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Ram Gupta has been running Nybble for over 25 years. The Blackburn-based managed service provider has grown from a retail business into a five-pillar operation covering IT infrastructure, software development, audio-visual, cyber security and AI. In that time, Ram has watched the technology sector change faster than almost any other industry – and he’s learned that the only way to stay relevant is to move with it.
That restlessness is what brought him to the Lancashire & Cumbria Institute of Technology as one of its founding employer partners. Nybble could foresee a future skills gap, and Ram wanted to be part of shaping the solution.
“We thought the IoT – the way it was described and the way it was orchestrated, and for the reason it was set up – was a perfect example of how that skills gap could be met. How all the dots could be joined up and you get an all-rounded individual that’s skilled, that’s relevant and very employable.”
Nybble has roughly doubled its headcount since the IoT first approached them and has also gone international with its services – recruiting constantly across cyber, cloud, networks, data, AI and audio-visual. The demand is relentless, and so is the pace of change.
“I’ve never seen the industry being as fast-paced as it is now,” Ram says. “Whatever you did yesterday truly changed what you might do tomorrow. You have to use the tools available to you to do the job – and that tool set is constantly evolving.”
Last year, Nybble brought on several new staff. The roles span the full breadth of the business: network engineers, cloud specialists, cyber analysts, data professionals, and AV technicians. And despite the rise of AI – which Nybble has embraced, including acquiring a small AI business in 2025 – they’re still recruiting at a swift rate. Technology handles the repetitive; humans handle the judgement.
What Ram looks for isn’t a finished CV. It’s flexibility and curiosity.
“Knowledge isn’t power anymore,” he says. “Knowledge is at your fingertips – everyone’s got it. It’s curiosity. We look for curious people who actually want to discover how to solve a problem. Is there a better way? We did it this way last time – how can we do better?”
Alongside curiosity, he values ambition and the appetite to learn. Nybble’s approach is to employ, nurture and mentor – taking people with the right mindset and building the technical capability around them, whether that’s in-house or through external provision.
As an anchor employer and board member, Ram brings the perspective of a business operating at the sharp end of digital change, helping steer what the IoT focuses on and how it responds to what employers actually need.
He’s also on the ground: he recently judged an IoT-led competition round as part of The Lancashire Colleges’ (TLC) Skills Competition Programme 2025, working directly with students from colleges across Lancashire. He and his fellow judges assessed how they approach real technical challenges in cyber, data and gaming.
“It was a real celebration – three very difficult tasks, and you couldn’t separate them. They were so good.”
The access the IoT offers is something Ram is direct about valuing.
“We’ve never had the opportunity – and I don’t think a business of our shape, size and scale would ever get the opportunity to influence curriculum at such a high level.”
“We’ve never had the opportunity – and I don’t think a business of our shape, size and scale would ever get the opportunity to influence curriculum at such a high level.”
But he’s equally clear that this isn’t just Nybble’s gain. The needs of an SME and a large enterprise are fundamentally the same: skilled people, the right talent, someone who’ll work hard and grow with you.
“Whether you’re 60 people or 600, it makes no difference – you need talent, you need
skilled people, and you need people who are going to work hard for you.”
His message to other businesses is rooted in the same thinking that got Nybble involved in the first place: you have to be part of the change you want to see.
“Get involved. You’re not doing it for somebody else – you’re doing it for your own business. Think almost selfishly about what your industry needs and then make sure the IoT delivers on that, because that’s what the IoT is there for. You can only influence what you’re involved in.”
And for those who think they don’t have the time? Ram’s answer is straightforward.
“Time will pass anyway, no matter what you do. If you think you’re going to do something because it’s going to take five years, if you don’t do anything, five years will still pass. You’re better off doing something.”
The talent pipeline that keeps Nybble competitive doesn’t happen by accident. It’s built by businesses willing to show up, shape the agenda, and invest in the people coming through. Ram Gupta has been doing exactly that since day one.