New UK colocation provider launches, takes over former Eduserv data centre

SilverEdge DC takes over former Eduserv data centre in Swindon, plans to launch more in 2021

A new colocation and data centre provider has launched in the UK with a facility in Swindon, along the increasingly popular M4 corridor.

SilverEdge DC’s Swindon data centre offers 37,000 sq ft of space, 7.5 MVA of available power and carrier-neutral connectivity via Tier 1 and Tier 2 networks.

The facility previously operated under Bristol-based digital charity Eduserv, the data centre arm of Jisc, and was used by a number of public sector clients.

The data centre originally opened in 2009 but closed in 2018 when the company decided to pivot from offering private cloud services to helping clients embrace public cloud offerings from AWS and Microsoft.

The newly-formed company said the facility was one of many planned in ‘strategic edge locations’ around major UK business hubs. It said these locations will enable it to push costs down for tenants through utilising excess power supply in the towns where it builds.

The locations will also support customers’ edge computing initiatives, the company added.

Greg McCulloch, Managing Director of SilverEdge DC and former COO at DigiPlex and CEO of Aegis Data, said the company planned to bring several other data centres online in 2021.

“Data centres are absolutely integral to the UK’s infrastructure and SilverEdge DC has ambitious plans to become a significant player in the market over the coming years,” McCulloch said.

“This is the start of strategic investment for us in edge sites up and down the country,” he added.

“We will be targeting locations on the outskirts of major centres across the UK which will allow us to offer a high calibre, secure offering at competitive prices,” he added.