Taking you back to where it all began

Posted by Philip Bindley

At The Bunker, we’re extremely proud of our history and our roots. We might be a technology company, but it’s people that have made the company what it is today – the UK’s most secure data centre, dedicated to helping our customers navigate a continuously shifting compliance and security landscape.

But to understand how we got here, we need to go back to where it all began…

The early days

In 1994,  Dominic Hawken and Ben and Adam Laurie made it their mission to meet the increasing demand for secure web applications. They were already technology and cryptography gurus, and Ben Laurie would later go on to write Apache-SSL, which would fundamentally change internet security.

They set out to look for a location to house their web app business venture, and opted for a former military bunker in Ash, Kent. Acquired from the UK Ministry of Defence, the place must be seen to be believed – boasting reinforced concrete walls and steel doors to the nuclear bomb-proof corridors that lie 30 metres underground. With security built in to every centimetre of the site, it perfectly reflected the culture of complete security that the brothers wanted to create with their business.

Once Dominic, Adam and Ben got started, they quickly noticed a gap in the market. While the web apps they created had security baked in, there was nowhere to securely host them. They took on this challenge, creating a cutting-edge data centre that had security at its core, locating it at the military-grade bunker they already operated from. The Bunker – as we now know it – was born.

This drive to find solutions to security issues and focus on innovation has been at the heart of our company ever since.

A growing family…

From a three-man band – Ben, Adam, and Dominic Hawken to an almost 80-strong workforce, we’ve enjoyed successive year-on-year growth in terms of employees, revenue and clients. To cater for this demand we acquired our second ultra-secure Newbury site from the US Air Force in 2004, a former command and control centre used to protect both people and technology from a nuclear attack. It now protects our clients’ data from the ever-changing threat landscape, with monitoring and management from our expert staff around the clock. We have also established a sales hub in London to better serve our clients in the capital and beyond.

Our customer base has grown from just two businesses to hundreds of organisations, from some of the most highly regulated businesses in the world to organisations providing vital blue light services. Our capabilities have grown too thanks to our in house experts – from ultra-secure colocation to secure managed cloud services and GDPR-compliant back-ups.

Our success comes down to having security and innovation at the very core of our business. It’s in our DNA.

… That’s getting even bigger

Joining the Cyberfort Group was the next step in our journey. We now sit alongside other innovative and forward-thinking security businesses, including penetration testing specialist, Arcturus, and cyber security consultant, Agenci. With these additional capabilities, we can together deliver a truly end-to-end security service for our customers.

With security at the heart of every aspect of our business – from the mission of our founders, to our sites, to every single decision we have made over the last 20 years – we’ve become the UK’s most trusted and secure data centre partner.

Now part of a unique offering from the Cyberfort Group, we’re setting out to grow the business even further and continue to transform customers’ businesses.

It was brilliant people that made The Bunker what it is today, and it’s our brilliant people that will continue to drive us forward into the future.