UKFast to take ANS name following last year's merger

ANS claims it is now ‘the UK’s largest independent cloud provider’

Managed cloud hosting business UKFast will adopt the ANS name moving forward following a merger between the two companies last year.

Public cloud transformation specialist ANS announced it had sold a majority stake to private equity group Inflexion last June in a move which also saw it join forces with UKFast.

ANS claims the renaming of UKFast makes the group the "the UK's largest independent cloud provider" - delivering public and private cloud, hosting, security, DevOps, applications and data expertise to 7,000 customers across SMB, mid-market and the public sector.

Inflexion acquired an initial 30 per cent minority stake in UKFast in 2019, which it increased to 75 per cent in May 2020 following the departure of its founders Lawrence and Gail Jones.

"The milestone represents huge opportunity, both for our team and our customers," ANS CEO Paul Shannon, who has become CEO of the combined firm, said.

"By combining the strengths of both businesses under the ANS name, we are creating a world-class digital transformation business, focussed on providing an amazing experience for our customers, team, and tech partners.

"The breadth and scope of cloud, digital and security expertise inside ANS is industry leading. By bringing together two of the best tech firms in the UK, we are primed to deliver exceptional service to customers, wherever they are in their digital transformation journey."

Additionally, ANS is setting its sights on further developing its training division to become "one of the largest and most comprehensive digital academies in the country".

It also plans to enhance its apprenticeship programme and launch a recruitment drive in 2022 to "meet strong market demand for digital technology and transformation skills".

"ANS has a strong track record in attracting and retaining the very best technical talent, something that has never been more important as more organisations embark on or progress their digital transformation journeys," Shannon added.

"We are focused on deepening the skilled resources available to customers who are working with increasingly complex IT landscapes."