Rackspace's business model in the cloud services provider (CSP) market continues to evolve. First, the company pushed beyond its own cloud to offer managed services for Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure. Now, Rackspace is investing in Cloud Technology Partners (CTP) -- a professional services firm focused on cloud migrations.
I don't believe that CTP has officially announced its third round of venture funding, but the company confirmed that Rackspace is among the investors. Together, the two companies plan to offer holistic solutions for AWS that address:
- Cloud strategy and economics
- Security and governance
- Application portfolio assessment
- Application modernization, migration and development
- DevOps and automation
- Ongoing cloud operations and managed services
Professional Services for AWS
To me, it feels like CTP is becoming a consulting arm for Rackspace. But I must concede: I'm not sure where CTP's professional services end and Rackspace's managed services begin. And perhaps that's exactly the point: Rackspace and CTP together want to offer customers complete AWS migration and management services.
In some ways, Rackspace could be undermining its own partner ecosystem. Imagine being a VAR or MSP that wants to work with Rackspace, only to discover that CTP apparently has most favorite nation status in that partner ecosystem? Not exactly a partner-friendly situation...
CTP's executive leadership team includes some familiar names. Indeed, the current Cloud Technology Partners company includes many of the leaders from the former Cambridge Technology Partners -- an IT consulting firm that was prominent in the 1990s.
