Vizst Technology’s CEO details how a narrowed view of cybersecurity vendors has sharpened the MSP’s focus on growth.
Vizst Technology has grown its cybersecurity division to represent over 40% of its £10m recurring revenue. According to CEO Richard Betts, this has been driven by a more selective approach to partnerships.
“In the last two years, we have refined our vendor portfolio from a large cohort to a focused group of eight vendors,” He said: “This has enabled us to achieve the highest accreditations and develop specialised skill sets in these technologies.”
Over the past year, Vizst’s team has completed more than 120 vendor accreditations, according to Betts. “These are instrumental is having us stand out in a competitive market,” he said. “As demand continues to grow for cybersecurity, we need to stay ahead of the curve and so remaining at the highest accreditation levels is vital for us.”
With a team of over 40 professionals, the privately-owned technology partner supports nearly 300 businesses, offering a wide range of services, from network infrastructure to advanced cybersecurity, all supported by high-level certifications. These include ISO 27001, a global standard for information security management, ISO 9001 for quality management, and ISO 14001 for environmental management systems.
A consolidated cohort also enables Vizst to be closer to the partners it does keep, including Infoblox, Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks, Arctic Wolf, Gigamon, Cato Networks. This means the MSP can stay abreast of emerging trends and communicate these immediately with partners. “We collaborate with our vendor and distributor technology partners to ensure we are optimising our offerings in line with any changes,” Betts noted.
This is particularly critical in an ever-changing regulatory landscape and has helped Vizst adapt to the increasingly stringent European cybersecurity frameworks, such as DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act) and NIS2 (Network and Information Systems Directive), along with standards like CE+ (Cyber Essentials Plus) and PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard).
“We have adapted our marketing and sales strategies to help customers and prospects meet the deadlines set by these frameworks,” Betts explained. By aligning with key cybersecurity vendors, Vizst can provide the technologies necessary to ensure compliance with these frameworks, particularly in high-stakes industries such as finance and banking.
Betts added: “We’ve shifted our demand generation messaging to focus on these regulatory requirements, helping our clients navigate them successfully.”
The company’s internal product team plays a pivotal role in this ongoing process, balancing vendor expertise with the demands of its customers. Vizst remains human-first in a technologically complex sector.
Betts explained: "Tight vendor relationships are key but we address our customers' pain points instead of leading with a vendor or technology. By becoming a trusted technology partner, we work through their problems with them and truly understand their requirements all the way from minimal support to a fully outsourced Security Operations Centre.
“Only by doing this can we provide a cybersecurity solution that genuinely meets their needs, evolving our offerings and developing scalable solutions for a set of diverse requirements.”
Smart growth: ‘Our entire team is commercially aware’
Betts notes that to fuel this, the company is committed to reinvesting in the talent that drives expansion. “As a cybersecurity and networking partner, having experts remains a key focus for us and will continue to be as we grow. As profit increases, we balance it by investing in new talent and training to deliver the best possible service to our customers.
“Our staff are experts and having a consolidated vendor portfolio means they can really dig deep into certifications, training, strategic growth plans, focused marketing campaigns, and pipeline and lead generation.”
For Vizst, growth isn’t just about expanding, it's about doing so intelligently and sustainably. A crucial element of this process is the ability to measure the effectiveness and return on investment of their services. Betts highlighted the importance of this approach: “Our entire team is commercially aware, and we hold ourselves accountable with detailed reports that track our progress.”
These reports provide a clear, data-driven perspective on how well Vizst’s marketing efforts, demand generation, and service performance are translating into success. “By keeping a close eye on the numbers and staying agile, we can adapt quickly to ensure we remain profitable while continuing to deliver top-tier service to our clients,” Betts concluded.
