Equinix, Inc. together with Rackspace® have announced a collaboration to offer private access to Rackspace cloud services from Equinix International Business Exchange™ (IBX®) data centers across North America. For customers who require the flexibility and elasticity of the cloud, with the enhanced security and performance characteristics of traditional hosting, Equinix will offer direct access to Rackspace dedicated data centers via direct cross connects, as well as through Equinix Cloud Exchange™, the interconnection solution that provides direct access to leading cloud providers from a single port.
"Equinix's vast global datacenter footprint and the direct network access they provide to leading cloud platforms such as Microsoft Azure is a very powerful combination. With this new collaboration, Rackspace continues to simplify interconnection to multiple clouds in a way that enables our customers to reap the full benefits of the hybrid cloud — cost savings, scalability and increased performance — in a managed and secure way," said John Engates, chief technology officer, Rackspace.
By offering direct connection to Rackspace services via Equinix Cloud Exchange, Equinix and Rackspace are empowering their customers to realize the full benefits of hybrid and multi-cloud solutions by providing access to leading cloud service providers in a secure and high-performing environment. In addition, existing Equinix customers will now be able to add Rackspace managed services to their hybrid or multi-cloud deployments. Initially, access will only be available to Microsoft® Azure™ via Rackspace, with the possibility of adding additional cloud service providers.
"Today's cloud applications require higher performance than ever before. Together with Rackspace, we are making it easier for customers to access and deploy the cloud infrastructure that makes the most sense for them. RackConnect Global inside Equinix will give our customers new hosted cloud services, and Rackspace customers will benefit from access to any cloud provider on the Cloud Exchange, thus making multi-cloud a reality," said Mark Adams, chief development officer, Equinix.
Equinix provides private, reliable connectivity from a customer's infrastructure to Rackspace, as well as to additional cloud service providers. The service is ideal for enterprise customers looking to build hybrid cloud deployments, with components hosted at Rackspace as well as others hosted externally. Direct, private access provides the performance and reliability of a private cloud with the cost benefits of the public cloud.
Rackspace services will initially be available through the Equinix Cloud Exchange platform in Chicago, Dallas, and Washington, D.C., with future expansion planned for EMEA and Asia Pacific.
Availability on the Equinix Cloud Exchange allows Rackspace to provide their customers with an agile mix of Rackspace hosted applications, such as database replication, along with the ability to build out a multi-cloud strategy via the Exchange's supported leading cloud service providers.
