Rackspace Expands Private Cloud Capabilities with Adoption of VMware Cloud Foundation

Rackspace today announced the general availability of Rackspace Private Cloud powered by VMware, which will now be built on VMware Cloud Foundation. With this, customers can enhance the foundational technology that is enabling their move out of the data center and into the cloud with the newest VMware capabilities. Rackspace Private Cloud powered by VMware built on VMware Cloud Foundation will enable full software defined data center (SDDC) capabilities including compute, storage and networking that span the public and private cloud.

VMware Cloud Foundation accelerates IT’s time-to-market by providing a factory-integrated cloud infrastructure stack that is simple to use and includes a complete set of software-defined services for compute, storage, networking and security. Rackspace Private Cloud powered by VMware helps businesses maximize their VMware deployments by helping build, operate and optimize customers’ physical and virtual infrastructure, freeing IT resources from day-to-day infrastructure management so they can focus on their core business. Rackspace is one of the largest global providers in the VMware Cloud Provider^TM Program and has partnered with VMware for more than 10 years delivering valuable solutions for mutual customers.

Built on VMware Cloud Foundation, Rackspace Private Cloud provides mutual customers with enhanced capabilities and management benefits including:

• Standardized Architecture: Rackspace Private Cloud powered by VMware is built on VMware Validated Designs, which are based on best practices, making deployments more predictable and lower risk.
• Continuous Updates and Lifecycle Management: Continuous updates allow for the most up-to-date VMware capabilities through lifecycle management of VMware components, thereby helping to improve users’ security posture.
• Leverage Existing VMware Investments: Users leverage the control, flexibility and choice needed to run VMware as easily as they would in their own data center.IT departments can migrate or extend to the VMware cloud with consistent tooling and skills. Consistent infrastructure architecture can be leveraged across multiple locations without the need to refactor code. Mutual customers maintain value of existing investments made in training, VMware technology and familiar tools by accelerating adoption of software-defined infrastructure.
• Offload Physical and Virtual Infrastructure Operations: Rackspace delivers a hosted model, which eliminates many of the procurement and integration challenges that IT organizations face in their own data centers. Mutual customers also benefit from the ability to scale their solution quickly and as needed without the need for significant upfront capex investments in data centers and hardware.
• Managed by Rackspace, Powered by VMware: With Rackspace Private Cloud powered by VMware, customers have access to Fanatical Support® provided 24x7x365 from more than 150 VMware Certified Professionals (VCPs) to help migrate, architect, secure and operate Rackspace hosted clouds powered by VMware technologies.

"Provisioning hardware quickly is no longer considered a value for customers, it’s expected," said Peter FitzGibbon, vice president and general manager of VMware at Rackspace. "The enhancement in our VMware private cloud delivery model through VMware Cloud Foundation will provide further value to new and existing Rackspace Private Cloud powered by VMware customers by giving them access to the most streamlined and innovative VMware SDDC capabilities and lifecycle management. We are excited to use VMware Cloud Foundation and look forward to continued innovation on the platform."

"With a decade of proven success in helping customers meet their business demands, VMware and Rackspace are taking another step together to help mutual customers dramatically shorten the path to hybrid cloud," said Geoffrey Waters, vice president of Global Cloud Sales at VMware. "VMware Cloud Foundation is the industry’s most advanced cloud infrastructure platform that unlocks the benefits of hybrid cloud by establishing a common, simple operational model across private and public clouds. Together with Rackspace and its renowned Fanatical Support, we will add great value to mutual customers in their digital transformation journey."

Rackspace Private Cloud powered by VMware, now built on VMware Cloud Foundation, is generally available in all regions. For more information, please visit http://www.rackspace.com/vmware/private-cloud.