10 NETWORK GROUP 01732 759725 Following Network Group’s 30th anniversary Gala event at Wembley Stadium on April 25, Technology Reseller caught up with David Tulip, Director of the MSP community, to discuss how the Group has evolved since its foundation in 1994. Below are eight ways in which he believes Network Group has changed and continues to change w Focus has moved from buying to knowledge-sharing “Network Group was originally the Network Buying Group and we still get called Network Buying Group, or NGB, more than a decade after we dropped ‘Buying’ from our name and became Network Group. “Buying is in our DNA and we still say to SaaS vendors and hardware providers ‘Treat us like a £200 million pound organisation not like a £1 million or £2 million organisation because collectively that’s what we’re worth’. But really buying is a by-product of what we do. “Today, the value of Network Group lies in knowledge-sharing, sharing best practice and being a trusted space where members can learn from each other: ‘I've just lost a level two tech – what am I doing wrong?’, ‘How much do you pay your guys?’, ‘How do you keep them engaged?’. Or ‘Guys, I’m thinking of exiting the business, what are my options?’. “It’s lonely running a business of 20 people and great to be able to turn to peers you trust. We've had all sorts of stories shared within our walls, of challenges, vulnerabilities, even mental health. There’s real friendship and support for each other.” e Network Group has become a more inclusive ecosystem for vendors “We have three revenue streams. One is a membership fee paid by nearly 90 members, which includes a hotel room every quarter so they can come and be part of our meetings. Network Group is an active community. If you're not going to bother attending frequently, we'd ask you to leave. Network Group is a movement of people that help each other, it’s a cooperative. The membership is the centre of the dartboard. “The inner ring, the 25, represents our preferred partners. We have about 40 vendors and distributors who pay a quarterly membership fee, giving them two expos a year and attendance at our January and July events. Over the years our ecosystem has become more inclusive. Instead of partners just turning up to present to us, which is what used to happen, we very much bring them into this ecosystem and ask them to deliver value and help us, rather than just pitch to us. In return, they hear about the challenges MSP owners face, so they get some real value and learning as well. “We are approached all the time by partners because we're a gateway to an opportunity. And we have those calls because we're always looking to put our members ahead of the curve. We try to pick up young companies with a view to helping them. There were 48 vendors in the expo hall at Wembley and some were new companies – the likes of Inforcer (see panel overleaf). “The third revenue stream is rebates from partners, which we typically pass back through to our members to help incentivise growth.” r Network Group’s influence extends across the Atlantic “We get more interest from North America now. A good number of people from there come to our events, the likes of Danny Jenkins, CEO of Threatlocker, who flew in to attend our Wembley Gala. That never used to happen. Now, we get probably six vendors every quarter flying in from North America to be a part of what we're doing. “My approach is to be wholly transparent about what they can expect. If an audience of 90 or so technology service providers of this size and demographic is a good audience for you, why wouldn’t you want to be in our room. If it’s not a good audience, don't bother coming. I want it to be a no-brainer. Yes, winning new business would be great but it is also an opportunity to maintain relationships from a review and catch up point of view. Individually our members might not warrant a visit every quarter, but at our events you can meet dozens of your customers in one place.” q Today, it’s all about MSPs “In 1994, Network Buying Group was set up because the founders felt smaller retailers and resellers were being offered poor pricing and receiving inadequate service from account managers. “When I joined it 11 years later, there were 32 member companies. Half were in retail and half were b2b resellers or breakfix, early MSPs. It was very much a 50:50 b2c:b2b world. “Today, the group has evolved predominantly into a managed service provider (MSP) community, with approaching 90 member companies. The retail guys haven’t all disappeared – 10% of our group have some retail outlets – and they are still part of the group and supporting small businesses in their local area. “The average Network Group member has revenues of £2 million to £2.5 million, will employ 16-18 staff and manage 2,500 endpoints. Our smallest member has a turnover of £400,000 and our largest £12 million. Member companies are typically growing 20% a year. “Our network stretches from the top of Scotland, down to the Channel Islands. We cover Wales and we have 7 or so members in Ireland, plus one in Gibraltar. “I don’t want the membership to grow any bigger than 120 companies in case we lose that community ethos that makes us so unique. I'm a gatekeeper to that.” 30 years and counting Continued... Network Group Chairman Michael Morgan with David Tulip
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