‘Our aim is to grow our managed services and our MSSP business’: Krome Technologies CEO
Rupert Mills talks revenue ambitions, international operations and workforce evolution
Krome Technologies is aiming for double-digit organic growth after passing the £30m revenue mark last year.
CEO Rupert Mills tells CRN the company has averaged between 11 and 12 per cent organic increase since 2009 and wants to maintain that trajectory with ambitions to push closer to 15 to 20 per cent.
“Obviously, from our perspective, we’d aim to keep hitting our average but the stretch is to try and achieve 15 to 20 per cent,” says Mills.
To do so, managed and contractual services will remain central to the Surrey-based MSP’s strategy, with an increased focus on security and MSSP offerings.
“Our aim is to grow our managed services and our security, our MSP and MSSP business,” he explains.
The company also continues to explore opportunities in AI, having delivered governance, discovery and LLM projects for selected customers.
Over the next 12 months, it is targeting continued revenue and EBITDA evolution, stronger security capabilities and increased new logo acquisition.
“We’re looking to find where we can offer a service that benefits the client and benefits their business. Enable them to grow and us to grow with them.”
Revenue split and client base
Last year’s top line totalled £30.4m, with approximately £27m generated in the UK, £2.4m in the EU and £1m in the US.
The organisation serves roughly 200 customers globally, mainly in regulated and technically demanding industries including pharmaceuticals, biopharma, manufacturing, oil and gas, finance as well as retail.
Krome Technologies focuses on mid-market and enterprise businesses.
He says the firm’s experience in compliance frameworks such as NIS2, ISO 27001, PCI and GxP will continue to support it evolution.
“That regulatory knowledge is a big differentiator for us,” Mills adds.
International operations and M&A strategy
While the UK remains Krome’s core market, overseas activity continues to expand, following customer demand in Europe and the US.
“Typically, what happens is a customer we work with in the UK then pulls us into other regions,” notes Mills.
Germany has been the firm’s strongest overseas market, driven by manufacturing and industrial clients while its US presence is based in Delaware.
Rather than shipping hardware internationally, the MSP sources equipment locally in the US to avoid tariff-related disruption.
“We don’t ship kit across borders unless we absolutely have to.
“It avoids tariffs, delays and unnecessary costs.”
Future expansion into markets such as Japan or Hong Kong has been considered but Mills says the business has not yet reached the scale needed to justify opening offices there.
Despite ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty, the head of the company notes it has been relatively insulated due to long-term client relationships and sector diversity.
He highlights that the organisation remains open to acquisitions if the right opportunity arises.
“We’re not looking to make them for the sake of it. It needs to be a cultural fit and complement what we already have.”
Any deal would most likely be UK-based although US opportunities are not ruled out.
Vendors and distributors
The MSP’s core vendor relationships remain stable, with its top partners including Microsoft, Dell and Palo Alto.
“We work closely with a small group of strategy vendors,” explains the organisations boss.
“It’s about the depth of the relationship, not just volume.”
Tier-two collaborators include HP, Darktrace, Varonis and BeyondTrust.
It is currently reassessing its cybersecurity and networking portfolio, notably with SASE and SD-WAN providers.
On the distribution side, it works with businesses such as Westcoast, Ingram Micro, TD SYNNEX and Arrow.
An evolving workforce
To deliver these solutions, the firm employs around 150 staff, up from roughly 132 previously, with most staff based in Chertsey near Heathrow.
Smaller teams operate in Manchester and Edinburgh as well as one employee based in Germany.
Recent recruitment has focused on strengthening commercial and pre-sales capabilities.
The CEO also hints at the appointment of a CISO on 2 March to support security-led growth.
More hires are planned at management and mid-tier level although no major changes are expected in the senior leadership team.
Rupert Mills will be speaking at CRN’s XChange UK on 10-11 March. Find out how you can hear from him and other expert speakers here.