Node4 brings total flexibility to businesses with new cloud computing service offering

Data centre and communications firm Node4 will broaden its range of services by launching nCloud – a brand new cloud-based infrastructure. nCloud is a high quality, high specification infrastructure that offers organisations ultimate IT flexibility by allowing them to build a bespoke solution that works hand in glove with business requirements.


Node4’s nCloud uses the company’s network of data centres to allow organisations to select which services they require and outsource the hosting of their applications and services to suit their current business strategy. As with all of Node4’s services, users benefit from a platform that is stable and reliable through Node4’s use of high end equipment and the resilience delivered across multiple locations in Node4’s data centre network. For the first time, users will now be able to effectively ‘rent space’ on Node4’s hardware instead of having to house their own IT equipment in Node4’s data centres…

nCloud uses the hybrid cloud whereby two or more clouds (either public or private) remain separate entities but are bound together by standardised technology. This means that a company has the flexibility and control over which of its IT assets it wishes to outsource. Companies that choose to keep specifically sensitive information on their own private infrastructure can continue to do so. Everything else can be delivered through Node4’s shared platform that can dramatically change how a company utilises its IT services.

nCloud highlights one of the major benefits of cloud technology – the ability to reduce capital expenditure and replace significant upfront costs with operational costs. Instead of the hefty initial cost of IT equipment, nCloud allows firms to pay a monthly fee for the service they need. In addition, the dynamic, flexible nature of the infrastructure means users can continue to add or modify their services as their business requirements and budgets dictate.

With Node4’s reputation in cloud computing already established, nCloud allows companies to rest assured that their IT applications are delivered through an infrastructure that is reliable and well maintained. Node4 is responsible for everything including security, power and cooling at their data centres so companies are left to concentrate on the core functions of their businesses, while in-house IT staff can focus on business strategy instead their time being swallowed up by menial maintenance tasks.

Andrew Gilbert, managing director at Node4 said, "As the popularity of cloud computing has grown over recent years, Node4 has been leading from the front in terms of innovation and we’re really pleased to offer a service designed around our users’ requirements and how they use their IT services. Many companies want to make use of the benefits of cloud computing but previously, they had been held back by ‘off the shelf’ services that didn’t suit their requirements. Our ‘pick and mix’ approach that uses the hybrid cloud is a forward thinking solution that doesn’t tie down businesses.

"We have been dealing with cloud computing since our launch in 2004 as we have successfully run data centres in various locations across the country. nCloud allows us to expand our offering because users don’t necessarily have to run their applications on their own equipment anymore. The levels of convenience, support and security that offers is substantial." About Node4 Node4 is a specialist in data centre and communications solutions. Launched in 2004, the company has grown rapidly in the past seven years through its comprehensive service offering and the growth in demand for hosted IT from businesses all over the UK. Its competencies include colocation, managed hosting through dedicated servers and virtualised environments, connectivity, SIP trunking and hosted telephony. It has four state-of-the-art data centre facilities, two located in Derby and one in Leeds and one in Northampton, which offer the latest in security technology, ensuring that even the most mission-critical applications are hosted securely and protected.

The company aims to be one of the UK’s major forces for colocation services in the UK and to this end, provides the highest levels of performance and system availability to its customers throughout the UK. Node4 featured in The Sunday Times Tech Track 100 in both 2010 and 2011 and also won 1st place for fastest growing Midlands Technology Company in the Deloitte Fast50 and 22nd in the UK. The company also featured highly in 139th position of the Deloitte Fast 500 recognising fastest-growing technology companies across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.