Cloud Busting

A Stockport company is using the power of fibre broadband to grow as a business and expand its customer base as far away as New Zealand. While creating jobs for local people and increasing turnover, Cloud 9 Hosts Ltd are also able to offer increased security for clients thanks to the capabilities of fast broadband.

Cloud 9 Hosts Ltd are a cloud computing business based in Hazel Grove, Stockport , offering hosting solutions designed for small and medium businesses and providing virtual desktops to clients who are using VOIP, Microsoft Office, Sage finance package, CAD, graphics technologies.

They currently employ eight people, but that number is likely to increase; due to their continued growing success, they are moving to new premises ( February ‘15 ) where a 100 mb fibre link is being installed.  Cloud 9 Hosts Ltd have been using fibre broadband since 2008, prior to that they relied on ADSL connections. Director Graham Saul considers it to be an essential part of their business.

” Previously our customer base has mainly been in the North West and London, with some business in Wales and Scotland. Increased connection speeds with Fibre mean we can accommodate more customers on the IT systems at the same time, thus enabling us to expand.

“We now have a handful of customers in Europe, North America and even one in New Zealand!

“We’re growing, the place we’re moving to is four times the size of the old building, and in the past 12 months we have recruited three staff, including taking on two apprentices. Our target is to increase turnover by 50% in the next 12 months.

“We’re investing in staff and more hardware, creating local jobs in Stockport and helping the UK balance of payments. Our new product, Cloud 9 Vault, will enable further expansion, and without high speed reliable internet connections for both us AND our customers, we couldn’t do this.”

Cloud 9 Hosts Ltd growing reputation within the cloud computing industry supports their ambition for continuing success, an example being the recently launched “Cloud 9 Vault”, an object storage solution that allows organisations to store, share, synchronise, protect, preserve, analyse and retrieve file data in a single system technology.Cloud 9 Hosts Ltd pride themselves on their ability to offer a dependable and reliable service whilst maintaining the level of agility required to meet the demands of their growing client base. They can boast a number of significant clients, one being Water UK which is a trade association for the water industry.

Customer quote:

“Cloud 9 has liberated me from the confines of an office and the drudgery of daily commuting. All my work is done exactly as it would have been before. In fact, people assume I’m still in the office. One even asked me to bring her some paper and was shocked to learn that to do so would require a journey of some several hours.”

Ann Bull,HR & Pensions Manager Water UK,  www.water.org.uk

The benefits provided by superfast broadband mean that Cloud 9 Hosts Ltd are able to offer their client base complete security. Service is provided from Stockport, UK, therefore the risk normally associated with offshore or 3^rd party data handling is avoided.  This also provides the business with an edge over their competitors, who often provide their services by using unsecured data centres anywhere across the world which can present an increased risk to clients. Greater upload speeds without the limits of contention also provide increased reliability, which in turn, improves customer service.

The impact on the local community is also evident. Cloud 9 Hosts Ltd are sharing their success by choosing to use local suppliers for any business needs. They attend local networking meetings wherever possible, including  Stockport Business Expo, where they confidently share their experience of fibre broadband, encouraging other businesses to see the potential benefits for themselves.