Cisilion CEO: 'We're planning to hit £100m turnover in the next two years'
The British reseller is going from strength to strength as CEO Nick Paul tells CRN how it plans to reach for the stars
Cisco and Microsoft partner Cisilion has grown from a £35m turnover business to a £69.5m revenue reseller in four years and is aiming to hit £100m in the next two years, CEO Nick Paul tells CRN.
As it enters its 24th year, Cisilion has doubled its revenue and staff count in the last four years, investing heavily in the business to build the platform for the next growth phase, Paul says.
"Some of those investments include a rebrand where we doubled down on our core values of trust, excellence, and agility," he explains.
"We got there by asking our clients why they've done business with us for over 23 years. We launched a new website representing our brand as high-end and luxurious. We expanded and upgraded our London offices, including Heron Tower and our long-standing office in Leatherhead, Surrey."
Paul, who was promoted to the position of CEO in 2022, adds that while the company keeps investing across the business, it is also doubling down on its Cisco and Microsoft specialist teams and building a client experience squad tied to its premise of going above and beyond.
"Cisco and Microsoft are our biggest partners, roughly split 50/50. We specialise in five key areas: modern work and collaboration, infrastructure, cloud, security, and AI.
"Traditionally, most of our business was in collaboration, modern workspace, and infrastructure. Moving forward, we see security and AI as key growth areas, though 70-75 per cent is still modern work and infrastructure currently.
"We're primarily investing in Cisco and Microsoft as we believe there's still huge growth potential with those vendors."
Reaching for the stars
Paul says Cisilion's yearly revenue last year was roughly £69.5m, up from around £35-40 million four years ago.
"This year, we're projected to exit at about £85m, with plans to hit £100m next year - an important milestone for us as a privately-owned, debt-free company.
"This allows us a medium to long-term view on investments rather than short-term goals."
For example, the company also launched a Client Experience Centre (CEC) in London to showcase the latest technology from key vendors in real-world scenarios.
"The CEC enables showing our tech offerings while creating amazing client experiences. We're consciously hiring excellent talent aligned with our core values to drive sustainable growth."
And to further help reach its £100m goal, he says the company is making "key hires" as a "people-driven" business.
"We invested in a client experience manager to tailor unique experiences for every client visiting the CEC. Providing tailored, unique experiences is a big part of our brand and fosters long-term client relationships."
When asked about the talent shortage, Paul explains that hiring top talent has always been and will always be a challenge in the crowded channel landscape, but he doesn't seem worried about it affecting the company's growth.
"The channel can be saturated, so maintaining our outgrowth requires the best people attracted by our reputation and growth."
So as far as 2024 priorities go, Paul says Cisilion is focused on its key propositions, the new brand assets, and hiring the best talent. And while M&A for growth isn't a short-term goal, the long-term is unpredictable, he says.