Top VARs 2018 - the UK's top 100 tech resellers revealed

Who topped this year's annual rankings of the top 100 UK resellers, MSPs and consultancies, and what's happening to revenues and profits across the market?

Top VARs is back, and this year we've added several new components to our annual almanac of the UK channel's power players.

The 100 technology resellers, MSPs and consultancies profiled in the report - which is in association with Comms-care - grew revenue by a collective 12.9 per cent to £15.7bn in their most recent financial years on record.

That's roughly equal to the GDP of Trinidad & Tobago.

Although the hard copy won't hit readers' desks until 17 December, we are making an online version of the report available for download here.

Alternatively, the individual profiles can be viewed here.

Ranked and rated

For the first time, this report features data on how the UK's largest channel players are viewed by their end-user customers.

What percentage of IT decision makers have had encounters with the likes of Computacenter, Softcat and Insight, for instance, and were these encounters positive or negative?

Only one supplier achieved an average customer satisfaction rating above 60 per cent. Can you guess who it was?

The 44-page report also includes a list of top tips on how resellers can best engage with their customers in a post-GDPR world, based on comments we received from over 250 end-user respondents.

Top VARs provides a snapshot of how the UK's top resellers fared in their last financial years on record, typically based on their last set of annual accounts filed on Companies House. The data was collected and profiles written in October and early November.

Led by bullish Computacenter and Softcat, the top 100 enjoyed another surge in their collective top line this time around.

Despite this, profit margins - as well as absolute profit levels - dropped for a second year in a row, with Brexit, cut-throat competition and cloud variously blamed.

Of all the supplements lying strewn across CRN's desk, Top VARs is always the most dog-eared and smudged.

We hear tales of how some vendors refuse to send their sales staff on the road without a copy of Top VARs under their arms.

I also know first-hand that it doubles up as a great fly swatter (the dimensions are perfect!).

However it's used, we hope you get the most out of Top VARs 2018 and find the data and analysis inside useful.