Pulsant Supports Scottish Business Innovation with Investment in Edge Connectivity at The Crichton, Dumfries

Pulsant, the UK’s leading edge infrastructure provider, is today championing Scottish business growth by powering up access to its edge compute infrastructure between the, The Crichton Trust’s 85-acre campus, and the Pulsant South Gyle data centre.

By connecting users directly into Pulsant’s South Gyle data centre, the agreement will:

1. Deliver edge infrastructure to the 126 business across the Trust site, including the academic institutions and The Crichton Trust itself, including the Ladyfield wellbeing sustainable homes project and The Crichton Quarter Smart Energy project
2. Encourage businesses across the South of Scotland, to connect to high performance compute capability and benefit from access to the onsite S5GC Hub to develop and test new products and services, helping them to trial new revenue streams at no additional cost
3. Enable an innovation partner ecosystem at The Crichton Estate to power future digital projects, underpinning the services and technical expertise of the wider campus community – including academia, ISPs and satellite broadband providers – and improving access to 5G in rural areas across Scotland.

The commercial partnership supports the SOSE Digital Strategy to improve connectivity and access to digital transformation opportunities across the region. Access to the latest technology can remove the barriers to opportunities and unlock the potential of local businesses, driving significant advances in sectors from agritech and healthcare to textiles and tourism.

Supporting quotes:

Gwilym Gibbons, CEO at The Crichton Trust: “The Crichton is a home for NetZero innovation, business, and academia in which we seek to connect people, place and the past to shape the future. This agreement will provide over growing 120 rural businesses with the online access required to improve their competitive position in the wider economy and grow and scale. Connectivity removes the issue of location as a barrier to business success and that’s key to the mission here at The Crichton as we work to discover and develop new inspiring inclusive ways to live, work, learn, play and relax.”

Mark Wheeler, CEO, Fibairo added: “Connection is a utility, one that is critical for access to wider market opportunities. The lack of connectivity in rural areas needs to be addressed if the region is to grow. This partnership provides real potential to showcase the art of the possible to rural business across Scotland, delivering access to the value-add services they need to benefit and gain from next generation technology. It’s a huge challenge, but a great opportunity as well and one that can help the South of Scotland compete on a more level technology playing field.

Wendy Shearer, Director of Smart Cities and Ecosystems at Pulsant:

Pulsant is committed to supporting the growth of regional businesses across the UK.  Connecting rural companies into digital infrastructure allows them to tap into new markets, develop innovative products, streamline their business and scale globally. There is much talk of Levelling Up and Innovation zones, but sometimes the small and simple initiatives like this can really make a difference at a local level. Pulsant is proud to invest in this critical connection and to work alongside Fibairo and The Crichton Trust to connect businesses across the South of Scotland into the opportunities available from edge technology.