drive innovative SharePoint implementations,” said Melanie Posey, research vice president, hosting & managed network services at IDC. “We believe that Rackspace has uniquely positioned itself above its competitors by adding the thought leadership and expertise of SharePoint911. Going forward, Rackspace can help to further accelerate adoption of SharePoint, one of the fastest growing applications in the business productivity segment.”