Convergence Is Accelerating: What CROs Need to Know to Drive Channel Revenue in 2025
- Vlad Krause
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
Channel Convergence
For years channel convergence was a keynote slide, not a business reality. In 2025, that’s no longer the case. At JSG, we’re helping Chief Revenue Officers (CROs) reevaluate how they scale growth through indirect channels.
The once-clear lines between telco, MSP, and IT resellers are blurring at high speed driven by buyer demand, partner evolution, and market necessity. Today’s buyers genuinely don’t care how you segment your channel.
They do care about who can solve their entire problem across cloud, connectivity, security, and devices. If your channel strategy doesn’t reflect that, you’re building in friction from the start.
What’s Fueling the Acceleration?
1. Buyer Expectations Have Changed
Enterprise and mid-market customers now expect:
One vendor for multiple solutions
Simplified SLAs and bundled offers
Integrated support across technologies
They don’t want three contracts. They want one partner to deliver an outcome.
2. Margin Compression Is Reshaping Incentives
Declining resale margins are pushing partners and CROs toward recurring, service-driven revenue. That requires bundling solutions across historically siloed categories.
3. Technology Stacks Have Already Converged
The platforms your customers rely on (like Microsoft, Cisco, AWS) are already integrating across endpoint, cloud, and network layers. Your partner strategy needs to match.
Where Does Your Strategy Stand? A Maturity Model for Convergence
At JSG, we’ve identified three common stages in channel convergence:
Stage 1: Siloed
Programs and GTM motions segmented by partner type (telco, MSP, VAR).
RISK
channel conflict, inefficiencies, and lost deals
Stage 2: Bundled
Technically integrated solutions;, however partners are inconsistently enabled to sell across categories.
RISK
long time-to-revenue, uneven partner experience
Stage 3: Unified
A single partner program built around customer outcomes, with partners enabled and measured by performance across the full stack.
REWARD
shorter sales cycles, higher margins, stronger partner loyalty
What Modern Programs Are Getting Right
The shift toward convergence isn’t just conceptual. It’s happening on the ground, in programs that are reimagining how partners go to market. We’re seeing CROs support initiatives that empower partners to sell across categories they would’ve avoided just a year ago. Connectivity, cloud, security, and collaboration are no longer separate plays—they’re bundled motions built around real business outcomes.
One example we’ve been close to is our MSP Evolve program, an initiative designed to help managed service providers expand their value by integrating telecom and IT into unified offers.
While not the only program leaning into convergence, it reflects a broader trend: GTM strategies that prioritize speed, enablement, and full-stack selling are producing better partner engagement and more competitive positioning. The lesson? When programs reflect how buyers actually buy, partners sell faster—and everyone grows smarter.
Five Things CROs Should Be Doing Right Now
1. Unify Your Channel Strategy
Stop organizing programs around partner type. Build a value-based ecosystem that rewards cross-functional capability.
2. Bundle GTM Around Outcomes
Your customer doesn’t want “products”; they want outcomes like “secure collaboration” or “connected infrastructure.” Your GTM motion should reflect that.
3. Redesign Co-Sell Engagement
Co-sell models must prioritize speed and integration, not who gets credit for the logo. Partner orchestration matters more than partner type.
4. Deliver Enablement That Reflects Convergence
Partner training, content, and onboarding should speak to complete solution selling... not single-product pitch decks.
5. Score Partners by Readiness, Not Just Revenue
Use behavioral data, not just bookings, to identify which partners can scale with you in a converged model.
Five Questions CROs Should Be Asking Today
Are our partner programs aligned with how customers want to buy?
Are our sales and marketing motions built around outcomes or products?
Which partners are truly capable of selling across cloud, connectivity, and security?
How fast can a new partner start producing revenue?
What’s the cost of maintaining legacy channel silos?
How JSG Helps CROs Build Revenue Through Convergence
We help growth leaders align their channel strategy with buyer behavior and revenue performance. Our approach is built for speed, clarity, and scale.
Channel Program Redesign
We unify siloed structures into partner ecosystems built for today’s customer journey.
Sales & Marketing Activation
Our team delivers GTM toolkits and campaign bundles tailored for fast activation.
Partner Scoring & Segmentation
We help you invest in the right partners with the right capability, backed by data.
Go-to-Market Execution
We don’t just advise. We launch. We onboard. We deliver.
Final Thought
Channel Convergence is the revenue lever hiding in plain sight. CROs who win in the next two years won’t be the ones who add more partners. They’ll be the ones who align the right partners to the right outcomes, faster than the competition. You don’t need to start from scratch. But you do need to move now.
Ready to talk about evolving your partner strategy for convergence?
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