SPIN Magazine Teams Up with Rackspace Managed Hosting; Leading Magazine Publisher Opts for Open Source Expertise from Managed Hosting Specialist

Business Wire, Sept 11, 2006

SAN ANTONIO -- Rackspace Managed Hosting, a leading global provider of managed hosting services, today announced an agreement with SPIN magazine, the respected home for a trendsetting audience passionate about music. Rackspace will host the magazine's public-facing Web presence, Spin.com, which attracts over 250,000 unique visitors per month with exclusive content including breaking news, album reviews, photo exclusives, audio and video clips, free downloads and more.

SPIN's multifaceted Web site, developed on an open source platform, is a key revenue generator for the publication and requires a high-availability environment. Spin.com's infrastructure was originally managed by SPIN's IT team in a colocation facility. This hosting arrangement consumed a great deal of the team's time maintaining infrastructure uptime and scalability rather than ideally focusing on their core IT functions of Web design and development.

When SPIN decided to outsource its hosting needs, the company considered multiple options, but specifically sought a hosting provider with a specialty in enterprise Linux to deploy the solution quickly and guarantee uptime. SPIN soon settled on Rackspace's Intensive Hosting for Enterprise Linux to take advantage of the company's deep knowledge of open source in the enterprise. Rackspace retains more Red Hat Certified Engineers on staff than any other managed hosting company and has received numerous awards for its Linux expertise and service excellence including Linux Journal's "Readers' Choice Hosting Service Provider" for the past three years.

"With the increasing popularity of SPIN.com and its growing online subscriber base, we needed to rapidly deploy and scale quickly as we grow. This year, we switched to an energetic, blog-style format with engaging content that is updated several times daily. Now our IT staff has realigned efforts to develop and maintain this online presence while the Rackspace team ensures the infrastructure," said Joshua Glaser, IT manager, SPIN. "Rackspace's Linux expertise gives us the specialized Fanatical Support(TM) that we need to optimize and maintain our open source platform."

"Our enterprise-class Linux service platform is robust enough to meet the needs of SPIN's high-traffic Web site and also flexible enough to address scaling needs as their Web opportunities grow," said Glenn Reinus, senior vice president of worldwide sales, Rackspace Managed Hosting. "Our team works hand-in-hand with SPIN's IT department, not only on daily infrastructure issues, but also providing progressive planning and consulting for long-term technical requirements."

Intensive Hosting for Enterprise Linux offers customers comprehensive managed security, performance-enhancing gear, managed back up, managed storage and advanced database services. Rackspace provides SPIN with a fully-managed hosting solution comprised of multiple Dell Power Edge servers running Red Hat Linux Enterprise Server, a MySQL database along with a managed firewall and backup. SPIN leverages Intensive's advanced custom monitoring services to gain a 360-degree view of the health of its hosting environment and rely on Intensive's consultants for both strategic long-term and tactical near-term technology planning.

About SPIN.com

SPIN.com champions music for life and is the respected home for a trendsetting audience passionate about music. Updated every day, SPIN.com features exclusive content that our readers won't find anywhere else. Since 1994, the site has delivered relevant news about the indie-music scene across the country. SPIN.com offers advertisers the ability to target and influence these trendsetters from a source they trust.

About Rackspace Managed Hosting

A recognized leader in the global managed hosting market, Rackspace Managed Hosting is a world-class service organization delivering enterprise-level Web infrastructure and managed services to businesses of all sizes. Serving more than 10,000 customers across six data centers worldwide, Rackspace integrates the industry's best technologies for each customer need and delivers it as a service via the company's award-winning Fanatical Support(TM). Through trusted partnerships with its customers, Rackspace serves as an extension of their IT department, enabling customers to focus on their core business. Founded in 1998, Rackspace has grown more than 50 percent a year since the company's inception. For more information, please visit www.rackspace.com, or call 800-961-2888.