What Waterstons does

Waterstons is a privately held UK technology consultancy headquartered in Durham, founded circa 1995, operating offices in London and Glasgow in the UK and a Sydney office (with virtual operations in Perth and Adelaide) in Australia. The firm employs approximately 300 experts organised around four core service lines — Business Consulting, Technology Services, Data & AI Services, and Cyber Security Services — supplemented by Managed Services (including a 24/7 Security Operations Centre and Service Desk) and Bespoke Software delivery. Waterstons serves enterprise and mid-market clients across seven vertical sectors: Architects, Engineering & Construction; Education; Energy (with Operational Technology focus); Housing & Social Care; Manufacturing; Private Equity; and Transportation & Logistics.

A distinctive technical asset is the Police CyberAlarm national cyber monitoring platform, modernised and relaunched by Waterstons for the City of London Police and the National Police Chiefs' Council, providing free-to-UK-organisations IP Address Scanning, Website URL Scanning, and a CyberAlarm Secure Sensor capability together with reporting and member management. Waterstons is one of a small number of NCSC Cyber Resilience Auditors and is ISO 27001:2022, Cyber Essentials, and Cyber Essentials Plus certified, with deep Microsoft 365 and Azure alignment underpinning much of its technology and managed services portfolio.

The business model is predominantly relationship-driven professional services delivered through project-based and retainer arrangements, with managed IT support and the SOC providing recurring revenue across both UK and Australian time zones. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; multi-year contract cadences are noted for managed services. Go-to-market is consultative enterprise field sales with 85% of new clients reportedly acquired via referrals from existing clients, supported by content marketing, events, paid remarketing (Google AdWords, LinkedIn, Reddit), and PR across trade publications. Customer concentration is spread across named enterprise logos including Queen Mary University of London, HRUC, University of Bedfordshire, Burness Paull LLP, Tracerco, Topland, and People's Postcode Lottery.

Name

Waterstons

Legal name

Waterstons Ltd

Website

https://waterstons.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Waterstons is a UK-headquartered technology consultancy of approximately 300 experts delivering business consulting, technology, data & AI, cyber security, managed services and bespoke software to enterprise and mid-market clients across seven verticals in the UK and Australia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Durham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Professional Services and Consultancy: Revenue is generated through technology consulting, business consulting, data & AI, and cyber security advisory engagements. Services are delivered through consultative project-based and retainer arrangements.
2. Managed Services: Recurring managed IT support and monitoring services, including 24/7 Service Desk operations supporting both UK and Australian clients. The company operates a Security Operations Centre (SOC) providing ongoing cyber monitoring services.
3. Bespoke Software Development: Custom software development services including applications, integrations, and extensions for M365. Projects range from small automations to large, complex applications such as the national CyberAlarm tool.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Waterstons is a UK and Australia-based technology consultancy delivering four core service lines: Business Consulting, Technology Consulting, Data & AI Services, and Cyber Security Services. Underpinning these are Managed Services (including a 24/7 Service Desk and Security Operations Centre) and Bespoke Software Development. The firm serves enterprise clients across verticals including education, energy, housing & social care, manufacturing, private equity, AEC, and transportation & logistics.

Product overview

Waterstons is a technology consultancy offering a unified portfolio of professional services rather than a discrete product platform. The core offerings span four main service lines: Business Consulting (advisory and transformation), Technology Services (strategy, architecture, delivery, support), Data & AI Services (analytics and artificial intelligence), and Cyber Security Services (risk management and resilience). Supporting these are Managed Services (IT support, monitoring, security operations), and Bespoke Software (custom development and integration). A notable specific product is Police CyberAlarm, a national cyber threat monitoring platform developed in partnership with UK police forces. The company operates across multiple sectors including Education, Social Housing, Manufacturing, Energy, AEC, Private Equity, and Transport & Logistics, with offices in the UK (Durham, London, Glasgow) and Australia (Sydney, Perth, Adelaide virtual).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cyber Security Services Comprehensive cyber security services including risk management, cyber resilience planning, OT security, and security accreditation support. Waterstons is one of a small number of National Cyber Security Centre Cyber Resilience Auditors. Targeted at enterprise clients across regulated and infrastructure sectors.
• Technology Services Technology consulting covering strategy, architecture, delivery, and support. Helps organizations determine the right technology decisions for their business needs.
• Data & AI Services Data and analytics consulting including strategy, governance, platforms, and AI solutions to help organizations get more from their data and reduce manual processes.
• Business Consulting Services Advisory services starting with understanding client goals, challenges, and what people need. Includes organizational transformation and technology-people-business alignment.
• Managed Services Day-to-day IT support including managed IT support, service management, monitoring and management, and managed security operations with a 24/7 Security Operations Centre. Recurring managed services delivered under retainer arrangements.
• Bespoke Software Development Custom software development and delivery including software operations and support, enterprise integration, and collaboration and productivity solutions. Projects range from small automations to large complex applications.
• Police CyberAlarm Platform

Quantifiable outcome

• 85% of new clients come through referrals from existing clients

Named customers7 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• CyberNorthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026Waterstons and CyberNorth entered a strategic partnership in April 2026 to support cyber security sector growth in the North East of England. CyberNorth is a regional cyber cluster organisation, and Waterstons is one of a small number of National Cyber Security Centre Cyber Resilience Auditors. Both organisations aim to strengthen skills development, business resilience, and sector growth, with plans to expand into schools, universities, and SME support programmes. The collaboration also aims to promote the proposed North East Cyber Innovation Centre.
• Police CyberAlarm / City of London Police / National Police Chiefs' CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Waterstons partnered with the National Police Chiefs' Council and City of London Police to modernise and relaunch the Police CyberAlarm platform. The platform is a national policing capability providing free cyber security monitoring and reporting to UK organisations. Waterstons delivered the technical modernisation, introducing IP Address Scanning, Website URL Scanning, CyberAlarm Secure Sensor, and an improved portal with better reporting and member management.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Capgemini:

Direct peers

• Thoughtworks: Global technology consultancy specialising in software engineering, data, and digital transformation for enterprise clients; overlaps with Waterstons' bespoke software, data & AI, and technology consulting practices.
• PA Consulting: Global consultancy combining technology, innovation, and strategy with strong UK public-sector and regulated-industry presence; a comparable consulting + technology delivery peer for Waterstons' public-sector work.
• Baringa Partners: UK-headquartered independent consultancy combining technology, data, and business advisory across energy, financial services, and other sectors; overlaps with Waterstons' sector specialisation and consulting-led model.
• Kainos: UK/Ireland-listed digital technology and services firm delivering consulting, software, and cyber work to public sector and commercial clients; comparable in vertical mix (especially UK public sector) and service-line breadth to Waterstons.
• FDM Group: UK-based professional services and IT consultancy providing technology and consulting resourcing across sectors including financial services and public sector; comparable mid-market UK IT services peer to Waterstons.
• BJSS: UK-headquartered technology and engineering consultancy of similar mid-market scale, delivering software, cloud, data, and cyber services to enterprise and public sector clients — directly comparable business model and customer base to Waterstons.

Broad incumbents

• CGI Group: Large IT and business consulting services firm with deep UK public sector footprint (CGI Federal/UK), competing against Waterstons in central and local government, defence, and regulated verticals.
• Accenture: Largest global professional services firm with comprehensive technology, cyber, and data offerings across all sectors; competes with Waterstons in larger UK enterprise and public sector opportunities.
• Sopra Steria: European-headquartered IT services group with significant UK public sector business, competing in defence, central government, and regulated sector digital and cyber programmes that overlap with Waterstons' verticals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/waterstons
• Xx.com/WaterstonsLtd

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Waterstons