Rackspace Email & Apps Blog

All Posts for November, 2009

Say Hello to Rackspace Cloud Drive & Rackspace Server Backup

Nov 17th, 2009 in Company News, Product Enhancements by Cameron Nouri

Every day, Rackspace customers experience the benefits of having their IT in the cloud. By entrusting their IT to our team of experts, our customers are able to focus on their core business, instead of being distracted by IT headaches. We love hearing from our customers and how happy they are with us and our Fanatical Support®.

So, we’re particularly excited to announce the launch of two new Apps designed to help businesses work even more efficiently. With Rackspace Cloud Drive and Rackspace Server Backup, businesses can now organize, backup, and share their files in the cloud—securely, and backed by our 24×7x365 Fanatical Support. Here are the details:

Rackspace Cloud Drive is essentially an online hard drive—a hard drive that is in the cloud. Your Cloud Drive allows you to access and store files online, via a network drive on your computer. It works across Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems without any additional hardware. Yet the Cloud Drive offers more than just online file storage, online file backup, and online file sharing—with Rackspace Cloud Drive, you get access to powerful features that help you take advantage of the cloud:

Store and share files between other employees and/or team members
Synchronize folders across one or more computers
Use Rackspace Team Sync to ensure that team members are always working with the most recent version of a file
Set up automatic backups of your data to the Rackspace Cloud and easily restore that data in the event of a hardware failure
Secure your data with built-in AES-256 encryption, using a key controlled by the user

Get Rackspace Cloud Drive for $4/user/month, which includes 10 GB of storage space in the cloud. If you are a current customer, you can have your administrator add users via the Upgrade section in the Control Panel. If you are not a customer yet, you can learn more and sign up online.

Rackspace Server Backup enables you to automatically backup your Windows or Linux based server data to the cloud. Chances are, if you have a server in your closet, you also have backups running on that server already, most likely with a tape backup. Every few days or couple of weeks you have to go into the server closet and switch out the old tape for a new tape. Sound familiar? It can be a painful, manual process.

Using Rackspace Server Backup, you can toss all those tapes out and not have to worry about your server backups or data backup software anymore.

You can get Rackspace Server Backup for $5/server/month, which includes 10GB of storage space in the cloud. If you are a current customer, you can have your administrator add Rackspace Server Backup licenses via the Upgrade section in the Control Panel. If you are not a customer yet, you can learn more and sign up online.

Leave a Comment

Rackspace Email: New Features in Webmail

Nov 16th, 2009 in Product Enhancements by Manny DeJesus

Some Rackspace Webmail releases have themes or a singular focus. For example, this past summer we worked on significant speed improvements and had a “Speed Release.”

Other times we release a list of features that are a) requested by customers, b) overdue and/or c) just pretty damn cool…

Our latest release was the latter. Here are the highlights:

Compose Window Pop-In
Speed is critical in web-based apps and Compose/Send is critical in email clients. So creating an improved and faster way of sending emails was a no-brainer. For users who love the flexibility of a pop-up compose window, but have been slaves to browser rendering, this pop-in is definitely for you. Give it a try.

Improved Address Auto-Complete
The auto-complete function for addressing emails is bigger, faster and smarter. It can store an unlimited amount of contacts and even remembers addresses not stored in your Contacts List. It also prioritizes the recipients you email a lot – over those you don’t.

Keyboard Shortcuts
Enable keyboard shortcuts in your Webmail Settings and never use your mouse again! Well, maybe not never, but Keyboard Shortcuts do allow you to perform many popular email actions from the keyboard alone.

“No Attachment” and “No Subject” Alerts
This new feature automatically detects a variation of the word “attachment” in your email and alerts you if no file is attached. Similarly for the Subject; an empty Subject field will prompt an alert. Both features can be toggled on/off in Webmail Settings.

Right-Click to Create Email Filters
Quickly create email filters right from your inbox. Simply right-click on a message to bring up the “Add New Filter” menu.

Invites can Send to Groups
A life-saver for all you project manager-types… Create a Group within Contacts that you consistently schedule meetings with (say “Developers”) and simply send an invite to that Group for future pow-wows.

Do you have a Webmail Idea?
Check out our Rackspace Webmail BETA to submit any and all feedback you may have… in addition to previewing new features before they’re released.

Log-in today: https://apps.rackspace.com/beta

Leave a Comment

Does your company deliver great service? We want to recognize you!

Nov 12th, 2009 in Company News by Cameron Nouri

Here at Rackspace, we’ve built a reputation based on service, known to our customers as Fanatical Support®, our anytime, anywhere, any way approach to customer service. And we know we’re not the only ones who put customer needs first. That’s why we created The FANATI in 2007 to recognize one of our customers for valuing customer service as much as we do.

For three years now, Rackspace has awarded The FANATI to the one customer who best demonstrates ‘Fanatical Support’ when it comes to their customers. And this year is no different.

We are now accepting applications for the 2009 FANATI® Award for Outstanding Customer Service.

This year we are introducing a new formation for the application. No longer is it just a written application answering a bunch of questions. This year we want to make it personal and with a touch of creativity. That is why we are only accepting video applications! All our customers need to do is create a short (less than five minutes) video explaining what they do and how they exemplify outstanding customer service. It should be interesting none the less.

So if you’re a customer, and you think your customer service is pretty good…award winning even…then we would love to hear from you.

You can learn more and apply for The FANATI through our online application.

Have any questions? Leave us a comment below with your question and we’ll be sure to answer them.

1 Comment

Rackspace Listens!…no really, we’re serious

Nov 12th, 2009 in Culture by Michael Ferranti

We’ve got a Nintendo Wii in the break room here at the Rackspace Blacksburg, VA office. We’ve even got a wicked ax for rocking out to Guitar Hero. But the reason that everyone was gathered in there yesterday was to watch our CEO, Lanham Napier, on Fox Business News. He told the Rackspace story to thousands of viewers. He told people what a ‘Racker’ is. He got called a ‘Gutsy Texan’ by Liz Claman. It was a great interview.

One point that he made several times was that Rackspace is different from the competition like Google because of our Fanatical Support. We don’t just provide commodity apps, we partner with businesses to run their IT so they can save money and work smarter.

Part of what all that means is that we actually listen to customers. If you fill out a survey to help us learn how we can better meet your needs, we actually review your feedback.

I read over a really great survey from a customer yesterday. His company is growing rapidly. They provide a free innovative budgeting tool called BudgetSketch. Long story short, BudgetSketch got mentioned on the popular personal productivity site Lifehacker.com and when a lot of customers signed up they exceeded their daily Gmail email limit.

When I read about this, and about how happy this customer was with his new Rackspace Email service (set up at 2am by our transition team, by the way), I wrote him a note saying how happy we were that his site was succeeding and offered to chat if there was anything else we could do to help him succeed as BudgetSketch keeps growing.

Here’s how that customer responded:

Hello Michael,

It is always refreshing when a company takes time to follow-up with something more than a form letter. That’s our philosophy too. We personally respond to every feedback submission we receive. Clearly you took the time to read my survey submission and it is clear that your intent is to help us grow BudgetSketch. We appreciate that very much also.

…….

Thanks again for your follow-up. You guys are doing a lot of things right and we appreciate your efforts very much.

Keep up the great work,

Bill Barnett
Vice President – Finagilous LLC

This is what real partnerships look like. We want our customers to succeed and we listen when they tell us something…good or bad. To Bill and all the customers who have responded to our surveys, Thank You. We’ve heard you and are doing our best to help your business grow. If there’s anything else we can do, please let us know.

Leave a Comment

Introducing… the Rackspace Rescue Plan for Zimbra Customers

Nov 10th, 2009 in Company News, Email & Apps Industry by Cameron Nouri

Recently it was reported that Yahoo is looking to sell Zimbra, a software development company focused on building open-source email and collaboration software—an attempt at a Microsoft Exchange alternative, if you will. Many look at this as a good move for Yahoo, as they look to focus on their core strategy as a media company.

But what does this mean for Zimbra’s 50 million users and customers? For those facing uncertainty, we’d like to offer some help. So today, we are introducing The Rackspace Rescue Plan for Zimbra customers, and we will be running with this until the fate of Zimbra is decided. We want to make it easy to move to Rackspace email services, for those who might be interested in moving off Zimbra’s platform.

Here’s what we are offering with our Rescue Plan:

Free Microsoft Exchange or Rackspace Email for three months
Free email migration performed by our migration experts
Fanatical Support® around the clock, as always

Interested in taking advantage of this opportunity? Give us a call, email us, or chat with us and let us know you’d like to take advantage of our Rescue Plan. We will walk you through all the steps to make this a painless transition and help you find some relief during this uncertain time.

The Fine Print

Rackspace will waive the monthly fee for three months for each Microsoft Exchange or Rackspace Email mailbox that is purchased as a part of this promotion. Customers will be asked to submit a form, along with proof that your domain was using Zimbra (i.e., a pdf/screenshot of a Zimbra account, a receipt or invoice for service). And of course, we reserve the right to end this promotion at any time.

Leave a Comment

Learn About the Facts & Fiction of Hosted Email

Nov 9th, 2009 in Email & Apps Industry by Cameron Nouri

We are excited to partner up with the team over at Spiceworks to put on a webinar focused on the truth behind hosted email. The webinar is scheduled for Tuesday, November 17, 2009 from 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM CST. This is meant to be an informative session that will aim to present objective information and data to help those out there who are trying to sort through the facts behind hosted email.

You can learn more about the webinar and sign up for it online.

Leave a Comment

Why Philosophy Matters (for business and you)

Nov 6th, 2009 in Tips & Advice by Michael Ferranti

Philosophy is important. It changes history because big ideas lead to big actions. Some of the most transformative political movements in history started as a purely philosophical project.

The closest thing to philosophy in business is a company’s mission statement. These statements lay out a vision of what the company wants to be, not just what it is. One can use a firm’s mission statement to learn about the company and its competencies beyond what’s contained in its product offering.

Flying high?

Compare the mission statements of Delta and Southwest Airlines. First Delta:

We—Delta’s employees, customers, and community partners together form a force for positive local and global change, dedicated to bettering standards of living and the environment where we and our customers live and work.

Now Southwest:

The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit.

Everyone knows that Southwest is widely regarded as a great U.S. airline; Delta is not. Could one deduce this from their mission statements? Of course! What the heck does “bettering standards of living and the environment” have to do with an airline? In short, nothing. It’s a noble goal and I applaud any company that embraces social responsibility among their goals. But as the central theme of their mission? How does that win customers and build enterprise value? This mission statement shows a lack of focus that might partially explain why Delta is in the financial trouble it is.

Southwest’s mission on the other hand is clear, to the point and makes sense in the context of their industry. One normally does not think of low-cost carriers as great service companies, but Southwest’s “disruptive technology” was service—so focusing on that element, rather than simply on cost or speed of service is reasonable, and differentiating.

Try before you buy

The take-away from this brief comparison is that, as a customer, an easy way to “try before you buy” is to look at the company’s mission statement. Does the statement provide a clear picture of how the business creates value? If the company does everything it says it will do, will you win? If the answer to these questions is not “yes,” then you may need to think about going with a different company. When the philosophy is not compelling, can you expect big actions are a result?

At Rackspace, we take philosophy seriously. It’s a part of everything we do here and drives our decision making process every day. So what’s our mission here at Rackspace? To state it simply — our mission is to be recognized as one of the world’s greatest service companies.

Learn more about how we are delivering on our mission at Rackspace.

2 Comments

[Launch] Self-Service Email Migrations Performed In the Cloud

Nov 4th, 2009 in Product Enhancements by Cameron Nouri

We’re always looking for ways to make it easier for businesses to move into the cloud. That’s why we’re proud to announce our new do-it-yourself Migration App.

With the Migration App, customers can copy their email data from their previous email servers to our Rackspace Email or Microsoft Exchange messaging platforms. The Migration App is located in the customer Control Panel and is completely self-service, walking the customer through the process step-by-step.

Here are some highlights:

Migrate from your own internal email servers or from other hosted servers.
Migrate from Exchange servers and POP/IMAP servers. We’ve even added settings for popular email services that we see customers migrating from, such as GoDaddy.
Create multiple migrations, including customized migrations for specifics sets of mailboxes.
Schedule your migration for a date and time that work best for you.
When the migration begins, email data will begin transferring automatically, without any additional effort on your part.
View migration progress online and receive email alerts.
Save migration details, so that you can review the migration report at any time.

Our Migration App will guide you through the process and includes helpful information along the way. And, of course, our Fanatical Support® team is here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, if you need any help.

Please note, if your business has advanced requirements that require a manual migration, our dedicated transition team can build a custom migration plan and manage the entire process for you. Please contact us to learn more.

Want to get started?

For current customers, the Migration App can be accessed within our Control Panel, under Domains -> Tools -> Migrations.

If you are not a current customer, what are you waiting for? Isn’t it time for your business to get in the cloud?

2 Comments

Connect With Us