National technology provider Onyx Group today announced ambitious plans to expand its South Yorkshire datacentre, increasing its ability to provide a range of resilient IT solutions to companies across the UK. Onyx acquired the datacentre in 2011 to firmly establish its position as a leading UK datacentre services business in the enterprise space.
Following a large investment deal worth £42 million from ISIS Equity Partners (ISIS) in October 2011, the Group will develop its most recent datacentre acquisition, based on the outskirts of Sheffield and in close proximity to Leeds. The facility is one of 10 Onyx sites throughout the UK including London, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle, and Teesside. This includes five datacentres and six workplace recovery facilities.
The expansion will develop a further 20,000 square feet of high capacity data hosting and workplace recovery seats, which will provide space for 250 racks and 500 business continuity positions. The sheer scale of this datacentre, combined with its business continuity seats, is a unique and attractive offering for businesses in the region, and ensures the Onyx site stands out from local competition.
The development highlights the company's focus on geographical growth in a region that is fast becoming one of the UK's leading hubs for digital business and innovation. As part of The Digital Region project, South Yorkshire is the first major region to deploy superfast broadband in the UK, bringing improved access to a range of entertainment, business and public sector services and more importantly attracting new investment and jobs into the region.
Onyx is one of several companies to have realised the potential of The Digital Region, covering the towns and cities of Sheffield, Doncaster, Barnsley and Rotherham. The project has attracted over £90m of funding from the European Union, partners and the private sector. It is the first of its type in the UK, and reinforces South Yorkshire's position at the heartland of Digital Britain.
The Onyx datacentre provides local businesses with a range of innovative and flexible solutions to their hosting and data availability needs. It also offers a comprehensive business continuity service that companies can use in the event of a disruption that can prevent them from accessing their offices.
Neil Stephenson, CEO, Onyx Group commented on the expansion: "This is great news for the South Yorkshire region as it demonstrates that businesses are keen to invest here, creating more jobs and providing support to a thriving, innovative business hub in what is fast becoming one of the UK's key regions for growth."