According to TechCrunch - who, by its own reports, has been receiving information from a reliable tipster that is not an employee of the company - Rackspace may be filing for an IPO as soon as today or Monday, based on emails that have been circulating inside the company.

Rackspace filed papers in preparation for an IPO back in March 2000, but withdrew its plans after the dot-com crash chilled the market for Internet-related IPOs, says Data Center Knowledge. However, company executives have recently acknowledged that an IPO is an eventual goal, but have said building the business was the first priority.

Considering some of the changes Rackspace has been making over the past few months, like the unveiling of a new corporate identity and strategy emphasizing its utility computing business model (which ties in well with the company's cloud computing services through its Mosso brand) to the hiring of a new CFO in March, rumors of an IPO have been prevalent amongst industry experts and enthusiasts.

However, Data Center Knowledge says that only time can tell how this will play out considering a similar speculation went around in 2006, the last time Rackspace hired a new CFO, but no IPO offering materialized. Perhaps its relevant to note that just because a company files for an IPO, it doesn't necessarily mean it'll go through with the offering and an issuer will often shelf the IPO until it determines the timing is right to go public.

TechCrunch says there haven't been any filings yet with the Securities and Exchange Commission, but press releases announcing quarterly revenues have "mysteriously" been removed from Rackspace's website.

Rackspace reported revenue of $96.2 million in the third quarter of 2007, which it said was its 35th consecutive quarter of revenue growth.