arrow_back_ios Back View more articles

Wiltshire’s most secretive-sounding business address – the Business Cyber Centre – offers a welcome for all

Business Biscuit takes a peek behind the doors of Wiltshire’s most secretive-sounding address: the Business Cyber Centre.

Wiltshire’s most secretive-sounding business address is throwing open its doors to all companies in the county and beyond.

Inspired by Israel’s Be’er Sheba cyber centre, the Business Cyber Centre, which was established to provide a base for businesses in the county’s burgeoning cyber security sector, welcomed its first clients from the £5 billion a year sector.

Based in 21,000 feet over three floors, the £3.7 million facility is the UK’s first business-led cyber centre.

And as well as creating a safe yet collaborative environment for cyber security businesses, the new centre also boasts the most up-to-date conference, meeting and training facilities anywhere in the county.

Co//Lab (pictured) offers three spaces equipped with state-of-the-art presenter and audience technology which are available to hire by the hour, half day, or day.

The conference room can seat up to 140 people theatre-style, 80 around tables of eight for meetings, or 64 in a classroom style. The room can be divided into three, each with a 60-inch HD screen – ideal for presentations or hybrid meetings.

The facility is fitted with audience cameras, presenter tracking camera, and ceiling-mounted microphones.

Outside is a breakout space, where one of the highlights is a soundproof phone booth – perfect for anyone wanting to make a quiet phone call away from the hubbub of conferencing.

And the Project Rooms offer private spaces for small teams to meet – ideal for off-site team and board meetings and interviews.

An entire floor, meanwhile, is devoted to cyber security businesses. Many of the tenants will be commercial organisations working with the military or public bodies. Twelve offices can accommodate, in total, nearly 100 workers.

On the ground floor is the BCC Cafe, designed to hold more informal events for up to 100 people – like the Swindon & Wiltshire Cyber Cluster, which aims to bring together some of the 800 cyber professionals in the area for networking and knowledge sharing.

The ground floor also a flexible co-work area, dedicated to those in cyber industries where, as commercial operations manager Tom Marshall says: “A start-up SME can meet key players in the defence industry.

“The centre is a place where cyber security businesses – including those spinning out from the military – can grow, learn, and collaborate, helping increase Wiltshire’s presence as an important centre for cyber security.

“And we hope businesses outside of the cyber security industry will see the benefits of the state-of-the-art facilities – the best Wiltshire has to offer.”

The Business Cyber Centre – a UK first – opens in Wiltshire

Read more

13.05.2022

Date set for opening of the UK’s first business-led cyber centre in Chippenham

Read more

14.04.2022

Cyber Resilience Centre appoints two new advisors

Read more

22.09.2021