Delivering 4x GrowtH and a Path to the Linux Foundation
ITAM Review had already established a strong reputation in the market. Over more than a decade, it had become a recognised voice in IT Asset Management, with a respected audience, clear industry credibility and an established role in convening practitioners, partners and providers across the sector. The opportunity was not to reinvent the business, but to help shape its next phase of growth with greater commercial clarity, a stronger proposition and the level of rigour needed to support long term progression.
Over a two year period, the business achieved 4x growth. That performance becomes more significant when set against the conditions surrounding it. This was a mature ten year old business operating through the disruption of Covid, at a point when around half of its revenue was tied to in person events. When that part of the model fell away, the business had to respond quickly. During that period, my role combined Managing Director and Commercial Director responsibilities, with a particular focus on reshaping the proposition, strengthening partner value, connecting commercial activity more effectively and helping build the discipline required for the next stage of the business.
A central part of that response was to pivot the business towards an online conference series and a stronger digital proposition around it. The task was not simply to replace physical events with virtual versions, but to rethink how ITAM Review created value online, how the audience engaged with the platform and how partners could see clearer commercial return. That shift sharpened the overall online approach and helped turn a period of disruption into an opportunity to build a more resilient model.
A significant part of the work therefore focused on reshaping the partner proposition so that it lined up more clearly with where ITAM Review held genuine market authority. Rather than relying on a broad sponsor model, the proposition was built around formats and activities that created real value for partners while also strengthening the platform itself. That included online summits, Tools Days, focus groups and industry leading whitepapers.
What mattered was not only the quality of each individual activity, but the way they were brought together. A summit could create reach and relevance. A whitepaper could add depth and authority. A focus group could generate market insight. A tools led event could support direct commercial value. When these elements were connected properly, the proposition became more coherent and more compelling for partners looking for a platform that could deliver more than isolated visibility.
That improvement in coherence translated into stronger value for partners and a more durable commercial model. Renewal rates remained above 80 per cent, while the number of partners working with the business increased by 300 per cent. Those figures point to a proposition that was not only attracting interest, but continuing to justify investment over time.
The growth also came through broadening the partner base beyond its more traditional centre of gravity. ITAM tools remained important, but the business became increasingly relevant to adjacent sectors including SaaS, IT Asset Disposition, Hardware Asset Management and cyber security. That broader partner mix better reflected the ecosystem in which ITAM leaders actually operate and strengthened the platform’s commercial relevance in the process.
Events formed an important part of that wider picture. Attendance across the UK, Australia and the US increased by more than 25 per cent, reinforcing both the strength of the community and the value of the platform in multiple markets. More importantly, those events were not treated as stand alone successes. They sat within a broader commercial model designed to connect audience engagement, partner value and market authority more deliberately.
Covid exposed the concentration risk in a business where a large share of revenue came from in person events, but it also accelerated a necessary shift. By building out an online conference series and sharpening the wider online proposition, ITAM Review emerged with a model that was more scalable, more integrated and less dependent on a single route to value.
Alongside growth, there was a more structural objective in view. For the business to become part of the Linux Foundation, it needed more than momentum. It needed the consistency, discipline and operational maturity that institutional progression demands. Part of the work therefore involved helping create the conditions in which that next chapter became realistic, not simply desirable.
That movement, from a founder built business with a strong niche reputation to one capable of joining the Linux Foundation, says something important about what mature growth actually requires. It is rarely a matter of doing more of everything. More often, it depends on sharper choices, better alignment between proposition and strengths, clearer value for partners and the discipline to scale in a way that stands up to greater scrutiny.
For me, this remains a strong example of what commercial development looks like in an established business with further room to grow. The result was not only more revenue, but a stronger partner proposition, a broader market position, better connected commercial activity and a business more ready for its next chapter.