Hosting and colocation firm UKFast is advancing its control of the UK’s colocation market with the appointment of Lizzi Long as data centre sales manager.
Bringing years of experience of colocation and client development at Telecity, Long joins UKFast’s data centre team under sales director Rudi Feitsma who joined UKFast in 2012. Long continues the company’s drive to populate its recently-launched data centres and improve connectivity in the region.
Playing a key role in the company’s growing colocation team, Long will carry out UKFast’s plans to boost carrier-neutral networks, attracting more carriers to the area in a bid to boost Manchester’s connectivity.
Long said: “Moving to UKFast is a really exciting step. Although they entered the data centre market just a couple of years ago, UKFast has already built Manchester’s most powerful data centre complex and brought competition to the area that was long overdue.
“I am looking forward to bringing even more improvements to Manchester’s connectivity, filling our new facilities and offering colocation services on a whole new level.”
UKFast CEO Lawrence Jones said: “It’s great to have Lizzi on board. I was always impressed with her when she worked for UKGrid when UKFast was UKGrid’s largest customer and I always knew we would get to a size where we would need someone like Lizzi managing our rapidly-expanding client base.
“Because we are now at a stage where we have more available data centre space than any other provider in the region, which we believe is at a higher technical specification than other providers and the accompanying service is second to none, it makes perfect sense to have undoubtedly the best account manager in Manchester on board.
“I can imagine it is a great loss for Telecity.”
Last year, UKFast launched the DCPlex™ MaNOC™ 5, 6 and 7 in Manchester’s Trafford Park and has already acquired the property for MaNOC 8 in a landmark £3.2m acquisition of No1 Archway on the city’s outskirts, which will also become the firm’s new HQ.