‘My role is to refocus, double down on what we do well, and build a UK strategy for 2026’: Onnec UK MD

Claire Keelan tells CRN about building a future-proof UK strategy, public sector prospects, and datacentre development

London-based reseller Onnec has recently created a new leadership role as the organisation grows in scale and wants its home country to steer in a new direction.

To meet its goals, it appointed Claire Keelan earlier this year as its first-ever UK MD.

Keelan tells CRN that the company’s size made it necessary to establish a dedicated UK executive position, and that the group now intends to double down on the domestic market.

Globally, the organisation is set to exceed £200m this year, growing 30 to 40 per cent year-on-year, a “baffling” trajectory, says the MD.

Onnec’s UK arm represents 80 per cent of the group’s total revenue, followed by Ireland, the Nordics and Asia.

Keelan adds that her goal is to strengthen the firm’s operations in the country, as global expansion has taken much of the group’s attention in recent years while growth in the reseller’s homeland has been comparatively stagnant.

“My role is to refocus, double down on what we do well, understand every client, understand our processes and pinch points, and build a UK strategy for 2026 and 2027,” she explains.

“Clients want a direct point of contact. It is also important internally for structure, lessons learned and resilience.”

Giving CRN a preview of the group’s strategy, Keelan explains that it will focus on expanding within its existing client base, revisiting former accounts whose contracts are coming up for renewal and exploring adjacent opportunities such as asset recycling for large tech companies.

Defence and public sector will also be key priorities.

UK consolidation and datacentre opportunity

The business intends not only to consolidate its footprint around London but also expand up the central spine into Wales and Scotland.

Keelan sees critical infrastructure as a major opportunity across the country, with around 100 new datacentres expected to be built in the UK over the next five years.

“The UK should get disproportionate economic benefit from all of this, but I think the fuse has not fully been lit yet,” highlights Keelan.

“The government needs to move from planning to real execution. The pace of change is extraordinary.”

She identifies tax incentives, space, government encouragement, planning, cost to acquire, critical infrastructure and power as the main drivers for datacentre growth, particularly in Northeast and Northwest of the country, in cities including Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester, and Glasgow.

“I think it is important to spread across the UK. London is already busy enough.”

Despite this, Northern Ireland does not yet form part of the company’s 2026 plans.

“We already have locations there, but our priority is doubling down where we currently operate and building centres of excellence before expanding too widely,” she tells CRN.

Workforce overhaul and client base evolution

Keelan’s appointment in July is one of several exec changes made by the organisation across Europe this year.

In her role, she wants to further reshape the British segment’s workforce and leadership, as well as strengthen its operational and commercial structure to create what she calls “cradle-to-grave commercial ownership”.

“We want one thread from bidding, programming and financials through to handover to operations, with muscle memory across verticals and clients,” she says.

The reseller also plans to add staff focused on process improvement to increase efficiency and streamline workflows.

The UK branch, which ranks number 31 in CRN’s Top VARs list, currently employs around 430 people, rising to between 1,500 and 2,000 when including technicians and partners.

Within managed services, which represents 46 per cent of the unit’s P&L, Onnec serves around 120 to 130 clients.

Keelan notes that many accounts are in technology and finance, and that the company intends to raise its profile in both private and public sector defence across 2026 as accreditations, structure and sales preparation progress.

She expects around 25 per cent of UK growth to come from existing clients.

The firm is also re-engaging accounts dating back six to eight years, with the remainder of growth expected from new logos.

“We already have exciting new contracts for 2026,” she notes.

Partner relations and adaptation

While Keelan did not disclose the main distributors Onnec works with, she says she is meeting with all major manufacturers and distributors as part of her induction.

The company partners with vendors including Fortinet, Ericsson, Cisco, CommScope and Aruba.

“We work with the major providers, and they are scaling with us.”

Although the reseller plans to bring on new vendors internationally, it intends to focus on strengthening existing partnerships and improving collaboration.

“We are having discussions with key brands. We have 13 entities across the group. We are not far behind on anything,” she explains.

“How the Onnec group has prevailed is through the extraordinary diversity of its workforce from South Africa, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand, Asia.”

Territorial expansion

While 80 per cent of revenue currently comes from the UK, Keelan expects this balance to shift as the Nordics continue their rapid growth trajectory.

Earlier this year, the firm expanded its presence in the region with the launch of a new entity in Finland.

Growth in both the Nordics and Asia will be driven largely by datacentre development.

Onnec also has teams planning and executing projects in the US.

“We are in the US for one major customer we manage globally. Wherever they are, we are. Setting up shop in the US was looked at years ago, but it is a strategic question,” she explains.

“There is a big difference between doing work for clients in the US versus setting up and seeking work. That is what we have not done.”

Keelan also identifies the Middle East as a future growth region for 2026.

The organisation, which has “a couple of clients” there, sees increasing demand from global accounts wanting its presence in the region.