| Overall Score | 3.7 | 3.0 |
| Type | US Defense / IT Services | US Cloud MSP |
| Employees | 48000 | 14000 |
| Founded | 2013 (spin-off from SAIC) | 1999 |
| Headquarters | Reston, Virginia, USA | San Antonio, Texas, USA |
| Revenue | $16.0B | $3.0B |
| Salary Range | $70,000 - $180,000 | $50,000 - $140,000 |
| Specialties | Defense IT, Cybersecurity, AI & Data, C4ISR, Digital Transformation, Biomedical | Managed Cloud, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Kubernetes, DevOps |
| Certifications | ISO 27001, FedRAMP, NIST 800-53, CMMI Level 5, AWS Partner | AWS Premier Partner, Microsoft Partner, Google Cloud Partner, ISO 27001 |
| Green Flags | Dominant US defense and intelligence IT contractor β mission-critical work
Strong technical depth in AI, cybersecurity, C4ISR, and biomedical
Fortune 500 stability with consistent revenue and earnings growth
Excellent benefits and pension for US-based defense sector employees
Science and engineering culture from heritage roots (SAIC spin-off) | Pioneer of 'Fanatical Support' β differentiated managed cloud support model
Strong multi-cloud expertise across AWS, Azure, GCP
Good for early-career cloud engineers seeking certification support
Private equity backing provides capital for growth |
| Red Flags | Security clearance requirement limits talent pool significantly
US-based only β limited international career mobility
Government contracting bureaucracy slows innovation and agility
Below-market compensation compared to commercial tech sector
Ethical concerns around defense work may conflict with personal values | Financial distress β loss of founder leadership, multiple restructurings
Below-market compensation across most roles
PE ownership creates margin pressure and cost-cutting mentality
Massive layoff cycles (2022: 10%, 2023: 15%, 2024: ongoing)
Awful Glassdoor rating (3.0) β among worst of major MSPs
Business model disruption from hyperscalers going direct to customers |
| Worker Pros | Mission-critical work with national security impact
Excellent benefits and pension for US defense employees
Fortune 500 financial stability
Deep AI, cyber, and C4ISR technical depth | Strong multi-cloud managed services expertise
Fanatical Support training instills good customer service habits
Cloud certification support and exam coverage
Good for early-career cloud engineers building a resume |
| Worker Cons | Security clearance process is slow and restrictive
Below-market comp vs commercial tech
Limited international exposure β US-centric
Government contracting red tape slows everything
Defense work ethics may conflict with personal values | Financial instability β multiple layoff rounds and loss of founder CEO
Below-market salaries across all roles
PE ownership drives constant cost-cutting and margin pressure
Hyperscalers (AWS, Azure) going direct β squeezing Rackspace's business model |