OREANDA-NEWS. Rackspace®(NYSE: RAX) today announced ahead of the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference that it will offer companies in the Rackspace Partner Network the ability to resell and refer both Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Office 365 from Rackspace as a 2-Tier Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (CSP). This new offering will allow channel partners to deliver Azure and Office 365 to their customers, while receiving industry-leading Fanatical Support® from Rackspace.

The Microsoft CSP program extends to organizations that have the resources and expertise to manage customers' application life cycles with Microsoft Cloud Services, including direct billing, provisioning, management and support. Rackspace launched Fanatical Support for Office 365 in May 2015 and Fanatical Support for Azure in July 2015 as a 1-Tier Microsoft CSP. These offerings allow customers to take advantage of Rackspace expertise, guidance and support on both platforms, so they can focus on innovating their core business.

Now, as one of less than 10 hosting providers globally enabled with 2-Tier distribution across the entire Microsoft cloud suite, Rackspace will expand the reach of its Fanatical Support on both platforms by offering Microsoft technology acumen and operational expertise to its extensive partner ecosystem. These companies will be able to utilize 24x7x365 Fanatical Support for Office 365 and Azure, including customer migration and deployment assistance, support escalations, a dedicated reseller program team and support for sales and marketing.

"As a leading managed cloud company, Rackspace strives to provide the best expertise and service across the world's leading clouds -- including a broad selection of Microsoft products," said Blake Wetzel, VP of channel sales at Rackspace. "We have seen strong demand and positive feedback from customers for Fanatical Support for Office 365 and Microsoft Azure, and Rackspace is excited to extend our support for both platforms to our broad channel community. Together, Rackspace and our partners can continue to help customers get the most out of Office 365 and Azure during this time of unprecedented growth in the cloud industry."

By reselling Azure and Office 365 directly from Rackspace, partners will have access to benefits including:

  • Microsoft Expertise - With 14 years of collaboration with Microsoft, and as the only five-time Microsoft Hosting Partner of the Year, Rackspace has deep expertise in supporting Microsoft technologies. A global support team with hundreds of Microsoft Certified Professionals is available to support partners and their customers.
  • Fanatical Support - Companies in the Rackspace Partner Network have 24x7x365 access to Rackspace industry-leading service, branded Fanatical Support, as well as Microsoft premiere support escalations, a feature that is typically cost-prohibitive for businesses that operate at a smaller scale.
  • Bundles and Hybrid Capabilities - Resellers can create unique product packages for customers with additional complementary products and services from Rackspace including Microsoft Private Cloud, Microsoft SharePoint and Microsoft Exchange.
  • Flexible Offers and Opportunities - Rackspace provides these companies with flexibility related to setting margins, bundling and establishing recurring compensation streams.

The Rackspace Reseller and Referral Program for Fanatical Support for Azure and Office 365 is available to all partners in the US. The Rackspace Reseller and Referral Program for Fanatical Support for Azure is also available to all partners in the EU/EFTA. To learn more about the features and capabilities for each product, visit http://go.rackspace.com/microsoft-COF_MSA_WPC.html. To connect with Rackspace at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, see a list of speaking sessions and booth location on the Rackspace Blog at http://blog.rackspace.com/reselling-office-365-rackspace.

Supporting Quotes:

"Rackspace has already proven that its management for hosted products is superior to other vendors we have tested, and the company's Reseller and Referral Program for Office 365 is no different," said Tanner Fox, lead PC tech at Consolidated Telecom, Inc. "The fact that everything can be consolidated into one portal and is easy to setup and deploy makes this offering very convenient. This ease-of-use combined with Fanatical Support creates a win-win situation for anyone looking at getting into the cloud hosting market."

"By reselling Office 365 and Microsoft Azure from Rackspace directly to our customers, Forget Computers can provide our clients a streamlined experience from billing to support, while utilizing Microsoft expertise and Fanatical Support from Rackspace," said Ben Greiner, president at Forget Computers, an early access partner in the program. "Rackspace helps reduce the complexity of offering Office 365 and Microsoft Azure at scale, through unmatched operational guidance, training opportunities and premiere escalation support for our customers. This level of partner support plays a huge role in allowing Forget Computers to effectively deliver these Microsoft solutions to our clients."