Rackspace Case Study

Rackspace Hosting is the World‘s leader in hosting. Since 2001 Rackspace has been hosting and supporting mission critical websites, internet applications, email servers, security and storage services for 6,000 customers. Fanatical Support® is their unbeatable level of customer service. Rackspace employees are available 24/7/365 to meet and exceed customer‘s expectations

Every company’s ability to grow, react fast to customer demand and enter new markets depends on the speed, flexibility and scalability of its IT and communications platforms. Growth and development must be supported by the right networks, systems and solutions seamlessly connected and capable of expanding with the company. This is as true for technology suppliers as it is for their customers. While they may have the in-house expertise to design and install their internal systems they may not have the time nor specific industry knowledge of which systems would best meet their requirements.

Such was the case at global web hosting company Rackspace making it an interesting challenge for Reeves Lund which was called in to refresh and relocate their existing UK telephony systems to new offices and link the sites together seamlessly. “As a technology company we have technical staff on site who like to do the work themselves,” explains Michael Petrie, technical services manager, Rackspace which has its headquarters in Texas. “But we quickly established an excellent working relationship with Reeves Lund which has evolved into a ‘technology partnership’. We have frank discussions about our business plans and requirements knowing Reeves Lund will deliver the most appropriate hardware and software for our needs.”

Specialising in providing high level professional consultancy services, specifying networks, implementing and maintaining converged voice and data systems and offering value added services, Reeves Lund started working with Rackspace in 2005 when it had 100 employees working in two London sites.

Growing 80% year-on-year, Rackspace needed new offices and to replace the basic Siemens voice platform which neither supported call centre facilities nor VoIP and could not be scaled up. “There was no intelligence in the old system,” says Petrie. “Since 90% of our business is conducted over the phone, we needed the latest technologies to support growth and allow us to provide the excellent service our customers expect. We wanted a full call centre system including call and agent management and reporting facilities allowing us to monitor efficiency.”

After discussing the design and system requirements with Reeves Lund, a new phone system and call centre solution based on the Avaya Communication Manager was installed in the new offices. Taking only two months from initial specification to live implementation, the first iteration supported 60 call centre seats and 100 phone extensions in two sites and a data centre in the UK. Prior to commissioning, the system design and call flows were fully tested and Reeves Lund created a master record of all changes to provide a continuous reference document.

Now with 20,000 servers under management, Rackspace has five European sites: two London data centres and two sales and support office plus a sales office in Amsterdam which also houses call centre agents. Reeves Lund has relocated the hub and spokes of the system between London sites and seamlessly connected the networks.

As requirements for size and resilience rose, Reeves Lund recommended installing resilience servers, moving the old one to backup and upgrading the software and firmware. The system currently includes 650 phone extensions and supports 150 call centre agents. All sites are seamlessly connected via ISDN and IP circuits. Full real time call centre reporting allows Rackspace to monitor agent activity and calls can be recorded. The entire system is fully redundant and scalable to accommodate future growth. SIP trunking, unified communications and mobile services run on the same platform.

“The ROI is very good as there is no wastage of parts,” explains Peter Harper-Hill, director, Reeves Lund. “Network elements and cards are used to full capacity and expandable. This is a scaled implementation and, as part of a technology refresh and greenfield installation, enhances competitive advantage and provides a firm foundation for managed growth and development.”

Now into its second contract with Rackspace, Reeves Lund provides on-going support and consultancy advice. The next major platform upgrade to increase redundancy will be managed internally in consultation with Reeves Lund.

“The benefit of the system is that it has allowed and supported business growth and flexibility,” continues Petrie. “It is easier for us to present information to our clients and move into new sectors fast. Currently the system can scale beyond our requirements and we rely on Reeves Lund for system design, technical help plus support and consultancy services.”

For Further information please contact Peter Harper-Hill at Reeves Lund on

E peterhh@reeveslund.com
DDI +44 (0)20 7749 7402