What Strategic Imperatives does

Strategic Imperatives is a UK-based B2B SaaS company founded in 2006 that builds cloud-native billing and integration platforms for the telecom industry. Its core product, Elevate IQ, is a billing and revenue management platform purpose-built for telecoms operators, managed service providers (MSPs), internet service providers (ISPs), and alternative network providers (AltNets), offering real-time billing, subscription management, usage-based rating, multi-brand support, automated bill runs, and payment automation. The second core platform, Fibre Café, is an API-driven gateway that lets AltNets and ISPs integrate once to access the UK's wholesale fibre ecosystem, eliminating point-to-point integrations across 200+ providers covering 80% of UK connectivity and processing 23 million+ connections. A legacy product, CPconnect, provisions connections to BT Openreach and other UK networks and historically managed 75% of UK non-BT fixed line assets.

The company's technology stack is cloud-native and API-first, with an OpenAPI specification for Fibre Café and APIs integrated into customers' BSS/OSS environments. Modules and add-ons around the core platforms include Elevate IQ Pay (payment gateway with GoCardless integration), Elevate IQ Insights (analytics), Elevate for ISPs (specialised ISP billing), MVNOconnect (cellular/MVNO/IoT billing via Transatel on EE's network), and the Elevate Zapier App (iPaaS connector to 2,000+ applications). The company holds ISO 27001 certification.

Strategic Imperatives operates a direct enterprise sales motion targeting large telecom operators, network providers, and enterprise MSPs and ISPs, with a quote-based subscription pricing model typically structured as multi-year contracts. Revenue streams include recurring SaaS subscriptions, professional services for implementation and migration, and transaction-related fees through payment processing. The company was founded in the United Kingdom, is headquartered in Woking, Surrey, and in January 2024 merged with X3T, an institutional investor-backed peer, adding board leadership including former BT Group CEO Gavin Patterson and former Telefonica UK COO Derek McManus. Customers include TalkTalk, BT Wholesale, CityFibre, OVO Energy, Zen Internet, Community Fibre, Kerv, PlatformX Communications, SSE Energy Services, Netomnia/Brsk, Trooli, and OFNL.

Name

Strategic Imperatives

Legal name

Strategic Imperatives

Website

https://imperatives.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Strategic Imperatives is a UK B2B SaaS company providing the cloud-native Elevate IQ billing platform and the Fibre Café API gateway to telecoms operators, MSPs, ISPs, and AltNets, enabling real-time billing, payment automation, and standardised integration across the UK fibre wholesale ecosystem.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Telecom Billing Software

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518210)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Payment Gateways & Orchestration (BPAMAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

IP Transit & Internet Backbone (Tier-1/2, peering, DIA) (HDAIAEAA)

Keywords

• Telecom billing platform
• Wholesale fibre integration
• Managed service providers
• Internet service providers
• Alternative network providers

Headquarters

HQ city

Staines

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. SaaS Platform Subscriptions: Recurring subscription fees for access to Elevate IQ billing platform, Fibre Café integration platform, and CPconnect provisioning platform. Pricing is likely tiered based on volume, features, and number of connections managed.
2. Professional Services: Implementation, migration, and onboarding services provided during customer onboarding. Strategic Imperatives' professional services team ensures smooth migration and integration with customer systems.
3. Payment Processing: Revenue derived from payment processing through Elevate Pay integration with GoCardless and other payment providers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Strategic Imperatives sells cloud-native SaaS platforms for the UK telecoms ecosystem. Elevate IQ is its flagship billing, subscription, and revenue management platform used by telecom networks, MSPs, and ISPs for real-time rating, multi-brand billing, and payment automation. Fibre Café is an API-driven integration gateway that connects AltNets and ISPs to the entire UK wholesale fibre market through a single standardised integration, eliminating point-to-point connections. CPconnect provides legacy provisioning into Openreach and other UK networks.

Product overview

Strategic Imperatives offers a platform-plus-modules architecture built around two core products: Elevate IQ (cloud-native billing and monetisation platform) and Fibre Café (API-driven integration platform for the UK wholesale fibre ecosystem). Elevate IQ serves telecoms, MSPs, and ISPs with real-time billing, subscription management, and payment automation, available as the base platform with optional modules including Elevate IQ Pay (payment gateway), Elevate IQ Insights (analytics), Elevate for ISPs (specialised ISP version), MVNOconnect (MVNO/IoT module), and Elevate Zapier App (iPaaS integration). Fibre Café provides unified API access to the UK fibre wholesale market for AltNets and ISPs, connecting once to access the entire ecosystem. Legacy provisioning is handled by CPconnect. The company merged with X3T in January 2024 to strengthen delivery capabilities and accelerate the Fibre Café platform's market expansion.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Elevate IQ: Award-winning cloud-native billing and revenue management platform for telecoms and connectivity providers
• Fibre Café
• CPconnect
• Elevate Pay
• Elevate for ISPs

Products and services

• Elevate IQ Cloud-native billing and revenue management platform for telecom, MSP, and ISP customers, providing real-time billing, subscription management, usage-based rating, multi-brand support, automated bill runs, and payment automation. Designed for service providers looking to unlock revenue growth and improve customer satisfaction.
• Fibre Café API-driven integration platform serving as the gateway to the UK wholesale connectivity ecosystem, providing a unified single-entry interface to multiple AltNets and connectivity providers. Built on OpenAPI standards-based specification for AltNets and connectivity providers to standardise integration capability and automate order journeys.
• CPconnect Unified provisioning gateway connecting service providers to UK networks including Openreach, BT Wholesale, TalkTalk, and Vodafone. Provides managed multi-carrier broadband API gateway supporting SoGEA, FTTP, FTTC, MPF, WBC, WBMC, and WLR provisioning.
• Elevate for ISPs Specialised version of Elevate IQ purpose-built for wholesale and retail ISPs, automating complex pricing structures, streamlining contract and product management, and ensuring One Touch Switching compliance. Includes integrated Direct Debit via GoCardless.

Quantifiable outcome

• Elevate IQ enabled OVO Energy to achieve 169% increase in customer satisfaction, 48% increase in lead-to-customer conversion, 60% reduction in inbound calls, 76% reduction in goodwill payments, 81% reduction in billing and metering queries
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration17 records

AI capability4 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic, anchor customer and advisory.

• GoCardlesscoreTechnology or Integration · 5 March 2026Expanded partnership integrating GoCardless Outbound Payments functionality into Elevate IQ billing platform for telecom and utility providers. Enables instant disbursements through Faster Payments network, reducing refund times from 3-5 business days to minutes. Includes GoCardless' direct debit mandate management and Success+ payment recovery intelligence.
• NetadminstrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 June 2024Collaboration to enable simple connections for Netadmin's AltNet customers into The Fibre Café platform. Netadmin's existing relationships with nine UK AltNets facilitate integration with the Fibre Café ecosystem, allowing them to connect once and access multiple ISPs.
• X3TcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 January 2024Strategic merger combining X3T's wholesale network platform expertise with Strategic Imperatives' SaaS billing and Fibre Café platform. X3T brings network expertise and large-scale delivery experience. Merger backed by Granahan McCourt Capital with investment from Asterion Industrial Partners, Oak Hill Advisors, Tetrad, and Twin Point Capital. Goal to make Fibre Café the dominant solution for ISP access to wholesale fibre networks.
• Transatel (NTT Group)strategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 October 2020Collaboration to deliver integrated MVNO and IoT billing and provisioning solution. MVNOconnect module complements Elevate platform by integrating with Transatel's universal cellular connectivity platform, offering real-time control on EE network and global cellular connectivity services.
• GoCardlesscoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2020Long-standing strategic partnership since 2020 integrating GoCardless payment capabilities into Elevate IQ. Includes direct debit mandate management, Outbound Payments functionality, Success+ payment recovery intelligence (70% recovery rate), and Instant Bank Pay. Partnership expanded in 2026 to include Outbound Payments for instant disbursements via Faster Payments network.
• TalkTalkanchor customerStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnchor member of Fibre Café platform. TalkTalk made strategic decision to expand geographic coverage by working with multiple AltNets. Joined Fibre Café to address integration challenges including high development costs and ongoing maintenance costs. TalkTalk invited as primary contributor to Fibre Café roadmap.
• BT WholesalestrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerBT Wholesale connected to Fibre Café platform, providing access to extensive fibre products and services. Strategic Imperatives' commitment to developing Fibre Café's 'build once, connect to many' model creates more equal marketplace and enhances customer choice.
• Gavin PattersonadvisoryOthersFormer BT Group CEO (2013-2019) and President of Salesforce (2019-2023) joins X3T board following merger with Strategic Imperatives. Brings expertise in UK fibre market and global enterprise software strategy.
• Derek McManusadvisoryOthersFormer COO at Telefonica UK (O2) for over a decade joins X3T board. Brings nearly 40 years of telecom experience including network, IT, customer service, and business transformation expertise.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• LogNet Systems: Provider of converged billing, customer care, and service assurance solutions for telecoms. Competes with Elevate IQ in the convergent billing category for mid-tier operators.
• Netadmin Systems: OSS/BSS provider focused on AltNet and fibre operators in the Nordics and UK. Existing partner of Strategic Imperatives (Fibre Café integration) but operates adjacent platforms in the same ecosystem.
• Qvantel: Cloud-native BSS provider for CSPs and MVNOs. Comparable in cloud-native architecture and digital BSS approach to Elevate IQ; targets similar operator segments.

Broad incumbents

• Netcracker Technology: Large BSS/OSS vendor owned by NEC serving Tier-1 CSPs globally. Competes for end-to-end digital transformation deals that include billing components overlapping with Elevate IQ.
• Matrixx Software: Real-time monetization and digital commerce platform for communications and digital service providers. Overlap with Elevate IQ's real-time billing and usage-based rating capabilities.
• Amdocs: Global leader in BSS, OSS, and network software for communications and media. Competes for enterprise billing transformations; relevant to Strategic Imperatives' larger customer opportunities.
• Hansen Technologies: Established billing and customer care platform vendor for telecom, energy, and utilities. Overlapping billing and subscription management capabilities with Elevate IQ across multiple verticals.
• Optiva: Global telecom BSS and billing platform serving Tier-1 and Tier-2 operators. Competes in the same billing/revenue management category as Elevate IQ but at a larger enterprise scale and broader geographic footprint.

Direct peers

• Cerillion Technologies: UK-listed BSS/OSS vendor offering end-to-end billing, CRM, and provisioning for telecoms, ISPs, and MVNOs. Most direct competitor to Elevate IQ in the UK mid-market operator segment.

Regional players

• Pangea Connected: UK-based wholesale connectivity aggregator and reseller. Comparable to Fibre Café as a wholesale fibre aggregator serving UK ISPs and resellers, though operating with a different business model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/strategic-imperatives-limited/?originalSubdomain=uk
• Xx.com/imp_selfie

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Strategic Imperatives