AppFog, the leading platform-as-a-service (PaaS) for cloud-based application deployment and management, today announced it is collaborating with Rackspace, the service leader in cloud computing, to allow its customers to deploy applications to the open Rackspace Cloud powered by OpenStack. AppFog’s solution will be available through the recently announced Rackspace Cloud Tools Marketplace.

AppFog will offer customers the ability to develop and deploy apps to the open Rackspace Cloud in an efficient and cost effective manner. Highlighting a pay-for RAM approach, developers are able to receive 2GB free of RAM simply by creating an account. Users will reap the benefits of interoperability, as AppFog provides customers with the capacity to redeploy applications to Rackspace that are currently running on a different Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) provider with zero-code migrations, while helping users avoid vendor lock-in. AppFog’s IaaS deployment options continue to expand with the addition of Rackspace to a list that already includes AWS, HP, and Microsoft Azure. As a multi-language PaaS, AppFog supports Java, .NET, Node, Python, Ruby, PHP, MySQL, MongoDB, Postgres and more.

"We are very excited to align our efforts with Rackspace,” said Lucas Carlson, chief executive officer of AppFog. “As a market leader and a powerful force within OpenStack, Rackspace is a valuable option for developers looking for a reliable, scalable and secure IaaS option. With Cloud Databases and Cloud Servers powered by OpenStack, we can be assured that our efforts support open standards, protect against vendor lock-in and enable developers to deploy on public or private OpenStack-based clouds."

The Rackspace Cloud Tools Marketplace is a comprehensive catalog of innovative, third-party-developed applications designed for the Rackspace Cloud. By leveraging Openstack and developing solutions specifically for the open Rackspace Cloud, AppFog provides increased flexibility for customers and helps them avoid vendor lock-in. Additionally, through the marketplace, customers can now browse, review and connect to cloud solutions focused on management, monitoring, application deployment, security and a host of other areas.

"We’re excited to be working with AppFog and for their platform to be available through the Rackspace Cloud Tools Marketplace,” said Ven Shanmugam, senior manager of corporate strategy at Rackspace. “AppFog provides developers with a trusted platform for application development and deployment and we look forward to ongoing collaboration to have these capabilities available to our customers.”