What Stellar Connect does

UPSTACK is a privately held, vendor-agnostic technology advisory firm that helps enterprises purchase, implement, and manage technology and telecom investments. The company serves more than 1,000 customers, including 60-plus Fortune 1000 enterprises, and reports more than $1 billion in annual technology spend under management. Its customer base spans banking, healthcare, real estate, manufacturing, retail, legal, software/IT services, and biotech/pharma, with engagements ranging from multi-location networking rollouts to UCaaS/CCaaS deployments and data center colocation sourcing.

The firm operates a proprietary technology platform built around three core capabilities: (1) an AI-driven price benchmarking engine trained on 80 million data points collected from thousands of transactional engagements, (2) a technology inventory management system for tracking contracts, renewals, and vendor relationships, and (3) a data center colocation marketplace. These tools are delivered alongside human advisory services covering solutions design, TCO analysis, vendor selection, contract negotiation, implementation management, and ongoing account management.

UPSTACK's revenue model is unusual: advisory and execution services are provided to enterprise clients at no cost, with compensation paid by the technology vendors whose solutions are ultimately purchased (a vendor-reimbursed transaction fee model). The company complements this with annual software subscriptions for its inventory management platform and a cost-plus model for standalone vendor management. The company reports $350 million+ in capital raised since founding, 220+ team members, 99% client retention, and an 82 Net Promoter Score, and is described as profitable. Note: The input data carries an internal mismatch — the firmographics block identifies the subject as "Stellar Connect," a 1–10 employee telecom/IT services firm founded in 2014 in Thousand Oaks, while all other records describe UPSTACK, a 220+ employee New York-headquartered advisory firm. This analysis reflects the substantive UPSTACK dataset, which constitutes the overwhelming majority of the supplied evidence.

Name

Stellar Connect

Legal name

UPSTACK

Website

https://stellarconnect.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

UPSTACK is a vendor-neutral technology advisory firm that helps enterprises procure, implement, and manage technology and telecom investments through data-driven advisory, AI-powered price benchmarking, and proprietary contract management software, serving 1,000+ customers including 60-plus Fortune 1000 firms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Technology Advisory Services

NAICS

Computer Systems Design Services (541512), Computer Facilities Management Services (541513), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (541690)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Service Desk & Help Desk Services (BPAEAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Managed SD‑WAN/SASE Connectivity (Enterprise WAN under Managed Connectivity) (HDAIAGAF), Cloud On-Ramps & Direct Connect Services (HDABALAA)

Keywords

• Technology advisory services
• IT procurement consulting
• Telecom brokerage
• Vendor management services
• Cloud infrastructure advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Thousand Oaks

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Vendor-Reimbursed Advisory Fees: UPSTACK's services are free to clients as their fees are fully reimbursed by the vendors that clients purchase solutions from. The company only earns compensation if clients move forward with a recommended solution, and even then they are paid directly by the vendor, not the client.
2. Software Licensing: UPSTACK offers annual software subscriptions for their technology inventory management platform, along with a one-time onboarding fee for clients who want to license just the software without using advisory services.
3. Vendor Management (Standalone): For clients needing vendor management as a standalone service (without sourcing assistance), UPSTACK offers a cost-plus model.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Stellar Connect, operating through its UPSTACK platform, is a technology advisory firm that helps enterprises purchase, implement, and manage technology and telecom investments. The company provides vendor-agnostic, data-driven advisory (solutions design, TCO analysis, price benchmarking, vendor selection, contract negotiation) bundled with execution services (implementation, vendor management, account management), supported by a proprietary platform for technology inventory management and AI-driven price benchmarking. Services are delivered at no cost to clients through a vendor-reimbursed, performance-based compensation model.

Product overview

UPSTACK is a technology advisory and brokerage platform that connects enterprises with technology solutions across cloud, security, networking, communications, and customer experience. The platform combines proprietary technology tools (Data Center Colocation Marketplace, Technology Inventory Management, AI-Driven Price Benchmarking) with advisory and execution services to help businesses purchase, implement, and manage technology investments. Services include solutions design, TCO analysis, price benchmarking, vendor selection, contract negotiation, implementation management, and ongoing vendor management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Advisory Services
• Execution Services
• Technology Inventory Management Platform
• Data Center Colocation Marketplace
• AI-Driven Price Benchmarking

Quantifiable outcome

• 865% growth in three years
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Hundreds of Technology Vendors and SupplierscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUPSTACK has established relationships with hundreds of technology vendors and suppliers across categories including cloud, security, networking, communications, and data center. These vendors pay UPSTACK a referral/advisory fee when clients purchase solutions through UPSTACK's recommendations, making this the core distribution channel for technology vendors to reach enterprise clients through UPSTACK's advisory platform.

Scale indicators9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• World Wide Technology (WWT): World Wide Technology is a large, established technology solutions provider offering enterprise architecture, integration, and managed services across cloud, security, and networking. Overlaps with UPSTACK in enterprise advisory across the same technology categories but at materially greater scale and with direct integration/delivery capabilities.
• Insight Enterprises: Insight is a large, established global technology solutions and services provider spanning hardware, software, cloud, and managed services for enterprise clients. Comparable to UPSTACK as a one-stop enterprise technology sourcing and management partner, with substantially broader scale and direct delivery capabilities.
• Presidio: Presidio is a large, established IT solutions and managed services provider covering cloud, networking, security, and collaboration for enterprise customers. Comparable to UPSTACK in advisory and managed services across overlapping solution areas, with a more direct-integration delivery model.
• CDW: CDW is a large, established multi-billion-dollar IT solutions provider selling hardware, software, and services across enterprise and mid-market segments. Compared to UPSTACK by serving similar enterprise tech buyers with vendor aggregation and managed services, but as a much broader portfolio business.
• SHI International: SHI is a large, established IT solutions provider combining software/hardware procurement, managed services, and configuration for enterprise and public-sector customers. Overlaps with UPSTACK in enterprise technology sourcing and vendor management, but operates on direct margin versus a vendor-reimbursed advisory model.
• Accenture Technology Strategy & Advisory: Accenture is a global management and technology consulting firm with a deep technology advisory and managed services practice serving large enterprises across cloud, networking, and digital transformation. Overlaps with UPSTACK in enterprise technology advisory and benchmarking-type engagements, but as part of a much wider portfolio of services.
• Deloitte Enterprise Technology Consulting: Deloitte is a global professional services firm with a large enterprise technology advisory practice covering cloud, network, and telecom transformation. Comparable to UPSTACK in advising Fortune 1000 buyers on technology selection and vendor economics, but as part of a broader consulting portfolio rather than a pure advisory/brokerage focus.

Direct peers

• Avant Communications: Avant is a technology services distributor offering sales, engineering, and vendor management for UCaaS, SD-WAN, security, and cloud. Directly comparable to UPSTACK as a vendor-neutral, agent/broker-led enterprise technology advisory.
• Intelisys (ScanSource): Intelisys is ScanSource's technology services distribution business connecting partners and enterprise customers to communications, cloud, and security providers. Operates the same vendor-reimbursed, agent-led brokerage model with overlapping enterprise solution categories.
• Telarus: Telarus is a master agent / technology services distributor helping businesses source UCaaS, CCaaS, SD-WAN, security, and cloud solutions through a vendor-paid advisory model. Closest direct competitor to UPSTACK in agent-led enterprise tech brokerage with comparable revenue mechanics and solution breadth.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/UPSTACKinc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/connect-with-upstack

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

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 Stellar Connect