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The must-attend event for UK Managed Service Providers; Network Group’s Exhibition, Gala & Awards bought together successful business owners, technology partners and industry experts, covering topics that drive exceptional business growth
Last week, Network Group (NG), a member-owned community of MSPs, IT resellers and retailers, hosted its 14th annual Exhibition, Gala & Awards bringing together 100+ Members and 40+ Partners, including some of the country’s industry leaders in the Managed Service Provider space.
The event provided a forum to learn and share best practice with peers via a mix of content including exciting panel discussions, small group breakout sessions and thought leadership delivered by a carefully curated keynote speaker. This was followed by an afternoon exhibition, our largest yet, with 45 Partners in the room. The event culminated with our annual Gala & Awards, a night of fun and celebration for our community.
The morning kicked off with a panel discussion where we heard views and experiences from Datto, Quickpass, Pax8, Pia and Threatlocker. Discussion included some of the current hot topics facing our industry including AI, the ongoing effect of ‘big-disruptors’ and regulation of the UK IT industry.
Members then opted to take part in a series of breakout sessions which included deep-dives into Retail, the importance of cybersecurity insurance (via Clear Insurance ), implementing SEO frameworks (via Notorious Online), generating profitable leads (via Telev8) and an introduction into sustainability for business (via Zellar).
The highlight of the morning was a keynote address from Dave Coplin, courtesy of Pia, the headline sponsor of this year’s event. Dave is an author and legendary strategic adviser on tech, whose client list runs from Microsoft, Google and Apple to the UK Parliament. He shared his vision on AI and other technological shifts – explaining how we can harness them to reimagine how we live, work and do business. It was inspirational, thought-provoking and completely unmissable!
The afternoon was dedicated to the exhibition, a record number of 45 exhibitors saw a buzz of activity throughout the room, providing an opportunity for direct engagement and networking between Members & Partners.
On to the evening and it was time to celebrate the successes of the past year! There was a strong 1920’s theme to the Gala & Awards ceremony, from the art-deco inspired venue, Queen’s Hotel, to the entertainment, with a fantastic set by our flapper dancers, including the famous Charleston danced to the electro swing beats provided by a retro DJ.
Proudly, we kicked off the evening by raising funds for our chosen charity partner, Target Ovarian Cancer, nominated by Sean Jones of Member company Jones Business Systems. A game of ‘heads & tails’, a raffle and auction followed, and to date we have raised in excess of £15k. Huge gratitude to all our Members and Partners who generously donated prizes.
Ahead of the award announcements we were entertained by award-winning comedian, Dominic Holland, who had our audience in stitches. A full list of our award winners can be found here. Congratulations to all of our winners and nominees!
Members of the NG community have praised the success of their most recent event; Steve Brehaut of Resolution IT said: “I thought this gala event as a whole was one of the best I've attended in the ~10 years we've been Members” and this sentiment was echoed by Warren Pountain of Onebyte: “Network Group is a fabulous community in which to share, learn and grow. It's invaluable and I would recommend it to anyone. It was a great venue and an excellent event”.
It was also valued by partners of the Group, Ben Spector of Zomentum said: “Fantastic event, really high-quality engagement with members, and the gala dinner was great fun!”
David Tulip, Managing Director of Network Group & Technology To Go said: “I had the pleasure of moderating a panel at the event, where it was reiterated, we, as Technology Service Providers are in the right place at the right time. This mirrors my personal feeling of being in the right place at the right time as Network Group continues from strength to strength. Welcoming four new Member companies to our room and multiple new Partners in our largest exhibition yet, may only be trumped by a record-breaking effort in making a difference for our chosen charity. The Network Group community is built on personal relationships, an ethos of wanting to help one another, wanting to be better businesses and better people – citizens that belong, participate and make a difference.”
Network Group would like to extend a huge thank you to all of our sponsoring partners which include: Connectwise, Datto, Egnyte, Inbay, Ingram Micro, N-able, OpenText, Pax8, Pia, Quickpass, Sophos, Terra, ThreatLocker, Uptime.
