In an in-person interview with Adrianna Bustamante, VP of Global Partnerships, and Judy Vansell, Senior Director of Partner Programs & Operations at Rackspace Technology, we explored how the company is doubling down on the channel with a reimagined partner strategy. Long known as a managed hosting provider, Rackspace has evolved into a global hybrid cloud and AI powerhouse, and it’s bringing the partner community along for the ride.
“It’s exciting to tell the story of our evolution,” Bustamante said. “We’re not just hosting anymore. We’re helping partners drive end-to-end digital transformation and AI adoption for their customers.”
Rackspace’s relaunch of its partner program underscores this commitment. The new structure includes an Account Ownership Program that allows partners to maintain commission on workloads indefinitely, providing long-term, predictable revenue. The program is built around enablement, expanded vertical offerings, co-selling, and a range of new tools, including campaigns-in-a-box, access to case studies, and internal chat-based systems like RITA (Rackspace Intelligent Technology Assistant), which has automated 90% of internal ticketing.
Bustamante highlighted the importance of their AI strategy, which is anchored by the Foundry for AI at Rackspace (FAIR) initiative. “We help partners and clients ideate, incubate, and industrialize AI projects, even if they don’t know where to start,” she said. With over 70 deployments and a library of use cases, Rackspace enables partners to bring AI from proof-of-concept to production with confidence.
Rackspace also works side-by-side with the hyperscalers—AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and others—layering services and workload-aware solutions that optimize cloud usage. The company’s hybrid cloud capabilities allow partners to place the right workload in the right location with an expert-guided approach.
With a vertical focus on healthcare, BFSI, and public sector, Rackspace offers differentiated strengths such as SLA support at the application layer. It is the largest third-party hosting provider for Epic and recently supported a high-profile deployment with Seattle Children’s Hospital.
“We want partners who want to co-sell, win, and grow together,” Vansell explained. The enhanced program reflects Rackspace’s long-term vision: to be a leading hybrid and AI cloud provider while making business easier for partners.
From traditional VARs and TSDs to emerging MSPs and ISVs, Rackspace is embracing a broader definition of partnership. And with its relaunch tagline—”Win More. Earn More. Accelerate Your Growth with Rackspace Technology”—the company is making a clear statement to the channel.
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Aside from his role as CEO of TMC and chairman of ITEXPO #TECHSUPERSHOW Feb 10-12, 2026, Rich Tehrani is CEO of RT Advisors and a Registered Representative (investment banker) with and offering securities through Four Points Capital Partners LLC (Four Points) (Member FINRA/SIPC). He handles capital/debt raises as well as M&A. RT Advisors is not owned by Four Points.
The above is not an endorsement or recommendation to buy/sell any security or sector mentioned. No companies mentioned above are current or past clients of RT Advisors.
