UK IT Support Marketing Leaderboard 2026: Air IT, Chess and ramsac Scored

Last Updated on October 12, 2026

Air IT scores highest of the five UK IT support and managed services brands compared, at 4.4 out of 10 on the Whito leaderboard.

Opinion and analysis. Whito read every brand below by hand on 12 October 2026, using publicly visible activity only. Each channel is scored 0 to 10 against fixed anchors, set out under How we scored, so a score describes what we could see on the day, not the quality of the service. Brands cannot pay to appear or to change a score. Where a figure is not published, we say so.

IT support firms sell reliability, and most of the five compared ask buyers to take it on trust. None publishes a price, two show no phone number on the homepage and three have no Trustpilot reviews or almost none.

The board is close. Air IT leads at 4.4 on reviews, search and ads: 4.7 from 218 Trustpilot reviews, 4 of 10 test searches and 38 Google ads. Chess follows at 4.3 with the largest review base, 4,993, and ramsac at 4.1 with the broadest social and brand work.

TSG scores lowest, 2.3. It shows its Net Promoter Score on the homepage but links only LinkedIn, shows no phone or email and has 3 Trustpilot reviews.

The leaderboard

Average is the simple mean of the seven channel scores, rounded to one decimal place. Read 12 October 2026.

Company verdicts

Air IT, 4.4

Air IT scores 4.4, the highest of a close board. Reviews lead: Trustpilot shows 4.7 from 218, and 19 of the latest 20 have a reply. It is the only brand to appear in the UK test searches, returning in 4 of 10, and it runs 38 Google ads. Press reported 11 UK offices when it bought Lincolnshire provider SCS Technology Solutions in March 2024, and the company was renamed Air IT Group Limited in October 2025. The website has service pages, a new-enquiries phone line and city pages. Social is Facebook and X only, no email capture was found and the homepage has no positioning line beyond its page title. Its clearest gap is page care: its Birmingham page shows placeholder zeros and a heading naming a client.

Chess, 4.3

Chess scores 4.3, second of five. It has the largest review base on the board: Trustpilot shows 4.3 from 4,993 reviews, and every one of the latest 20 has a reply. It says it serves over 18,000 organisations and has been listed among the 100 Best Companies to Work For for 17 years. The website covers connectivity, cloud, devices and security, with a ‘Speak to an expert’ form and a service status page. Email capture comes through a marketing opt-in on the contact form plus guides and events pages. LinkedIn and YouTube are linked. No Google or Meta ads were found, and it did not appear in the 10 test searches. Its clearest gap is that a firm selling phone lines shows no phone number on its homepage.

ramsac, 4.1

ramsac scores 4.1, third of five. Its social and brand work are the strongest on the board: five platforms linked, the same name on all of them, a clear line, ‘So much more than just IT support’, and a registered trade mark slogan, ‘the secure choice’. The website offers several phone lines, a consultation booking form, a chat widget and local pages for Guildford, London and Woking. Email capture runs through webinars, including ramsac AI Live on 22 October 2026, an AI factsheet and masterclass events. It targets organisations of about 50 to 500 users in London and the South East. No ads were found and it did not appear in the 10 test searches. Its clearest gap is reviews: its Trustpilot profile has none.

Wavenet, 4.0

Wavenet scores 4.0, fourth of five. Paid is a strength, with 43 Google ads by domain in the last 30 days, the most on this board. Email capture uses the PSTN switch-off as a hook, with a planning toolkit, an eBook and a webinar and resource centre. The website has a phone number, an office locations page, an incident response route and service pages. It claims 22,000+ organisations supported, 1,500 employees and 15 UK locations. LinkedIn and X are linked. It did not appear in the 10 test searches, although it runs a resource library. Its clearest gap is reviews: the homepage carries a Trustpilot widget, but the Trustpilot profile for wavenet.co.uk has no reviews.

TSG, 2.3

TSG scores 2.3, the lowest of the five. It is a national Microsoft and Sage partner and shows its Net Promoter Score on the homepage: +87 for the last month and +86 over 12 months. Its positioning line is clear: ‘The Technology Partner for Your Ambitious Business’. It runs an insights hub, blog and case studies. Beyond that, the public evidence is thin. LinkedIn is the only social link, the homepage shows no phone number or email address, no email capture was found and no Google or Meta ads were found. It did not appear in the 10 test searches. Trustpilot shows 2.8 from 3 reviews, none with a reply. Its clearest gap is that its self-reported satisfaction score has almost no public reviews alongside it.

What the channels show

Nobody publishes a price

None of the five shows a per-user or monthly price on its homepage. Every route is a form, a call or a consultation booking. For SME owners comparing providers, the first number always sits behind a sales conversation. That suits complex contracts, but it also means a buyer cannot rule a provider in or out without giving their details first, and none of the five uses price to stand apart.

Two firms carry the reviews

Chess has 4,993 Trustpilot reviews at 4.3 and Air IT 218 at 4.7, and both reply to almost every recent review. ramsac and Wavenet have none on Trustpilot and TSG has 3 at 2.8. The firms without public reviews show their own figures instead: TSG an NPS of +87, Wavenet 90%+ CSAT and ramsac a claimed 5-star Google rating with no count shown.

Contact details are not a given

TSG shows no phone number or email on its homepage, and Chess shows no phone number, only a ‘Speak to an expert’ form. ramsac lists several phone lines and a chat widget, and Wavenet and Air IT both show a number. For a business with a problem today, a missing number is a missing route, and it sits oddly with selling support.

Topical lead magnets work well

Wavenet builds email capture around the PSTN switch-off, with a planning toolkit and an eBook, and ramsac runs AI webinars and an AI factsheet. Both score 5 for email, the highest on the board. Air IT and TSG scored 0. The pattern is simple: a deadline or change that every client faces gives people a reason to hand over an email.

Key lessons for any IT support business

Publish a starting price

None of the five shows a price. A small IT support firm that lists a per-user monthly starting price, even with a note on what changes it, lets an SME owner rule it in before a call. It is the clearest way to stand apart from every brand on this board.

Ask for a review after each fix

Chess and Air IT have thousands and hundreds of Trustpilot reviews and reply to nearly all of them. Asking when a ticket closes, while the fix is fresh, is the simplest way to build the same proof. Reply to each review, including the unhappy ones, so the next buyer sees how you respond.

Show a phone number

Two of the national firms, TSG and Chess, show no phone number on their homepage. A number in the header is the quickest route for a business with a problem, and it costs nothing. If you offer out-of-hours support, say so next to the number.

Use deadlines for lead magnets

Wavenet turns the PSTN switch-off into a toolkit and an eBook. A local firm can write a one-page checklist for any change its clients face, such as an end-of-support date for software they use, and collect emails with it. Keep it short and practical.

Check every location page

Air IT’s Birmingham page shows placeholder zeros in its performance section and a heading naming a client. If you build pages for each town you cover, read each one on a phone before it goes live, and check it again after any template change.

Steal this playbook

Five moves from this leaderboard, ranked by return on effort.

1. Put a phone number in your header. TSG and Chess show none on their homepages, so it is an easy gap to beat.
2. Ask for a review when each ticket closes. Air IT and Chess lead this board on reviews and reply to almost every one.
3. Publish a per-user starting price. None of the five shows a price, so it sets a small firm apart straight away.
4. Write one checklist on a deadline clients face. Wavenet’s PSTN switch-off toolkit gives it one of the two highest email scores on the board.
5. Check your location pages before launch. Air IT’s Birmingham page shows placeholder zeros and a client’s name in a heading, which weakens an otherwise strong record.

The evidence behind the scores

One line per channel, as read on 12 October 2026. Review figures change daily; these are the numbers on the day we looked.

Air IT

• Social 4: Links to Facebook and X from airit.co.uk; no Instagram, TikTok, YouTube or LinkedIn link found.
• Website 5: Service pages, a new-enquiries phone line, client log-in and location pages; the Birmingham page shows placeholder zeros and a heading naming a client.
• Email 0: No newsletter, guide download or other email capture found on airit.co.uk.
• SEO 6: 4 of 10 UK web searches returned airit.co.uk in the top ten.
• Paid 6: Google Ads Transparency Centre, UK, last 30 days, by domain airit.co.uk: 38 ads. Meta Ad Library, UK, active ads naming the brand: none found.
• Reviews 8: Trustpilot 4.7 from 218 reviews; 19 of the latest 20 have a company reply.
• Brand 2: Same name across its social profiles; no clear positioning line, long-running asset, named people or three recent news mentions found.

Chess

• Social 4: Links to LinkedIn and YouTube from chessict.co.uk; no Facebook, Instagram, X or TikTok link found.
• Website 6: Service pages across connectivity, cloud, devices and security, a ‘Speak to an expert’ form and a service status page; no phone or prices on the homepage.
• Email 4: Contact form with a marketing opt-in, plus Useful Guides and Events pages.
• SEO 3: 0 of 10 UK web searches returned chessict.co.uk in the top ten; plus 1 for an advice or guides library.
• Paid 2: Google Ads Transparency Centre, UK, last 30 days, by domain chessict.co.uk: no ads found. Meta Ad Library, UK, active ads naming the brand: none found.
• Reviews 7: Trustpilot 4.3 from 4,993 reviews; 20 of the latest 20 have a company reply.
• Brand 4: Same name everywhere and a clear positioning line (‘Making IT Work for you.’); no long-running asset, named people or three recent news mentions found.

ramsac

• Social 6: Links to YouTube, LinkedIn, X, Instagram and Facebook from ramsac.com.
• Website 7: Several phone lines, a consultation booking form, chat widget, local pages for Guildford, London and Woking, and a remote-support route; no prices.
• Email 5: Webinars (Human Firewall 2.0, ramsac AI Live 22 Oct 2026), an AI factsheet PDF and masterclass events; no newsletter seen.
• SEO 3: 0 of 10 UK web searches returned ramsac.com in the top ten; plus 1 for an advice or guides library.
• Paid 2: Google Ads Transparency Centre, UK, last 30 days, by domain ramsac.com: no ads found. Meta Ad Library, UK, active ads naming the brand: none found.
• Reviews 0: Trustpilot profile for ramsac.com has no reviews, so there is no rating, volume or reply record to score.
• Brand 6: Same name everywhere, a clear positioning line (‘So much more than just IT support’) and a registered trade mark slogan (‘the secure choice’); no named people or three recent news mentions found.

Wavenet

• Social 4: Links to LinkedIn and X from wavenet.co.uk; no Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or YouTube link found.
• Website 6: Phone, a ‘Talk to us’ page, office locations page, incident response route and service pages; no prices.
• Email 5: PSTN planning toolkit and switch-off eBook downloads, plus a webinar and resource centre; no newsletter seen.
• SEO 3: 0 of 10 UK web searches returned wavenet.co.uk in the top ten; plus 1 for an advice or guides library.
• Paid 6: Google Ads Transparency Centre, UK, last 30 days, by domain wavenet.co.uk: 43 ads. Meta Ad Library, UK, active ads naming the brand: none found.
• Reviews 0: Trustpilot profile for wavenet.co.uk has no reviews, so there is no rating, volume or reply record to score.
• Brand 4: Same name everywhere and a clear positioning line about enterprise IT and security without big-company complexity; no long-running asset, named people or three recent news mentions found.

TSG

• Social 2: Links to LinkedIn only from tsg.com; no Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok or YouTube link found.
• Website 5: Service pages and a ‘Get In Touch’ form; no phone, email or prices on the homepage.
• Email 0: No newsletter or download capture found; only a customer feedback survey.
• SEO 3: 0 of 10 UK web searches returned tsg.com in the top ten; plus 1 for an advice or guides library.
• Paid 2: Google Ads Transparency Centre, UK, last 30 days, by domain tsg.com: no ads found. Meta Ad Library, UK, active ads naming the brand: none found.
• Reviews 0: Trustpilot 2.8 from 3 reviews; 0 of the latest 3 have a company reply.
• Brand 4: Same name everywhere and a clear positioning line (‘The Technology Partner for Your Ambitious Business’); no long-running asset, named people or three recent news mentions found.

How we scored

Who is on the board. Five managed IT and support providers a UK SME is likely to meet, chosen for relevance and size: TSG (national Microsoft and Sage partner, Gateshead HQ), Air IT (private-equity-backed buy-and-build MSP, 11 UK offices per 2024 press), Chess (comms-led ICT provider serving 18,000+ organisations), Wavenet (national MSP and comms provider, 15 UK locations) and ramsac (regional specialist for 50-500 user organisations in London and the South East). Littlefish was considered but targets larger organisations. Brands were chosen for relevance and size, not for marketing strength.

• Social: which platforms the brand links to from its own site, and whether we could see recent posting and video.
• Website: 2 for a brochure page, 4 with a contact route on mobile, 6 with a page per service and a one-step enquiry, 8 with prices or ranges and registration numbers shown, 10 with online booking or an instant priced quote.
• Email: visible capture only, as we did not subscribe test inboxes for this edition. 2 for a bare newsletter form, up to 10 for a loyalty or app ecosystem with personal offers.
• SEO: ten UK searches for this trade, run through a standard web search API on 12 October 2026 (not personalised, no location set beyond the town in the query); we counted how many returned the brand’s own site in the top ten results. 0 of 10 scores 2, 1 to 2 scores 4, 3 to 4 scores 6, 5 to 6 scores 8, 7 or more scores 10, plus 1 for a substantial advice library. The searches: IT support for small business; managed IT services UK; outsourced IT support SME; cyber security for small business UK; Microsoft 365 support company; IT support London; IT support Manchester; IT support Birmingham; IT support Leeds; IT support Nottingham.
• Paid: the Google Ads Transparency Centre (UK, last 30 days, by domain) and the Meta Ad Library (UK, active ads whose text names the brand, counted by the advertiser page). 2 for nothing found in either, 4 for active in one with fewer than 10 ads, 6 for active in both or 10+ in one, 8 for active in both with 10+ in at least one, 10 for 50+ Google ads and 10+ Meta ads. Paid describes visible activity, not quality. A low paid score is not a fault.
• Reviews: a fixed formula. Rating (4.7+ scores 4, 4.5 to 4.69 scores 3, 4.0 to 4.49 scores 2, 3.5 to 3.99 scores 1) plus volume (10,000+ scores 4, 1,000+ scores 3, 100+ scores 2, 20+ scores 1) plus replies to the latest 20 reviews (half or more scores 2, some scores 1).
• Brand: five checks worth 2 each: the same name and logo everywhere, one clear positioning line, a distinctive asset used for years, three or more independent press mentions in 90 days, and named people or expertise on the site.

These anchors are fixed for this edition, so the five scores can be read against each other. Boards published before October 2026 used scores relative to the other brands on the board, so compare across boards with care.

Common questions

Which IT support brand scores highest on the Whito leaderboard?

Air IT scores highest of the five compared, at 4.4 out of 10, on a close board. It has 4.7 from 218 Trustpilot reviews with replies on 19 of the latest 20, returned in 4 of 10 UK test searches and runs 38 Google ads. Chess is close behind at 4.3.

Which IT support brand scores lowest?

TSG scores lowest, at 2.3 out of 10. It shows a Net Promoter Score of +87 on its homepage and has a clear positioning line, but links only LinkedIn, shows no phone or email, has no email capture or ads that were found, and has 3 Trustpilot reviews at 2.8.

How do IT support firms compare on reviews?

Chess has 4,993 Trustpilot reviews at 4.3 and replies to all of its latest 20. Air IT has 218 at 4.7 and replies to 19 of 20. TSG has 3 at 2.8. ramsac and Wavenet have no Trustpilot reviews, although Wavenet’s homepage carries a Trustpilot widget.

What can a small IT support company copy from these brands?

Show a phone number in your header, which two of the five do not. Ask for a review when each ticket closes, as the review leaders clearly do. Publish a per-user starting price, which none of the five does. Write one checklist about a deadline clients face, as Wavenet does with the PSTN switch-off.

Do managed IT providers publish per-user prices?

None of the five shows a price on its homepage. TSG, Air IT, Chess, Wavenet and ramsac all route buyers to a form, a phone call or a consultation. A small provider that publishes a starting monthly price per user would be the only one in this comparison to do so.

Corrections and right of reply

If your business is scored here and you think we have a fact wrong, email hello@whito.co.uk. We check it against the source, correct it within five working days if we are wrong, and publish your statement alongside if you want us to. Scores are never changed for payment or because a business has claimed a Whito listing. Full route: corrections, right of reply and removals.

Related: all UK marketing leaderboards · IT Support on Whito

Whito

Whito is an independent UK research publisher. We publish research on how UK businesses are found, trusted and priced: what they cost to market, how their sectors work, and who actually gets recommended. Studies are free to read, every figure carries the date it was checked, and nobody pays to appear.

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