Pros
I have been in the IT industry for many years and through many different companies. IT is tough, long hours, high demands and the constant changing technology trends make it a risk for burn out. Rackspace rewards it's staff for hard work and employees people that are either the top of their fame or have the potential and enthusiasm to get there. The culture identifies that the demands put on you are strenuous and tries to ease that by rewards and an essence of fun. Most staff are engaged in what they do and that leads to a relaxed atmosphere. Staff are approachable and are happy to interact on personal levels to form strong relationships. Rackspace is a very open company. Management don't seem to have hidden agendas, financial updates are constantly given, strategies are explained to the staff and managers are treated as advisors rather than authoritative dictators. All managers are approachable right up to the CEO and they take time to find out a little more about you as a person.
Cons
Rackspace on boarding process is long and drawn out. If you think you are going to start your job on day one you are mistaken. In someways it eases you in to your role but in others after a couple of months of the softly softly approach you just want to get on with something meaty. If you want job and sit in the same position for years this is not the company for you. Most people who make it in the company move roles every 18-24months. If you are introverted and can't make friends outside of your team the culture is wasted on you and you will not succeed here. Taking part in activities, walking up to someone's desk randomly and asking how their day went and giving back to the community is the way forward for any new recruit. The company is large and you will just become a number if you don't network with people. This year has been a tough year for rackspace globally. CEO quits, share prices drop, aws and asure become more powerful and rackspace loses it's way a bit. New CEO and strategy to put the service in front of everything else shows me that rackspace and the management team are setting off on the right track.