U.K. Based Host Launches New Data Center in Cambridge to Meet Growing User Needs

TL; DR: Since 2002, Fast2host has provided users with reliable and fast hosting. And it continues this vision with the launch of its first-ever data center in Cambridge, England. Its Tier 3 data center will allow users to configure and access high-availability colocated servers for their cloud systems and hosting needs. We spoke with Russell Lyon, Founder and CEO of Fast2host, about the hosting service, its emphasis on customer satisfaction, and how Fast2host addresses the need for colocation offerings in the U.K.

A high-quality hosting service starts with its data center. This is a motto U.K.-based host Fast2host takes quite seriously. So much so it led the team down the path to launch its first-ever data center.

Fast2host recently opened a new data center in Cambridge, England, to meet user needs and deliver high-performing hardware and server resources. As businesses further acclimate to the cloud landscape, many are beginning to trek back to private systems.

This new movement has placed Fast2host in the perfect position to address those hosting needs and help users build or customize dedicated server configurations to their liking. Its data center will play a significant role in establishing its customers’ goals.

“Many people end up coming back out of the cloud mainly because of costs and security, which is certainly the case in the UK. We built our data center to incorporate those wishing to host their own cloud systems themselves,” said Russell Lyon, Founder and CEO of Fast2host.

Fast2host offers cloud VPS hosting, dedicated servers, and colocation services. Users can leverage its services to build a hosting environment tailored to their systems and setups. Below, we’ll dive deeper into Fast2host’s offerings and how they provide customers peace of mind.

Fast2host announced the opening of its Tier 3 data center on June 19, 2024. This launch reinforces its commitment to providing high-quality, high-availability hosting, colocation, and internet services.

“We’ve been planning this for about a year now. We’ve always had our own data center, but it was shared with other companies, whereas we’ve gone fully independent now and broken away,” said Russell.

Owning its network allows Fast2host to provide an enhanced experience for users. Customers receive better security, support, and uptime. For example, its technical support staff has direct access to the data center and monitors it around the clock.

“We run our own MPLS network, so people have direct links into their network, their racks, and so on, which provides extra layer security,” said Russell.

Russell told us that obtaining colocated servers in the U.K. is difficult, but Fast2host’s data center can help change that. Users can configure and deploy cloud infrastructure and colocate their self-hosted cloud systems with Fast2host. The web host also ensures DDoS protection.

Fast2host’s data center has gotten off to a blazing start while meeting a massive need. Russell said most data centers are located in London, but many companies, including Microsoft and Amazon, work in Cambridge.

“Startups are here, and we’re finding they’re coming to us because Cambridgeshire has no data centers. This is why we decided here. We’ve been getting racks taken daily since we opened the new place. So we’re extremely busy,” said Russell.

Fast2host has already paired its BGP network with all the core networks in the U.K. and has started the process of pairing with networks in Amsterdam and the U.S.

Fast2host is an award-winning web hosting company that has achieved recognition in the U.K. for its customer support and hosting on more than one occasion. Russell told us that word-of-mouth is a driving force behind Fast2host’s growth, and customer relationships play a role in that.

“We’re not one of these large multimillion-pound companies, so we get to work closely with our customers, and that’s what I personally enjoy seeing is their satisfaction,” said Russell.

Fast2host is dedicated to helping customers along their hosting journey, allowing it to retain lifetime customers. Russell said he has seen some customers who started with one website on shared hosting and have grown exponentially over time.

“Those customers are the ones who have grown and ended up getting two or three racks full of systems. They’ve done well and stuck with us because we’ve helped them grow throughout their venture,” said Russell.

Fast2host has a wide range of customers. It has built out its services to meet those various needs. Users can customize and configure infrastructure systems tailored to their businesses. The Fast2host team also advises on what resources to use and how to adapt.

“We have thousands of customers from the shared host who have been with us since day one. They’ve gone from shared hosting to dedicated service to racks, so these customers have been with us throughout,” said Russell.

With its new data center, Fast2host can provide cloud services directly into customers’ racks and network services. The Fast2host team has also tested various cloud systems and supports most of them, including Kubernetes.

“There are certainly lots of cloud systems out there, and we support most of them because we have a wide range of customers. We have also built our own cloud VPS system,” said Russell.

Users needing something more unique than a cloud setup can leverage Fast2host’s dedicated services for more flexibility. Customers can configure and purchase custom-built servers to access features cloud hosting doesn’t offer.

“There are things that you can’t do in the cloud. Custom-built servers can also give customers more security, especially when they need to know exactly where their data is, who accesses it, and so on,” said Russell.

Technology is evolving rapidly, and the Fast2host team is always on the lookout to keep up with the landscape’s ever-changing demands. As it happens, the team has GPU hosting in its sights.

“GPU server hosting is where we’re going, hopefully. AI kicked off huge over here. Those servers use a lot of resources and power. So I think GPU AI host is the way forward, and it will be the area to watch and keep an eye on,” said Russell.