Rackspace Hosting announces general availability of Cloud Servers for Windows

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 12:35:00 GMT

Rackspace Hosting (NYSE: RAX), the world's leading specialist in hosting and cloud computing, has announced the general availability of its Cloud Servers for Windows offering. The new service delivers a highly scalable environment ideal for Windows-based hosting, testing and developing applications and supporting the high levels of traffic required for launching online gaming platforms or the next social networking phenomenon.

Designed for small to medium businesses, .NET developers, system administrators, IT Pros, and current Rackspace customers, Cloud Servers for Windows features include:
- Custom configurations with full administrator access
- Ability to upgrade server size on-demand
- Add or delete servers on the fly
- Rescue mode
- Management via the Rackspace Cloud Control Panel and the Cloud Servers API
- Ability to add additional IP addresses
- Pay only for what you use with a utility payment model with hourly billing; no contracts or upfront costs
- Backups and Snapshots to Cloud Files™ (coming soon)
- Enterprise-class SLAs
- Support for a broad array of the latest Microsoft Windows Server Images including: Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Edition 64-bit; Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 Enterprise Edition 64-bit; Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 Enterprise Edition 32-bit; Windows Server 2003 R2 Service Pack 2 Enterprise Edition 64-bit and Windows Server 2003 R2 Service Pack 2 Enterprise Edition 32-bit

"Microsoft is committed to delivering a broad set of enterprise-ready products and services that build on the existing capabilities and skill sets of service providers like Rackspace," said John Zanni, general manager of Worldwide Hosting for the Communications Sector at Microsoft Corp. "As a long time partner of one of the industry’s top cloud hosting providers, we are excited that Rackspace's Cloud Servers for Windows offering has exited beta and is now available to the thousands of businesses that have built their infrastructure around Microsoft Windows and Microsoft .NET technologies."

SpaBooker, a SaaS scheduling and point-of-sale (POS) application specifically designed for the spa, salon and wellness industry, utilizes Rackspace's hybrid solution by using managed dedicated servers in addition to their cloud computing solution, Cloud Servers for Windows. Daniel Lizio-Katzen, SpaBooker Managing Director, states: "When we set out to look for a cloud computing solution, we didn't hesitate to look at Rackspace Cloud first as we've been very pleased with the high level of support received from their managed dedicated servers. Rackspace Cloud Servers has been the ideal solution to separate our actual application from our public facing website. We currently have our entire staging environment running on the Cloud Servers for Windows Beta and the overall ease of use has been phenomenal. The cost savings compared to traditional dedicated hosting are also substantial."

"We're constantly looking for ways to increase the flexibility and choice customers can find with Rackspace Hosting After several months of successful beta testing with hundreds of customers, we’re excited to remove the beta label and offer Cloud Servers for Windows to the market," said Pat Matthews, VP and GM of Cloud Hosting, Rackspace. "We believe this product will be attractive to new Rackspace customers as well as those we are already serving."

The service provides a full suite of features supported by the industry’s leading Service Level Agreement (SLA) and Rackspace’s hallmark customer service, Fanatical Support. Pricing currently begins at $0.08 an hour for 1GB RAM and 40GB disk.

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SCC leads the national conversation on consumerisation of IT

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 10:32:16 GMT

Technology integrator SCC has called upon the UK's leading companies to join the national conversation surrounding the consumerisation of IT or risk missing the benefits of one of the biggest challenges to face British business since the high-tech revolution began.

Responding to the growing trend for users to bring web enabled gadgets such as laptops, smart phones and iPads into the workplace, Europe's largest independent technology solutions provider is encouraging companies to accelerate their discussions around this issue as a matter of urgency. With instant messaging and social networking fast becoming a staple of 21st Century office culture, SCC believes that firms need to actively explore their options without delay, to avoid any potential pitfalls.

"We know UK businesses are ready to do more than just talk about this issue because it’s on the agenda of every CIO we speak to. The consumerisation of IT is already happening in the workplace and it's happening in every company right now. There are many fundamental questions that organisations have to consider. For example, do they know how many staff-owned smart phones, iPads and laptops are already on their networks and do they know what they're doing on them? These are big questions and there are compelling reasons as to why it is necessary to know the answers," said James Rigby, UK MD, SCC.

The consumerisation of IT, which is the process that brings personal productivity and social networking elements - both hardware and software - into the workplace environment, is a hot topic. The most recent available Gartner research says it is an issue that needs to be understood so business IT can cope with the demands placed on its networks today and in the future. As consumer technologies increasingly penetrate the workplace, organisations must have a strategy that copes with consumer email and communication services like instant messaging (IM) and voice over IP (VoIP); blogs, social networks and other web 2.0 services; unmanaged mobile devices; network management and remote connectivity.

The generation currently entering the workforce now regard such technologies as part of everyday life and as a result SCC is working with major brands to create an opportunity from this challenge. The company, which unveiled its cutting-edge Desktop as a Service offering in April - with the first UK demonstration of virtual desktop technology using the iPad, now reports that forward thinking companies are exploring ways to meet the issue head on by subsidising employee laptops - wrapping business and productivity benefits together with a desirable staff benefits package.

Meanwhile, the company points out that the major issues driving the IT industry today are part of a bigger consumerisation picture. Whether considering virtualisation, Desktop as a Service, cloud computing, VDI, Windows 7 or collaboration - each represents aspects of the consumerisation of IT and all need to be wrapped into an organisation’s vision for its business strategy.

"The consumerisation of IT is happening all around us, but it is a cultural movement that is still developing so nobody has all the answers. At SCC, we're confident we have mapped out the right path to take organisations confidently into the future, turning a challenge into a competitive differentiator. We've got 35 years’ experience of analysing new technologies, mastering their implementation and delivering commercial benefits, so our response to the evolving landscape is well underway.

“We’ve been running practical workshops with our customers in order to highlight the range of issues presented by consumerisation that need to be pulled together and considered. Of course this is not just about technology, it’s about considering the wider implications involving Human Resources and Finance amongst oth

SCC says getting virtualisation right is critical to future of desktop environments

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 11:37:20 GMT

Leading technology integrator SCC has said that companies face a key strategic decision that they must either get right or face missing out on the potential benefits of virtualisation projects.

The statement follows reports that many server and desktop virtualisation projects are failing to meet their objectives. Responding to claims that only four per cent of UK customers are achieving the expected ROI from virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) installations, Europe's largest independent technology solutions provider believes that IT departments must proceed carefully to avoid making similar mistakes.

"Companies across the UK are facing one of the biggest decisions of the decade as they consider the long overdue upgrade to Windows 7. If they take the right path they'll get the desktop of the future, but if they get it wrong they will be on the verge of making a hugely expensive mistake," said Rhys Sharp, Chief Technology Officer at SCC.

Latest survey results indicate that some 48% of IT decision makers remain uncertain or unconvinced by the returns on recently implemented virtualisation projects, with many believing that the potential ROI from such implementations has been overstated. According to the market leading technology group however, those customers finding it difficult to achieve the ROI promised by vendors are, in the main, not taking the long term strategic view required to make a success of the virtualisation journey.

"This is not a simple case of looking at savings over one or two years - you've got to consider the refresh costs of your entire infrastructure. It's all about getting the journey right, and there's no doubt that if you approach a £1million to £2million upgrade project with VDI already deployed, the migration costs could be 70%-90% less," said Sharp.

"The move towards virtualisation is one of the defining moments of desktop infrastructure, and if you don't get it right you will miss out on a huge opportunity. It has never been so important to get the right partners in to help you decide what services you need to maximise the potential benefits of these accelerating technologies."

SCH Distribution named VMWare Distributor of the Year 2009

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:00:25 GMT

SCH Distribution has been named ‘VMware Distributor of the Year' at the prestigious VMware Channel Awards.

Voted ‘Best VMware Distributor in the UK’ at a gala dinner in London this week, the judging panel praised SCH Distribution (SCHd) for its winning combination of a value-driven approach, broad customer base and end-to-end virtualisation capabilities. Recognising the company's pre-eminent position in the UK channel, the distribution specialist's track record and market leading distribution capabilities were pivotal in securing the nomination. It is VMware’s first award to a Distributor.

Paul Eccleston, SCH Group Director responsible for distribution, said:

"We are delighted to have won this award, which underlines the leading position that SCH Distribution holds in the UK marketplace. Having invested heavily in virtualisation technologies ahead of the adoption curve, this emphasises our ability to help resellers deliver complete solutions irrespective of the scale and timeframe involved."

As a strategic VMware partner, SCH Distribution - operating through its market leading brands ETC, Interchange, Interface Solutions and IQ Sys - was one of the first to adopt a new competency framework announced by VMware earlier this year. Intended to differentiate its reseller network, the new framework is designed to encompass, reward and distinguish partners as virtualisation experts.

The award underpins SCH Distribution's value approach in delivering channel enablement involving sales, technical and marketing capabilities, particularly around desktop and server virtualisation. Last month, the group was also named ‘Best Citrix Distributor UK / Ire / SA’ at the prestigious Citrix Select Awards, for the fourth year running.

“These two awards highlight our strategic commitment to grow our distribution business to be THE Specialist Distributor. As we are seeing an explosion of growth around applications, server and desktop virtualisation, VMware plays a key role in our long term strategy to continuously evolve and grow our capabilities around all leading and new technologies," added Paul Eccleston.

Notes to editor:

Image, left to right:

Matthew Piercy, VMware Senior Director, Northern Europe

John Churchhouse, VMware Senior Manager, Partner Organisation

Sarah Deller, SCHd Sales Director, Enterprise Software

Paul Eccleston, SCH Group Director responsible for distribution

Lynda Edwards, SCHd VMware Vendor Manager

Andy Hunt, VP EMEA Partner Organisation, VMware

Jon Kane, Distribution Manager, UK & Ireland, VMware

SCH Distribution highlights importance of partnerships in the evolving IT reseller marketplace

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 09:38:58 GMT

Leading specialist technology distributor, SCH Distribution, has called on IT resellers to continue embracing a more collaborative approach to business as the industry adopts new models, in a bid to remain profitable in a rapidly changing and increasingly competitive marketplace.

Recognising that concern over falling revenues and a sector-wide squeeze on profitability has motivated many companies to explore a partnership-based approach to market, SCH Distribution believes that resellers must continue working more closely with distributors and expert technology enablers in order to continue delivering profit-making, best of breed services and solutions to customers.

"There have been a lot of drivers pushing for change. Resellers are finding customers putting greater pressure on them to make better use and get more out of their existing IT, while at the same time responding to the increasing customer demands for virtualisation solutions and energy efficient IT." said Sean Fane, Managing Director, IQ-Sys.

As the technology industry continues to mature, the complexity and range of platform options available is making it increasingly difficult to profit from standalone propositions. Profitability is the main challenge and increasingly resellers are tackling the problem by working with partners who can provide them with the enhanced scale and expertise they need.

SCH Distribution currently works with, for and as a number of IT resellers, providing specialist expertise, competencies and logistics, particularly around desktop and server virtualisation solutions. The group can combine best of breed vendor relationships - not just across hardware platforms including IBM, HP, Fujitsu and Sun, but market leading positions with Citrix and VMware - to help resellers grow market share.

"Supporting partners on major projects and working with them to provide delivery is just the beginning. Increasingly, we are working in partnership with our resellers to provide pre and post sales support, marketing and vendor enablement.” added Sean.

Over 90% of the UK's servers are not yet virtualised and over the next three to five years the majority of customers will not only refresh but look to optimise their IT infrastructure. This means a massive opportunity for those resellers who embrace partnership and collaboration to accelerate their ability to deliver solutions.

Top Articles Tagged with virtualisation

Rackspace Hosting announces general availability of Cloud Servers for Windows

SCC leads the national conversation on consumerisation of IT

SCC says getting virtualisation right is critical to future of desktop environments

SCH Distribution named VMWare Distributor of the Year 2009

SCH Distribution highlights importance of partnerships in the evolving IT reseller marketplace