Talk Straight
Talk Straight is a UK-based broadband ISP and managed services provider delivering cloud-hosted connectivity, security, e-safety filtering, VoIP, and backup to over 2,000 UK schools, Multi-Academy Trusts, and businesses, with a primary focus on the education vertical.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2007
- HeadquartersEast Ilsley, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Talk Straight does
Talk Straight Limited is a UK-based broadband ISP and managed services provider, founded in 2007 and headquartered in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, serving over 2,000 business establishments and protecting more than 700,000 users online. The company's portfolio spans connectivity (FTTC, FTTP, Full Fibre up to 10Gbps, Dedicated Leased Lines, Dark Fibre, 4G Mobile, Failover), security and e-safety filtering (Fortinet-based hosted firewalls, endpoint protection, IWF- and Home Office Terrorism Block List-subscribed web filtering, and the Senso Cloud AI safeguarding platform for Microsoft Teams), telephony (SIP Trunks, hosted VoIP, mobiles), and cloud services (Wi-Fi, Mobile Device Management, backup and recovery via Redstor), delivered as cloud-hosted managed services from UK data centres built on Microsoft Azure. The go-to-market is sales-led and direct, with primary vertical focus on UK schools and Multi-Academy Trusts (operating the Schools Broadband sub-brand) and secondary reach into UK SMB and enterprise across engineering, hospitality, healthcare, retail, recruitment, and construction via a partner channel. The business model is overwhelmingly subscription-recurring across all product lines, with quote-based multi-year contracts and a customer portal (The Hub) for support, billing, and safeguarding reporting.
Talk Straight firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Talk Straight
- Legal name
- Talk Straight Limited
- Website
- https://talk-straight.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2007
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Talk Straight is a UK-based broadband ISP and managed services provider delivering cloud-hosted connectivity, security, e-safety filtering, VoIP, and backup to over 2,000 UK schools, Multi-Academy Trusts, and businesses, with a primary focus on the education vertical.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Talk Straight industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Managed Telecommunications and Cybersecurity Services
- NAICS
- Wired Telecommunications Carriers (517111), Wired and Wireless Telecommunications (except Satellite) (5171), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)
- SIC
- Telephone Communications (No Radiotelephone) (4813), Services-Telephone Interconnect Systems (7385), Communications Services, Nec (4899)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) & Business Broadband (HDAIAFAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Cloud PBX & Hosted Telephony (HDAIAHAB), Collaboration Security for Chat & Messaging (Teams/Slack) (HDADAKAF), Numbering, DID, Porting & Carrier-of-Record Services (HDAIAHAK)
Keywords
Where Talk Straight is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- East Ilsley
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Talk Straight business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
Revenue model
- Managed Connectivity Services: Recurring managed connectivity services including FTTC, FTTP, Dedicated Leased Lines, Dark Fibre, and 4G Mobile Broadband. Delivered as cloud-hosted services with no capital expenditure required from customers.
- Security & Filtering Subscriptions: Recurring subscription services for e-safety filtering, network security, endpoint protection, and Senso Cloud safeguarding. Services are hosted in UK data centres with no upfront equipment costs.
- Phone Services (VoIP / SIP Trunks): VoIP telephony services including SIP Trunks and My Virtual Phone. Provides cost savings of up to 70% on line rental and 100% on call charges by replacing ISDN lines. Offered as subscription with optional per-user or per-channel pricing.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | 4G Mobile Broadband - flexible data options |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Dedicated Leased Lines - up to 10Gbps |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | FTTP Ultrafast Broadband - 100Mbps to 1Gbps |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Superfast Fibre Plus (EoFTTC) - up to 80Mbps |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Superfast Fibre FTTC - up to 80Mbps |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Dark Fibre - up to 100Gbps |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
Talk Straight product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Talk Straight is a UK-based managed services provider delivering cloud-hosted connectivity, cybersecurity, e-safety filtering, VoIP telephony, and backup/recovery services primarily to schools and businesses. Services are hosted in UK data centres on Microsoft Azure with Fortinet security infrastructure, requiring no on-site servers from customers. The company serves over 2,000 establishments and protects more than 700,000 users online, with a strong focus on the UK education sector and broader business market.
Product overview
Talk Straight is a UK-based broadband ISP and managed services provider specialising in the education sector. The company operates a platform-plus-modules architecture offering connectivity services (FTTC, FTTP, Full Fibre, Dark Fibre, Leased Lines, 4G Mobile), security and filtering (Network Security, Endpoint Protection, e-Safety Filtering, Senso Cloud), phone services (SIP Trunks, My Virtual Phone, Mobiles), and cloud services (Wi-Fi, Mobile Device Management, Backup & Recovery). Services are delivered as cloud-hosted managed solutions from UK data centres. The company has won multiple ISPA awards for Best Security and Cloud Services, serves over 2,000 business establishments protecting over 700,000 users, and acquired United Network Technologies in January 2023.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Superfast Fibre (FTTC) Business-grade superfast broadband for small to medium sized businesses, offering up to 80Mbps download speeds on a robust, affordable connection.
- Superfast Fibre Plus (EoFTTC)
- Ultrafast FTTP
- Full Fibre Broadband
- Dark Fibre
- Dedicated Leased Line
- 4G Mobile Broadband
- Failover Lines
- Network Security
- e-Safety Filtering
- Endpoint Protection
- Senso Cloud
- Wide Area Networks
- SIP Trunks
- My Virtual Phone
- Mobiles
- Wi-Fi
- Mobile Device Management
- Backup & Recovery
- The Hub
Quantifiable outcome
- Up to 70% savings on line rental and 100% on call charges through VoIP services
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Talk Straight
Customer profileNamed customers15 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Talk Straight technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
AI capability4 records
Feature6 records
Talk Straight partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- FortinetcoreStrategic partnership with Fortinet, the global leaders in next-generation firewalls. Talk Straight uses Fortinet's Managed Security technology for cloud-hosted security services including firewalls, antivirus, e-mail filtering, and DDoS protection. FortiToken 2FA is integrated for secure remote working. This is a foundational technology partnership underpinning the company's security offering.
- RedstorcoreRedstor provides cloud-based backup, recovery and archiving services through Talk Straight's platform. The service enables instant data restoration, eliminates on-site hardware requirements, and offers policy-driven GDPR compliance automation. Redstor has over two decades of experience in backup and recovery and operates UK-based, GDPR-compliant data centres.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Talk Straight competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Daisy Communications: Large UK managed services and connectivity provider serving SMB and enterprise with broadband, voice, cloud and security. Comparable product mix to Talk Straight, but at much greater scale and with a broader non-education customer mix.
- RM plc (RM Education): Long-standing UK education IT services provider offering connectivity, filtering (Smoothwall-derived), and managed services into schools and MATs. Comparable on education vertical and managed-service bundle, but operates at much larger scale and broader product portfolio.
- Virgin Media Business: Major UK business ISP offering connectivity, voice and managed services to enterprises and public sector. Comparable product set but vastly larger scale and competing for many of the same education and public-sector RFPs.
- Gamma Communications: UK leader in SIP trunks, hosted telephony and UCaaS for business. Direct overlap with Talk Straight's VoIP/SIP Trunk and My Virtual Phone product lines, especially within the business segment.
- BT Business (EE): UK incumbent operator providing business broadband, leased lines, voice and managed security. Overlaps with virtually all of Talk Straight's connectivity and security portfolio and competes for the same education and enterprise customers at national scale.
Direct peers
- LGfL (London Grid for Learning): Not-for-profit providing broadband, safeguarding and content filtering to London schools and beyond. Directly comparable as an education-specific connectivity and safeguarding provider, though structured as a charitable trust rather than commercial ISP.
- Zen Internet: UK independent ISP providing business broadband, leased lines and cloud services with a strong reputation for service quality. Comparable on connectivity and managed-service offering, though less focused on education than Talk Straight.
- Exa Networks: UK-based education-focused ISP providing connectivity, filtering and managed security to schools and MATs. Highly comparable to Talk Straight given overlapping customer segment, product set (broadband + e-safety filtering) and direct competition for MAT contracts.
- Smoothwall: UK-based specialist in web filtering, safeguarding and monitoring for schools, including AI-driven tools that overlap with Talk Straight's Senso Cloud. Closest direct competitor on the e-safety/safeguarding layer of Talk Straight's education bundle.
Emerging players
- Impero Software: Provider of safeguarding, monitoring and classroom management software for schools. Overlaps with Talk Straight's Senso Cloud proposition on AI-based student safety monitoring within collaboration tools.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Talk Straight social profiles
Digital presenceTalk Straight compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Talk Straight financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Talk Straight leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Talk Straight subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Talk Straight funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Talk Straight M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Talk Straight
What does Talk Straight do?
Talk Straight is a UK-based managed services provider delivering cloud-hosted connectivity, cybersecurity, e-safety filtering, VoIP telephony, and backup/recovery services primarily to schools and businesses. Services are hosted in UK data centres on Microsoft Azure with Fortinet security infrastructure, requiring no on-site servers from customers. The company serves over 2,000 establishments and protects more than 700,000 users online, with a strong focus on the UK education sector and broader business market.
Is Talk Straight a public or private company?
Talk Straight is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was Talk Straight founded?
Talk Straight was founded in 2007. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Talk Straight based?
Talk Straight is headquartered in East Ilsley, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Talk Straight make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Managed Connectivity Services are the primary driver. The others are security & Filtering Subscriptions and phone Services (VoIP / SIP Trunks).
Who are Talk Straight's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Daisy Communications, RM plc (RM Education), Virgin Media Business, Gamma Communications and BT Business (EE). Direct peers are LGfL (London Grid for Learning), Zen Internet, Exa Networks and Smoothwall. Impero Software is listed as an emerging player.
Does Talk Straight have an API?
No public API is recorded for Talk Straight.
What industry is Talk Straight in?
Talk Straight's product category is Managed Telecommunications and Cybersecurity Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAIAFAD, Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) & Business Broadband, with a secondary code of HDAIAHAB, Cloud PBX & Hosted Telephony. Its NAICS code is 517111 and its SIC code is 4813.