AppRiver LLC, a leading provider of e-mail messaging solutions, today announced that it has been named "Customer of the Year" by Rackspace Hosting, Inc. (NYSE: RAX), the world's leading hosting services provider.

The award is the first of its kind and was presented to AppRiver in recognition of its exceptional reputation in the e-mail security space, award-winning spam and virus protection services, and excellent customer service model. AppRiver also influences the growth and development of Rackspace's customer support model with its increasing customer count and highly-customized configuration requirements.

AppRiver became a Rackspace customer in 2002 with a single server configuration, and has since grown to hundreds of servers spread throughout numerous Rackspace data centers. On any given day, AppRiver's anti-spam and anti-virus software scans more than one billion e-mail messages for more than 35,000 companies worldwide.

"AppRiver has pushed us and made Rackspace's Fanatical Support® even better," said Graham Weston, chairman, Rackspace Hosting. "We have grown our services to adapt to their hosting requirements. This has allowed AppRiver to remain focused on developing a high-performing messaging application and delivering expert care to their customers."

AppRiver is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider offering real-time security solutions to businesses of all sizes. Understanding the need to protect networks from blended multi-vector security threats, AppRiver offers businesses a comprehensive, yet affordable, subscription-based service that incorporates the latest anti-virus, anti-spam, anti-phishing, anti-spyware and Web security on the market. By trusting AppRiver to take care of today's most sophisticated security threats, companies are free to focus on strategic initiatives rather than IT maintenance.

"We truly appreciate the relationship we have with Rackspace," said AppRiver CEO Michael Murdoch. "In order to stay ahead in the SaaS security business, companies must be nimble and adapt to the needs of the client. Rackspace helps us do just that."