Rackspace Technology

Rackspace was founded in 1996 by Richard Yoo, Dirk Elmendorf and Patrick Condon. Two years later, Graham Weston and Morris Miller provided seed capital and began managing the company.{{cite news |last1=Takahashi |first1=Dean |date=28 April 2008 |title=Web-hosting service Rackspace files for IPO |url=https://venturebeat.com/business/rackspace-files-for-ipo/ |access-date=19 September 2024 |work=VentureBeat}} The company began after Yoo dropped out of Trinity University and launched Cymitar Technology Group out of a garage, through which the company sold internet access to his former classmates.{{cite news |last1=Killelea |first1=Eric |title=‘The end’: Rackspace founder says it’s ‘on trajectory of death.’ Other former Rackers not so sure. |url=https://www.expressnews.com/business/article/Rackspace-Yoo-ransomware-attack-17703197.php |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230120003229/https://www.expressnews.com/business/article/Rackspace-Yoo-ransomware-attack-17703197.php |archive-date=2023-01-20 |access-date=29 October 2024 |work=San Antonio Express News}} In 1998, the company was renamed Rackspace. That year, Weston became CEO.{{cite web |title=Graham Weston profile |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/graham-weston/ |access-date=15 November 2024 |publisher=Forbes |language=en}}

File:Rackspace.png

Lanham Napier entered the company in 2000 as its chief financial officer. In 2006, Yoo left Rackspace and Napier was named chief executive officer (CEO).{{cite news |last1=Hicks |first1=Nolan |title=Rackspace CEO steps down |url=https://www.expressnews.com/business/local/article/rackspace-ceo-steps-down-5223025.php |access-date=19 September 2024 |work=San Antonio Express News |date=10 February 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240702024831/https://www.expressnews.com/business/local/article/rackspace-ceo-steps-down-5223025.php|archive-date=2024-07-02}} Weston stepped down as CEO and that year, he was named chairman.{{cite web |title=Graham Weston profile |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/graham-weston/ |publisher=Forbes |access-date=15 November 2024 |language=en}}

In 2008, Rackspace moved its headquarters to the then-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{{cite web|url=http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/MYSA080207.rackspace.EN.d699cdf1.html|title=San Antonio approves boundary change for Rackspace|access-date=August 13, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070811220750/http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/MYSA080207.rackspace.EN.d699cdf1.html|archive-date=August 11, 2007}} In 2005, following Hurricane Katrina, Rackspace employees volunteered to refurbish the Montgomery Ward into a shelter for 1,300 people.{{cite news |last1=Martin |first1=Justin |title=Business Owners Pitch In |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fsb/fsb_archive/2005/11/01/8360967/index.htm |access-date=29 October 2024 |work=Fortune Small Business Magazine |date=1 November 2005}}

The revitalization of the mall lead to development in the surrounding area, including the creation of Racker Road and the frontage road Fanatical Way, inspired by the company's trademark "Fanatical Support".{{cite news|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/news/2013/03/21/storming-the-castle-inside-rackspace.html?page=all|last=Goddard|first=Dan|newspaper=San Antonio Business Journal|date=March 21, 2013|accessdate=January 10, 2014|title=Storming The Castle: Inside Rackspace Headquarters | archiveurl = https://archive.today/20140110231038/http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/news/2013/03/21/storming-the-castle-inside-rackspace.html?page=all | archivedate = 2014-01-10 }} "Fanatical support" was the company's motto to describe its customer service. {{cite news |last1=Overholt |first1=Alison |title=Cuckoo for Customers |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/48967/cuckoo-customers |access-date=31 October 2024 |work=Fast Company |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012131007/https://www.fastcompany.com/48967/cuckoo-customers |archive-date=12 October 2012}} This consisted of the disuse of voicemail, live customer support, and London-based customer service representatives always accessible, which at the time news reports attribute to giving Rackspace an "edge" in the web hosting industry.{{cite news |last1=Lorek |first1=L.A. |title=Rack and reign; Web host Rackspace makes a simple promise to clients: You will get fanatical support. |work=San Antonio Express-News |date=3 June 2004 |quote=Rackspace banned voice mail from its phones. The company provides live customer support around the clock by phone and on its Web site. When it's 2 a.m., a person in its London office answers the phone or Web inquiries. Providing responsive customer service has helped give Rackspace an edge in the highly competitive Web hosting industry.}} Later, Rackspace’s Fanatical Support would be used to describe a service of providing customer representatives when businesses were implementing cloud hosting.{{cite news |last1=Mosbrucker |first1=Kristen |title=Rackspace's support for Microsoft's new privately chartered cloud could poach business clients — or give it bigger wings |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/news/2017/07/12/rackspaces-support-for-microsofts-new-privately.html |access-date=31 October 2024 |date=July 12, 2017 |work=San Antonio Business Journal|archive-url=https://archive.today/20241031152056/https://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/news/2017/07/12/rackspaces-support-for-microsofts-new-privately.html |archive-date=2024-10-31}}

In 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/080808-rackspace-ipo-needed-to-cope.html |title=Rackspace IPO needed to cope with fast growth |publisher=Networkworld.com |date=August 8, 2008 |access-date=June 27, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603041351/http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/080808-rackspace-ipo-needed-to-cope.html |archive-date=June 3, 2013 }} The initial public offering included 15,000,000 shares of its common stock at a price of $12.50 per share.{{cite web|url=http://www.sequoiacap.com/news/rackspace-prices-initial-public-offering/|title=Initial Public Offering – Press Release}} The IPO did not do well in the public market and lost about 20% of its initial price almost immediately.{{cite web|url=http://bigtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/08/08/rackspace-ipo-tanks/|title=Rackspace IPO tanks}}

At around 3:45 PM CST December 18, 2009, Rackspace experienced an outage for customers using their Dallas–Fort Worth data center – including those of Rackspace Cloud.{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2009/12/18/rackspace-down/|title=Rackspace Goes Down. Again. Takes The Internet With It. Again.|date=December 18, 2009 |access-date=December 18, 2009}}

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.{{cite journal|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Horizons/2010/0910/Dove-World-Terry-Jones-site-pulled-down-by-Web-hosting-company|title=Dove World, Terry Jones site pulled down by Web hosting company|journal=Christian Science Monitor |date=September 10, 2010 }} 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 11 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{{Who|date=January 2022}} questioned the appropriateness of Rackspace's action, stating 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."{{cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/09/09/businessinsider-koran-burning-church-gets-its-website-taken-down-by-rackspace-2010-9.DTL#ixzz0z4KCbyjf%20%20|title=San Francisco Chronicle | first=Nick | last=Saint | date=September 9, 2010}}

In August 2016, it was confirmed that the American private equity firm, Apollo Global Management, had reached an agreement to buy the company for $4.3 billion.{{cite news|last1=Medhora|first1=Narottam|title=Apollo Global to buy Rackspace Hosting in $4.3 billion deal|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-rackspace-m-a-apollo-idUKKCN1111JK|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826133137/http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-rackspace-m-a-apollo-idUKKCN1111JK|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 26, 2016|access-date=August 26, 2016|work=Reuters|date=August 26, 2016}} The sale was completed in November 2016 and Rackspace officially ended trading on the New York Stock Exchange on November 3, 2016.{{Cite news|url=http://www.expressnews.com/business/local/article/It-s-official-Rackspace-exiting-New-York-Stock-10591228.php|title=It's official: Rackspace exiting New York Stock Exchange|last=Brezosky|first=Lynn|date=November 3, 2016|access-date=November 3, 2016}}

In May 2017, CEO Taylor Rhodes announced he was leaving the company, and was replaced by Joe Eazor.{{Cite news|url=http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/local/article/Rackspace-CEO-Rhodes-leaving-the-company-11118048.php|title=Rackspace CEO Rhodes resigns 6 months after sale|work=San Antonio Express-News|access-date=May 4, 2017}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/05/25/rackspace_hires_joe_eazor_as_ceo/|title=Rackspace demotes a CEO to hire a CEO to replace CEO who quit|last=at 03:01|first=Simon Sharwood May 25, 2017|website=www.theregister.co.uk|language=en|access-date=May 1, 2019}} Eazor was replaced in 2019 by Kevin Jones.

In June 2020 it changed its name to Rackspace Technology.{{cite web|title=Rackspace changes name in preparation for public markets|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/news/2020/06/08/rackspace-adds-technology-to-its-name.html|access-date=June 10, 2020|website=www.bizjournals.com}}{{cite web|first1=Joseph|last1=Tsidulko|access-date=June 10, 2020|title=Rebranded Rackspace Ready To Conquer Multi-Cloud|url=https://www.crn.com/news/cloud/rebranded-rackspace-ready-to-conquer-multi-cloud|date=June 9, 2020|website=CRN}}

In August 2020 Rackspace Technology opened for trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "RXT" after its initial public offering (IPO). The Initial public offering of 33,500,000 shares of its common stock at an initial public offering price of $21.00 per share.{{Cite press release |url=https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/rackspace-technology-announces-pricing-of-initial-public-offering-2020-08-04 |url-status=live |archive-date=October 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007012725/https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/rackspace-technology-announces-pricing-of-initial-public-offering-2020-08-04 |date=August 4, 2020 |website=Nasdaq |language=en |access-date=August 10, 2023 |title=Rackspace Technology Announces Pricing of Initial Public Offering}}

In September 2022 the company named Amar Maletira as its new CEO.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rackspace.com/newsroom/amar-maletira-named-chief-executive-officer-rackspace-technology|title=Amar Maletira Named Chief Executive Officer|website=www.rackspace.com|access-date=September 22, 2022}}

In December 2022 Rackspace suffered a major service outage which affected all their hosted Exchange users{{cite web | url=https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/05/rackspace_hosted_exchange_security_update/ | title=Rackspace email outage continues as migrations prove hard }} (customers who bought email services from Rackspace that involved instances of Microsoft Exchange hosted on Rackspace's servers). After initial investigation Rackspace declared the incident a 'security incident' and said it had powered down its servers to protect customer data which some commentators speculated might be indicative of a ransomware incident, a theory that was lent further credence by Rackspace's decision to recommend that customers migrate to Microsoft 365 rather than wait to have their Exchange-based solutions restored. On Monday December 5, 2022, the first full day of trading after the incident (which started on the previous Friday), Rackspace's shares were down as much as 16% ($0.75).{{Cite news|url=https://www.expressnews.com/business/article/Rackspace-email-service-outage-17632315.php|title=Rackspace email service outage|newspaper=San Antonio Express-News |date=December 5, 2022 |last1=Iszler |first1=By Madison }}

A class action lawsuit against Rackspace Technology, Inc. was filed on December 12, 2022, by Cole & Van Note for tens of thousands of businesses who lost access to their emails and services due to ransomware users. Stephenson, et al. v. Rackspace Technology, Inc.{{Cite web |date=December 6, 2022 |title=Cole & Van Note Announces Filing of Rackspace Ransomware/Data Breach Class Action |url=https://www.morningstar.com/news/business-wire/20221206006074/cole-van-note-announces-filing-of-rackspace-ransomwaredata-breach-class-action |access-date=January 18, 2023 |website=Morningstar, Inc. |language=en}} This class action was dismissed by the judge in San Antonio in May, 2023. {{Cite web |date=2023-05-22 |title=Judge Throws Out Ransomware Class-Action Suit Against Rackspace - |url=https://www.channele2e.com/news/judge-throws-out-proposed-class-action-suit-against-rackspace |access-date=2024-08-02 |website=ChannelE2E |language=en}}

In January 2024, Rackspace moved its San Antonio Global Headquarters from Windcrest (The Castle) to the RidgeWood Plaza II office building, located in north-central San Antonio. {{Cite web |last=Biediger |first=Shari |date=2023-09-29 |title=Windcrest deal could turn Rackspace HQ into industrial complex |url=http://sanantonioreport.org/windcrest-deal-former-mall-rackspace-castle-industrial-complex/ |access-date=2024-08-02 |website=San Antonio Report |language=en-US}}

On September 13, 2007, Rackspace announced it has acquired email hosting provider Webmail.us, based in Blacksburg, Virginia.{{cite web|url=https://readwrite.com/2007/10/01/webmailus_acquired_by_rackspace/|title=Rackspace Acquires JungleDisk, Slicehost To Take On Amazon Services|last1=Macmanus|first1=Richard|website=ReadWriteWeb|date=October 2007 |access-date=October 1, 2007|ref=43}}

On October 22, 2008, Rackspace announced it was purchasing cloud storage provider Jungle Disk and VPS provider SliceHost.{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2008/10/22/rackspace-acquires-jungledisk-slicehost-to-take-on-amazon-web-services/|title=Webmail.us Acquired by Rackspace – Subscription Model Does Work|last1=Kincaid|first1=Jason|website=TechCrunch|date=October 22, 2008 |access-date=March 19, 2019|ref=43}}

On February 16, 2012, Rackspace acquired SharePoint911, a Microsoft SharePoint consulting company based in Cincinnati, Ohio.{{cite news|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2012/02/16/rackspace-buys-up-sharepoint911-to-gird-for-cloud-fight/?KEYWORDS=rackspace|title=Rackspace Buys Up SharePoint911 To Gird For Cloud Fight|newspaper=Wall Street Journal |date=February 16, 2012 |last1=Gage |first1=Deborah }}

On May 25, 2017, Rackspace announced an agreement to acquire TriCore Solutions.{{cite web|title=Rackspace Announces Agreement to Acquire TriCore Solutions|url=https://blog.rackspace.com/rackspace-announces-agreement-acquire-tricore-solutions|publisher=Rackspace}}

On September 11, 2017, Rackspace announced plans to acquire Datapipe.{{cite web|url=https://blog.rackspace.com/rackspace-announces-agreement-acquire-datapipe|title=Rackspace Announces Agreement to Acquire Datapipe|publisher=Rackspace}}

On September 17, 2018, Rackspace announced it had acquired RelationEdge.{{cite web|url=https://blog.rackspace.com/rackspace-acquires-relationedge-to-broaden-application-services-portfolio|title=Rackspace Acquires RelationEdge to Broaden Application Services|publisher=Rackspace}}

On November 4, 2019, Rackspace announced plans to acquire Onica.{{cite press release|title=Rackspace to Acquire Onica a Cloud Native Consulting and Managed Services Company|date=November 4, 2019 |url=http://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/11/04/1940334/0/en/Rackspace-to-Acquire-Onica-a-Cloud-Native-Consulting-and-Managed-Services-Company.html|publisher=GlobeNewsWire}}

Other acquisitions include Cloudkick, Anso Labs, Mailgun,{{cite web|url=http://www.cdn-advisor.com/rackspace-to-improve-cloud-based-email-services-by-acquiring-mailgun-inc/|title=Rackspace to Improve Cloud-Based Email Services by Acquiring Mailgun Inc.}} ObjectRocket,{{cite web|url=http://www.cdn-advisor.com/objectrocket-acquired-by-rackspace/|title=ObjectRocket Acquired by Rackspace}} Exceptional Cloud Services, and ZeroVM.

On January 18, 2022, Rackspace announced it had acquired the Singapore-headquartered cloud-based data, analytics and AI company, Just Analytics.{{Cite web|title=Rackspace fortifies APAC footprint with new acquisition|url=https://www.itpro.co.uk/cloud/cloud-computing/362015/rackspace-fortifies-apac-footprint-with-new-acquisition|access-date=January 19, 2022|website=IT PRO|date=January 19, 2022 |language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Rackspace Technology, Inc. {{!}} Rackspace Technology to Acquire Just Analytics, a Leading Provider of Cloud-based Data, Analytics, and Artificial Intelligence Services|url=https://ir.rackspace.com/news-releases/news-release-details/rackspace-technology-acquire-just-analytics-leading-provider/|access-date=January 19, 2022|website=ir.rackspace.com|language=en}}

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 1 Hosting now known as Cogeco Peer 1, purchased ServerBeach in October 2004 for $7.5 Million.{{cite web|url=http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2004/10/06/peer_1_buys_serverbeach_for_75_million.html|title=Peer 1 Buys ServerBeach for $7.5 Million|date=October 6, 2004 |access-date=August 13, 2007}} 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, former managing director of Rackspace Limited.{{cite web|url=http://markets.hpcwire.com/jobbank/?GUID=8664941&Page=MediaViewer&Ticker=PIX|title=Peer 1 & ServerBeach enter UK market with ex-Rackspace MD}}

In October 2006, Mosso Inc. was launched, which experimented with white-labeling hosting services.{{cite web|url=http://www.rackspace.com/information/mediacenter/release.php?id=130|title=Mosso Leverages Utility Computing to Provide Complete Hosting Solution for Web Professionals |access-date=August 13, 2007}} Eventually, the division became the foundation for the Rackspace 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 part of the newly formed Cloud Office division of Rackspace.

On October 22, 2008, Rackspace acquired Slicehost, a provider of virtual servers{{cite web|url=http://www.slicehost.com/articles/2008/10/22/big-news-today|title=Slicehost Acquired By Rackspace |access-date=January 12, 2011}} and Jungle Disk, a provider of online backup software and services.{{cite web|url=http://blog.jungledisk.com/2008/10/22/jungle-disk-announcement/|title=Jungle Disk Acquired By Rackspace |access-date=January 12, 2011}}

Rackspace announced on March 8, 2017, plans for an expansion to its portfolio to include managed service for the Google Cloud Platform.{{Cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/03/08/rackspace-now-offers-managed-services-for-googles-cloud-platform/|title=Rackspace now offers managed services for Google's Cloud Platform|last=Lardinois|first=Frederic|date=March 8, 2017|work=TechCrunch|access-date=October 7, 2017}} The program began beta testing on July 18, 2017, with a planned full offering in late 2017.{{Cite news|url=https://blog.rackspace.com/announcing-managed-google-cloud-platform-rackspace|title=Announcing Managed Google Cloud Platform by Rackspace|last=Lee|first=Patrick|date=July 18, 2017|work=Rackspace|access-date=October 7, 2017}} Rackspace partnered with Google in Customer Reliability Engineering, a group of Google Site Reliability Engineers, to ensure cloud applications "run with the same speed and reliability as some of Google's most widely-used products".

{{Main|OpenStack}}

In 2010, Rackspace contributed the source code of its Cloud Files product to the OpenStack project under the Apache License to become the OpenStack Object Storage component.{{cite web|first1=Lew| last1=Moorman|url=http://www.rackspace.com/blog/?p=1047 |title=Opening The Rackspace Cloud – The Official Rackspace Blog |publisher=Rackspace.com |date=July 18, 2010 |access-date=June 27, 2013}}{{cite web |url=http://www.rackspace.com/blog/?cat=253 |title=The Official Rackspace Blog |publisher=Rackspace.com |access-date=June 27, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126130931/http://www.rackspace.com/blog/?cat=253 |archive-date=January 26, 2012 }}

In April 2012, Rackspace announced it would implement OpenStack Compute as the underlying technology for their Cloud Servers product. This change introduced a new control panel as well as add-on cloud services offering databases, server monitoring, block storage, and virtual networking.{{cite web|url=http://www.rackspace.com/blog/next-generation-rackspace-cloud-servers/|title=The Rackspace Cloud Powered By OpenStack|publisher=Rackspace|access-date=May 24, 2012}} In 2015, two Rackspace executives were elected to the board of the OpenStack Foundation.Mike W. Thomas, "OpenStack Foundation adds two Rackspace execs to board of directors" San Antonio Business Journal January 20, 2015 In a February 2016 interview, CTO John Engates stated that Rackspace uses OpenStack to power their public and private cloud.{{Cite web|url=https://hostadvice.com/blog/rackspace-john-engates-cto-interview/|title=Rackspace Focuses on Fanatical Support, Grows to 6,000+ Employees {{!}} HostAdvice|website=HostAdvice|date=February 8, 2016 |language=en-US|access-date=July 27, 2017}}

Fortune{{'}}s "Top 100 Best Companies to Work For 2008" placed Rackspace as {{Numero|32}}. {{cite news |title=Fortune Magazine: 100 Best Companies to Work for 2008 |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2008/snapshots/32.html |work=CNN}} In 2011 and 2013, the company was named as one of the top 100 places to work by Fortune.{{cite news |title=Fortune Magazine |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2011/snapshots/92.html |work=CNN}}{{cite web |date=January 17, 2013 |title=Best Companies to Work For 2013: Full List – Fortune |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/best-companies/2013/list/?iid=bc_sp_full |access-date=June 27, 2013 |publisher=Money.cnn.com}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Major Internet companies}}

{{Cloud computing}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rackspace}}

Category:1998 establishments in Texas

Category:Internet technology companies of the United States

Category:Cloud computing providers

Category:Companies based in San Antonio

Category:American companies established in 1998

Category:Computer companies established in 1998

Category:Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange

Category:Web hosting

Category:2008 initial public offerings

Category:2016 mergers and acquisitions

Category:Apollo Global Management companies

Category:Companies listed on the Nasdaq

Category:2020 initial public offerings