Rackspace case study

Rackspace Technology is a global cloud computing services pioneer, delivering the innovative capabilities of cloud products and services to help customers build new revenue streams, increase efficiency, and create incredible experiences. The company leverages Microsoft Azure cloud technologies to solve customers’ greatest business challenges.

Rackspace goes beyond simple migration assistance and infrastructure management with cloud managed services, professional services, and managed application services that enable customers to complete digital transformation. It has a proven record of designing, building, and managing end-to-end solutions that are scalable and optimize customers’ returns on IT investments into the future.

Using data to predict the future

As the needs of customers for business intelligence developed beyond the capabilities of descriptive analytics-driven dashboards and reporting, Rackspace ramped up its practice in analytics and AI. With advanced analytics, AI, and machine learning, Rackspace helps customers use historical data to see beyond the present point in time to understand and predict what’s going to happen in the future.

“We’re doing more now in the natural language processing AI space, especially in the COVID-19 crisis,” said Ryan Ries, Practice Director of Data Science and Engineering at Rackspace. “Many banks and other organizations are closed, so they’re looking for ways to continue providing consistent customer support. We see more chatbots come into play as companies try to figure out: what is the new normal?”

Rackspace accelerates the value customers get out of their data by using modern data analytics frameworks, combined with deep technical and business process expertise at scale, and backed with managed services and automation for increased process efficiency and continuous optimization. In the supply chain, for example, Rackspace solutions help customers forecast buyer trends and market opportunities to source and purchase the right materials at the right time and at the right price.

Increased adoption of Microsoft Azure

Rackspace and Microsoft have been partners for more than a decade, collaborating closely to cultivate a relationship focused on helping global businesses make the most of Microsoft technologies. The company launched its offerings on the Microsoft Azure platform in 2016, and, since then, its partnership with Microsoft has taken off, particularly in the areas of analytics and AI.

A five-time Microsoft Hosting Partner of the Year recipient with over 500 Microsoft Certified Professionals, Rackspace’s excellence in product delivery, service, and support across the Microsoft portfolio has helped to raise the bar in design and deployment of customized, integrated Microsoft solutions.

Rackspace finds that Microsoft solutions for advanced analytics, AI, and machine learning are helping to drive customer adoption at an increasingly rapid pace. “There is definitely customer demand for Microsoft Azure,” said Vikram Reddy Kosanam, Head of Data, Integration and Analytics Services at Rackspace. “And the flexibility of the platform, for intelligence and in all the products and services that Microsoft brings to the table, makes picking Microsoft as a data partner an easy choice for us.”

Helping businesses grow

Rackspace develops solutions across multiple industries, delivering higher revenues, lower costs, and smoother DevOps. Recent customer wins include:

A leading OEM provider of machinery services for which Rackspace developed a solution to extract and integrate data from multiple ERP systems. Using advanced analytics and AI, the solution also enables robust reporting capabilities. Building on Microsoft Azure AI services, Rackspace has increased the ease and efficiency with which this customer can make acquisitions to grow its business.

A Texas-based oil and gas company needed a method of monitoring remote oil wells for a variety of chemicals used in the process of producing oil products. Rackspace’s predictive solution improved the planning, dispatching, and routing efficiency of hazardous materials deliveries to far-flung work sites, saving its customer $1 million.

For a national healthcare equipment manufacturer, Rackspace designed a solution to aggregate and analyze large volumes of data, optimizing arthroscopic surgical procedures. In addition to enabling better patient care outcomes, this technology is helping to improve surgeon training.

“The Microsoft-Rackspace partnership creates significant value for our customers,” said Simran Sachar, Analytics and AI Director, Microsoft One Commercial Partner. “Together, we are helping customers accelerate their analytics and AI journey and realize superior business value through innovative business and technical solutions and services.”

Helping more customers benefit from AI

Looking ahead, Rackspace recognizes the importance of aligning with customers’ organizational strategies. The company is helping a growing number of customers benefit from analytics and AI for a wide range of use cases requiring predictive capabilities, such as equipment maintenance, customer buying patterns, and optimizing the supply chain.

“Security is a topic that’s coming up universally in conversations with our customers,” said Nirmal Ranganathan, Principal Architect at Rackspace. “We help them understand the need to consider security at various layers, from network boundaries to the database, and to make security and compliance a key part of the solution.”

Additional areas where the company expects to see accelerated growth include:

• Azure Cognitive Services, which is providing tools for customers to quickly analyze documents, or even, with voice-to-text, to understand what a person said on a recording—not only the key talking points but the sentiment of the speaker as well.
• Azure Computer Vision is allowing customers to carefully analyze imagery online, for instance, improve public safety by detecting and verifying that workers are using appropriate protective gear.
• Azure Synapse Analytics is modernizing customer data management for analytics and improving lifecycle management and operational delivery efficiency for business user reporting and analytics needs.

Rackspace will continue to work closely with new and legacy customers to help them gain analytical insights and benefit from the transformational power of Microsoft cloud, analytics, and AI technologies.