Rackspace launched OpenStack in 2010 with NASA to create an open-source cloud operating system without vendor lock-in. OpenStack now powers Rackspace's public cloud and has 192 company members and over 5,500 contributors. Rackspace is offering free OpenStack-based private cloud software called Alamo to provide customers flexibility and control over their infrastructure similar to on-premise systems. The author encourages testing the private cloud software which can deploy an OpenStack private cloud in under an hour.