Headcount: 93 (+63%)
Specialism: IT support
HQ: Chesterfield
Revenues, profits and headcount continue to head north at this Chesterfield-based Veeam, Microsoft and Wasabi partner, despite it bemoaning a “challenging economic environment” in its latest accounts.
Calendar 2024 revenues advanced 14% to £11.5m (70% of which were recurring), pre-tax profits more than doubled to £427,000 and average monthly headcount rose to 93 (up from 87, 73 and 57 in the three previous years).
These numbers do not include the contribution of April 2024 acquisition IT3000, which continued to operate separately during the period.
Following another acquisition and a major customer win, Central Technology’s headcount now stands at 115, CEO Ian Snow tells us (see below).
View the wider Fast-Growth 50 here.
Quickfire Q&A with Central Technology CEO Ian Snow
How have you been able to increase headcount in a flat market?
A mix of acquisition and strong organic growth. We acquired Microsoft consultancy Yoko:10 (adding four team members) and onboarded a major customer that transferred three staff via TUPE, but most growth has come from a strong year of new customer wins and building out every department and region to support future scale.
What mega trend will shape the year for your company?
AI, but more indirectly than people expect. The hype is pushing customers to rethink their data, which is leading to deeper conversations around storage, access, security and automation. That shift is helping us unlock much greater value for customers.
Which competitor or peer company do you respect the most, and why?
Aura Technology. We’ve worked with them for years and their strategic engagement model is excellent. They focus heavily on maximising long-term value for their customers.
What’s a fact or quirk about your company most people won’t know about?
We have a martial arts world champion working on our Healthcare Service Desk.
Does the rise of AI and automation make it less likely you’ll continue adding headcount at the same rate?
Yes. Our goal is to decouple revenue growth from headcount growth. Automation and AI will reshape how MSP teams operate, so growth will look different with more efficiency and new roles emerging.
Name one thing you have planned for the next 12 months
We’ve started a full review of our internal systems and core technology stack to improve efficiency, simplify management and ultimately deliver a better customer experience.
