Convergence Group CRO Chris London shares insights into why last month’s acquisition of M247‘s UK connectivity and services operation is a game changer in the company’s quest to hit £250 million revenue within three years.
Convergence Group was founded by CEO Neal Harrison in 2003 and provides end-to-end managed connectivity services, primarily WAN and LAN with an emphasis on quality and outcomes. It currently generates £80 million revenues and the big plan is to grow the business to over £100 million in the near-term and £250 million-plus over the course of the next three years.
According to London, to achieve this objective it is vital for the group’s proposition to be narrow and ‘purposefully deep’, a prerequisite that received a boost last month. “Our portfolio is tight by design,” stated London. “We engage through clarity, service and results and the acquisition of M247’s UK assets strengthens our position. It gives us full control over our UK network infrastructure, delivers a national radio network, eliminates downstream suppliers and allows us to provide flexible, cost-effective WAN connectivity with stand out service quality. That’s a game changing shift in our market approach. And our expanded infrastructure in Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool and Birmingham positions us as a true UK wide operator.”
The combined business serves over 2,000 customers across enterprise and SME sectors and has a 250-plus headcount. And looking ahead, London noted that growth will be driven by three interlocking strategies. “Firstly, our integrated network, now enhanced with radio infrastructure, gives us a commercial and service advantage in a commoditising market,” he explained. “Secondly, we’ll continue to refine our go to market focus by identifying sweet spot segments where our proposition delivers the most value. Thirdly, we’ll continue to optimise our operating model to maximise customer facing time and remove internal friction, freeing our teams to focus on real value.”
As the market commoditises, customer expectations are going in the other direction – they want outcomes, not just infrastructure. This is shaping how we position, how we sell and how we deliver
London confirmed that Convergence Group will continue to invest in tools and automation to develop how it serves and supports customers. The group will also continue to work with a curated ecosystem of technology and integration partners, using them to gain market intelligence and extend value. “We’re operating in a complex market where demand is shifting, expectations are rising and margin is under pressure,” commented London. “To succeed we must be more than reactive, we must adapt with purpose. And as the market is commoditising, customer expectations are going in the other direction, they want outcomes, not just infrastructure. This is shaping how we position, how we sell and how we deliver. Our approach is to simplify the complexity for our customers by focusing on outcomes and obsessing over delivery quality.”
The tension between price pressure and service expectation is an area of growing interest for London. He pointed out that while WAN and LAN are becoming commoditised they remain business critical. “Customers want agility, visibility and performance without the legacy overhead,” he added. “At the same time, hyperscaler influence, SD-WAN/SASE evolution and hybrid infrastructure demands are changing how organisations think about their networks. We’re watching this closely and building a proposition that gives customers the outcomes they need, without the cost or complexity they’re trying to escape from.
“As our proposition evolves we’ll embed AI, automation and customer insight across sales and operations, improving efficiency and tailoring solutions even closer to our customers’ true needs. Our focus is not to do more, but to do better, building smarter connectivity that delivers meaningful, measurable outcomes.”
We’re operating in a complex market and to succeed we must be more than reactive, we must adapt with purpose
To support this strategy Convergence Group is shifting towards leaner, higher-performing commercial teams. That means fewer sales people with higher output, which requires improved coaching, smarter recruitment and optimising sales conversion. “Customer expectations are rising fast,” reiterated London. “They want trusted partners, not suppliers. That means ease of doing business, proactive service and outcomes, not transactions. We’re responding with a more integrated, insight-led customer model.”
Discovery phase
This strongly directional strategy is accompanied by a simultaneous working out period following the M247 acquisition, which London has called a ‘discovery phase’. “What’s already clear is that we need to scale our go-to-market capability, both in terms of team coverage and technical expertise,” he commented. “We’re developing a GTM plan that reflects the strength of our new connectivity proposition. This includes a clearer account ownership model, a stronger sales cadence and the introduction of a sales academy to bring new talent into the industry. The driver is simple... we have a big opportunity to differentiate in a commoditising market, and that demands an evolved, scalable commercial model.”
And here’s why London is just the man for the job: His biggest career achievement to date was building and leading the transformation of multiple siloed sales divisions into a unified, high performing specialist sales function. “This wasn’t just a restructure, it was a total shift in the way of working that had a profound and measurable impact,” explained London. “The challenge was significant, breaking down entrenched behaviours, aligning incentives and creating a shared rhythm across disconnected teams. By unifying the sales strategy, introducing a structured GTM model and instilling a customer-first mindset, we built a single view of the customer, eliminating duplication and inconsistency.
“The results spoke for themselves. We tripled the team headcount, significantly improved sales overlay engagement and increased performance from 60 per cent to 110 per cent of target – delivering £81 million in overlay sales revenue that year. For me, this achievement represents the essence of my leadership style, strategic execution, cultural alignment and performance through people. It proves unequivocally that when you remove internal noise and focus everyone on a shared purpose, great things happen.”
Chris London in profile
During his 26-plus years experience working in tech and telecoms London focused on building high performing teams, aligning commercial strategy to execution and delivering shareholder value. At Convergence Group he brings together his strategic sales leadership, operational experience and commercial rigour to scale revenue, protect recurring income and deliver sustained strong organic growth.