A north west business man who could not get what he wanted from regional data centres and decided to build his own has reaped the rewards of his 'must do something' approach with a year of growth and bigger plans for 2016.
Mashukul Hoque, MD of Manchester-based software firm Sandyx, launched his purpose-built data centre in 2014 under the company name Datacentreplus.
He said: "At the end of 2013 we were developing applications for a customer and needed data centre services. I required somewhere nearby with the ability to colocate and get easily accessible support.
"None of the big data centre operators were interested in talking to me about my relatively small, but vital, requirements. There appeared to be little or no flexibility on offer. It was either a 12 month contract or, failing that, anything less being quoted at a ridiculous price. I also discovered there were a lot of hidden costs.
"By adding in annual costs, set-up fees and network engineering support fees, I felt as though my business was simply being discredited and being pushed away."
With Datacentreplus Hoque hopes to 'disrupt the marketplace' by applying competitive pressure to the pricing and flexibility of the cloud and hosting services currently offered to small and medium-sized businesses.
The Media City-based business has experienced growth in its first year of trading, growing to a team of eight, with plans to triple the workforce over the next 12-18 months.
Based on his early experiences Hoque is now dedicated to helping new start-ups with 'cash-friendly' access to the cloud, and helping businesses with traditional operating models transition to the cloud.
"Many businesses have old operating habits and don't have enough people within the business that know enough," said Hoque. "Often an IT person may know the systems and processes inside out and that can be dangerous for future-proofing. In addition, some businesses think that movement to the cloud means the end of the IT team.
"The cloud is in fact a great way to grow your business and ease the pressures on the IT department, ensuring that their energies are focused on strategy and helping their organisation growth through technology, not constantly firefighting with legacy systems and processes.
"We believe that many providers in this space aren't geared towards addressing these issues or have the ability or inclination to understand them. Businesses need to be talked through a transition and hand held, not bamboozled with technology or offers that lock them in for long-term contracts. Our mission is to provide transparency for those we work with."