The Official Rackspace Blog » Pat Matthews

We’re Investing In Cloudant For NoSQL DBaaS

Pat Matthews — Tue, 14 May 2013 14:15:03 +0000

Developers want to spend time focusing on new features rather than managing their databases. This reinforces the importance of database-as-a-service (DBaaS). This is why today we’re fortifying our technology partnership with Cloudant through a strategic investment.

Boston-based Cloudant offers a managed NoSQL cloud database service that lets developers focus on new development and not on operations. That lines up perfectly with our goal at Rackspace to make developers’ lives easier.

In a world dominated by Big Data, there is a major opportunity for managed, hosted databases as more mobile and web apps move to a NoSQL model. Cloudant tackles this market segment with its highly scalable, durable and managed NoSQL DBaaS to provide a globally distributed database solution. Additionally, Cloudant natively provides full-text search through Lucene, integrated MapReduce for secondary indexes and geospatial indexing from a single data store. These capabilities give developers an extensive set of built-in, ready to use features integrated into the database, which eliminates the need for developers to operate multiple, disparate systems. On top of that, Cloudant adds around-the-clock monitoring and administration that lets its customers offload the burden of operating and scaling distributed databases.

Our goal at Rackspace is to provide developers the best tool for the job. With the number of NoSQL database variants exploding, there’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. As the database market continues to grow, we plan to support as many variants as we can to make application development easier. Earlier this year, we acquired NoSQL database provider ObjectRocket, which ramps up our support for MongoDB databases. Cloudant’s distributed NoSQL database is built on Apache CouchDB. We want to give developers a choice in which database flavor they use on the Rackspace Cloud.

At Rackspace, we are a long-time Cloudant partner. Cloudant is a Rackspace Cloud Tools partner. There are also a number of similarities in how we do business.

For example, we both know that developers want control of their infrastructure without having to manage it day-by-day, minute-by-minute. Together, we share the vision for an always-on data layer for Big Data apps that lets companies focus on innovation and on business, as opposed to keeping the lights on and managing the tools and people that make databases work. Cloudant is a natural extension of this idea of a database layer.

Rackspace and Cloudant are also working to provide enterprises the ability to run production workloads in hybrid clouds – a blend of the best of public cloud, private cloud and dedicated servers. Customers no longer want a cloud that’s one-size-fits-all. Instead, they demand a cloud that is the best fit for their business, their app and their workload.

And we both believe in the massive value of top-notch customer support.

Through this investment, we will work with Cloudant to help it grow in its service, its people and its customers – many of whom are also Rackspace customers. Cloudant wants to enable its customers to focus on building amazing applications without the worry of database headaches. We couldn’t agree more.

We’re excited to see Cloudant build out its support, service and go-to-market strategies as it continues its global expansion and help developers focus on building great applications in the cloud.

ObjectRocket Acquisition FAQ

Pat Matthews — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 12:50:10 +0000

Why did Rackspace acquire ObjectRocket?
We are committed to providing customers with the tools they need to build their businesses on top of the Rackspace Open Cloud. Databases are the core of almost any application and MongoDB is quickly becoming the de facto choice for NoSQL applications. See the blog post from Rackspace president, Lew Moorman on the rationale for investing in MongoDB here.

Put simply, we love the team and the technology they’ve built. Database architectures, especially NoSQL databases like MongoDB, pose significant challenges for performance and scalability in the cloud. ObjectRocket’s team addressed these challenges head on and their customers love them for it. They also share our values – all instances come with 24x7x365 support.

What does ObjectRocket do?
ObjectRocket makes it easy to provision and manage MongoDB instances in the cloud. Customers can choose from a variety of plans to fit their workload – from one gigabyte to multi-terabyte scale.

With ObjectRocket, you can:

Simplify provisioning: ObjectRocket provisions all the mongos servers, mongod servers, config servers, arbiters, and load balancing, including API access, SSL termination, and backups. Each instance has a fully redundant replica set, and a single shard to start. Adding more is as simple as a single click.
Deliver a fast and reliable application: The complete stack has been optimized specifically for MongoDB applications. The network stack, file system, OS kernel, and other resources have been configured to make MongoDB as fast as possible. All data is stored on redundant, blazing-fast Solid State Drives.
Scale easily: All you have to do is to choose an appropriately distributed shard key. ObjectRocket’s RocketScale™ technology will automatically add shards as space is consumed (unless you prefer to add them yourself).
Automate administration: ObjectRocket implements a rich set of tools and APIs specifically to save you time, ensure uptime, and make administration tasks easy. For example, QueryGuard allows you to create rules for protecting against long-running queries, and the RocketScale agent transparently adds shards as needed. ObjectRocket monitors all instances for connections, lag, locks, status of replicas, size, and number of queries, just to name a few things.

Will the ObjectRocket team be joining Rackspace?
Yes, we are very excited to welcome the ObjectRocket team to the Rackspace family. The company has three founders – Chris Lalonde, Erik Beebe and Kenny Gorman. They have 50+ years of experience managing databases and were the brains behind the early databases deployed at PayPal and eBay. Since early 2012, they have been focused on the performance and scalability issues related to MongoDB in a cloud environment. Most importantly, they are Rackers to the bone.

The three co-founders will relocate to Austin where they will work closely with the architects, engineers and project managers on our growing DBaaS team.

I’m a Rackspace customer, how do I use ObjectRocket?
ObjectRocket’s MongoDB will be available in our Chicago data center in early March and will soon be integrated deeply into our entire open cloud portfolio. We plan to expand this product offering to additional Rackspace data centers.

I’m an existing ObjectRocket customer, what should I expect?
ObjectRocket will continue to offer the same great service for their existing and new customers. Customers will not have to use other Rackspace products in order to use ObjectRocket. In fact, ObjectRocket leverages AWS Direct Connect to provide low latency and free bandwidth to AWS customers and will continue to be sold as a standalone service.

How will Rackspace sales people sell the ObjectRocket service to their customers?
All sales for ObjectRocket will continue to be supported by the ObjectRocket team, but we are working hard on a joint sales strategy. You can send referrals to sales@objectrocket.com at this time.

Will ObjectRocket change its name?
We thought up some really cool names, but, at this time, we don’t feel that is necessary.

How much did Rackspace pay for ObjectRocket?
We are not disclosing the financial details of the transaction.

How do I learn more and how do I sign up for the service?
For more information on ObjectRocket and how to sign up for the service, visit: www.rackspace.com/information/mediacenter/announcements/objectrocket/.

We Are Acquiring Mailgun

Pat Matthews — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 11:30:16 +0000

I am super excited to announce to the world that we’re acquiring Mailgun. Mailgun is a developer-focused mail-as-a-service company based in San Francisco. They help developers integrate email sending and receiving capabilities into websites and applications built in a cloud world. This is a huge win for Rackspace and I couldn’t be more excited to work with them.

There are two reasons why I’m so excited:

The product. Mailgun has a product that nearly all of our cloud and hosting customers need. Mail is still a core component of most websites and applications today. The developer-centric approach that the Mailgun team has taken really works. I believe our customers will be very happy with the service.
The team. Mailgun has done an amazing amount with a very small team. They bring strong thought leadership and great engineering to Rackspace – both will add tremendous value to our company.

I want to congratulate Ev, Taylor, and the Mailgun team for building something great. And I want to welcome them to the Rackspace family where we’ll be able to do more great things together.

Rackspace Acquisition FAQ

Why did Rackspace acquire Mailgun?
We are committed to providing customers with the tools they need to build their businesses on top of the Rackspace Open Cloud. The Mailgun service is an awesome addition to our product portfolio as mail is a core component of just about every website and web application on the planet. Mail is also a pain to manage and the Mailgun service will make life easier for our customers. Additionally, the Mailgun team is strong and we look forward to working with the entrepreneurs and engineers that have built Mailgun into the successful company it is today.

What does Mailgun do?
Mailgun simplifies email integration into websites and applications. Developers can easily use their powerful set of APIs to send, receive, and track email effortlessly – without managing an email server or becoming an expert in email setup, operations and deliverability.

Will the Mailgun team be joining Rackspace?
Yes, we are very excited to welcome the Mailgun team to Rackspace. These guys are going to make awesome Rackers and will add a lot of value to our San Francisco team, as well.

Will Rackspace shut down the Mailgun service?
No, Mailgun will continue to operate, grow, and thrive as a stand-alone service with the support and backing of Rackspace. We will be hard a work integrating Mailgun into the Rackspace Open Cloud but we also plan to sell it stand-alone, too.

What should Mailgun customers expect?
Mailgun customers should expect the service to evolve and improve over time.

How much did Rackspace pay for Mailgun?
We are not disclosing the financial details of the transaction.

Check out this video for more information on Mailgun:

Out with the Old, In with the New

Pat Matthews — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:21:00 +0000

For about the last ten years, most businesses have managed email in one of two main ways:

In-House Email Hosting
By purchasing server software, client software, server hardware, and an IT staff to manage it, a business can host their own email in-house.

Bundled Hosting
Other businesses use the email service that is bundled with another service, such as their domain registration. GoDaddy, for example, offers website hosting and email hosting when you sign up for their domain registration services.

But the trend is beginning to turn, as businesses are starting to move toward a new way:

Cloud Hosting
When a business chooses Rackspace Email & Apps or Google Apps to host their email, they are putting their email “in the cloud.” With cloud hosting, your data is stored online and backed up in multiple locations, and there is no server software for you to install and upgrade. You purchase the specific services you need, and you only pay for what you use.

For businesses that are currently hosting their own email in-house, there are numerous benefits of moving into the cloud. We’ve detailed them on our Top 10 Reasons page. And our Case Studies page highlights the stories of our many customers who have transitioned away from an in-house system and into the cloud, with much relief.

But we’re also seeing companies moving away from bundled services—and they’re moving away in droves. The bottom line is that, even though bundled services have a few of the same benefits of being in the cloud, the quality of their email service is often very poor. Frequent outages, terrible support, and limited features are some common complaints.

We believe in the cloud. We believe it helps businesses save money and work smarter. And since it’s sometimes intimidating for businesses to make the transition away from the “old way of doing things,” we’re putting resources into making it easier for businesses to make the transition. That’s why we released our new Migration App, so businesses can migrate mailboxes into the cloud with ease.

Are you ready to move into the cloud?

Microsoft WPC09 in New Orleans

Pat Matthews — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:51:00 +0000

Kirk Averett and I are headed to New Orleans next week for the Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference. We are excited to be participating in this year’s conference and to meet with other partners and Microsoft executives. We will be there throughout the four day event and are interested in meeting others who have interests in Microsoft Exchange and software-as-as-service. We’re actively hiring too, so if you’ve got experience with Exchange and would like to chat, drop us a line and we’ll set something up.

New Prioritization Strategy – KANO Analysis

Pat Matthews — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 11:16:42 +0000

In our never ending quest to give you exactly what you want, Mailtrust is employing new strategies to identify and prioritize our product roadmap. Developed in the 1980’s by Dr Noriaki Kano, KANO Analysis is gaining momentum among IT companies using Agile development methods. In the world of development, there are unlimited product possibilities and unlimited opinions on which products are the most important. Using KANO analysis, Product Managers have the ammo to say, “We need this feature now or we’re going to lose customers.” Mailtrust just finished our first round of KANO Analysis, asking customers two key questions:
(1) How would you feel if Mailtrust offered this new product?
(2) How would you feel if Mailtrust DID NOT offer this new product?
These answers tell us how “mandatory” future enhancements are to our current and potential customers. A typical survey might ask, “Would you like to have Active Directory synchronization?” Plenty of users would say “yes.” But KANO gives us the tools to separate those who said yes into those who must have the feature and those who wouldn’t mind having the feature. Customers that must have the feature might look to other companies if we don’t provide it. While customers that wouldn’t mind a feature are fine without it or okay with putting it on the backburner.
So far, we’ve gotten some powerful input from our users. What do our customers want? Email archiving, Active Directory synchronization, and SharePoint. Now that we know what’s most important, we can give customers the things they must have, as well as, some neat bells and whistles they wouldn’t mind having.
Want to know more about KANO? Check out a great explanation of the process or take a look at my favorite video on the subject.

Bridging the Gap…

Pat Matthews — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 09:31:00 +0000

Have you ever gotten a Product Announcement from Mailtrust and thought, “So what?” Ever wished and hoped for a new feature, but still haven’t seen it? I’m willing to bet that when this happens, you shrug and say, “Oh well.” I’m also willing to bet you wish it didn’t have to be that way.
In that case, I can help. How? Mailtrust is currently developing a Customer Advisory Board. In short, we’re inviting Mailtrust customers to have input on what Mailtrust does in the future. We’ll get feedback on things like product enhancements, problems with the current system, favorite features, etc. This is your chance to bridge that gap between you and Mailtrust. Your chance to have a direct affect on the products you spend all day using. Your chance to stop saying, “Oh well,” when we do something you don’t like.
If you feel like you’d be a valuable member of the Advisory Board, let’s talk. My name is Megan Wohlford. My email is megan.wohlford [at] mailtrust.com. I’m ready to hear your opinions if you’re ready to voice them.

Mailtrust Career Fair

Pat Matthews — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 08:30:00 +0000

How often do you get a chance to step foot in the 32nd Best Place to Work in the United States? Well, after years of attending local career fairs we figured it was finally time to have one of our very own.
We’ve grown immensely since moving into our new location in the University City Mall in Blacksburg and in doing so, our presence has become a lot stronger in the community. A lot of local “techies” have heard our name and we wanted to give them a chance to see what we’re all about. We’re opening our doors this Wednesday, October 8th from 12:00-7:00pm for students, professionals, and anyone interested in touring our office, speaking with employees, or learning more about Mailtrust.
Employees will be onsite and are excited to be able to share what Mailtrust does, what our culture means to them, and what our future looks like.
Feel free to stop by for a tour or to apply for a job. We’ll provide food to snack on, a ping pong table to play on, a slide show to watch, and Mailtrust give-aways.

Why Most Web Hosting Companies Hate Email

Pat Matthews — Thu, 29 May 2008 10:18:00 +0000

I got a good chuckle the other day while reading an article from Dreamhost, a popular web hosting company. The blog post, What Web Hosting is For, is all about email. They make the case that, while their customers buy web hosting, it’s email that their customers use more than anything—and they hate managing email for their customers. To quote them:
“Web Hosting is for email.
Stupid, boring, old, annoying, dumb, repetitive, stupid, boring, old, annoying, dumb, EMAIL.
Just over HALF of all the support requests we get are about email. Everything else we offer, combined, doesn’t add up to the amount of trouble, expense, use, and effort that goes into “simple” old email.
I have to give Dreamhost some credit here because they’re saying what many web hosting companies are really thinking. I’ve long said that web hosting companies offer email as a checklist item—something they spend very little time on. And while email hosting drives probably less than 1% of revenue for most of them, it likely drives up to 50% of support. What a bummer!
This is actually why we merged with Rackspace. They view the world differently which happened to be the same as us. They realize that IT hosting is a big part of the future and that IT starts with email. And so they’ve empowered us to maintain our focus on business-class email.
Dreamhost goes on to say that, when looking for a web host, people have:
“. . . been conditioned by Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail, and Gmail to give email no value. I mean, everybody gives it away for free… nobody gives (real) web hosting away for free.
And yet, in the end, the only thing (sadly?) that actually ends up getting used, is that “no-value” email!
They are right here, too. The only argument I’d make is that while there is real web hosting (like what they offer, I’m sure), there is real email hosting as well. Free email doesn’t cut it in the business world. In fact, one of our largest sources of new customer acquisition is from businesses that currently host email with a web hosting company that doesn’t take email seriously. While it’s typically cheap or free, sooner or later they realize they need to work with a company that does this for a living. We currently host more than 800,000 paid email accounts—so we’re obviously not the only ones that think like this. Businesses do too. Besides, why would you want to leave your most important business communication tool up to someone that doesn’t even want to host it for you?

Microsoft Exchange Moving Online

Pat Matthews — Mon, 19 May 2008 14:37:00 +0000

Microsoft continues to embrace the software-as-a-service path and has big hopes for hosted Exchange in the future. According the Radicati Group, Exchange will run about 210 million corporate email accounts in 2008, growing to 319 million mailboxes in 2012—and Microsoft says 50% of them will be hosted. Not bad. It will be interesting to see if such a big company can make this kind of strategic shift—and how much they’ll involve partners along the way.