GCI has rebranded to Nasstar in order to “unify” the companies that have joined the group through acquisitions, according to its Managing Director, Mark Lee (pictured, above).
Private equity firm Mayfair Equity Partners became a majority shareholder of the managed service provider in 2018. It has since acquired Modality Systems in 2019 and a company named Nasstar last year, whose name it has adopted for the group. Modality Systems will not come under the new moniker but has been rebranded as Modality.
“Some of the legacy of those acquisitions are still sort of washed around within the business and so this is an opportunity for us to really coalesce around a single unified brand for the group,” Lee explained to UC Today.
“It’s really about creating a business which looks different from the rest of the market, capitalises on the broader strength of the whole group and just creating a unique market presence where all of the acquired businesses can become one.”
The company decided to adopt the name Nasstar after doing some market research which revealed to its execs that names that “abstract” names are more memorable to customers. It also provides the firm an opportunity to move away from its historic reputation as a data networking company and establish itself as a managed service provider, Lee said.
“Our research showed that brand names which are just acronyms are quite difficult to establish market presence and memory, whereas abstract names like Nasstar are more instantly memorable for people. The letters in GCI did stand for something but nobody knew what, so it was of little value,” he elaborated.
“The other factor is that the original GCI company was very much a data networking business and that’s what it is synonymous with. But as a result of the evolution of our business, we are now much more than just a data networking company – we’re a managed services business“
The company has a headcount of 700 and revenues approaching £120m and has customers across the globe.
The rebrand was originally meant to happen last year but was delayed due to the pandemic, said Lee, adding that now seemed like the right moment to “step into the spotlight” as the pandemic wanes.
“We’re starting to come out of the pandemic and we’re starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel and it feels like the market is beginning to become more buoyant,” he stated.
“We’re starting to see that inertia that’s been around throughout last year starting to clear. It now feels like the right moment for us to step up into the spotlight a little bit more.
“This is an opportunity to create a unified set of values; this is coalescing around a single brand for most of the group, and it’s the opportunity where we can now use this as a springboard to create a new culture, as well as a new brand.”
The Nasstar name emphasises the broad range of services it provides and the company is keen to for the market to recognise its pivot from its traditional data networking offering.
“We have a broad portfolio of services and we have had for quite some time,” he stated.
“Businesses are now looking for MSPs who can cover them; not across just voice or just data or just cloud services or just security, but to take a complete managed service proposition. That’s what we’re now capable of doing and that’s another reason for us to bring that all together within one very different looking brand.”
