From the mechanical pencil in 1822 to Dolly the sheep in 1996, the United Kingdom (U.K.) has been a ceaseless source of innovation for as long as it’s been a country.
It was there for the farming and industrial revolutions, for chocolate bars and Christmas cards. The postal stamp. Harry freakin’ Potter.
With the country’s unparalleled portfolio of production, you’d be crazy to think they’d sit out the Digital Age. Technology is thriving in the U.K., both in the consumer space and business-to-business (B2B).
The U.K. landed fourth on the 2018 Global Entrepreneurship Index — a reflection of the entrepreneurial “attitudes, abilities and aspirations” of the local population. Business Insider dives even further into the country’s glut of ambitious innovators with the 100 Coolest People in U.K. Tech list, replete with men and women who will go down as the Alexander Graham Bells and Florence Nightingales of their time.
The U.K.’s contributions to tech are embodied in software profiles on G2 , along with the hundreds of satisfied customers who left reviews of their company’s experience. The U.K. — still represented here as England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — is home to powerhouses like Sage and satellite offices for Salesforce, SAP, Google and others. Amazon opened a new 600,000 sq. ft. U.K. headquarters in London this year and more will inevitably follow suit. Just this week the government announced faster broadband will be accessible across the entire region by 2020, helping to lay the groundwork for continued infrastructure growth and ensuring homes and offices alike share a level playing field.
While certain markets struggle to attract young, wandering entrepreneurs, the U.K. had its sharpest population spike in nearly 70 years, now pushing 66 million. There’s no shortage of exciting organizations (organisations, rather) for gifted techies to join, and as so many are proving week after week, there’s still room for more. Technology doesn’t sleep, and neither does London according to reliable sources, so it’s a safe bet 2018 will be another leap forward for both.
Before we kick off the New Year and sing “Auld Lang Syne” (ahem, a product of Scotland), let’s appreciate the current state of B2B software in the U.K.. The following are the top-rated products on G2 with vendors headquartered in the U.K.. The list below is ordered by user satisfaction, and to qualify, a product was required to have at least 10 verified user reviews.
For each product, we created a profile to give a snapshot of what it is and what it does, and to give some insight into the company behind it. All the data comes from G2.com (and our nearly 750,000 B2B software and services reviews), or from publicly available sources such as LinkedIn and Crunchbase.
These 25 U.K. B2B companies are represented by 2283 verified reviews from real users across a variety of categories, from ERP Systems to 3D Modeling to Digital Analytics. Read more below about some of the companies playing a major role in the U.K.’s bustling tech environment.
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1. Coveragebook.comProduct: Coveragebook.com |
Among its peers in the PR Analytics space, Coveragebook.com is the most well-reviewed product on G2 by a safe distance. Users of this tool can generate a wide variety of insights into their brand’s engagement across mediums, such as YouTube views and domain authority. It also offers customizable reports based on individual public relations pieces or entire campaigns. Customers of Coveragebook.com include Nike, ESPN, Sony and the four-wheeled pride of Britain, Aston Martin.
“We’re a small passionate team, committed to making easy to use products that make life easier for thousands of public relations professionals. The focus is to make simple to use tools to solve specific (often boring!) time drain admin tasks in PR. Not rocket science in terms of strategy. But smart PR pros should be busy getting creative or generating insights. Leave the admin to the machines. Thank you to all our customers that took the time to share their experience of us with others on G2. In early 2018 we’ll be releasing some new stuff. If you’re bored of sending lots of coverage update emails. You’ll probably love it”
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2. SageProduct: Sage Intacct |
Just recently certified as a Leader on the Winter 2018 Grid® for Nonprofit Accounting, Sage Intacct — one of Sage’s many well-reviewed offerings — is also a present Leader in the Accounting and ERP Systems categories. This diverse tool comes with a number of core financial modules and other features, drawing from the expertise of both Sage and Intacct, which the former acquired in July 2017. Interested parties can learn more and sign up for a free 30-day trial of the platform on the Sage Intacct website.
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3. EbstaProduct: Ebsta |
The product profile of Ebsta proudly touts the 14,000-plus companies that use the Salesforce-based email tracking tool for automating sales engagement, keeping calendars in sync and a handful of other business benefits. As of press time, Ebsta is a High Performer in the Salesforce AppExchange Tools category with a higher Satisfaction score than the 15 other software solutions on the Grid®.
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4. PiriformProduct: Ccleaner |
Ccleaner cleans up cluttered computers. It’s also been downloaded 2 billion times, according to vendor Piriform, so it must be doing something right. Ccleaner Business Edition is designed for on-premises installation and use for any size business, and a free trial of the software is one click away on the Ccleaner website. The complete platform is sold on a per-unit basis, so each employee requires a unique license. Discounts become available as the number of licenses goes up. Brands including Samsung, Adobe and Boeing have cleansed their hardware with the increasingly popular product.
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5. ExponeaProduct: Exponea |
More than 100 reviewers have helped make Exponea a High Performer in three different categories on G2 — no easy feat. Key features of the fully integrated marketing cloud include automated marketing campaigns, deep customer analysis, real-time data storage and integrations with everything from MySQL to now Amazon Alexa. Exponea is sold in packages based on capacity, with the Ultimate package allowing for up to 10 billion data points.
“We are a marketing automation and customer data management platform that not only boosts e-commerce growth, but also helps improve our clients’ culture with better cross-department collaboration and customer centricity. We also reduce consumer frustration by helping our clients send fewer emails but earn more, thanks to proper targeting and 1 to 1 personalization."
– Peter Irikovsky, CEO at Exponea
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6. Staff SquaredProduct: Staff Squared |
Succinctly put in their five-star review, Jennifer H. wrote that Staff Squared, “Reduces and automates key HR admin so I can spend more time actually managing my team.” The program provides features across the spectrum of daily HR needs, and is one of the best-reviewed platforms in the Core HR category. In addition to general functionality like time tracking and expense management, powerful reporting tools give users an in-depth perspective into staff performance and areas for improvement.
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7. MarvelProduct: Marvel |
When planning a fresh new website or mobile application, businesses can take advantage of a prototyping tool like Marvel to piece the puzzle together and map out a winning project. Marvel offers features for design, prototyping and collaboration, along with handy integrations with popular software systems like Slack, Box and Sketch (which was just featured in our coverage of Netherlands B2B tech). Increased market presence, along with positive feedback from verified users, has nudged Marvel from a High Performer to a Leader in the Prototyping category.
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8. MendeleyProduct: Mendeley |
Mendeley is a platform for researchers to organize references, connect with others and share complex data findings with this always-growing research network, among other things. Classified as a Research Management tool on G2 (and presently a Leader in the category), Mendeley is a proven asset for scientists, students and others for whom research is a central component of their day. It’s also free, with downloadable versions for Mac, Windows and Linux available on the product website.
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9. MooProduct: Moo |
With MOO you can put a moove on custom business cards, flyers, stickers and whatever other print products you might need for your company. Organizations such as Airbnb and the National Breast Cancer Foundation leverage MOO Business Services for print fulfillment, and the vendor is both a Leader and the best-reviewed solution in the Print Fulfillment category as of press time. In addition to its London office, MOO also has locations in Boston and Rhode Island.
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10. GoSquaredProduct: GoSquared |
GoSquared promises to turn visitors into customers, with a suite that provides live chat, digital analytics and CRM solutions. You can read tips on getting the most out of the software, along with other industry insights, on the GoSquared blog featured on their website. The platform was recently named a High Performer for Fall 2017 on the Digital Analytics Grid® Report.
“At Kashoo, we are always trying to meet our clients’ needs through continuous improvements in our software, and providing the support and information needed to manage their accounting efficiently. Our reviews reflect our world-class service and dedication to our customers, and we are proud to be included in G2 ’s top-rated software list!”
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11. Altaro SoftwareProduct: Altaro VM Backup |
Founded in 2009, Altaro Software soon developed VM Backup as its flagship solution and hasn’t looked back since. More than 7,000 businesses now serve as partners to Altaro, assisting with resale or implementation of VM Backup. The platform itself, originally known as Hyper-V Backup, primarily functions as a backup and restoration solution for Hyper-V and VMware-based virtual machines. According to the Altaro website, Altaro VM Backup is used by more than 40,000 businesses.
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12. Phocas SoftwareProduct: Phocas Software |
Phocas Software helps businesses leverage real-time data to make critical decisions and improve performance across departments. It’s got a secure place in the High Performer quadrant of the Business Intelligence Platforms Grid®, and also offers sales analytics features to assess the health of your sales efforts and determine what works and what doesn’t. A helpful three-minute demo is available to watch for free on the Phocas website.
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13. The FoundryProduct: Modo |
Modo is one of the modern animation-focused offerings from Foundry, a London-based developer. Users can perform 3D modeling, texturing and rendering tasks with Modo’s diverse toolset, and the software can be “your starting point for creative exploration,” as worded by the company. The Foundry website claims that Modo is the fastest modeling tool on the market, and it’s a certified Leader in the 3D Modeling category on G2 . You can put it to the test yourself with a free 30-day trial.
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14. PRGlooProduct: PRGloo |
PRgloo provides a platform for in-house communication teams to manage all aspects of their communication function including enquiry management, newsroom and social media publication, influencer engagement and coverage. The PRgloo product has received an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars, giving it one of the highest user satisfaction ratings in G2 ’s Press Release Distribution, and Media and Influencer Targeting categories.
“At 7shifts we are proud to be part of the vibrant tech community here in Saskatchewan and across Canada. We believe that we have the people, talent and skills necessary to make a massive impact in the restaurant technology space and to demonstrate that Canadian start ups have what it takes to compete and thrive globally.”
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15. CanonicalProduct: Ubuntu |
Making a name for yourself in the OS landscape is no walk in the park, but Ubuntu is showing others how its done as a Leader in the category alongside Windows 10, iOS and Android. The platform, named after a a South African philosophy that translates as “human-ness,” launched in 2004 as a completely free download and remains free to this day. As of press time, it’s the best-reviewed operating system among small-business users. You can check out different “flavours” of the open-source OS, which come packaged with different default applications and settings, on the Ubuntu website.
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16. MoosendProduct: Moosend |
Moosend is a robust email marketing system packed with all the features necessary to plan, execute, analyze and repeat an email campaign for your business. It also offers easy ways to integrate with ecommerce websites, track performance and engagement, and automate marketing efforts as needed. Moosend’s portfolio of past customers include the World Wildlife Fund and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
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17. People HRProduct: People HR |
For human resources departments, a tool like People HR is a secret weapon to help simplify regular job duties and then some. It offers features for organizing info about the company roster, moving along the recruitment process, and automating day-to-day tasks into an ideal workflow. Customers of the software include Disney and Victoria Beckham, the fashion line of England’s own Posh Spice. If that doesn’t sell you, what will?
“Our customers are progressive HR professionals who want to make better decisions, engage their workforce, and deliver results that get noticed. We’re delighted to be included in this list, as it proves that more companies are beginning to see the value of the human, and of HR, in the workplace.”
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18. KanbanchiProduct: Kanbanchi for G Suite |
Built exclusively for G Suite, Google’s cloud-based productivity platform, the Kanbachi dashboard helps teams visualize workflows and manage projects from a intuitive, centralized hub. Since its inception, Kanbachi for G Suite has been a free download for personal and educational use, but professional versions are available on a per-user pricing plan with added features such as Gantt charts and time trackers. The software is a certified High Performer in the Task Management category on G2 .
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19. BuzzSumoProduct: BuzzSumo |
Popular publications like BuzzFeed, Rolling Stone and TechRadar utilize BuzzSumo to analyze their social media performance and chisel out the best possible strategies. The platform lists features such as content discovery, brand monitoring, competitor research and influencer marketing as its bread and butter (or biscuits and jam, considering the company’s south England headquarters). Reviewer Janessa L. called BuzzSumo “a must-have for content marketers and writers” in their five-star BuzzSumo review.
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20. SendibleProduct: Sendible |
Sendible joins BuzzSumo as one of the excellent social media supplements emanating from the U.K. tech scene. The platform offers features along the spectrum of social media management, including analytics, automation and advanced content suggestion that empowers teams to boost their online presence and generate new business. A free 30-day trial is available on the Sendible website. You can also read about social news and best practices through the Sendible blog.
“We’re going into 2018 with a spirit of continuous improvement, which includes listening to our users to gain insight on what changes need to be made. G2 is a great place to get that insight, and we’re thrilled to have been recognized in this collection of top technology.”
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21. MentionlyticsProduct: Mentionlytics |
The social media tools don’t stop there, with Mentionlytics’ specialized social media monitoring solution landing alongside Sendible and BuzzSumo as one of the best B2B products from the U.K. Mentionlytics was just named a High Performer in the Social Media Monitoring category for Winter 2018, and has a near-perfect 4.9 out of 5 stars after 19 reviews. Marketing teams can use this software to automatically track company mentions across the webisphere, along with industry highlights and mentions of competitors.
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22. AdestraProduct: Adestra |
Email marketing platform Adestra was launched in 2004, in the early days of email as a business tool. Fast-forward and the software is one of the most respected tools in a ed tech space, with extensive features for every step of the email marketing lifecycle. An enthusiastic review from user Mark H. reads: “Adestra have been a true partner to us as we’ve grown as a business. The account management team have continued to help us to define our CRM strategy, culminating with us winning an award at the Engagement & Loyalty Awards, something we couldn’t have done on our own. On top of that their support team, whether via live chat or email, is possibly the best I’ve dealt with.
“We’re excited and honored to be included in G2 ’s list of top technologies as a leading email technology provider. In today’s ed MarTech space, it’s great to see that all the hard work that goes on both behind the scenes and in front are recognized. We’ll continue to further develop our platform in 2018 to ensure that companies can take advantage of all the power that email marketing and automation has to offer.”
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23 RealVNCProduct: VNC Connect |
23 out of 25 B2B systems on our U.K. list is VNC Connect from RealVNC. This remote desktop application allows users to connect with and control devices from anywhere in the world, whether you’re an independent contractor, small business or enterprise corporation. You can learn more about what makes VNC Connect unique from its competitors with a video featured on the RealVNC website, where you can also sign up for a free trial. VNC Connect is presently in the Leader quadrant of the Remote Desktop Grid®, with over 100 reviews from mostly satisfied customers.
“RealVNC has had a fantastic year with our VNC Connect remote access and support software. We made a number of major extensions to the product that have been extremely well received by our customers and the tech community. On behalf of our entire team, I would like to thank G2 for recognizing our software innovation and the benefits we deliver to our customers. Stay tuned, we have some fantastic things planned for the year ahead.”
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24. WorkbooksProduct: Workbooks.com |
Workbooks.com is a CRM company founded in 2007 that now boasts 1,400 customers in more than 50 countries. The company website claims the company was founded when its four founders were “frustrated by a lack of good business applications for the mid-market.” The company has found that market, with 91 percent of G2 ’s Workbooks.com reviewers working for a company with 1,000 or fewer employees. In the ed CRM marketplace, Workbooks.com earned High Performers honors in the Fall 2017 CRM Grid® Report. The product was also named one of the best free CRM options in 2017.
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25. Artesian SolutionsProduct: Artesian |
Artesian is an artificial intelligence-powered sales intelligence tool that boasts customers such as Adobe, Cisco, Citi, General Electric and NASCAR. In addition to its U.K. headquarters, Artesian Solutions also has a North American head office in Boston. The product calls its new AI “Arti” and was named a High Performer in the Fall 2017 Sales Intelligence Grid® Report.
While we recognized only the best 25 SaaS and service tech companies in U.K., there are still an abundance of other tech companies impacting the B2B U.K. scene. Here’s a rundown of other U.K. B2B software and service companies with their founded dates and total reviews on G2 .
Rank |
Company |
Product |
Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | PuTTY | PuTTY | 65 |
| 27 | Sotrender | Sotrender | 26 |
| 28 | sales-i | sales-i | 82 |
| 29 | Meeting Application | Meeting Application | 16 |
| 30 | FreshMail | FreshMail | 15 |
| 31 | Telegram | Telegram | 53 |
| 32 | tawk.to | tawk-to | 22 |
| 33 | TextMagic ‘ | TextMagic | 16 |
| 34 | JGraph | Draw-io | 40 |
| 35 | Asset Bank | Asset Bank | 30 |
| 36 | CCH, a Wolters Kluwer Business | CCH ProSystem fx Tax | 24 |
| 37 | SmartSurvey | SmartSurvey | 13 |
| 38 | Brandworkz | Brandworkz | 20 |
| 39 | FXHome Limited | HitFilm Pro | 18 |
| 40 | Really Simple Systems | Really Simple Systems | 66 |
| 41 | Brandwatch | Brandwatch | 112 |
| 42 | CloudSense | CloudSense | 17 |
| 43 | CentOS | CentOS | 65 |
| 44 | Kovai Limited | BizTalk360 | 36 |
| 45 | Legalesign | Legalesign | 52 |
| 46 | Screaming Frog | SEO Spider | 15 |
| 47 | CDN77.com | CDN77-com | 17 |
| 48 | SE Ranking | SE Ranking | 15 |
| 49 | 10to8 | 10to8 | 10 |
| 50 | CUBA platform | CUBA platform | 10 |
| 51 | Web CEO LTD | Web CEO | 37 |
| 52 | RealMac Software | RapidWeaver | 11 |
| 53 | Vivantio | Vivantio | 44 |
| 54 | Helios Software Solutions | TextPad | 78 |
| 55 | TestDome Ltd. | TestDome | 10 |
| 56 | Project Portfolio Office | Project Portfolio Office PPO | 15 |
| 57 | Blue Zebra Associates Ltd | BlueprintCPQ | 18 |
| 58 | CakeHR | CakeHR | 12 |
| 59 | Kayako | Kayako | 122 |
| 60 | Serif | Affinity Photo | 23 |
| 61 | Geckoboard | Geckoboard | 21 |
| 62 | YoYo Games | GameMaker | 17 |
| 63 | ZAP | ZAP BI | 28 |
| 64 | dotDigital Group plc | dotmailer | 102 |
| 65 | ES Computing | Edit_plus | 17 |
| 66 | Mintel Group Ltd | Mintel | 10 |
| 67 | BuyerDeck | BuyerDeck | 28 |
| 68 | PowToon | PowToon | 25 |
| 69 | Majestic | Majestic | 38 |
| 70 | Pearson | Pearson LearningStudio | 11 |
| 71 | SalesAgility | SuiteCRM | 12 |
| 72 | SimilarWeb | SimilarWeb | 12 |
| 73 | CommuniGator | CommuniGator | 34 |
| 74 | Literature & Latte | Scrivener | 32 |
| 75 | Zestia Ltd | Capsule CRM | 21 |
| 76 | Reward Gateway | SmartHub | 15 |
| 77 | Brightpearl | Brightpearl | 29 |
| 78 | Montala Limited | ResourceSpace | 14 |
| 79 | Orient Technologies | OrientDB | 26 |
| 80 | iNetria Ltd | OfficeMA Timesheet | 13 |
| 81 | Qubit | Qubit | 15 |
| 82 | Encompass Corporation | Encompass | 10 |
| 83 | Antivia | DecisionPoint | 22 |
| 84 | CloudApps | SuMo Motivate | 18 |
| 85 | Lead Forensics | Lead Forensics | 33 |
| 86 | Payza | Payza | 11 |
| 87 | Precursive | Precursive | 14 |
| 88 | Ascertia | SigningHub | 22 |
| 89 | AVORA | Avora | 18 |
| 90 | FlashDevelop | Flashdevelop | 10 |
| 91 | CPA Global | FoundationIP | 25 |
| 92 | PDF Pro | PDF Pro | 15 |
| 93 | Snap Surveys Ltd. | Snap Surveys | 10 |
| 94 | HDRsoft | Photomatix Pro | 11 |
| 95 | RocketReach | RocketReach | 11 |
| 96 | Sparkol | Video Scribe | 10 |
| 97 | BrightLocal | BrightLocal | 19 |
| 98 | Worldpay | Worldpay | 12 |
| 99 | Lean Software Ltd | Excel Database Tasks EDT | 10 |
| 100 | PeoplePerHour Inc. | PeoplePerHour-com | 14 |
| 101 | Lumesse | Lumesse ETWeb | 13 |
This post was originally published in January 2018 and has been updated with new data as of June 2019
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