planb

What planb does

planb is a privately-held managed IT services provider headquartered in Lancaster, UK, founded in 2006 by Dave Kitson. The company delivers a unified portfolio of IT support, managed backup and disaster recovery, cloud file storage, web hosting, email/Exchange services, systems maintenance, and bespoke software development to small and medium-sized businesses, sole traders, and select educational institutions across the Lancashire region. Its core technology stack centers on proprietary tooling, including a custom CRM (Envisage v10.1a) that tracks 52,555 backups, 1,188 penetration reports, and 5.4 million TB of encrypted data transfer, alongside bespoke backup and CVE-driven penetration testing systems built internally and supported by partner integrations with Veeam, Acronis, Microsoft, Cloudflare, and others.

The business operates on a hybrid revenue model combining recurring subscriptions (cloud storage at £9.99/month, systems maintenance from £50/month, Office 365, antivirus, hosting, and Exchange) with ad-hoc professional services billed at £50/hour and flat-rate 24/7 support with no premium out-of-hours charges. Go-to-market is sales-led and community-led, relying on direct phone/website contact, referral-driven acquisition, and word-of-mouth within the Lancaster/Morecambe business community rather than scalable marketing channels. The customer base of roughly 134 active accounts spans diverse SMB industries, and the company maintains partnerships including Microsoft Silver Partner, Veeam Silver Pro-Partner, 3CX, Dell, HP, and Bitdefender certifications.

planb is founder-owned with no disclosed institutional investors, subsidiaries, or M&A activity. The company has remained intentionally small-scale, positioning itself around personal service, transparency, and bespoke system development rather than rapid growth, and its strategic posture reflects a stable, relationship-driven micro-MSP rather than a venture-backed scale operator.

Name

planb

Legal name

planb

Website

https://planb-it.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

planb is a privately-held managed IT services provider based in Lancaster, UK, founded in 2006 by Dave Kitson. It delivers backup, disaster recovery, IT support, cloud storage, web hosting, and bespoke systems to roughly 134 small and medium-sized businesses across Lancashire.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Managed IT Services

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Backup, Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity (BCDR) Services (BPAEABAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Business Continuity Planning & Program Management (BCP) (BPAEALAD)

Keywords

• Managed IT services
• Disaster recovery solutions
• IT support services
• Cloud file storage
• Web hosting services

Headquarters

HQ city

Galgate

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. IT Support Services: Hourly billing for IT troubleshooting and resolution services, including printers, servers, and system management. Engineers with many years of experience providing support.
2. Managed Backup Services: Fully managed backup system supply and monitoring. Includes ongoing management and monitoring to ensure complete backup plans are maintained.
3. Monthly Subscription Services: Recurring subscription services including Email, Hosting, Office 365, Antivirus, and other IT services. Provides predictable monthly revenue from existing customer base.
4. Cloud Storage: Unlimited cloud file storage with multiplatform access for fixed monthly fee.
5. Web Hosting: Business-class web hosting for .NET applications, PHP, MySQL, SQL databases, and WordPress websites with 24/7 support.
6. Systems Maintenance: Monthly system checks with reports on degrading hardware and improvement recommendations. Price starts from £50 per month.
7. Bespoke System Development: Custom systems development for accounting, warehousing, customer management, logistics and visitor systems.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

planb is a Lancaster-based managed IT services provider delivering fully managed backup and disaster recovery (DRaaS), hourly and 24/7 IT support, cloud file storage, business-class web hosting, Hosted Exchange email, monthly systems maintenance, and bespoke systems development to small and medium-sized businesses across the Lancaster and Morecambe region. Services are priced via flat-rate hourly support from £50/hour and monthly subscriptions (e.g., £9.99/month unlimited cloud storage, £50/month systems maintenance) with no premium out-of-hours charges.

Product overview

planb is an IT services company offering a unified portfolio of managed IT services rather than a single software product. The core offerings include Backup Systems and DRaaS for disaster recovery, IT Support Services for troubleshooting and managed systems, Cloud File Storage for secure file synchronization, 24/7 IT Support for round-the-clock assistance, Systems Maintenance for ongoing hardware and performance monitoring, and Web Hosting services supporting .NET, PHP, MySQL, SQL, and WordPress. Additional services include Hosted Exchange email and Bespoke Systems Development for custom accounting, warehousing, CRM, logistics, and visitor management solutions. Services range from reactive support (£50/hour) to subscription-based monthly packages.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 40 backups completed per day on average, with 52,555 total backups tracked via CRM
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers29 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• MicrosoftcoreTechnology or IntegrationSilver Partner status indicating technical competency and customer success in Microsoft technologies. Provides access to Microsoft solutions including Office 365, Azure, and related enterprise tools.
• VeeamcoreTechnology or IntegrationSilver Pro-Partner status for backup and disaster recovery solutions. Core to planb's managed backup services offering, enabling enterprise-grade data protection capabilities for small businesses.
• DellminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized Dell reseller status enabling procurement and supply of Dell hardware solutions to customers as part of comprehensive IT services.
• HPminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHP partnership for hardware procurement and supply, complementing the IT procurement services offered to customers.
• AcroniscoreTechnology or IntegrationCloud storage platform provider powering the unlimited cloud file storage service (£9.99/month) with web interface and mobile access capabilities.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Air IT: UK managed service provider offering IT support, cloud hosting, backup, and cybersecurity to SMBs across the Midlands and South. Direct competitor in the UK SMB MSP market with a similar mix of recurring managed services and bespoke project work.
• Mirus IT: UK-based managed IT services provider serving small and medium businesses across multiple regions with managed IT support, backup, and cloud services. Comparable to planb in target customer (UK SMBs), service mix (managed IT, backup, cloud), and operating model.
• Netstar UK: UK MSP delivering IT support, managed cloud, and Microsoft 365 services to small and mid-sized businesses. Comparable in customer segment, geographic focus on UK SMBs, and reliance on Microsoft and cloud vendor partnerships.
• Covenco: UK-based managed IT, backup, and disaster recovery specialist. Highly comparable to planb because backup/DR is a core offering alongside IT support, with similar target customers in UK SMBs.
• Foundation IT: UK regional MSP focused on IT support, cloud, and managed services for small businesses. Similar size band and customer profile to planb, operating regionally with a service-led rather than product-led model.

Broad incumbents

• Redcentric: UK managed services and cloud provider offering hosting, managed IT, and DR services. Overlaps with planb's hosting, backup, and managed services but at a vastly larger scale and broader customer base.
• Exponential-e: UK cloud, network, and managed services provider serving mid-market and enterprise customers. Overlaps with planb's cloud, hosting, and DR services but with substantially greater infrastructure and broader geographic reach.
• KCOM Group: Larger UK managed services and connectivity provider with cloud, hosting, and IT support for SMB and enterprise. Comparable service portfolio (managed IT, cloud, hosting) but operates at significantly greater scale and across broader geographies.
• Daisy Group: UK-based IT and communications provider with managed services, cloud, backup, and connectivity. Comparable capability set to planb but operating as a broad incumbent across multiple UK regions and enterprise segments.

Others

• Acronis: Backup, disaster recovery, and cyber protection vendor whose technology underpins planb's cloud storage offering. Indirectly comparable as the upstream platform provider whose roadmap and pricing materially shape planb's managed backup economics.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/planb_lancaster
• Facebookfacebook.com/itstimeforplanb
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/planbitservices

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 planb