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Cloud Reportby Jeffrey Schwartz, Executive Editor
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Rackspace Taps Partner To Build OpenStack Private Clouds
When Rackspace launched Rackspace Cloud: Private Edition last year, the goal was to allow enterprises to build clouds based on OpenStack in their own datacenters or in collocation facilities of their choices. But Rackspace has determined that some customers, while they like the idea, don't want to do it themselves.
Its remedy is a partnership announced Wednesday with Redapt, a solution provider with expertise in OpenStack that deploys private clouds. Rackspace has established Redapt as its partner of choice for such work, due to its work with such companies as Zynga, Citigroup and Red Hat. Redapt is also an established Dell partner.
Redapt will configure and install hardware equipped with the open source OpenStack cloud computing, storage and networking platform. The integrator will provide the implementation, testing and configuration at its various MergeCenters located in North America and Europe. Then Redapt will ship the hardware to the customer's datacenter or collocation facility and subsequently offer around-the-clock operations support.
I asked Jim Curry, general manager of Rackspace Cloud Builders, if this was the first of many partners that the company would be announcing. But it seems as though Redapt will be the only one for the foreseeable future.
"I don't anticipate we need other partners today," Curry said. "We intend to continue to expand our offering and my guess is they will want to expand with us. We are very happy and think they can meet the demand and the needs we see from customers today."
In other words, there won't be a broad ecosystem of SIs deploying and managing Rackspace Cloud Builders, though Curry didn't rule out offering customers other options or the possibility of giving more partners the opportunity to offer private clouds from Rackspace. But it doesn't seem to be in the cards anytime soon.
Posted by Jeffrey Schwartz on February 15, 2012