Rackspace® Managed Hosting has announced that it has acquired Blacksburg-based Webmail.us, the largest provider of business class email hosting with more than 600,000 business mailboxes under management. Together, Rackspace and Webmail.us will focus on providing a comprehensive mail platform and related services to companies of all sizes.

Rackspace's acquisition of Webmail.us highlights the company's investment to transform traditional IT functions into consumable services via the web. As more and more enterprises transition from purchasing in-house IT assets to leveraging service providers, Rackspace plans to offer a suite of hosted IT services that are more reliable and provide better value than traditional IT. Rackspace has already made a seamless expansion into the mail industry, which it views as the first step in giving businesses a chance to solve a persistent and growing challenge with a better solution.

"Web-delivered business-class services remove the IT administration burden from companies that lack large IT staffs and/or want to concentrate more fully on their core business functions," says Melanie Posey, research director, IDC. "Hosting companies that meet this need and expand their portfolios to include key on-demand functionality such as managed messaging can differentiate themselves from competitors. Rackspace's acquisition of Webmail.us illustrates the company's commitment to innovating in the hosted services market and responding to customer demand."

"For years, Rackspace has built Fanatical Support™ focused on making our customers' web presence reliable and easy to manage. Today, we're expanding our vision and plan to do the same for IT hosting. Messaging and collaboration are Rackspace's first major steps in expanding our product portfolio to include hosted IT services," said Lew Moorman, senior vice president of corporate strategy and product development, Rackspace Managed Hosting. "Webmail.us has developed a world-class product set and shares our deep commitment to customer service. We are natural partners and we will collaborate to strengthen and complement our existing mail portfolio."

"Rackspace already hosts our entire email hosting infrastructure and has been our most critical business associate. Experiencing Fanatical Support first-hand has proven to us that Rackspace is a different kind of company—one that is truly dedicated to its customers," said Pat Matthews, President, Webmail.us. "In working with Rackspace for more than four years, we've realized that our companies share great synergies and visions for the future. Rackspace realizes the market shift towards IT hosting and the mission critical nature of business-class email. This partnership strengthens our ability to serve businesses that rely on email but don't want to manage it themselves."

Rackspace and Webmail.us will join forces to create innovative new products focused on enterprise-class mail functionality. The companies have previously collaborated to offer Rackspace's current Global Messaging Portfolio, including Noteworthy Managed Mail. The Webmail.us company headquarters will continue to be based in Blacksburg.

Webmail.us, along with its growing community of private-label reseller partners, provides more than 70,000 small, medium, and geographically dispersed companies with corporate email hosting services. The company manages and maintains the email software and hosting infrastructure, freeing up personnel resources and eliminating the need for organizations to purchase email-related hardware, software, and security services—all for a fraction of the cost of purchasing and managing email services in-house. The company's mission critical software applications are housed in carrier-grade data centers to ensure maximum uptime. Founded in 1999, Webmail.us is headquartered in Blacksburg and was just named the 217th fastest-growing, privately held company in America by Inc. Magazine. To learn more, please visit www.webmail.us or call 866.392.3336 x214.