UKFast
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1999 |
| Headquarters | City Tower, Piccadilly Plaza, Manchester, M1 4BT |
| Key people | Managing Director Lawrence Jones (businessman) Commercial Director Gail Jones Technical Director Neil Lathwood Marketing Director Paul Harris Communications Director Jonathan Bowers |
| Industry | Internet hosting |
| Website | http://www.ukfast.co.uk |
UKFast.Net Ltd or UKFast is a Manchester-based business-to-business hosting provider, offering bespoke dedicated and virtual hosting solutions within the UK web hosting industry. UKFast looks after 250,000 e-commerce web sites.[1][2]
Its headquarters are located at the top of the city tower making it the highest office space [3]in Manchester city centre. Its servers are located in three independent data centers in both Manchester and London, MANOC1, MANOC2 and Telehouse North (London). MANOC (Manchester Network Operation Centre) was originally set up at Manchester Universities Computer Building, the home of the worlds first computer.
UKFast hosts hundreds of thousands of domain names on its internet servers. Customers such as UKTV and BP employ it to host their websites. The company is expanding by organic growth and sales have risen 67% a year from £1.4m in 2005 to £6.4m in 2008. [4]
UKFast Training and Personal Growth
UKFast owns a training property in Snowdonia which combines as a training centre and recreational escape for staff. Employees experience climbing weekends in Snowdon which promote camaraderie between departments and promotes a healthy lifestyle. [5]
UKFast.TV Training videos are also available to employees on iPods which are frequently updated with new material.[6]
Company History
UKFast was founded in September 1999 by Lawrence Jones and his wife Gail. UKFast has won 7 ISPA's awards in 6 consecutive years, including "Best Hosting Provider", "Best Dedicated Hosting Provider Award" and "Best Customer Service"[2][7]
UKFast is also accredited with the Sunday Times "Best Companies To Work For Award" in 2009[8]and are presently the only hosting company in the UK to hold the 3 star badge.[9]
UKFast won the 2008 MEN (Manchester Evening News) Business of the year (£10m category) [10] whilst the managing director Lawrence Jones won "Young Director of the Year 2007".[11]
Deloitte Fast 50 ranked UKFast as 3rd fastest growing company in the North [12]and the 28th in the UK in 2008. [13]
In September 2009 UKFast entered the Sunday Times TechTrack 100 at number 38 making it the fastest growing hosting company in the UK and the fastest growing technical company in Manchester.[14]
Sponsorship
The company signed a record £2.5m sponsorship deal with the Sale Sharks Rugby Club in May 2009. The deal is for 3 years and takes UKFast's involvement with the Sharks to 12 years.[15] UKFast also sponsors Airwaves-Yamaha[16] one of the British Superbike teams.
UKFast partners with Manchester Camerata, a Manchester based chamber orchestra. [17]
Corporate Social Responsibility
UKFast sponsored a high profile celebrity fund raising event in July 2009 hosted by Sarah Ferguson the Duchess of York. The Duchess teamed up with co-founders Gail and Lawrence Jones, directors of UKFast, who contributed financially to the Duchess on the Estate Project. The purpose of the sponsorship was to raise money for a community project in Northern Moor in Sale. The "Duchess on the Estate" was televised on ITV and successfully raised enough funds to complete the centre and raise awareness in the area.[18]
UKFast sponsors Five Stars Scanner Appeal to help raise £250,000 for a new MRI scanner, to be housed at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital.
UKFast teams up with skin cancer charity Factor 50 to help them raise awareness and funding for continued research.[19]
References
- ↑ "UKFast hosts 250,000 e-commerce web sites". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/content/articles/2008/11/17/171108_online_sales_feature.shtml.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "UKFast nets award". Manchester Evening News. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/technology/s/1042199_ukfast_nets_award.
- ↑ "UKFast occupies highest office in Manchester". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/content/articles/2008/11/17/171108_online_sales_feature.shtml.
- ↑ "Sunday Times TechTrack 2009". Sunday Times TechTrack. http://www.fasttrack.co.uk/fasttrack2002/migration/dbDetails.asp?siteID=3&compID=2637&yr=2009.
- ↑ "Best Companies 2008 Personal Growth". Sunday Times Best Companies Guide. http://www.bestcompaniesguide.co.uk/company_profile.aspx?CompanySurveyID=41672.
- ↑ "Best Companies Line". Sunday Times Best Companies Guide. http://www.bestcompaniesguide.co.uk/company_profile.aspx?CompanySurveyID=41672.
- ↑ "From snowy 'tomb' to place in the sun". Manchester Evening News. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/business/s/208/208728_from_snowy_tomb_to_place_in_the_sun.html.
- ↑ "Sunday Times Best Places To Work 2009". Sunday Times. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/career_and_jobs/best_100_companies/article5670535.ece.
- ↑ "How Do Hosting article". How Do. http://www.how-do.co.uk/north-west-media-news/north-west-digital-media/ukfast-gets-best-companies-stars-200902104630.
- ↑ "Business of the year winners 2008". Manchester Evening News. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/business/s/1116583_the_battle_begins.
- ↑ "Young Director of the Year 2007". Manchester Evening News. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/business/s/1017192_rail_supremo_lands_top_award.
- ↑ "Deloitte Fast 50 Regional". Deloitte. http://www.deloitte.co.uk/fast50/winners/regional-ranking-2008/#block_north.
- ↑ "Deloitte Fast 50 2008 Winner list". Deloitte. http://www.deloitte.co.uk/fast50/winners/winners-list-2008/.
- ↑ "Sunday Times TechTrack 2009". Sunday Times TechTrack. http://www.fasttrack.co.uk/fasttrack2002/migration/dbIndex.asp?siteID=3&searchName=&yr=2009&sort=num&area1=99.
- ↑ "Sale enjoy life in the UKFast lane". Manchester Evening News. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/rugby_union/s/1115842_sale_enjoy_life_in_ukfast_lane.
- ↑ http://www.airwaves-yamaha.co.uk/sponsors.html
- ↑ "UKFast partners with Manchester Camerata". Manchester Camerata. http://www.manchestercamerata.co.uk/supportus/corporate-partners.
- ↑ "Sarah Ferguson the Duchess of York". ITV, Duchess on the Estate. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6e3TXj58bc.
- ↑ "Five stars scanner appeal". How-Do. http://www.how-do.co.uk/north-west-media-news/north-west-digital-media/ukfast-reveals-website-for-five-stars-scanner-appeal-200907075806/.
Manchester Evening News article on UKFast
External links
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