Rackspace and NASA Combine to Introduce OpenStack

Posted on July 20th, 2010
A blog post by DN (1 Comment)

Hosting company Rackspace has announced the release of an open source cloud computing program, which will enable them to bring more customers to its ever growing revenue share.

The software in focus is known as OpenStack which is a joint venture between NASA and Rackspace. Since it is an open source platform, it will be free and can be modified and developed further by its users. It can be used for the creation of more clouds which would allow more efficient use of computer platforms and servers.

John Engates, Chief technology officer for Rackspace stated that the company is striving to set a new bar for the cloud computing system. An industry that is led by Amazon web services, cloud computing lets customers pay for server usage that is metered. These private cloud systems help the companies to use their internal servers more efficiently. However, Engates was of the view that there are no standard cloud programs or software, which makes it harder for companies during cloud computing expansion. He was of the view that the introduction of OpenStack would somehow level the competition with Amazon and would help Rackspace get its share of the limelight, as it is still a close second in cloud computing.

“This is a way for us to get the software out onto the marketplace and open up an opportunity for us to serve those companies in the future,” Engates stated.

The software would also help Rackspace to expand its cloud computing portfolio. Right now, cloud computing measures for only about 12% of the total earnings of the company which would be increased as OpenStack is introduced. The total earnings from the cloud computing segments were about $19 million in the first quarter which was a significant increase from 2009.

Cloud computing is clearly a growing market and OpenStack would help it grow even further told Michael Cote, Redmonk analyst. It’s certainly creating a lot of buzz in the IT sector at the moment. Although, the announcement of OpenStack is neither surprising nor something new, since there are other open cloud programs out there. But, this software has gone further than others and has the expertise of NASA which most of the others lack, said James Staten, an analyst for technology and market research company Forrester Research.

The latest software would also enable Rackspace to expand its cloud computing business, as this field is what the company has given its whole hearted fanatical support. Engates added. “We don’t really want to become a software company,” he said. “It sort of changes who we are and what we do. We want to stay close to our roots and offer technology services.”

But, Rackspace is already facing the prospect of competition from VMware which will be launching its open cloud computing software. VMware is quite famous with various companies as its products are well regarded in the market.

“The detail I’m still waiting on is who else is going to endorse Rackspace’s offering and commit to employing it,” Staten said. “If they can get a large number of commitments between now and VMware in August, they can make it really hard for VMware to unseat them.”