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New sovereign cloud solution enables 570+ companies to win government contracts, reduce costs by up to 25%, and accelerate compliance with homegrown winning companies PureColo and ThinkOn

KANATA, Ontario – February 23, 2026 – TheNewswire - As global data localization requirements intensify and cross-border data flows face increasing restrictions, Canada's largest technology park is positioning its resident companies for unprecedented competitive advantage. The Kanata North Business Association (KNBA) today announces exclusive access to a resilient, made-in-Canada sovereign cloud infrastructure that directly addresses the most pressing challenges facing today's tech innovators. Powered by leading Canadian providers ThinkOn and PureColo, this infrastructure gives Kanata North's 570+ member companies the tools to capture opportunities in Canada's $6.8 billion public sector IT market while significantly reducing operational costs and compliance timelines.

"This isn't just about data sovereignty – it's about competitive differentiation," said Kelly Daize, Executive Director, KNBA. "Our members can prepare to bid on government contracts previously out of reach, achieve SOC 2 compliance 60% faster than traditional approaches, and reduce cloud costs by over 25% compared to hyperscale alternatives. In a tech park contributing CAD $14 billion annually to Canada's GDP, this represents a transformational opportunity for our 33,000 employees and their companies."

Why This Matters Now

Recent regulatory changes, including Bill C-27 and enhanced provincial privacy laws, are creating new requirements that are more easily achieved using domestically hosted solutions. Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions are driving government and enterprise customers to prefer Canadian-controlled infrastructure.

Immediate Competitive Advantages for Tech Companies

🏆 Unlock Government & Regulated Sector Revenue

●   Government of Canada "Protected B" security clearance ready through PureColo's CISD-certified data centres

●   Accelerated  compliance : PCI DSS, SSAE16 SOC2 Type2, and CSAE3416 Type2, ISO 27001/27107/27018 certifications already in place

●   Win rates increase : Companies report 3x higher success rates in government RFPs when offering Canadian-hosted solutions

💰 Dramatic Cost Reductions

●   More than 25% average savings compared to hyperscale cloud providers

●   Transparent pricing with no hidden fees or egress charges

●   Predictable scaling costs for growing startups and established enterprises

⚡ Superior Performance Where It Counts

●   Sub-2ms latency to major Canadian markets

●   100% uptime SLA backed by 2MW+ redundant power infrastructure

●   Ottawa Internet Exchange hosting provides direct connectivity to 40+ carriers

●   Carrier-neutral environment eliminates vendor lock-in concerns

🚀 Accelerated Time-to-Market

●   AI and ML workloads : Train models on Canadian data without cross-border compliance delays

●   FinTech solutions : Process sensitive financial data with built-in regulatory compliance

●   HealthTech innovations : Handle patient data while meeting strict provincial privacy requirements

●   Defense contractors : Secure infrastructure ready for sensitive government projects

Real-World Impact for Tech Park Companies

For AI Startups : "Train models on Canadian datasets with simplified data governance, avoiding the complexity of cross-border data transfer agreements and regulatory considerations.”

"For FinTech Companies : "Achieve mandatory financial services compliance in weeks, not months, while reducing infrastructure costs by 25%."

For HealthTech Firms : "Deploy patient data solutions that meet both federal and provincial privacy requirements from day one."

For Government Contractors : "Secure infrastructure ready for sensitive government projects."

Strategic Partnership Details

ThinkOn brings enterprise-grade Data Protection as a Service, emphasizing true data sovereignty over "hyperscaler hype." Their solutions feature transparent pricing, robust security, and the ability to keep Canadian data under Canadian control.

PureColo provides the physical foundation with carrier-neutral colocation space with their flagship facility located in the heart of Canada's largest technology research park supporting recognized global brands like Infinera (Nokia), Wind River, Dell, Kinaxis, CIRA, to name a few. Their facilities boast 6MW+ of sovereign infrastructure and is home to the only internet exchange in the region,CANIX . PureColo is a wholly owned subsidiary of public data center aggregator Carrier Connect Data Solutions Inc. (TSXV: CCDS; OTCQB: CCDSF) .

Limited-Time Opportunity for Early Adopters

The initial infrastructure deployment has limited capacity, with priority access reserved for KNBA members. Companies joining the pilot program in Q1 2026 will receive:

●   25% discount on first-year infrastructure costs

●   Priority migration support with dedicated technical teams

●   Compliance consultation to identify immediate opportunities in government and regulated sectors

What Tech Leaders Are Saying

“ Cerio is proud to support Canada’s sovereign data centre initiatives with the world’s first scalable Composable Disaggregated Infrastructure (CDI) data centre solution, developed in Canada by Canadians. As a customer of PureColo, we’ve experienced firsthand the strength of their operations and their commitment to building resilient, future‑ready environments”, said Phil Harris, CEO of Cerio.  “We are equally proud to serve as a Canadian technology supplier to world‑class organizations like ThinkON to strengthen the nation’s sovereign digital foundation for the next generation of AI and compute needs. Cerio’s technology enables data centers across the country to lower operational overhead and cost, reduce power and cooling demands, and rapidly integrate new and advanced capabilities to keep Canadians at the forefront of technology.”

Take Action Now - Click here to begin a discussion with our experts via contact form

Reserve Your Consultation : Limited slots available at the upcoming Kanata North Tech Summit

Join the Pilot Program : Applications open through May 2026.  

About the Kanata North Business Association

Representing over 570 companies in Canada's Largest Technology Park, KNBA drives innovation and business success to ensure that this is the best place in Canada for technology companies to grow, prosper, and thrive.

Media Contacts:

Hannah Manierka, Kanata North BA, 416-460-0799 or hannah.manierka@kanatanorthba.ca

Michael Lalonde, PureColo - 613-255-4354 or info@purecolo.ca

About PureColo Inc.

Purecolo began as a local carrier agnostic data center over 10 years ago in our nation's capital, Ottawa, Canada. The company provides white space to large enterprise clients and SMB’s alike focussing on the three pillars of a top tier data center (power, transit & security). For more information, you may visit their website at:

https://www.purecolo.ca/

About ThinkOn Inc.

ThinkOn is a proudly Canadian-owned cloud service provider specializing in secure, scalable, and sovereign data management. As a channel-only organization, ThinkOn delivers Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Disaster Recovery (DRaaS), and Backup (BaaS) solutions tailored for government and enterprise sectors. With a global network of data centers and a deep commitment to data sovereignty, ThinkOn is a trusted partner for sensitive public sector workloads, offering high-touch support and predictable, transparent pricing.

https://thinkon.com/

Get Technical Specifications : Visit https://thinkon.com/solutions/ for detailed infrastructure specs

About Carrier Connect Data Solutions Inc., Parent company of PureColo Inc.

Carrier Connect Data Solutions’ mission is to roll up Tier II/III data centers internationally that specialize in delivering co-location and data center solutions to AI companies, service providers, enterprises and small businesses. Data centers are the physical locations that store computing machines and their related hardware equipment, such as servers, data storage drives, and network equipment. As a carrier-neutral organization, Carrier’s systems are fully independent and owned outright within its leased space. The current principal markets for the Company are Vancouver and Ottawa, Canada and Perth, Australia, where it serves clients who use its facilities either as their primary data center or as an ancillary site depending on their needs.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

“Mark Binns”

Mark Binns, CEO

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Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. “Forward-looking information” includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future. Generally, but not always, forward-looking information and statements can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates”, or “believes” or the negative connotation thereof or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will be taken”, “occur” or “be achieved” or the negative connotation thereof. Such forward-looking information is based on numerous assumptions, including among others, that general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner. Although the assumptions made by the Company in providing forward-looking information are considered reasonable by management at the time, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking information also involves known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual events or results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future events or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking information or statements, including, among others: negative operating cash flow and dependence on third party financing, uncertainty of additional financing, reliance on key management and other personnel, and the risk factors with respect to the Company set out in the Company’s filings with the Canadian securities regulators and available under the Company’s profile on SEDAR+ atwww.sedarplus.ca . Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or reissue forward-looking information as a result of new information or events except as required by applicable securities laws.

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