Convergence Is Accelerating: Why Channel Leaders Must Rethink Their Revenue Strategy Now

For years, the concept of channel convergence was more of a punchline than a prediction.

We heard about it on stage. We saw it on slides. We nodded along.

“Telco and IT are going to converge.” “MSPs and VARs will start to sell cloud and security.” “It’s all going to come together under one partner motion.”

Except—it didn’t. At least, not at any meaningful scale. Silos persisted. Segments stayed intact. Revenue teams were structured accordingly.

But over the last 12–18 months, something changed. And fast.

At JSG, we’ve watched traditional channel borders collapse in real time. MSPs are selling fiber. Telco agents are pitching managed security. IT providers are moving upstream into connectivity and collaboration.

What used to be an edge case is now becoming standard practice. Convergence is no longer coming—it’s here.

And for Chief Revenue Officers, it presents both a challenge and a massive opportunity.

What’s Driving the Acceleration?

There’s no single trigger behind this shift. It’s a confluence of buyer behavior, market pressure, and strategic necessity.

1. The Buyer Is Leading the Charge

Let’s be clear: this isn’t being driven by the vendor ecosystem—it’s being pulled by the customer.

Today’s enterprise and mid-market buyers are done with complexity. They want a single partner who can solve everything from endpoint security to branch connectivity, and they want it now.

• One contract.
• One SLA.
• One support model.
• One “throat to choke.”

This expectation forces solution providers to expand beyond their traditional swim lanes. The MSP who used to outsource connectivity now wants to own it. The telco agent who used to avoid cloud is now bundling it. The IT consultant who avoided managed services is building recurring revenue streams.

And they’re doing it because the customer is asking for it.

2. Margin Pressure Is Forcing Evolution

With hardware margins collapsing and SaaS becoming more commoditized, partners are looking for new ways to build stickiness and profitability. The answer? Services—particularly services that span traditionally segmented domains.

Managed XDR bundled with connectivity. SD-WAN tied to cloud migration. UCaaS layered with security and device management.

This kind of packaging requires a new kind of partner—and a new way of thinking about channel strategy.

3. Technology Stack Integration

From Microsoft to Palo Alto to Cisco to AWS, the leading tech stacks are no longer siloed—they're inherently integrated. Cloud, network, endpoint, and identity are designed to work together, and customers expect a single provider to bring it all together.

If your partners can’t deliver that seamless integration, someone else will.

The Risk of Outdated Channel Models

The biggest challenge isn’t that convergence is happening. It’s that many revenue teams are still operating as if it’s not.

• Partner programs are segmented by type: telco, IT, MSP, VAR.
• Channel marketing is siloed by product category.
• Enablement is still designed for product push, not solution sell.
• Internal sales teams are struggling to understand who owns what in co-sell deals.

And most critically: the revenue engine is misaligned to how buyers are actually buying.

That misalignment creates drag—longer deal cycles, channel conflict, underperforming campaigns, and failing to activate partners fast enough to meet quarterly targets.

The CRO Mandate: Revenue Through Convergence

So what does this mean for the CRO?

It means the playbook must change.

To hit aggressive revenue goals in a converged channel landscape, sales leaders must:

1. Unify the Partner Ecosystem

It’s time to stop thinking in terms of partner categories. Instead, start building a value-based ecosystem—one that rewards partners not by their type, but by their ability to deliver full-scope solutions across cloud, connectivity, security, and devices.

Modern CROs are reshaping their channel programs to remove artificial boundaries and make it easier for any capable partner to co-sell, cross-sell, and win.

2. Rewire Go-to-Market Around Customer Outcomes

Today’s buyers don’t want a telco deal, a security deal, and a cloud deal. They want a business outcome—a secure hybrid workforce, a seamless global collaboration stack, a connected retail experience.

Your campaigns, messaging, and sales motions need to reflect that.

That means rethinking how your teams package, position, and promote solutions across direct and indirect channels.

3. Redesign Co-Sell Engagement

Legacy co-sell motions were built around product ownership and compensation boundaries. In a converged model, co-sell must focus on integration, orchestration, and time-to-value.

The question is no longer “Whose deal is it?”

It’s “How fast can we activate the right partners to close it?”

At JSG, we’re helping vendors build co-sell frameworks that prioritize speed, alignment, and margin—all while reducing internal friction.

Case in Point: The MSP Evolve Program

A strong example of convergence in action is the MSP Evolve initiative we support alongside AT&T.

This program was designed to help MSPs integrate telecom solutions into their broader IT services, giving them new paths to revenue while meeting the market’s demand for simplified, end-to-end solutions.

With targeted training, bundled offers, and a new model for enablement, MSP Evolve is helping partners:

• Add connectivity to their stack
• Sell bundled security + network solutions
• Reduce time to cash with faster GTM execution

And most importantly, it's helping CROs scale revenue through partners who can meet the converged needs of the buyer.

The Role of JSG: Partner Strategy for the Converged Era

At JSG, we work with CROs to rethink the entire revenue strategy in a converged market.

Here’s how we help:

• Unified Channel Program Design We help you dismantle silos and build partner programs that reflect real customer demand—aligning partners around solutions, not categories.
• Sales and Marketing Activation We design bundled GTM motions that enable your sales teams and partners to tell a single, clear value story—and close faster.
• Accelerated Partner Onboarding & Enablement We reduce ramp time by delivering campaigns, messaging, and tools that get partners revenue-ready quickly.
• Converged Ecosystem Mapping We help you identify which partners are ready to sell across the full stack—and where to invest to drive maximum return.

Final Thought: Convergence Is Not the Future. It’s the Now.

The CROs who win in the next two years won’t be the ones who cling to segmented programs and legacy playbooks. They’ll be the ones who embrace convergence—intentionally, operationally, and at speed.

They’ll understand that the new competitive advantage isn’t just the strength of your partner network—it’s how unified, outcome-focused, and activated that network is.

📍 Want to explore what a converged channel strategy looks like in your business? We’re here for that. Read our full JSG blog on Convergence → Here