Rackspace Managed Hosting Named 2007 Worldwide Hosting Service Provider of the Year by Microsoft

July 17, 2007; 01:24 AM

SAN ANTONIO — Rackspace® Managed Hosting today announced it has been recognized by Microsoft as its 2007 Worldwide Hosting Service Provider of the Year. The Partner of the Year Award in Advanced Infrastructure Solutions, Hosting Solutions, recognizes the top Microsoft partner delivering market-leading, Microsoft-based solutions. The award was announced July 11 in Denver at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference.

Rackspace’s most significant accomplishment as a Microsoft partner in the past year was the global launch of Managed Microsoft Exchange from Rackspace, which gives companies of all sizes access to an on-demand and highly available deployment of one of the world’s most widely-accepted email and collaboration solutions. Rackspace’s fully-managed service approach transforms Microsoft Exchange Server into a simple and scalable solution in which customers only pay for the mailboxes they plan to use. Rackspace also provides an aggressive service level agreement with uptime guarantees for its Managed Microsoft Exchange product.

“This is the third time that Microsoft has honored Rackspace with the Hosting Provider of the Year distinction,” said John Engates, chief technology officer, Rackspace Managed Hosting. “Managed Microsoft Exchange represents the fastest-growing part of our mail portfolio serving more than 100,000 users, and Rackspace is committed to providing a superior managed hosting solution on the Microsoft platform as seen with our Managed Exchange offering. Our close relationship with Microsoft allows us to successfully offer Exchange Server on our highly-available network infrastructure and backed by the company’s award-winning Fanatical Support.”

“Rackspace has been a long-time hosting partner that has demonstrated its talent and expertise year after year, raising the bar in the design and deployment of customer solutions built on Microsoft technologies,” said John Zanni, director of Worldwide Hosting at Microsoft Corp. "Consuming applications as a service, such as Hosted Microsoft Exchange, is becoming increasingly popular among small and medium-sized businesses. It’s no surprise that Managed Microsoft Exchange from Rackspace is the fastest-growing product in their suite of email solutions. Rackspace has been successful with Managed Microsoft Exchange from Rackspace by pairing an important service with Fanatical Support to provide companies with a superior service delivery model.”

The Microsoft Partner Program Awards recognize Microsoft Partners that have developed and delivered exceptional Microsoft-based solutions over the past year. Awards were presented in a number of categories, with winners chosen from a pool of more than 1,800 entrants worldwide. The Advanced Infrastructure Solutions, Hosting Solutions Partner of the Year award recognizes demonstrated innovation and commitment to engaging with Microsoft. Rackspace has identified and targeted a new market opportunity using the latest version of Microsoft products, and has demonstrated technical, business and marketing innovation.

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