Rackspace
Encyclopedia
Rackspace US, Inc. is an IT hosting company based in San Antonio, Texas
. The company also has offices in Australia
, the United Kingdom
, The Netherlands and Hong Kong
, and data centers operating in Texas
, Illinois
, Virginia
, the United Kingdom
, and Hong Kong
in late 2008. The company's email and apps division operates in Blacksburg
, VA
.
Its clients include 40% of the members of the Fortune 100. In 2011, the company was named as one of the top 100 places to work at by Fortune Magazine Rackspace UK has also appeared in The Sunday Times
best employers' awards in 2007,2008,2009,2010 and 2011 and was listed in the top 50 UK workplaces as seen in the Financial Times
.
started a small ISP
out of his garage apartment called Cymitar Network Systems in San Antonio, Texas. Quickly, this company began to provide application development work, in addition to basic Internet access and web hosting. In 1997, Yoo brought on Dirk Elmendorf and the company formally began to develop Internet applications as its primary business and a new company was formed called Cymitar Technology Group. As Cymitar Technology Group grew, Patrick Condon was recruited from California
and joined the team in 1998. Coincidentally, all three were students at one time at Trinity University
in San Antonio.
Although they began as application developers for end-users, they found that most companies didn't know how to host their applications, or didn't want to be involved in the hosting. They wanted to keep their focus on the application development - not the hosting - but they were unable to find an opportunity to outsource the hosting work. Eventually, the three men realized that it would be better to make a product out of the hosting need, and launch it as a company. Rackspace was created and launched in October 1998 with Richard Yoo as its CEO. While most companies focused on the technology end of hosting, Rackspace created its "Fanatical Support" offering to focus on service and support. On March 28, 2000, Rackspace received funding through Norwest Venture Partners
and Sequoia Capital
. George J. Still, Jr., Managing Partner at Norwest, then subsequently joined the Board of Directors where he remains today.
The Managed support level consists of "on-demand" support where proactive services are provided, but the customer is welcome to contact Rackspace when they need additional assistance.
The Intensive support level consists of "proactive" support where many proactive services are provided, and customers receive additional consultations about their server configuration. Highly customized implementations generally fall under this level of support.
Some services and products are only available for certain support levels.
Hosting, purchased ServerBeach in October 2004 for $7.5 Million. Peer 1 Hosting entered the UK managed hosting market in January 2009 and the ServerBeach brand now competes directly with the UK arm of Rackspace, run by Dominic Monkhouse ex managing director of Rackspace Limited.
In October 2006, Mosso Inc. was launched, which experimented with white-labeling hosting services. Eventually, the division became the foundation for Rackspace's current Cloud Computing offering.
On October 1, 2007, Rackspace acquired Webmail.us, a private e-mail hosting firm located in Blacksburg, VA. Originally branded as Mailtrust, on May 20, 2009, it became Email and Apps division of Rackspace.
On October 22, 2008, Rackspace acquired Slicehost, a provider of virtual servers
and Jungle Disk, a provider of online backup software and services
to cater for worldwide customers’ needs in Hong Kong
/ China
Hosting
. Besides, Rackspace selected Hong Kong as the Asia Pacific regional office due to its reputation within the global business economy, its world-class IT infrastructure, multiple telecommunication providers and rich talent pool. Rackspace also solicited feedback from its current customer base in the Asian Pacific region and the majority of those respondents confirmed their preference for doing business in Hong Kong
.
to the unoccupied Windsor Park Mall
in Windcrest, Texas
. Rackspace's Chairman, Graham Weston, owned the Montgomery Ward building in the mall until 2006, when it was sold to a developer. The city of Windcrest is purchasing 111 acre (0.44920146 km²) south of the mall to create a residential and retail complex. The facility is located next to Roosevelt High School, and many students intern at Rackspace.
The Fortune Magazine's "Top 100 Best Companies to Work For 2008" placed Rackspace as #32 the first year that Rackspace applied for consideration. The company was praised for its transparency. Regular "Open Book" meetings are held where the top level leaders share in-depth financial information with all employees.
On August 8, 2008, Rackspace opened for trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “RAX” after its initial public offering (IPO) in which it raised $187.5 million. The initial public offering included 15,000,000 shares of its common stock at a price of $12.50 per share. The IPO did not do well in the public market and lost about 20% of its initial price almost immediately.
On September 8, 2010, Rackspace received national attention when they decided to discontinue providing web hosting service to one of their customers, Dove World Outreach Center
. This was in reaction to Dove World's pastor Terry Jones' plan to burn several copies of the Qur'an
on the anniversary of the September 11th attacks. Rackspace claims that this violated their company policy. This move came under criticism, notably from Terry Jones himself, who described it as an "indirect attack on our freedom of speech." Others questioned the appropriateness of Rackspace's action by saying that there is "absolutely no reason for web hosts to have an editorial policy, and this only gives Jones more attention, and makes him look more persecuted."
On June 3, 2011, Rackspace intervened in an application by Queensland
host Rack Servers to trademark its business name in Australia
.
provider Jungle Disk
and VPS provider SliceHost.
, United Kingdom
, The Netherlands and Hong Kong
.
Rackspace is registered in the UK as Rackspace Ltd., and employs around 700 people, at one office (in Hayes
, Middlesex
) and rents one data centre (in and around London
) as of 2011. The company opened a fourth UK data centre in Slough
, Berkshire
in the second quarter of 2008. Rackspace UK has appeared in The Sunday Times
best companies awards 2007,2008,2009,2010 and 2011 and was in the top 50 UK workplaces as seen in the Financial Times
.
A few well-known large organisations using Rackspace's UK web hosting services include OnSpeed
, Confused.com
, Vue
, Renault
, online publication The Register
, Huddle
, Funny or Die
, Metacafe
, Suicide Girls, and net connect.
Rackspace Benelux in Amsterdam opened its offices in October 2007. It has won several high-profile customers such as LogicaCMG, Exact Software and CapGemini.
Rackspace Australia in Sydney opened its offices in March 2009. It has won several high profile customers and partners such as Westfield Holdings, Wotif.com, Sage Australia, Xero, Netstarter and Market Boomer.
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. The company also has offices in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, The Netherlands and Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, and data centers operating in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
in late 2008. The company's email and apps division operates in Blacksburg
Blacksburg, Virginia
Blacksburg is an incorporated town located in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 42,620 at the 2010 census. Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and Radford are the three principal jurisdictions of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area which...
, VA
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
Its clients include 40% of the members of the Fortune 100. In 2011, the company was named as one of the top 100 places to work at by Fortune Magazine Rackspace UK has also appeared in The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
best employers' awards in 2007,2008,2009,2010 and 2011 and was listed in the top 50 UK workplaces as seen in the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
.
History
In 1996, Richard YooRichard Yoo
Richard Yoo is an American entrepreneur, the co-founder and former CEO of the popular web hosting company Rackspace, and the founder and former CEO of web hosting company ServerBeach.-Personal Life and Education:...
started a small ISP
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
out of his garage apartment called Cymitar Network Systems in San Antonio, Texas. Quickly, this company began to provide application development work, in addition to basic Internet access and web hosting. In 1997, Yoo brought on Dirk Elmendorf and the company formally began to develop Internet applications as its primary business and a new company was formed called Cymitar Technology Group. As Cymitar Technology Group grew, Patrick Condon was recruited from California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and joined the team in 1998. Coincidentally, all three were students at one time at Trinity University
Trinity University (Texas)
Trinity University is a private, independent, primarily undergraduate, university in San Antonio, Texas. Its campus is located in the Monte Vista Historic District and adjacent to Brackenridge Park....
in San Antonio.
Norwest venture partners
Norwest Venture Partners is a global, multi-stage investment firm focused on investments in early to late stage venture and growth equity investments in U.S...
and Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital is a Californian venture capital firm located on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California. The Wall Street Journal has called Sequoia Capital "one of the highest-caliber venture firms", and noted that it is "one of Silicon Valley's most influential venture-capital firms"...
. George J. Still, Jr., Managing Partner at Norwest, then subsequently joined the Board of Directors where he remains today.
Business model
Rackspace has two main service level segments: Managed and Intensive. Both service levels receive support via the usual means - e-mail, telephone, and ticket systems - but they are designed to fit the needs of different businesses.The Managed support level consists of "on-demand" support where proactive services are provided, but the customer is welcome to contact Rackspace when they need additional assistance.
The Intensive support level consists of "proactive" support where many proactive services are provided, and customers receive additional consultations about their server configuration. Highly customized implementations generally fall under this level of support.
Some services and products are only available for certain support levels.
Involvement with other companies
Rackspace launched ServerBeach in San Antonio in January 2003 as a lower-cost alternative for dedicated servers designed for technology hobbyists who want flexibility and reliability. Richard Yoo was a catalyst in the startup of ServerBeach. A bandwidth and colocation provider, Peer 1PEER 1
Peer 1 Hosting provides Internet hosting services that include managed hosting, dedicated servers, colocation, and cloud computing. The company is headquartered in Vancouver, BC, Canada and the stock is traded on the TSX under the symbol PIX...
Hosting, purchased ServerBeach in October 2004 for $7.5 Million. Peer 1 Hosting entered the UK managed hosting market in January 2009 and the ServerBeach brand now competes directly with the UK arm of Rackspace, run by Dominic Monkhouse ex managing director of Rackspace Limited.
In October 2006, Mosso Inc. was launched, which experimented with white-labeling hosting services. Eventually, the division became the foundation for Rackspace's current Cloud Computing offering.
On October 1, 2007, Rackspace acquired Webmail.us, a private e-mail hosting firm located in Blacksburg, VA. Originally branded as Mailtrust, on May 20, 2009, it became Email and Apps division of Rackspace.
On October 22, 2008, Rackspace acquired Slicehost, a provider of virtual servers
Virtual machine
A virtual machine is a "completely isolated guest operating system installation within a normal host operating system". Modern virtual machines are implemented with either software emulation or hardware virtualization or both together.-VM Definitions:A virtual machine is a software...
and Jungle Disk, a provider of online backup software and services
Remote backup service
A remote, online, or managed backup service is a service that provides users with a system for the backup and storage of computer files. Online backup providers are companies that provide this type of service to end users ....
Expansion into the Asia Pacific Region
The company is experiencing heavy customer growth from the Asian marketplace, in particular. The Asian office is a natural step in Rackspace.com's expansion outside the U.S. and LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to cater for worldwide customers’ needs in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
/ China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
Hosting
Hosting
Hosting can mean:* To act as the organizer or master of ceremonies for an event.* Self-hosting - software distribution which provides all necessary source code to enable itself to be re-compiled from scratch* Internet hosting service, including:...
. Besides, Rackspace selected Hong Kong as the Asia Pacific regional office due to its reputation within the global business economy, its world-class IT infrastructure, multiple telecommunication providers and rich talent pool. Rackspace also solicited feedback from its current customer base in the Asian Pacific region and the majority of those respondents confirmed their preference for doing business in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
.
Recent news
Rackspace has moved their headquarters from a building once occupied by Datapoint CorporationDatapoint
Datapoint Corporation, originally known as Computer Terminal Corporation , was a computer company based in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Founded in 1967 by Phil Ray and Gus Roche, its first products were, as the company's initial name suggests, computer terminals...
to the unoccupied Windsor Park Mall
Windsor Park Mall
Windsor Park Mall was a shopping mall located in the northeast section San Antonio, Texas off Interstate 35 and Walzem Road. It has since closed.Rackspace has made a deal to move their corporate headquarters from Northwest San Antonio to Windsor Park Mall...
in Windcrest, Texas
Windcrest, Texas
Windcrest is a city in Bexar County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,105 at the 2000 census. It is part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Windcrest is located at ....
. Rackspace's Chairman, Graham Weston, owned the Montgomery Ward building in the mall until 2006, when it was sold to a developer. The city of Windcrest is purchasing 111 acre (0.44920146 km²) south of the mall to create a residential and retail complex. The facility is located next to Roosevelt High School, and many students intern at Rackspace.
The Fortune Magazine's "Top 100 Best Companies to Work For 2008" placed Rackspace as #32 the first year that Rackspace applied for consideration. The company was praised for its transparency. Regular "Open Book" meetings are held where the top level leaders share in-depth financial information with all employees.
On August 8, 2008, Rackspace opened for trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “RAX” after its initial public offering (IPO) in which it raised $187.5 million. The initial public offering included 15,000,000 shares of its common stock at a price of $12.50 per share. The IPO did not do well in the public market and lost about 20% of its initial price almost immediately.
On September 8, 2010, Rackspace received national attention when they decided to discontinue providing web hosting service to one of their customers, Dove World Outreach Center
Dove World Outreach Center
Dove World Outreach Center is a 50 member non-denominational charismatic Christian church in Gainesville, Florida led by pastor Terry Jones and his wife, Sylvia. The church first gained notice during the late 2000s for its public displays and criticism of Islam and gays, and was designated as...
. This was in reaction to Dove World's pastor Terry Jones' plan to burn several copies of the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
on the anniversary of the September 11th attacks. Rackspace claims that this violated their company policy. This move came under criticism, notably from Terry Jones himself, who described it as an "indirect attack on our freedom of speech." Others questioned the appropriateness of Rackspace's action by saying that there is "absolutely no reason for web hosts to have an editorial policy, and this only gives Jones more attention, and makes him look more persecuted."
On June 3, 2011, Rackspace intervened in an application by Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
host Rack Servers to trademark its business name in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Acquisitions
On October 22, 2008, Rackspace announced that it was purchasing cloud storageCloud storage
Cloud storage is a model of networked online storage where data is stored on virtualized pools of storage which are generally hosted by third parties. Hosting companies operate large data centers; and people who require their data to be hosted buy or lease storage capacity from them and use it for...
provider Jungle Disk
Jungle Disk
Jungle Disk is an online backup tool that stores its data in Amazon S3 or Rackspace Cloud Files. It was highlighted by Amazon as one of the earliest S3 clients The basic Jungle Disk software is sold as a monthly subscription model, and the customer is billed directly by Amazon for data storage and...
and VPS provider SliceHost.
Worldwide/EMEA
The company has clients worldwide, and an EMEA (Europe, Middle-East & Africa) division; which includes offices and data centres in the USA, AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, The Netherlands and Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
.
Rackspace is registered in the UK as Rackspace Ltd., and employs around 700 people, at one office (in Hayes
Hayes
Hayes may refer to:* Hayes , including a list of people with the name* A.F.C. Hayes, an English football club based in Hayes, Hillingdon* Hayes Brake, an American company dedicated to the design and manufacture of non-automotive disc-brakes...
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
) and rents one data centre (in and around London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
) as of 2011. The company opened a fourth UK data centre in Slough
Slough
Slough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
in the second quarter of 2008. Rackspace UK has appeared in The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
best companies awards 2007,2008,2009,2010 and 2011 and was in the top 50 UK workplaces as seen in the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
.
A few well-known large organisations using Rackspace's UK web hosting services include OnSpeed
OnSpeed
ONSPEED is a software program designed to accelerate an internet connection using compression techniques....
, Confused.com
Confused.com
Confused.com, part of the Admiral Group, is a British price comparison website specialising in insurance and financial services.-History:Confused.com launched in 2002, becoming the UK’s first car insurance comparison site. It is based in Cardiff, Wales with its offices located near the headquarters...
, Vue
Vue
Vue or VUE may refer to:Software:* VUE, Hewlett-Packard's Visual User Environment* VUE , a concept mapping tool* E-on Vue, 3D landscape generation software from e-on softwareOther uses:...
, Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
, online publication The Register
The Register
The Register is a British technology news and opinion website. It was founded by John Lettice, Mike Magee and Ross Alderson in 1994 as a newsletter called "Chip Connection", initially as an email service...
, Huddle
Huddle (software)
Huddle is a web-based team collaboration and project management application developed in the UK.Huddle is privately held and funded by Eden Ventures and Matrix Partners.-Features:...
, Funny or Die
Funny or Die
Funny or Die is a comedy video website founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's production company, Gary Sanchez Productions with original and user-generated content. Funny or Die contains exclusive material from a number of famous contributors and also has its own Funny or Die Team, which creates...
, Metacafe
Metacafe
Metacafe is a web site that specializes in short-form video entertainment in the categories of movies, video games, sports, music and TV.The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London and Tel Aviv...
, Suicide Girls, and net connect.
Rackspace Benelux in Amsterdam opened its offices in October 2007. It has won several high-profile customers such as LogicaCMG, Exact Software and CapGemini.
Rackspace Australia in Sydney opened its offices in March 2009. It has won several high profile customers and partners such as Westfield Holdings, Wotif.com, Sage Australia, Xero, Netstarter and Market Boomer.
See also
- Rackspace Cloud - Rackspace's cloud computingCloud computingCloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility over a network ....
hosting - Jungle DiskJungle DiskJungle Disk is an online backup tool that stores its data in Amazon S3 or Rackspace Cloud Files. It was highlighted by Amazon as one of the earliest S3 clients The basic Jungle Disk software is sold as a monthly subscription model, and the customer is billed directly by Amazon for data storage and...
- Rackspace's Online Storage and Backup for Personal and Home Office Use