“Rackspace strives each day to provide a world-class service experience on top of best-in-class technologies, and our new managed service offering of Google Apps for Work is a prime example,” said Taylor Rhodes, president and CEO of Rackspace. “Companies want and need a trustworthy provider to offer technical expertise and support to help them succeed with their cloud applications. This partnership is an exciting step forward in advancing the future of cloud-based office productivity and collaboration.”
Google Apps for Work at Rackspace offers small businesses and IT administrators specialised expertise including:
? Deployment Services – Delivers seamless deployment including provisioning, security configuration and mobile device management.
? Migration Services – Offers operations assistance to help customers manage the complexities associated with system migrations including DNS configuration and data transfer.
? Account Management –Provides high-quality account management services, which include utilisation and availability reporting options.
"This is an ideal time for Rackspace to announce support of Google Apps for Work, as SMBs are looking to the cloud now more than ever before to support the need for office and collaborative applications that can be accessed from anywhere,” said Chris Chute, research vice president, Global SMB Cloud and Mobility Practice at IDC. “Rackspace's focus on making SMB businesses successful through its managed cloud services and Fanatical Support team is an advantage for smaller customers who many times require this type of assistance in order to take advantage of the cloud productivity market.”
As part of this collaboration, Rackspace joined the Google for Work Partner Program as a Premier SMB Reseller. This program enables Rackspace to offer services and provide Google Apps for Work to SMBs globally. The Google Apps for Work at Rackspace offering, which is in early access, is currently available in the U.S. only and will roll out internationally in 2015.