Headcount: 36 (+227%)
Specialism: IT and comms
HQ: Towcester, Northamptonshire
Starting life in 2018 with a mission to consolidate mobile, telco and connectivity with IT in the SMB space, this Northamptonshire-based MSP made four acquisitions between 2019 and 2023.
Organic growth is now the watchword for the Microsoft and 3CX partner following its sale in 2024 to serial MSP acquirer Evergreen’s Lyra Technology brand, CEO Stephen Richardson tells us (see below), however.
Digital Origin’s average monthly headcount more than trebled from 11 to 36 between calendar 2021 and 2024, with employee numbers since swelling to 65.
It boasts 450 clients.
View the wider Fast-Growth 50 here.
Q&A with Digital Origin CEO Stephen Richardson
How have you been able to increase headcount in a flat market?
We shifted from an acquisition‑led strategy to pure organic and new‑logo growth, and that meant building the firepower to match. By expanding our client service and account management teams, we’ve lifted service levels across the board and created far more meaningful, high‑value touchpoints with every client.
What mega trend do you think will most shape the year for your company?
The defining trend for us this year is the squeeze between AI demand and infrastructure scarcity, as chip shortages and capacity constraints force every organisation to rethink how and where they run AI workloads. At the same time, the rapid rise of sovereign cloud requirements is reshaping client expectations, pushing us to design services that are compliant, region‑aware, and resilient from day one.
Which competitor or peer do you respect the most, and why?
Totality Services stand out as a genuinely impressive MSP — sharp, professional, and consistently generous with their insight. Every time we’ve crossed paths, they’ve been open, collaborative, and willing to share ideas, embodying exactly how industry peers should operate when they’re raising the bar rather than guarding the gate.
What’s a fact or quirk about your company most people won’t know about?
Most people don’t realise our Digital Display product is one of the longest‑standing parts of our business, now over 50 years old, and still one of our most commercially powerful product pillars. With more than 8,000 managed sites and screens trusted by major high‑street brands, banks, supermarkets and foreign‑exchange giants, it’s a heritage acquisition that’s become a market‑leading engine of revenue, innovation and scale.
Does the rise of AI and automation make it less likely you’ll continue to add headcount at the same rate in the coming years?
AI and automation won’t slow our growth trajectory – they’ll sharpen where and how we invest. As we launch our AI & Automation‑as‑a‑Service offering, we’ll keep adding headcount where it drives strategic impact, while shifting repeatable workload to technology so our teams stay focused on high‑value execution.
Name one thing you have planned for the new 12 months
Over the next 12 months, we’re launching our AI & Automation‑as‑a‑Service offering to give clients practical, scalable ways to modernise their operations. Alongside this, we’re rolling out a full calendar of client learning and industry insight events to help organisations understand, adopt and maximise the real-world value of these new capabilities.
