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Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →In July 2014, Rackspace announced two pay-as-you-go managed service levels for its cloud customers: Managed Infrastructure, for technical guidance when needed, and Managed Operations, for ongoing management of cloud infrastructure and applications. It also outlined higher service-level-agreement (SLA) compensation and a plan to show infrastructure charges separately from support and services. The reported prices and service terms are historical, not confirmation of Rackspace’s current offers.
What Rackspace announced
Rackspace presented the services as a way for customers to get help operating cloud workloads without building every operational capability in-house. The intended customers included organizations with established IT teams that did not see IT operations as a core competitive advantage, and organizations without enough staff to deploy and operate cloud workloads. The company said the offers were not aimed at businesses for which specialized IT operations were a strategic differentiator.
Rackspace vice president of product marketing Rajeev Shrivastava described the move as a commitment to the category: “We’re going all-in in the managed cloud space,” he said. “The [managed services] market is growing, and we think we have a niche in the managed cloud space.” That was an executive’s view of the market, not an independently reported market-growth statistic. DataCenterKnowledge’s July 15, 2014 report covered the announcement.
How the two service levels differed
| Service level | Staff involvement | Scope described in the 2014 report | Historical minimum commitment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Managed Infrastructure | Expert staff available when needed | Technical guidance for customers using Rackspace cloud infrastructure | $50, as reported in 2014 |
| Managed Operations | Ongoing Rackspace involvement, including an account manager | Management of cloud infrastructure and applications; the report also described DevOps automation | $500, as reported in 2014 |
The distinction was chiefly the degree of operational responsibility: Managed Infrastructure offered access to expertise, while Managed Operations added continuing management. The minimum commitments above are figures from the 2014 announcement, not current pricing.
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What changed in the pricing presentation
Rackspace said it would break out raw cloud infrastructure charges separately from support and services charges. That presentation was intended to make the infrastructure portion easier to compare with other providers. Rackspace’s position, as described in the report, was that its offer comprised more than server or storage capacity alone; separating the charges made the underlying infrastructure cost more visible without implying that support and services were included at no cost.
What the 2014 SLA announcement said
Rackspace said it would raise managed-cloud SLA compensation to 10 times its standard rate, subject to a cap of 100 percent of a customer’s monthly invoice. The report said this 10-times compensation scheme was being tested with selected customers and was planned for later general availability. That status and those terms describe the 2014 announcement only.
The company also described a separate arrangement for anticipated peak events. A customer giving seven to 10 days’ notice would receive provisioned capacity, according to the announcement. If uptime failed during the event, compensation could be capped at 200 percent of the monthly invoice. Shrivastava said: “If you give us seven to 10 days’ notice, we will make sure that your application is up and running,” and added, “We will give you all your money back, if we don’t perform for you.” The report’s stated cap and announcement context are important: the quotation does not establish a current guarantee or policy.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What this means for a reader today
The report documents a historical product and pricing move, not a present-day Rackspace catalog. It does not verify whether either package, its minimum commitment, the SLA terms, or the separate-charge presentation remains available. Anyone evaluating Rackspace now should confirm current service names, scope, billing, and contractual SLA language directly in a current offer or agreement rather than relying on the 2014 figures.
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