By doing exactly what they say they do on the tin, UK channel partners have traditionally taken the ‘Ronseal’ approach to brand names.
Computacenter, Softcat (originally ‘Software Catalogue’) and SCC (Specialist Computer Centres) are prime examples.
But now a trend of moving to more abstract, enigmatic or aspirational monikers is in full swing.
Take the rechristening last week of the UK’s largest Google partner to ‘Beyond’ (it was until 19 months ago known as ‘Cloud Technology Solutions’).
Here we round up the top nine times UK MSP and VAR rebrands of the 2020s (ranked in ascending size order of where they appeared in Oxygen 250 2026).
9. Techary
Old name: Stephens IT
Date of name change: 2020
Rationale
Naming his MSP after himself when he launched it in 2012 was an “easy decision”, CEO Tom Stephens acknowledged as he announced it was rebranding to Techary in 2020.
By that time, the Orpington-based outfit’s revenues had grown to $5m and its eponymous name “did not reflect the business we now operate”.
What happened next?
Six years on, Techary has grown into a £36m-revenue business, with its UK subsidiary ranking 234th in Oxygen 250 2026.
Talking to IT Channel Oxygen last July, Stephens characterised the name changes as “a real catalyst in terms of clients not seeing us as that smaller firm”.
“The next Uber isn’t going to be called ‘London Minicabs’,” he said.
“Everyone in our industry is ‘someone IT Solutions’ – our original name was easy to think of. It took a lot of effort to rebrand and get a seven-letter domain name, but it was a real catalyst for our growth.”
Reseller rebrand countdown continues on following page…
