Press

Expansion into Scotland Continues

The Onyx Group, a fast growing technology solutions provider, is bolstering its strong presence in Scotland with the opening of a new three-floor office and state-of-the-art workplace recovery centre in the heart of Edinburgh’s telecommunications district.

The new centre, based at Sirius House, South Gyle, will offer managed workspace for up to 250 people in the event of businesses needing to relocate due to a disaster. It will build on Onyx’s existing infrastructure by linking to its workplace recovery centre and data centre in Glasgow and will also become the new base for staff from the Group’s Dalkeith and Falkirk offices.

Announcing the opening, Onyx Group Chief Executive Officer Neil Stephenson said: “We have identified a growing demand for workplace recovery facilities in Edinburgh and this new centre will enhance the services that we are able to offer to our significant customer base in Scotland. It is ideally situated in Edinburgh’s telecommunications district and well-served by excellent transport links.

“There is increasing regulatory pressure on all businesses to have continuity plans in place in order to minimise disruption should the worst happen, and, while more serious threats to a business such as terrorism are rare, power outages, fires or even denial of access to office facilities can cause irreparable damage.

“In the event of a disaster, businesses in Edinburgh and its surrounding areas will have immediate access to top-of-the-range facilities, so that their customers need not even notice a disruption.”

Keith Watters, Associate Partner at Graham + Sibbald, who acted on behalf of Onyx, commented: “We are very pleased to have secured Sirius for Onyx. The property was the perfect fit for their needs and we were able to negotiate a very competitive incentive package.”

The new office and workplace recovery facility builds on Onyx Group’s growing presence in Scotland, following acquisitions of Falkirk and Glasgow-based Campbell Lee and Edinburgh-based Dundas IT last year. Headquartered in North East England, the Group has targeted expansion in Scotland, with nearly half of its 100-strong team based in the former Glasgow, Dalkeith and Falkirk offices, including both the Director of Infrastructure and Director of Services.

Onyx recently appointed IT expert Nigel Hedley as its new Director of Services, who will be based in the new Edinburgh office. Nigel brings over twenty years’ experience of sales, strategy and management within the IT sector, having secured major outsourcing contracts for Sema - now Atos Origin - and overseen the flotation of Azur, now Maxima. He joins the Group’s Director of Infrastructure, Hugh Gillen, who is based in Glasgow.

In addition to business continuity and workplace recovery services, Onyx provides managed services and networking to over 3,000 UK customers from its bases in Scotland and three offices in North East England, along with a further base in Slough. The Group also has three data centres and a second workplace recovery centre in the North East.