Key Milestones in UKFast History
Our milestones represent key moments in UKFast's history, providing a snapshot of some of the achievements that we're really proud of.
2016
August 2016
Digital entrepreneur Lawrence Jones MBE was yesterday awarded with an honorary doctorate by The Manchester Metropolitan University, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the North West economy. Jones joins a select group of individuals to receive the Honorary Doctor of Business Administration (DBA). The University praised the entrepreneur for his tireless work in support of the UK's digital economy and for displaying 'world-class innovation and leadership'.
July 2016
Top-flight Rugby Union club Sale Sharks today announced the largest sponsorship deal in the history of the club, with Manchester-based cloud and colocation firm UKFast. The undisclosed seven-figure deal sees the firm return as shirt sponsor of the club after a five-year break, with Sale Sharks ready to compete for the European Champions Cup this season after finishing sixth in the Aviva Premiership.
July 2016
Secarma, the cyber security business owned by UKFast CEO Lawrence Jones MBE, has confirmed the acquisition of Altrincham-based application security specialists Pentest Limited for an undisclosed sum.
June 2016
The first edition of the UK's newest business technology magazine has been published. BusinessCloud has been set up by former regional newspaper and magazine editor Chris Maguire and tech entrepreneur Lawrence Jones MBE, CEO of UKFast. The full colour magazine is 80 pages in size and will focus on "demystifying technology for a business audience".The initial print run is for just under 20,000 copies. Of these, 12,500 will be distributed in Greater Manchester by the Manchester Evening News, with the balance sent out to UK-wide businesses and customers of UKFast.
June 2016
Manchester hosting specialist UKFast launches a new cloud-based solution, FASTdesk, encouraging the continued rise of flexible working.
May 2016
UKFast has been named the best medium-sized tech company to work for in the UK, placing fifth overall in medium category of the UK's Best Workplaces 2016. The Great Workplaces lists rank the UK's workplaces based upon culture, health and wellbeing and engagement through employee surveys and external recognition.
May 2016
UKFast is to launch a Master of Business Administration (MBA) scholarship with Manchester Metropolitan University, giving one budding entrepreneur the chance to join the highly-valued business programme later this year.
April 2016
Leading North West charity, The Christie, has been announced as the official charity partner for this year's UKFast City of Salford 10K race. Runners who take part in the UKFast City of Salford 10K on Sunday 4th September can run for The Christie and raise vital funds for The Christie NHS, one of the largest cancer treatment centres in Europe.
March 2016
Manchester-based cloud computing provider UKFast has been revealed as the new sponsor of the Cheshire Cricket League in a 10-year deal worth £50,000 which also sees the firm boosting tech use by member clubs and the league.
February 2016
Over 150 apprentices affected by the collapse at Bright Future Software attended a careers open day in the hunt for new employment. The event, hosted at UKFast Campus in Manchester, saw the apprentices meet face-to-face with a huge range of businesses looking to recruit new talent.
January 2016
Cloud computing entrepreneur Lawrence Jones MBE is joining forces with Chris Maguire, editor of the North West Business Insider to produce a new-look national business technology magazine.
January 2016
Cloud computing firm UKFast launches a new self-service, open source cloud platform, built on OpenStack and hosted entirely in the UK with no vendor lock-ins.
2015
December 2015
UKFast announced that revenue from its eCloud range has grown by 82.9% in the last year. The eCloud model has surpassed all expectations with cloud services now netting £9.9m a year, and the figure representing 27% of total annual recurring revenue currently worth £37.2 million.
November 2015
Lawrence Jones MBE has joined the local executive board of children's charity Cash for Kids. The UKFast CEO becomes a trustee of radio station Key 103's charity having helped to raise more than £1.4 million during last year's Cash for Kids Mission Christmas campaign and supporting the cause for several years.
September 2015
Cloud hosting firm UKFast has joined forces with The Dean Trust to launch a Raspberry Pi Cafe, bringing hands-on tech and computer science education to Broadoak School in Partington, Greater Manchester.
September 2015
Fast-growing Manchester cloud firm UKFast is driving its rapid expansion into the channel and public sector markets with the acquisition of a London office.
August 2015
We invested in one of the biggest team events in the history of UKFast with a trip to Chester Zoo to say a big thank you to the team for a fantastic start to the year. With over 700 UKFast friends and family in tow, Zoofari was the perfect way to reward and motivate our team.
July 2015
Hosting and colocation firm UKFast has taken home its second award in two years running at the Skills for Business awards, recognising its commitment to changing education in businesses across the city.
June 2015
This month CEO of UKFast Lawrence Jones received an MBE for his services to the digital economy. It is a testament to the hard work Lawrence has put into helping UKFast's clients grow, and in doing so, helping the digital economy.
May 2015
UKFast teamed up with local radio station, Key 103, to sponsor Superhero Day in aid of Beechwood Cancer Care; a charity to help and support young children, carers and family members who are affected by cancer and other life limiting illnesses.
April 2015
Corporate M&A legal specialist Nicola Frost joins the team ahead of UKFast's ambitious growth plans.
March 2015
Security heavyweight Andy Hague joins UKFast, heading up its security division, Secarma.
February 2015
UKFast has enjoyed a year of growth after the popularity of cloud computing skyrocketed. For the year end December 2014, UKFast reported a 24 per cent turnover increase from £23.4m to £28.9m.
January 2015
UKFast CEO Lawrence Jones is awarded an MBE for services to the digital economy in the New Year's Honours List. Jones noted that the honour recognises the extraordinary effort of the whole UKFast team.
2014
December 2014
As one of the main campaign sponsors, UKFast helps to raise £1.7m of toys for Cash for Kids Mission Christmas, ensuring that more than 36,000 in poverty in Greater Manchester will receive gifts from Father Christmas this year.
November 2014
UKFast is named Manchester Business of the Year (£10-25m) at the Manchester Evening News Business of the Year awards,
October 2014
UKFast sponsor Raspberry Pi project to create an internet cafe at a South African community centre, providing a revenue stream and tech skills for the centre.
August 2014
UKFast launches 'drag and drop' UK-based storage solution, eCloud Vault to add to it's record-breaking eCloud range.
May 2014
Lawrence Jones announces plans for our next data centre and states that he is on the hunt for an underground site to transform into the North West's largest data centre space.
April 2014
We announce our Random Acts of Kindness Year. UKFast's 2014 is focussed on giving back to the community however we can.
March 2014
We launch our auditorium - we're offering the space to businesses, schools and networking groups free of charge. The space, equipped with theatre lighting and sound, a 100sq ft screen and bar area brings a new creative space to Manchester.
February 2014
UKFast CEO Lawrence Jones continues his record of exceptional rewards and incentives by giving his long-serving employees a record bonus of £10,000 for ten years' service.
January 2014
UKFast helps to rebuild Harvey's Den, an autistic seven-year-old boy's sensory room, after it was raided and torched on Christmas Eve. The whole UKFast team came together to rebuild the boy's room and landscape the family's garden.
2013
December 2013
UKFast wins DataCenter Dynamics Award for Innovation in Outsourcing. The award recognises the constant development and innovation that sits at the heart of UKFast.
November 2013
UKFast joins the latest phase of the Government's cloud initiative, proudly becoming a G-Cloud 4 approved supplier.
November 2013
Jo Swinson, Britain's Women and Equalities Minister pays a visit to the UKFast Headquarters, to formally open the business's new Child and Parent zone.
October 2013
Lawrence Jones vows to change the face of apprenticeships with the launch of the UKFast training scheme. The apprenticeship scheme pays complete salaries and offers full Ofsted accredited training.
September 2013
UKFast adds FlexPod™ to its cloud portfolio as it continues to drive growth in the public sector.
August 2013
UKFast launches a £1m scheme to provide a safer environment online. While many other providers hike the cost of security to cash in on businesses' cyber fears, UKFast's BASEfund offers grants of up to £5,000 to help firms to protect themselves online.
July 2013
Lawrence Jones commits £4.5m to UKFast's first ever graduate scheme, cementing the firm's mission to bridge the technology skills gap by investing in education and training. The scheme will see UKFast hire 50 graduates within 12 months.
June 2013
UKFast launches its giant-rivalling eCloud range. The elastic cloud is the largest of its type in the UK and combines the very best cloud technology including 3Par and Cisco UCS Blades.
May 2013
UKFast scoops its second Data Centre Solutions award, taking home the accolade for Service Provider of the Year. With an ever-growing data centre portfolio, the win is a nod to the hard work of the whole UKFast team and the bravey of taking the leap into the data centre arena.
April 2013
An exciting month as we launch our new Enterprise division catering solely for some of the world's busiest websites and highly-complex, bespoke hosting solutions.
March 2013
A great month for awards as we scooped two categories at the City of Manchester Business Awards, winning 'Digital Business of the Year' and a special Sponsor's Award.
March 2013
More celebrations this month as we reach our highest-ever position in The Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For, climbing an incredible 20 places to be placed 25th.
February 2013
We scored a coveted win at the Institute of Customer Service Awards, winning the prestigious Employee Engagement Strategy of the Year for investment in our team.
January 2013
UKFast completed a landmark £3.2m property deal, acquiring No1 The Archway to expand our UK cloud services and improve connectivity for Manchester's online businesses.
2012
December 2012
We celebrated winning Special Assignment Team of the Year at the DatacenterDynamics EMEA Awards, a top data centre accolade.
December 2012
We opened Manchester's most powerful data centre complex, the £14m DCPlex™ in Trafford Park, boosting connectivity and power in the North West.
October 2012
Secarma is launched in response to growing demand from clients across the UK. Secarma specialises in IT security and disaster recovery services including forensic, ethical testing and crisis management.
September 2012
Celebrations at UKFast as we are shortlisted in three categories at this year's National Business Awards UK : Entrepreneur of the Year; Huawei Customer Focus Award and Employer of the Year.
August 2012
We achieve an industry first with the launch of our own on-site data recovery clean room. By being located within our data centre data recovery can start immediately.
July 2012
Our investment continues with a £1m redevelopment planned for the office and creation of the UKFast Academy.
July 2012
We announce our expansion onto a further floor of Manchester's City Tower, taking an additional 4,000sq feet on the 16th floor.
June 2012
We are placed 7th in the UK's medium-sized Great Workplaces list, and 31st in the European SME Great Workplaces list, collated by the Great Place to Work Institute.
June 2012
CEO Lawrence Jones is named Ernst and Young Northern Technology Entrepreneur 2012.
May 2012
Our revolutionary cloud solution MyCloudStack is named Private Cloud Product of the Year 2012 at the Data Centre Solutions Awards.
April 2012
Lawrence Jones moves up to CEO of the company, setting a focus on the strategic growth of UKFast. Communications director Jonathan Bowers is appointed acting managing director.
March 2012
We secure the property for three new data centres, bringing 14,500sq ft of additional data centre space to Manchester.
February 2012
We were recognised as one of the best workplaces in the UK for the fourth year running, placing 45th in The Sunday Times Top 100 Best Small Companies to Work For 2012.
