Rackspace® has announced that it has achieved Premier Partner status as a Consulting Partner within the Amazon Web Services® (AWS) Partner Network (APN). This designation is the highest level in the APN, recognizing APN Partners that have made significant investments to develop the technical resources and AWS expertise necessary to deploy and manage customer solutions on the AWS Cloud. Customers can tap into this valuable expertise through Fanatical Support® for AWS architects and engineers, who collectively hold more than 600 AWS professional and associate certifications across the globe.

"We are pleased to recognize Rackspace as an APN Premier Consulting Partner," said Terry Wise, vice president of the Worldwide Partner Ecosystem, Amazon Web Services, Inc. "Rackspace has a well-earned reputation for customer obsession, and this has translated into consistent success in helping customers optimize their use of the AWS Cloud. Rackspace is leveraging its large body of certified and trained professional experts to help deliver outstanding customer outcomes on the AWS Cloud."

To qualify for the AWS Premier Consulting Partner tier, Partners must meet requirements that demonstrate the scale of their AWS expertise, capabilities and engagement in the AWS Ecosystem. Rackspace has been an APN Advanced Consulting Partner since the launch of Fanatical Support for AWS in October 2015. Its global base of knowledge spans all five AWS technical certifications, including Solutions Architect Associate, Developer Associate, SysOps Administrator Associate, DevOps Engineer Professional, and Solutions Architect Professional. Rackspace has also demonstrated expertise across different types of AWS workloads and has achieved AWS Competencies for DevOps and Marketing & Commerce.

"We are proud to be recognized as a Premier Consulting Partner in the APN," said Jeff Cotten, senior vice president of AWS at Rackspace. "Since the launch of Fanatical Support for AWS in late 2015, we have been focused on helping our customers maximize the value of their AWS investments by developing our expertise and capabilities on AWS. Our team has worked so hard to achieve Premier Partner status in such a short time, and we look forward to continuing to build on our ability to provide Fanatical Support for AWS to our customers."