Member Article

£5m investment pledge for new Gatwick data centre to boost connectivity in and around London

Data centre operator and cloud provider, 4D, has pledged to invest £5m in a newly opened data centre near Gatwick that will give businesses in London and the South East wider access to ultra-fast internet and cloud services.

Its new 4D Gatwick facility, which is based in Crawley, was opened last week by local MP Henry Smith, and boasts capacity for up to 400 racks and a fibre network connecting businesses right into the heart of London.

The data firm has also pledged to invest £5m in the centre, which joins its Kent and Surrey data centres as part of its network, over the next five years in an effort to bring further capacity and broadband services to businesses along the A23 corridor.

Following its opening, Jack Bedell-Pearce, Managing Director at 4D, claimed the data centre’s proximity to Gatwick Airport could potentially make it an attractive proposition for big international technology companies looking to set up in the area.

He commented: “We’re excited to be offering our data centre and its entire infrastructure benefits not only to Crawley, but other towns and cities along the A23 corridor such as Brighton, Redhill and Croydon.

“Our proximity to Gatwick airport means we’ll act as a magnet for international technology companies to setup in the area as well. But most of all, we’re looking forward to employing people from the area and working with local businesses in order to boost the digital economy of West Sussex.”

MP Henry Smith hailed the local employment opportunities that the new data centre would provide, from security positions to engineers, as well as the benefits its business broadband service would serve up for businesses in the local area.

He added: “I’m very pleased to be welcoming 4D to Crawley. It’s good to see a fast growing, British owned cloud technology company expanding in this area and bringing broadband to local businesses.”