The UK edge DC company continues to expand its footprint with the acquisition of SCC data centres in Birmingham and Fareham
Despite all of the focus remaining on the hyperscalers, data sovereignty and AI inference have brought back into focus the much maligned area of mobile edge compute and how this market demand may evolve, creating potential new network edge opportunities.
Some argue that the shift to AI-based applications will change the central versus edge demand pattern for compute. But the industry does risk repeating the some mobile edge pitfalls where the dream of edge servers delivering all manner of enterprise apps didn’t really happen for telcos. However,, smaller more regional data centres do present some opportunities around edge compute and this is where Pulsant is looking to make its mark.
Bu acquiring two data centres from European technology solutions and services provider SCC, Pulsant reckons the investment will strengthen its platformEDGE offering now that it has 12 data centres across the UK.
The carve out deal will include SCC’s Birmingham and Fareham data centres, as well as the transfer of a roster of colocation-only clients to Pulsant. In addition, the companies will form a new strategic partnership for critical colocation services across the UK, which includes access to Pulsant’s national network of data centres for all SCC clients.
Based in Birmingham, the Cole Valley data centre benefits from a central UK location. It has a power capacity of around 2MW with potential for expansion. Meanwhile, the Fareham data centre is a modern carrier-neutral facility, with a mix of corporate and service provider colocation customers with a slightly higher power capacity of around 3 MW. Both sites offer 25,000 sq ft of data centre white space.
Since 2021 when it was acquired by Antin Infrastructure Partners, Pulsant has had a history of acquiring and integrating regional data centres to expand its coverage and capabilities, and it reckons the the SCC investment will further strengthen its presence in the UK market. SCC acquired SSE Enterprise Telecoms’ Hampshire Data Centre in 2014, taking its total investment in data centres to more than £50 million.
Economic hubs
“With the addition of two new data centres, we’ve expanded our UK coverage, strengthening our presence near key economic hubs that have traditionally been underserved in terms of digital infrastructure – particularly Birmingham, the UK’s second city,” said Pulsant CEO Rob Coupland.
“This will enable more businesses to benefit from Pulsant’s unique network of data centres and platformEDGE to reach new markets and grow their organisations. We’re excited to welcome and support the high-quality client base transitioning to Pulsant and look forward to fostering their continued growth,” he said. “SCC has an outstanding reputation, and we’re delighted to partner with them to support clients with their future colocation requirements. We are also excited to welcome the new team members, working together to deliver high availability services.”
“SCC has been carefully reviewing options for the future of our data centres for some time. A clear priority was to find a specialist partner that will continue to invest in and operate these facilities for the long-term and with whom we can build a strategic relationship for the provision of these services to our clients,” said SCC co-CEO James Rigby. “Ensuring continuity for our customers, opportunities for our people, and a future-proofed infrastructure was critical in our decision.”
He added: “Our role in helping customers manage a range of hybrid workloads for optimum cost and performance remains a core value proposition and driver of our growth. We are delighted that this transaction further allows us to invest in our managed service hybrid offerings and to create a new and valued partnership with Pulsant for critical colocation services.”
The data centre engineers and operational team members from both locations will be transferred to Pulsant on completion of the deal, expected in April 2025.
