Rackspace Hosting Embraces Cloud Developers with Rackspace Cloud Plug-In for Microsoft Visual Studio 2010

New Set of Tools Allows .NET Developers to Easily Build on Rackspace Cloud Servers™ for Windows

SAN ANTONIO – September 8th , 2010 – Rackspace® Hosting (NYSE: RAX), the world’s leading specialist in the hosting and cloud computing industry, today announced the Rackspace Cloud Plug-In for Microsoft Visual Studio 2010, a Visual Studio toolkit that enables the 6 million .NET developers worldwide to seamlessly extend development and deployment to Rackspace Cloud Servers™ for Windows. This unique set of tools allows developers to deploy applications written with Visual Studio tools directly to Rackspace’s cloud infrastructure. The toolkit significantly reduces deployment and provisioning time and provides users with a single cloud management portal.

With this new Rackspace Cloud Plug-In for Visual Studio 2010, developers will be fully aware of everything going on with their cloud server instances when they are developing or deploying an application, thus reducing overall complexity and errors by providing a layer of automation not possible without integration. The toolkit provides a new level of abstraction, making it easier and faster than ever for .NET developers to create and deploy applications to Cloud Servers for Windows. Additional application programming interface (API) features of the Rackspace Cloud Plug-In for Visual Studio 2010 include the ability to:

• Launch, reboot and fully control all servers
• Rebuild servers from images and create custom images
• Schedule application backups
• Upsize and scale server configurations as needed
• Manage and share IP addresses

“Rackspace has again demonstrated it is a key player in the cloud by providing the entire MSDN community and all .NET developers a way to quickly develop, deploy and manage cloud applications written in a development environment familiar to them.” said Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president of the Developer Division at Microsoft Corp. “This effort highlights the openness of Visual Studio and Microsoft’s unique position within the cloud computing ecosystem, as both a partner to other cloud providers and a cloud provider itself. The Rackspace Plug-In for Visual Studio 2010 toolkit is intended to help with developers looking for an easier way to deploy their applications, websites and blogs to the cloud.”

Available through a single-download to Rackspace Cloud Servers for Windows users, the Rackspace Cloud Plug-In for Visual Studio 2010 provides .NET developers with a variety of templates and plug-ins that effectively make the developer platform a one-stop-shop for total cloud deployment and management. Built by Neudesic, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, the toolkit for Visual Studio 2010 is designed to eliminate the need for managing separate cloud and application environments by providing developers a full view of their environment.

“We’re committed to making development for the Rackspace Cloud as easy and intuitive as possible, and nothing makes more sense than giving developers the ability to manage their cloud from within the Visual Studio platform they’re already so accustomed to,” said Pat Matthews, VP and GM of Cloud, Rackspace. “By partnering with Neudesic and Microsoft, we hope to help the vast MSDN community streamline and simplify its deployment and management of applications on the cloud. This new toolkit will eliminate the need to toggle back and forth between the development platform and a separate cloud management panel, and save developers precious time.”

To download the Rackspace Cloud Plug-In for Visual Studio 2010, users need only to establish a Rackspace Cloud Servers for Windows account and then follow the steps to download the kit. Cloud Servers for Windows delivers a highly scalable environment ideal for Windows-based hosting, testing and developing of applications, and for supporting the high levels of traffic required for launching online gaming platforms or the next social networking phenomenon. For more information on Cloud Servers for Windows and the new Rackspace Cloud Plug-In for Visual Studio 2010, please visit: http://bit.ly/c7o42C.

About Rackspace Hosting

Rackspace Hosting is the world’s leading specialist in the hosting and cloud computing industry. The San Antonio-based company provides Fanatical Support (r) to its customers, across a portfolio of IT services, including Managed Hosting and Cloud Computing. For more information, visit www.rackspace.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If such risks or uncertainties materialize or such assumptions prove incorrect, the results of Rackspace Hosting could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including any statements concerning expected development, performance or market acceptance associated with Cloud Servers for Windows and Rackspace Cloud Plug-In for Visual Studio 2010; anticipated operational and financial benefits from Cloud Servers for Windows or Rackspace Cloud Plug-In for Visual Studio 2010; any statements of expectation or belief; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include including the possibility that expected benefits from Cloud Servers for Windows or Rackspace Cloud Plug-In for Visual Studio 2010 may not materialize because this product is not generally accepted in the marketplace, which could occur due to certain factors including (i) a failure to market the product cost effectively, differentiate the product from competitive products or communicate differentiations effectively, (ii) the reliability, quality or compatibility associated with the product, (iii) changes in technology which adversely affect the product’s benefit, (iv) slowdowns in the general economy or technology industry that impact consumer spending habits, (v) internal strategy decisions that impact the product, and (vi) other risks that are described in Rackspace Hosting’s Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2010, filed with the SEC on August 9, 2010. Except as required by law, Rackspace Hosting assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

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The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

For more information, please contact:

Rackspace Hosting
Christina Cantalini
210.312.4593
Christina.cantalini@rackspace.com
Rackspace Speaks to Microsoft About Visual Studio

Rackspace Hosting Embraces Cloud Developers with Rackspace Cloud Plug-In for Microsoft Visual Studio 2010

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