Vianet Group
Vianet Group plc is a UK AIM-listed IoT provider connecting ~40,000 unattended retail machines and 10,000 hospitality venues through proprietary telemetry hardware and cloud analytics, serving 300+ enterprise customers across pubs, vending, coffee, and facilities management.
- Company typePublic
- Founded1995
- HeadquartersStockton-on-tees, United Kingdom
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Vianet Group does
Vianet Group plc is a UK-headquartered IoT solutions provider operating across hospitality and unattended retail, founded in 1995 and listed on London's AIM market (LSE: VNET). The company connects approximately 40,000 unattended retail machines and 10,000 hospitality venues through its proprietary viTel telemetry hardware and cloud-hosted analytics platforms, serving 300+ enterprise customers. The business is organised in two divisions: a hospitality division built around the Beverage Metrics bar management platform (acquired May 2023 for £577,500) that addresses draught beer monitoring, inventory, POS integration, and shrinkage; and an unattended retail division delivering cashless payment, telemetry, and machine management for vending, micro markets, launderettes, EV charging stations, and car washes.
The technology stack integrates proprietary telemetry and contactless payment hardware with cloud analytics, with payment processing handled through Attenda, Elavon, and Vendekin (QR mobile payments, partnered March 2023). Product brands include Beverage Metrics, SmartInsight, SmartVend, SmartContact/Pro, SmartMachines, SmartDraught, and the Enersave energy module. Revenue is generated primarily through recurring SaaS-style subscriptions (88% of FY2026 revenue, £13.60m), supplemented by hardware sales of telemetry and payment devices; pricing is bespoke by estate size with annual billing as the standard cadence, and sales is direct enterprise supported by UK account management and a US subsidiary (Vianet Americas).
For FY2026 (year to 31 March 2026), Vianet reported revenue of £15.50m (up 1.5% from £15.27m in FY2025), adjusted operating profit of £3.61m (stable YoY), and EBITDA of £4.14m. Recurring revenue grew to 88% of total from 86%, and H1 FY2026 EBITDA rose 10.5% YoY to £1.88m. The group moved from £0.38m net debt to a £0.44m net cash position with £3.40m cash in the bank, indicating modest but stable profitability and cash generation.
Vianet Group firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Vianet Group
- Legal name
- Vianet Group plc
- Website
- https://vianetplc.com
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 1995
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Vianet Group plc is a UK AIM-listed IoT provider connecting ~40,000 unattended retail machines and 10,000 hospitality venues through proprietary telemetry hardware and cloud analytics, serving 300+ enterprise customers across pubs, vending, coffee, and facilities management.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Vianet Group industry classification
Industry- Product category
- IoT Telemetry and Connected Commerce Software
- akta.pro primary industry
- Payouts, Disbursements & Mass Payments Infrastructure (FSAGABAN)
Keywords
Where Vianet Group is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Stockton-on-tees
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Vianet Group business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Recurring Revenue: Subscription-based recurring revenue from Smart Zones Beverage Metrics draught beer monitoring and data analytics solutions. Recurring revenues represent approximately 88% of total group revenues, providing revenue visibility and stability.
- Hardware Sales: Sale of telemetry hardware units (viTel), contactless payment devices (SmartContact Pro), and related equipment. Initial acquisition of Beverage Metrics included sale of platform, software IP, patents, and technology.
- SaaS Platform Fees: Cloud-based platform fees from Beverage Metrics dashboard and analytics services, SmartInsight business intelligence, and SmartVend management platform.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise SaaS pricing - Contact sales for quote |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels10 records
Vianet Group product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Vianet Group delivers cloud-based IoT telemetry, data analytics, and contactless payment solutions for hospitality operators and unattended retail. Its Beverage Metrics platform connects EPOS, inventory and real-pour data to give pubs and bars real-time visibility into beverage operations, while SmartVend and SmartContact Pro provide contactless payments, telemetry and device management for vending machines. Revenue is generated primarily through recurring SaaS subscriptions on top of proprietary hardware (viTel units, payment terminals) deployed across customer estates.
Product overview
Vianet Group offers a dual-platform portfolio consisting of hospitality and unattended retail solutions. The hospitality division centers on Beverage Metrics, a unified bar management platform providing real-time inventory tracking, POS integration, draught beer management, and actionable reporting; supplemented by SmartInsight for business analytics, SmartDraught for draught monitoring dashboards, and Enersave for energy management. The unattended retail division centers on SmartVend as the primary contactless payment and device management platform, with SmartContact/SmartContact Pro providing telemetry and payment solutions, and SmartMachines enabling global asset performance monitoring. The portfolio was expanded through the 2023 acquisition of Beverage Metrics from Brulines and partnership integration with Vendekin's QR payment technology.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Beverage Metrics: Connected bar management platform for hospitality operators providing real-time inventory tracking, POS integration, draught beer management, and actionable reporting.
- SmartInsight
- SmartVend
- SmartContact
Products and services
- Beverage Metrics A cloud-based beverage and bar management platform for the hospitality industry that connects EPOS, inventory and real-pour data to deliver real-time inventory tracking, draught beer management, POS integration and actionable reporting for pubs, bars and hospitality operators.
- SmartInsight Business and market insights platform for hospitality operators that helps manage costs, increase sales and improve sustainability through data analytics dashboards.
- SmartVend A leading contactless payment and device management platform for vending and unattended retail that increases profits through enhanced productivity, availability, operational efficiency and sales growth.
- SmartContact Pro A contactless payment solution for vending machines, self-service and unattended retail that provides simple, convenient and hygienic payment options while capturing operational machine data.
- SmartMachines Telemetry solution using the viTel unit to deliver data capture and machine management, enabling stock and cash flow control and optimizing business performance worldwide.
- Enersave Energy management solution for glycol coolers in hospitality venues that delivers significant reductions in energy consumption while maintaining performance.
- SmartDraught Interactive dashboard portal providing draught beer monitoring data access to hospitality operators.
- BMS (Beverage Management System) Beverage Management System portal for accessing interactive dashboards and data, used by hospitality operators as part of the Vianet customer portal estate.
Quantifiable outcome
- 50% reduction in energy costs on glycol coolers (The Bridge Inn case study)
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Vianet Group
Customer profileNamed customers15 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Vianet Group technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature6 records
Vianet Group partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Vendekin TechnologiescorePartnership with Vendekin Technologies' mobile payment solution to drive growth into unattended retail market in UK. Vendekin's QR payment technology provides seamless mobile checkout experience integrated with SmartVend platform. Already deployed in 16 countries, enabling operators to increase sales with lower capital outlay. Integration allows customers full data access for their entire estate.
- AttendacoreStrategic payments partner processing transactions for Vianet's contactless payment solutions. Partnership delivers 14-15% saving on transaction fees for customers like JW Vending and Venda Valet. Attenda enables Vianet to offer competitive payment processing rates.
- SuresiteminorIndustry association partner attending Vianet Golf Day events. Represents vending and hospitality operators in the UK.
- AVA (Automatic Vending Association)minorIndustry association partner attending Vianet Golf Day events. Represents the vending industry in the UK.
- Elavon Financial ServicescorePayment processor referenced in privacy policy for payment processing services. Elavon processes payments for Vianet's contactless payment solutions.
Scale indicators13 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Vianet Group competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- PayRange: US-based mobile payment and IoT platform for vending machines and unattended retail. Comparable in its focus on modernising unattended-payment experiences, but smaller and earlier-stage than Vianet.
Direct peers
- Brulines: UK-based draught beer monitoring and cellar management specialist that previously owned the Beverage Metrics platform acquired by Vianet in 2023. Direct peer in hospitality beverage telemetry and bar management software.
- Nayax: Global provider of cashless payment and telemetry solutions for unattended retail, including vending, kiosks, and EV charging. Closest functional competitor to Vianet's SmartVend and SmartContact Pro in contactless vending payments.
- Cantaloupe: US-listed provider of unattended retail payment solutions and IoT telemetry for vending and self-service retail. Directly comparable to Vianet's SmartVend/SmartContact Pro business in product scope and customer type (vending operators and micro-market operators).
Others
- Vendekin Technologies: Mobile QR payment provider for unattended retail that is both a Vianet partner (integrated into SmartVend) and an adjacent competitor in contactless unattended payments. Listed as ecosystem/partner rather than direct peer given the cooperation agreement.
Broad incumbents
- Verifone: Global payments and POS hardware provider serving retail, hospitality, and unattended environments. Adjacent incumbent competing at the payment-acceptance layer that underlies Vianet's SmartContact Pro and SmartVend offerings.
- Worldline (formerly Ingenico): European payments giant with extensive unattended-retail and POS terminal capabilities. Indirect competitor to Vianet's contactless payment stack and a much larger broad-incumbent player in the same payment infrastructure space.
- Diebold Nixdorf: Global provider of POS, payment terminals, and self-service checkout solutions used by retailers and vending operators. Indirect peer to Vianet's unattended retail and hospitality offerings through its payments and self-service hardware footprint.
- Toast: US restaurant POS and management platform serving multi-site restaurant operators. Comparable to Vianet's Beverage Metrics restaurant-side deployment in the US, although Toast is a broader restaurant-tech incumbent rather than a beverage-telemetry specialist.
- Crane NXT (Payment Innovations): NYSE-listed provider of payment and merchandising solutions, including unattended retail cashless payments. Larger incumbent competing with Vianet SmartVend/SmartContact Pro in the global vending and unattended-retail payments market.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Vianet Group social profiles
Digital presenceVianet Group compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Vianet Group financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Vianet Group leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Vianet Group subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Vianet Group funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Vianet Group M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A3 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Vianet Group
What does Vianet Group do?
Vianet Group delivers cloud-based IoT telemetry, data analytics, and contactless payment solutions for hospitality operators and unattended retail. Its Beverage Metrics platform connects EPOS, inventory and real-pour data to give pubs and bars real-time visibility into beverage operations, while SmartVend and SmartContact Pro provide contactless payments, telemetry and device management for vending machines. Revenue is generated primarily through recurring SaaS subscriptions on top of proprietary hardware (viTel units, payment terminals) deployed across customer estates.
Is Vianet Group a public or private company?
Vianet Group is a public company. It is classified as public and is currently operating.
When was Vianet Group founded?
Vianet Group was founded in 1995. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Vianet Group based?
Vianet Group is headquartered in Stockton-on-tees, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Vianet Group make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Recurring Revenue is the primary driver. The others are hardware Sales and saaS Platform Fees.
Who are Vianet Group's main competitors?
PayRange is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Brulines, Nayax and Cantaloupe. Vendekin Technologies is listed as an others. Broad incumbents are Verifone, Worldline (formerly Ingenico), Diebold Nixdorf, Toast and Crane NXT (Payment Innovations).
Does Vianet Group have an API?
No public API is recorded for Vianet Group.
What industry is Vianet Group in?
Vianet Group's product category is IoT Telemetry and Connected Commerce Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAGABAN, Payouts, Disbursements & Mass Payments Infrastructure.