AITech Top Voice: Interview with Rick Rosenburg, VP for Government Solutions at Rackspace

In this edition of the AI Technology Top Voice Interview series, we sit down with Rick Rosenburg, Vice President and General Manager for Rackspace Government Solutions (RGS). Rick leads the charge in delivering managed, compliant cloud solutions for federal, state, local, and education customers, helping them meet strict security and compliance mandates while accelerating innovation.

In our conversation, Rick shares how RGS is leveraging multicloud expertise, AI, and machine learning to transform compliance from a pain point into a strategic advantage. We dive into the newly announced Rackspace–SMPL-C partnership, which aims to simplify and speed up CMMC compliance for government contractors, and explore the future of AI-driven compliance, explainable AI frameworks, and what government contractors should prioritize in the next 6–12 months.

About Rick Rosenburg: Rick Rosenburg is the Vice President and General Manager for Rackspace Government Solutions (RGS), where he leads the delivery of managed, compliant cloud solutions for federal, state, local, and education customers. With a passion for building trusted partnerships, Rick focuses on understanding each client’s unique needs and guiding them through their cloud and compliance journey. Under his leadership, RGS helps organizations modernize securely, accelerate innovation, and achieve their mission objectives with confidence.

About Rackspace Government Solutions: Rackspace Government Solutions (RGS) is a trusted provider of managed compliant cloud services, empowering government and education organizations to meet and maintain rigorous security and regulatory standards such as FedRAMP, CMMC, DFARS, HIPAA, PCI, and FERPA. By combining multicloud expertise across AWS, Azure, and private cloud with advisory-led services, RGS creates secure landing zones that enable customers to deploy AI, modernize workflows, and unlock cost savings, while staying fully compliant.

Here’s the full interview.

AI Technology Insights (AIT): To start, can you tell us a bit about your role at Rackspace and what excites you most about leading Government Solutions?

Rick Rosenburg: I am the Vice President and General Manager for Rackspace Government Solutions, where I am responsible for providing managed compliant cloud solutions to our federal, state and local, and education customers.

What excites me most is that I have an outstanding team and partners that are very knowledgeable about the markets we serve and how to provide the right managed security and compliance solution for each and every client. It is not one size fits all.  It is understanding the client’s needs and where they are in their cloud journey and lifting them up from where they are to where they want to be.

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Know more about Rackspace

AIT: What are your key offerings? How do you use AI and ML to improve the overall product development lifecycle for your stakeholders at Rackspace?

Rick Rosenburg: Rackspace Government Solutions (RGS) provides managed compliant cloud solutions for government and education customers. Our core offerings focus on helping these organizations easily meet and maintain strict regulatory standards like FedRAMP, CMMC, NERC/FERC, DFARS, HIPPA, PCI and FERPA. We deliver these solutions by building compliant “landing zones” that enable our customers to develop and deploy traditional and AI applications and automate data processes while ensuring they stay within compliance boundaries. Ultimately, our goal is to help customers accelerate innovation, achieve their critical missions, and drive significant cost savings and operational efficiencies within their highly regulated environments.

At Rackspace, we leverage AI and machine learning in two key ways to enhance the product development lifecycle for our stakeholders:

1. Customer-facing AI/ML solutions: We work directly with customers to integrate AI into their specific use cases. This includes updating and improving older code as they move to the cloud, and building entirely new AI/ML features for their products and services.
2. Internal AI/ML applications: Through the Foundry for AI by Rackspace (“FAIR”) we deploy AI across our internal operations to improve efficiency and streamline processes. This includes:

• • • • Automating internal functions for our HR, legal, product, and marketing teams.
      • Enhancing employee and customer self-service with intelligent response systems.
      • Optimizing resource utilization and aligning our product roadmaps.
      • Assessing and responding to various types of RFPs
      • Enabling automated responses and actions within our managed cloud offerings to improve operational efficiency and reliability.

AIT: The new Rackspace–SMPL-C partnership was just announced. What was the biggest driver behind this collaboration, and what makes it different from the way enterprises have traditionally approached compliance?

Rick Rosenburg: The most significant driver behind the Rackspace–SMPL-C collaboration is a shared commitment to simplifying and accelerating the path to Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (“CMMC”) compliance for government contractors. What makes it different from traditional approaches is that enterprises have historically struggled with disconnected spreadsheets, manual processes, and costly delays. This partnership changes the game by integrating SMPL-C’s intelligent documentation and workflow engine with our secure, CMMC-authorized cloud infrastructure and advisory-led services. It’s not just about providing tools, but co-owning success to make the compliance journey understandable, repeatable, and achievable, all under one roof. This creates a “unified, client-first and better together ecosystem” rather than a piecemeal approach.

AIT: Rackspace has a long history in secure cloud infrastructure. How does your multicloud expertise (AWS, Azure, etc.) fit into this partnership, and why is it critical for government customers today?

Rick Rosenburg: Our multicloud expertise provides Rackspace with a competitive advantage in the government marketplace. This partnership exemplifies our multicloud expertise as we are providing solutions today in AWS and Azure, with the Private Cloud slated for the near future.  Most companies have at least two cloud infrastructures in which their applications reside.  Our multicloud expertise and solutions with AWS, Azure, and VMWare Private Cloud enables our are customers to work with a single company that provides all of their compliant cloud requirements

AI-driven GRC Trends in 2025-2026

AIT: The market for AI-driven compliance and sales engagement is growing rapidly. Reports estimate the global GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance) tech market could reach $20B+ by 2027. Where do you see the biggest opportunities for AI in compliance and government contracting over the next 3–5 years?

Rick Rosenburg: We see the greatest opportunities for AI in the compliance and government sectors over the next 3–5 years, particularly in delivering secure and explainable AI (xAI) frameworks that support transparency, traceability, and accountability, elements which are critical in regulated environments. This goes beyond simply offering a technology solution; it requires a holistic approach that combines compliant infrastructure with expert advisory and professional services. Our key areas of focus are:

1. 1. 1. Providing Secure and Explainable Infrastructure: As new state and federal regulations emerge to govern AI, organizations will need robust infrastructure that offers full visibility, logging, and traceability. The foundation of our business—our managed compliant cloud—is the key to providing this secure base. This empowers our customers to not only build and deploy AI but also to meet the growing burden of documentation and proof of compliance thru:
         • Automated Documentation: AI will cut down on tedious paperwork, streamlining everything from generating documents to guiding you through complex workflows and rules.
         • Standardization: AI will drive industry standardization, best practices documentation, and implementation requirements, which will accelerate the process and make it more cost-effective.
         • Guided Oversight: With AI constantly monitoring for compliance, there will be less of a need for manual checks. The focus then will shift to proactively catching issues before there are problems, not after.
         • Predictive Risk Analytics: AI will predict where your compliance risks are likely to arise, helping you focus your efforts where they matter most. As your business grows, AI will help you stay compliant without adding overhead and resources.
      2. The Critical Role of the Advisory Partner: Many government contractors, particularly those in the Defense Industrial Complex, are not primarily IT or compliance experts. They need a partner who can work together with them to help them navigate the changing legislative landscape. We see a significant opportunity in acting as that advisory partner, helping these organizations maximize their investment in new technologies without running afoul of regulations, allowing them to focus on their core mission-critical deliverables.
      3. Modernization and Impact for SLED Customers: For our State, Local, and Education (SLED) customers, AI presents a powerful opportunity to modernize their services and support their constituents, researchers, and students. By combining our managed compliant cloud offerings with professional services, we can help these customers strategically adopt and apply AI to maximize their technological investments. AI will move cyber compliance from a headache to a strategic advantage

By uniquely positioning Rackspace Government Solutions (RGS) as both a managed compliant cloud provider and a professional services partner, we are poised to have a strong and lasting impact on the future.

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AIT: In the press release, you mentioned that “too many organizations are stuck navigating compliance in silos.” Can you expand on how this partnership breaks those silos and creates a more unified, client-first approach?

Rick Rosenburg: Organizations are attempting to achieve CMMC compliance in disconnected pieces, with IT, legal, and operations, all working separately. It’s fragmented, creating confusion, delays, and gaps. Our partnership with SMPL-C breaks that down via:

1. Integrated Platform: SMPL-C’s innovative platform seamlessly connects all components, integrating with our secure CMMC-compliant cloud and expert advisory service.
2. One Playbook: Everyone operates from a unified set of processes, eliminating guesswork, reducing duplication, and ensuring consistency across teams.
3. Shared Success: Rackspace is more than a tech provider—we partner with clients every step of the way, offering guidance and support throughout their compliance journey.
4. Holistic View: Organizations gain a comprehensive, real-time view of their compliance posture, making it easier to track progress and demonstrate accountability.

AIT: AI is at the center of this story. How does SMPL-C’s AI-powered automation make the CMMC compliance process more efficient, and what unique role does Rackspace play in securing and scaling it?

Rick Rosenburg: SMPL-C’s private and secure LLMs have been trained exclusively on CMMC, which means relevant guided assistance, automated workflows, accurate documentation, and, of course, no hallucinations like those found in public AI systems. These solutions aren’t just reactive; they predict potential discrepancies, empowering customers to head off problems at the documentation level before they even begin. Furthermore, after certification, the platform helps maintain compliance for the long term.

Rackspace is the secure foundation. We provide the robust, CMMC-authorized cloud where all that AI magic happens, ensuring that the environment is safe and meets all the stringent government standards. Whether you’re a small contractor or a large enterprise, our scalable infrastructure empowers SMPL-C’s AI to perform at its best. We build a secure stage so their AI can put on its best performance.

AIT: For contractors working with the Department of Defense or federal agencies, how urgent has CMMC compliance become—and what risks do companies face if they fall behind?

Rick Rosenburg: For contractors working with the DoD or federal agencies, CMMC compliance isn’t just urgent; it’s mission-critical. If defense contractors are not CMMC compliant, they risk losing both current contracts and the ability to to win future ones. It’s not just about meeting a checklist; it’s about staying in the game and protecting national security data. Beyond just losing business, there’s the very real risk of:

1. Cybersecurity breaches: CMMC is designed to protect sensitive DoD information. Falling behind means you’re more vulnerable to attacks, which can lead to data loss, intellectual property theft, and damage to your reputation.
2. Reputational damage: In this ecosystem, failing to comply signals that you may not be a reliable or secure partner. The CMMC process is akin to change management practices within an organization as we move forward to protect our country’s sensitive information.
3. Increased costs down the line: Trying to scramble to get compliant under pressure usually costs more than a planned, proactive approach.

CMMC Readiness with Rackspace

AIT: Beyond compliance, what kind of business impact can enterprises expect? For example, how does accelerating CMMC readiness open up new federal contract opportunities?

Rick Rosenburg: More and more RFPs are being released with mandatory CMMC compliance levels. If a company is not compliant or is unable to prove their CMMC level, they will not be able to participate in the opportunity.  There will also be companies that are incumbents who will not be able to participate in the re-compete of their contracts because they are not CMMC compliant. It will not be long before CMMC is a mandatory requirement every RFP. This creates opportunities for early adopters of the CMMC compliance framework.

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AIT: For organizations listening in who are just starting their CMMC journey, what practical steps would you advise them to take in the next 6–12 months to prepare?

Rick Rosenburg: Getting started on CMMC 2.0 compliance can feel overwhelming, but if you break it into structured steps, it’s very manageable. Below are the practical initial steps I would suggest to start the CMMC journey. Getting help early is the key to success, as the four steps below are just the beginning.  The Rackspace/SMPL-C collaboration was created to help customers simplify and accelerate the path to CMMC compliance.

Understand Where You Stand

1. Determine applicability: Identify whether your contracts involve FAR 52.204-21 (Federal Contract Information, FCI) or DFARS 252.204-7012 (Controlled Unclassified Information, CUI).

• FCI → likely CMMC Level 1.
• CUI → likely CMMC Level 2 (aligned with NIST SP 800-171).

2. Review contract clauses to confirm whether CMMC will apply and at what level.

Learn the Requirements

1. For CMMC Level 1: 17 practices, essentially the same as FAR 52.204-21 “basic cyber hygiene.”
2. For CMMC Level 2: 110 controls, aligned directly with NIST SP 800-171.
3. For CMMC Level 3 (Expert): Based on NIST SP 800-172 (less common, usually primes and critical programs).

Perform a Readiness / Gap Assessment

1. Map your current IT/security practices against the required controls.
2. Identify gaps where policies, processes, or technical safeguards don’t meet requirements.
3. Document results in a System Security Plan (SSP).

Create a Plan of Action & Milestones (POA&M)

1. For each gap, define remediation steps, owners, costs, and timelines.
2. CMMC 2.0 allows limited use of POA&Ms (for non-critical items), but critical gaps must be closed.

AIT: If you look ahead, how do you envision the future of AI, compliance, and government solutions evolving? Will partnerships like Rackspace–SMPL-C become the new standard?

Rick Rosenburg: We envision a future where the exponential growth of AI will fundamentally change how governments and highly regulated industries operate. As AI becomes more pervasive, it will increasingly blur the lines of security, privacy, and the human-technology interface, making control and visibility more complex and critical than ever before.

In the future, partnerships like Rackspace Government Solutions (RGS) and SMPL-C will not just be beneficial—they will become the new standard. These alliances will be essential for two main reasons:

1. Navigating Accelerating Complexity: The rapid pace of AI innovation requires a level of compliance and reporting that is beyond the capabilities of most single organizations. Partnerships that combine secure infrastructure (like our managed compliant cloud) with specialized compliance expertise (like SMPL-C’s reporting capabilities) will be crucial for maintaining control and visibility over new, AI-driven offerings.
2. Building the “Trustworthy AI” Ecosystem: As the market accelerates, we are quickly approaching a point where AI must be used to monitor, measure, and manage other AI systems. This will be the foundation of “trustworthy AI.” By working together, partners can build integrated, auditable frameworks that use AI to ensure other AI offerings are secure, transparent, and compliant.
3. This is a proactive approach to a complex problem. By providing this combination of secure technology, expert advisory services, and a commitment to “AI governing AI,” we are not just reacting to regulations; we are helping our customers build a more secure, reliable, and compliant future.