6. Bell Integration

Revenue: £873.7m (+50.5%)

Employees 528

Portsmouth-based Bell Integration inched up another notch this year, thanks to a 40 per cent increase in revenue.

Another VAR which is making a concerted move into services, Bell opted for an acquisition approach, buying out the services unit of AI-focused software shop Amelia in February.

The buy came on the heels of two years of organic growth, during which revenues swelled to over £500m.

With the Amelia buy, Bell has set its sights on recurring revenue through AI services and solutions across strategic consulting, architecture, design, AI implementation and run.

Its AI ambitions also include incorporating the tech into all of its existing strategic services, including user support, cloud and infrastructure management and engineering.