Data centre services provider Pulsant has expanded its edge network with the acquisition of a Manchester, UK data centre from M247, along with the existing clients of the facility.
Located in one of the fastest-growing tech hubs in the UK and Europe, the acquisition supports Pulsant’s strategy of geographic expansion, enabling the company to extend its edge platform to Manchester and expand its north-west presence.
Edge data centres in cities and large towns enable service providers to bring content, apps and services closer to their customers, lowering latency and improving their performance.
It is Pulsant's first acquisition since receiving investment from Antin Infrastructure Partners in July 2021. The deal includes the data centre and the transfer of 40 clients, and all site staff from M247, which will become a major client of Pulsant in continuing to use the data centre to serve its own business.
Located within a secure compound in central Manchester, the 6,500 sq ft data centre provides capacity of around 1MW of power, with further investment planned to expand and upgrade the facility.
The location offers good transport links and connectivity, including a LINX (London Internet Exchange) Manchester point-of-presence (PoP) on-site.
“We are bringing the Pulsant edge computing platform to the Manchester market and wider north-west region,” said Rob Coupland, chief executive officer at Pulsant. “The acquisition of such a well-established and high-quality facility is an important step in our strategy to bring the benefits of edge computing to every business across the UK.”
Darryl Edwards, chief executive officer at M247, added: “Pulsant's extensive experience in operating regional data centres makes them uniquely placed to take over the data centre. We are looking forward to developing our relationship through the new strategic supply partnership, to maintain a full set of connectivity and cloud-based services to our customers.”
Pulsant already operated 10 regional edge data centres across the UK, including sites in Milton Keynes; Croydon, London; Newcastle; Edinburgh, Scotland and Reading.
Earlier this month, distributor Exertis started partnering with Pulsant to provide local and lower latency connectivity to the channel. Exertis can now offer colocation services alongside its existing portfolio of cloud, edge and networking solutions, enabling resellers to provide clients with an end-to-end infrastructure portfolio covering IoT, edge, cloud and data centres.
