Vodafone is looking for 300 franchise partners across the UK to launch Vodafone Business IT Hubs in their local areas.

Each Hub will have ill have a local territory in which it will offer an outsourced one-stop-shop for IT and communications managed services.

This includes support with hardware and applications, alongside connectivity and security.

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According to the telecoms giant, the target market for these outsourced units will be SMEs “who are resource-limited and don’t have their own internal IT support function available.”

However, the idea is that Vodafone Business IT Hubs will be limited companies trading under the Vodafone brand, and will employ their own local technicians, account managers and engineers.

They will also sell a number of Vodafone products and services alongside selected products from partner vendors.

The move comes as 37% of SMEs said they lacked the capacity to manage multiple ICT suppliers, contracts, and licences.

Meanwhile, 25%felt their current digital tools were not resilient enough to help protect their business from online threats including phishing, ransomware, and password hacking.

Vodafone Chief Data Officer & Head of Vodafone Business IT Hubs, Miryem Salah, said: “We know that business owners need to prioritise serving their customers and growing their business; in a busy world this doesn’t always leave the time or the resource to keep on top of their IT estate or manage multiple suppliers.

“At the same time, we know there are IT experts sat at their desks across the UK who have a dream of setting up their own businesses, but need some support to get started. That’s where we come in.”

Salah added: “We can offer our franchisees the capability, scale and confidence that comes from working with a large global brand, as well as finance and marketing support, while they can offer the technical skills and local knowledge to build a successful business that supports the local SME community.

“We’re excited to start this journey with our new franchisees in 2024 and beyond. I’d urge anyone with an interest to get in touch.”