Aberdeen-based IFB boosts growth with £500k investment and Brightsolid tie-up

Aberdeen-based cyber security and data hosting specialist IFB has invested £500,000 to accelerate its expansion plans.

The firm has also agreed a new partnership with Dundee-headquartered cloud computing outfit Brightsolid.

The long-term agreement will provide IFB with access to “new and considerable data centre hosting capacity”. With the addition of core network upgrades, it will also support the Aberdeen group’s business customers with ten-times the UK average internet speeds, increased cyber security and additional support for office and home working.

IFB has been providing connectivity, data centre cyber protection, cloud and telephony services since 1995 and has more than 700 business customers in the public sector, business services, education and industrial industries across Scotland and the UK.

IFB chief executive Graeme Gordon.

Bosses pointed to “substantial interest” in the firm’s services since the pandemic ushered in a new era of remote working.

The collaboration with Brightsolid is part of the company’s ongoing growth strategy. The increased data centre capacity and storage, and new cloud services, run alongside investment in new fibre-to-the-premises gigabit internet access. Earlier this year, the firm launched its “Threat Intelligence Platform” to help companies identify and mitigate potential system vulnerabilities, as well as simplifying cyber security accreditations.

Chief executive Graeme Gordon said: “In the last couple of years, businesses have evolved and working practices have changed. This has resulted in a rapid upsurge in the need for essential and secure data management with dependable network connectivity so people can remain productive, conduct meetings and collaborate virtually, email securely, and protect and store confidential company documents with confidence.

“Through this £500,000 long-term investment and the partnership with Brightsolid, we have bolstered existing services delivering a substantial increase in data centre hosting capacity.

“Our investment also enables us to increase our capacity to deliver greater internet bandwidth meaning we are able to provide and support speeds ten times faster than the UK average, assisting customers to connect with their data in less than a millisecond and remain productive.”

He added: “This development fuels our ambitious growth plans as we continue to elevate our position as one of Scotland’s leading data management and preferred network connectivity providers.”

Brightsolid has more than 25 years’ experience in data centre hosting and cloud services. Under the new arrangement, IFB’s UK business network will connect to Brightsolid’s secure data centres in Aberdeen and Dundee integrating these into IFB’s current infrastructure.

Brightsolid’s chief executive, Elaine Maddison, said: “Brightsolid and IFB have worked together for some time providing complementary services to customers and this is a natural extension of our existing partnership.”

Gordon added: “Through our combined expertise and infrastructure, we can ensure our clients receive a reliable, scalable, safe and cost-effective solution for the hybrid working environment.”

The firm said that organisations scaling up or using technologies which require greater and better access to data and cloud-based software and IT infrastructure have also necessitated an increased demand across IFB’s service range.

IFB was a finalist in the Customer First and Inspiration from Innovation categories for the Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce’s Northern Star Business Awards.

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