The move heralds a potential new industry for the Highlands, acknowledged as an ideal location for large computing facilities because of its climate, access to renewable energy sources and relative security, and  represents an estimated £20m investment  which will eventually create employment for over 400 people.

Under an innovative “Utility Computing” model, also known as “Cloud Computing”, users are charged on a monthly basis for the actual IT resources their business uses. A recently expanded pilot project run by Alchemy Plus over the last 18 months has delivered an average cost saving of 28% to users of the service and ongoing development work is set to unlock even greater savings.

Peter Swanson, (left) chairman of Alchemy Plus, says: “This development could not be better timed. Demand for premium data centre space continues to far outstrip available supply and the current economic downturn is driving a rapid shift towards “Cloud” based services which offer greater economy and flexibility.

“Utility Computing will revolutionise the way businesses use computers and seriously cut costs for many companies and public sector organisations. All the major players see this as the future of IT delivery and I’m delighted that we in the Highlands are leading the way for the rest of the UK. We want to construct an iconic landmark building for the city that will act as a beacon for others.”

The planned facility is intended to be the greenest of its kind in the country. Data centres generate substantial heat and high levels of electrical power are needed to supply the computing hardware and the extensive cooling system that protects it. Alchemy Plus has developed a holistic approach to energy conservation, building on the advantages of the colder northern Scotland climate and the Highlands’ abundance of renewable energy from established hydro electric and wind power schemes.

Alchemy Plus intends to transmit waste heat from the planned 20,000 sq ft facility to warm neighbouring parts of the Inverness Harbour development including retail units, offices and a major hotel - making the facility one of the most energy efficient to be built.

Steve Chisholm, Alchemy Plus CEO (right) comments: “We are delighted that our vision for such an innovative facility here in the Highlands has now reached another major milestone and is moving forward at a pace. Much thought has gone into developing an environmentally friendly solution that reduces energy consumption and waste while satisfying a rapidly growing demand for cheaper and more flexible IT services that enhance business value.”

By offering access to high availability, high performance computing resources on demand, along with full disaster recovery facilities, Alchemy Plus believes that its facility will become a central hub attracting other innovative companies that wish to gain proximity to its powerful and cost effective computing resources. Discussions have already taken place with a number of national and international companies who have expressed an interest in working with Alchemy Plus.

A planning application for the new development is being prepared and is likely to be submitted in the New Year. The state of the art computing facility will be up and running by the end of 2010.

Alchemy Plus plans to use the computing facility as a resource centre to underpin the delivery of outsourced services to businesses across the UK. By allowing workers from throughout the Highlands to access its state-of-the-art system to perform outsourced shared services this will create full or part-time employment for micro businesses and individuals across the region.

Raymond O’Hare,(left) director of Microsoft Scotland, said: "The increasing importance of Software plus Services in offering businesses of all sizes flexibility and choice in technology solutions that genuinely meets their needs, means that developments like this are vital, to ensure that Scotland stays at the forefront of this growing industry."

“This is good news for Inverness," says Stewart Nicol, CEO Inverness Chamber of Commerce."  This project will really put the city on the map for developments in information technology.  This is a field in which Inverness and the Highlands can excel and we need to take full advantage of the opportunities it offers.”

Source: http://www.alchemyplus.com/