Microsoft Azure vs. Rackspace

Key Features Comparison: Microsoft Azure vs. Rackspace

Are you looking for entry-level hosting or a highly-stable hosting solution at a higher price point? Explore how Rackspace stacks up against Microsoft Azure.  

When you are looking for an easy way to manage public or private cloud deployments, there are only a few names that pop to the top of our collective consciousness: Microsoft Azure, Rackspace, Google Cloud and Amazon AWS. When you consider Microsoft Azure and Rackspace separately, you’ll find that there is a range of differences between the two options that require care and consideration before determining which components are needed to support your business. Rackspace has been providing traditional remote hosting support for company data centers for years, and now supports public and private cloud deployments on Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and even Amazon AWS. While Microsoft is considered to be easier to use and more scalable, Rackspace cloud servers are often praised by developers and IT administrators for fast and reliable cloud servers as well as excellent customer support. See how these two options stack up against each other in terms of features, pricing and ease of use.

Features Comparison: Microsoft Azure vs. Rackspace

While both cloud computing providers offer a global presence and may seem to have similar offerings at first blush, there are some significant differences between Microsoft Azure and Rackspace cloud solutions. While both solutions provide Linux and Windows-based compute instances, strong data center coverage and cloud storage services, Azure provides greater sophistication in terms of their services, data center coverage and redundancies.

Data Accessibility

For US-based companies, there may be little difference between Rackspace and Azure. While Azure is the clear leader in global data center locations, Rackspace and Azure are comparable in terms of the data centers that are scattered throughout North America.

Redundancy Options

If you’re looking for a more sophisticated offering that includes multiple options for redundancy, then Microsoft Azure is probably the solution for your company. The available redundancy options for Azure include Zone-Redundant Storage, Geo-Redundant Storage, Locally Redundant Storage and Read-Access Geo-Redundant Storage. Rackspace doesn’t break down their redundancy options in this way, but simply note that their redundancy is built into the base storage solutions.

Ease of Use: Microsoft Azure vs. Rackspace

Microsoft Azure and Rackspace both provide developers and IT administrators with useful features such as APIs that make it easier to access hosted services, with Azure’s APIs being the most expansive offering. Azure’s REST API can control everything from its standard storage and compute services to a range of additional tools such as serverless computing, Spark and Hadoop services, Docker container service and more. Rackspace’s APIs provide access to their more limited offerings, allowing administrators to control virtual servers, for instance.

Pricing: Microsoft Azure vs. Rackspace

Choosing the right cloud services provider for your company often comes down to pricing, but Azure and Rackspace don’t make it easy to create a direct comparison. Rackspace begins with its managed services offerings and doesn’t include a pricing option that doesn’t include some level of support. Microsoft has more flexible options, but the pricing tends to be comparable for a smaller business. As you move through the support tiers and need additional compute power, Microsoft often becomes the more cost-effective option — particularly for organizations that are already utilizing Microsoft other Microsoft solutions.

Creating a secure, flexible and extensible infrastructure for your business begins with ensuring you have the right solutions in place to empower your business and technology professionals. Whether you’re starting your journey towards IaaS or looking for new options to support your company, contact the professionals at K² Technologies at (307) 209-3447 to schedule a complimentary initial consultation. We can help you work through which solutions will help support your short- and long-term business goals while providing the level of security that your business deserves. Our team has deep expertise in cloud and on-premise computing at organizations of all sizes, making K² Technologies the ideal partner in your cloud services journey.