What are you announcing today?

Jungle Disk is pleased to announce that we have entered into an agreement to be acquired by Rackspace Hosting, Inc. Once the transaction is complete, Jungle Disk will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Rackspace.

 

How does this affect new and existing customers?

There will be no changes for new and existing customers. The software and service will continue working and be supported just as it is now, by the same team that has developed it from day one.

 

Who is Rackspace?

Rackspace is the world's leader in managed hosting. They operate 8 datacenters in the US, Europe, and Asia. Founded in 1998, they have a consistent record of profitability and are a public company traded on the NYSE (NYSE:RAX). In a market that is highly competitive, their commitment to great customer service (they even trademarked it: Fanatical Support®) has established Rackspace as the gold standard in hosting. Rackspace is also a strong believer and early leader in Cloud Computing.

 

Why Rackspace?

We explored a number of options, including VC funding and partnerships with other companies, before choosing Rackspace. We felt that Rackspace had the best understanding of our customers and product and was the best fit for our culture and product roadmap. Rackspace’s leadership in the cloud computing space, combined with their commitment to customer service made it clear that they were would make a great partner. While we could have continued independently for some time, we felt that working with Rackspace now would allow us to accelerate our plans, improve service, and ensure the long term viability of Jungle Disk for the benefit of all our customers.

 

Will you be adding support for Rackspace Cloud Files™ and other cloud storage providers?

Yes, however, supporting multiple cloud providers including Rackspace's Cloud Files™ has been part of our plans well before this acquisition. We'll continue to look at supporting cloud storage providers that offer compelling price and feature advantages to our customers. The ability for our customers to choose where they want to store their data, and possibly even mirror their data between multiple cloud providers, will help set Jungle Disk apart from other closed online storage solutions.

 

Does this mean you will discontinue support for Amazon S3?

Absolutely not. Although Jungle Disk will now also be supporting Rackspace's Cloud Files, we are still committed to supporting Amazon S3 and other potentially cloud storage providers in both current and future products. Being able to support multiple cloud storage providers is one of the unique differentiators for Jungle Disk and a big reason why Rackspace was interested in acquiring the company.

 

How will Jungle Disk customers benefit from this acquisition?

The primary benefit for our customers will be our ability to expand with additional resources available for both development and support. Rackspace is a company that has built its entire business around the promise of Fanatical Support and we will adopt the same approach with Jungle Disk. The Rackspace acquisition will also help ensure the long-term availability and stability of the Jungle Disk software, something that is very difficult for any startup to do alone in the current economic environment.

 

Are there going to be any pricing changes?

We are not planning any pricing changes at this time. Both Desktop and Workgroup users will continue to receive free upgrades as always.

 

How will this affect your planned product releases and roadmap?

There are no changes to our product plans at this time. Rackspace fully supports both our public and private product roadmaps. A public beta of Jungle Disk 2.5 will be available later this week, with the final release planned for November. We intend to continue with our future plans for improvided native filesystem integration, better home and buisness NAS support, and a wide range of other improvements.

 

Will there be staffing changes at Jungle Disk?

All current Jungle Disk employees will continue with the company, including the founder Dave Wright. We have several new positions that have opened up recently, and expect to expand further in the near future. Our team remains fully committed to improving the product and is looking forward to the opportunity to build the business with Rackspace.