Rackspace acquires Mailgun to enhance cloud offering

Rackspace Hosting is acquiring email management firm Mailgun as part of a drive to enhance its cloud service offering.

Rackspace says Mailgun will allow its customers to easily integrate cloud-based email services into applications and websites "within minutes".

Pat Matthews, senior vice president of corporate development at Rackspace, said, “Mail is a core component of nearly every website and application today, our customers are asking for this and Mailgun is the right company to help us deliver it in a tightly integrated way.”

Built for developers, Mailgun provides a set of APIs that allows users to send, receive and track email easily from within their applications, without having to manage an email server or becoming an expert in email setup, operations and deliverability.

Rackspace says the service allows customers to engage their users and optimise the email capability of their applications and websites, while equipped with the analytics and data needed to measure the impact.

Mailgun is currently being used by companies including the Financial Times, 37Signals and Parse, said Rackspace, which added that the platform is integrated into platforms such as Heroku, AppFog and Engine Yard.

Mailgun is headquartered in San Francisco. The Mailgun team will remain in San Francisco, adding to the presence Rackspace already has in the city. Rackspace has not disclosed how much it is paying to acquire Mailgun.