Case Study: Rackspace secures customer data and wins security-sensitive business with Microsoft Azure

Hoster uses Shielded VMs to help security-sensitive customers move to the cloud

Rackspace, a leading managed cloud hosting provider serving roughly 300,000 businesses (including two‑thirds of the Fortune 100), faced a recurring sales blocker: highly security‑sensitive customers refused to move workloads to a hoster because administrators could technically access their VMs. That lingering risk kept opportunities in financial services, healthcare, defense, and other regulated industries out of reach.

Rackspace implemented Windows Server 2016 Shielded VMs with Host Guardian Service and Nano Server, along with Azure Site Recovery, System Center 2016, and Operations Management Suite, to deliver encrypted VMs that fabric administrators cannot access. The result: encrypted VMs as a standard offering, faster deployments, lower hardware and management costs, a clear competitive differentiator that removes the “don’t touch my data” objection, and the ability to win previously off‑limits business (for which Rackspace may charge a modest premium).

Rackspace

Jeff DeVerter

Chief Technology Officer for Microsoft Technologies