Pushing harder into cybersecurity and vendor wishlist: STECHAD MD Dr Adaora Dagogo on 2025 goals

CRN hears how the IT outsourcing firm plans to grow this year

STECHAD is eyeing vendor partnerships to bolster its cybersecurity skills as part of its growth strategy for 2025.

Founded in 2020, it has grown from a start-up with seven heads to a budding company with ten UK staff and more than 200 contractors. Globally the firm has 25 staff and over 1,000 contractors across Europe and Africa.

This expansion was managing director Dr Adaora Dagogo’s highlight of 2024.

“When we first started in 2020 we had IT staffing and outstaffing.

“Last year we had to expand massively into IT procurement and IT solutions.

“We are now a full service IT outsourcing firm helping businesses with proactive IT, management, backup and disaster recovery, cybersecurity and EDR,” Dagogo tells CRN.

She also points to her company’s CSR initiative EmpowerHer Tech as her second highlight, where STECHAD offers IT skills to high school girls across several African Countries.

“We’ve trained hundreds of high school girls in cybersecurity, data analytics, web development and so much more.

“And some of them even received laptops and scholarships to kick start their tech career.”

2025 goal?

Staring down the barrel of what she wants to achieve this year, Dagogo names another initiative.

“The launch of what we call Business Item Spotlight (BTS), an initiative where top business leaders share their stories so young professionals can learn from their struggles and successes.”

“We're also trying to expand our reach in the UK and globally,” she adds.

“We have a goal of partnering with at least 50 mid-sized businesses globally.

“Hopefully by the beginning of February 2026 those are two things that would have been done and dusted.”

‘I greatly believe in upskilling’

Outlining what’s top of her priority list for the year ahead, Dagogo stresses the importance of continuing to train her team in an ever-changing market like IT.

“I greatly believe in upskilling. So investing in upskilling to ensure we stay ahead in IT solutions, and also ensuring my team is equipped for the growing needs of different businesses.”

But also of high importance is more strategic partnerships with vendors who can help expand the STECHAD business, Dagogo says.

“We want to continue collaborating with businesses that align with our IT services, including staffing, procurement and IT solutions.

“The types of vendors we’re looking for are cybersecurity. Security remains such a big issue for many businesses.

“So we’re looking for partners who are solely into that because we're looking at pushing that side of what we do further.

“We’ve also got an eye out for partners offering remote monitoring or management of the IT infrastructure, and service ticketing.”

Four point growth strategy

Laying down how she plans to deliver on her growth ambitions for this year, Dagogo’s approach consists of four major points.

The first, as already mentioned, is more vendor partnerships.

Her second centres on expanding STECHAD’s service offerings around IT procurement and IT solutions.

“We’re trying to push harder into cybersecurity, so that’s something that has helped being flexible to what the current demands are in the market,” she says.

“The third is around brand visibility - attending key conferences, enhancing our digital presence, building awareness, and reaching out to potential clients and customers as a result.

“And the fourth is something that’s very dear to my heart - diversity and inclusion.

“We’re committed to fostering an inclusive environment, ensuring that our team reflects the diverse board that we serve, and helping people break barriers in the tech space.”

Challenges

MSPs, both small and large, continue to reap the rewards of the demanding market, according to Kaseya’s 2025 State of the MSP report.

However, Dagogo notes that this busy market poses a challenge for STECHAD.

“One particular challenge, which I believe that most companies also face, is the whole market competition.

“The IT outsourcing or MSP space is crowded, so staying ahead means continuous innovation.

“Another challenge would be client education, which, this year we're spending a lot of time on, because many businesses still view IT as an afterthought.

“So we're trying to work with them to see IT as a proactive investment and not a reactive cost.”

Finally, something STECHAD is grappling with is trying to scale while maintaining quality.

“Many businesses, as they scale and serve more businesses, sometimes their quality of service diminishes.

“So as much as we grow, we want to ensure that our services remain top notch regardless of the number of businesses we're catering.”