Integration & Network SolutionsExclusivesSystems Integrator of the Year

Convergint Technologies' Proven Model for Growth: Enterprise Integration

Enabling its vision of Quadrant Four enterprise-level integration has brought SDM Systems Integrator of the Year, Convergint Technologies, positive results and a proven path for growth during transition.

Convergint Technologies' leaders proudly pose and are reflected in a Chicago landmark, Cloud Gate in Millennium Park. Clockwise, from top center: Barry Yatzor, vice president - Fire; Tony Varco, vice president - Security; Walter Winkel, vice president and CFO; Leslie Evans, vice president - Human Resources; Dan Moceri, CEO and co-founder; and Greg Lernihan, president and co-founder. Convergint's Schaumburg, Ill., headquarters are nearby. PHOTO BY ALAN KLEHR FOR SDM

Convergint Technologies was co-founded by Dan Moceri and Greg Lernihan in May 2001. Its mission was, and still is, to build a North American service-based company that designs, installs, and maintains integrated building systems with a dedicated focus in electronic security, fire alarm and life safety, healthcare technologies, and building automation.

Convergint Technologies designs, installs and services electronic security solutions for single sites, as well as complex multi-building/multi-site customers. These solutions include card access, intelligent networked video, biometrics, perimeter protection, and seamless integration to enterprise systems. Convergint provides engineered fire alarm systems including smoke detection, emergency communications, and complex smoke management sequences. The integrator also provides and services building automation solutions to monitor and control environmental systems.

Headquarters: Schaumburg, Ill.

2012 revenue: $272 million (estimated)

Employees: 1,050 full-time; 20 part-time

Locations: Convergint Technologies operates 27 branch offices, or what the company calls Convergint Technology Centers (CTCs) in North America that actively share information, technology, resources and customers. The integrator considers itself a single entity, called “Convergint Nation.”

Ranked on SDM’s Top Systems Integrators Report: No. 7, based on $237.2 million North American systems integration revenue.

Convergint values and beliefs — In describing its culture, Convergint Technologies says that it was founded on a set of core values and beliefs that express its responsibility to its customers, its colleagues and its communities. "Our daily commitment to these values is one of the key reasons why our customers choose to do business with Convergint Technologies," says Convergint's Dan Moceri.

Before Convergint Technologies ever had received its first order or hired its first colleague, its leadership began writing the principles that would eventually become the company’s Values and Beliefs.

“We built our company from scratch and had the benefit of establishing a unique and empowered culture from the onset. Our 10 Values and Beliefs drive our positive culture and are what truly makes us different. Value & Belief No. 6 We expect to be our customers’ best service provider, no matter what business we are in — is the foundation for our unique culture of service that permeates the organization. From the beginning, Convergint believed that customer service would be our biggest differentiator,” says Convergint’s Before Convergint Technologies ever had received its first order or hired its first colleague, its leadership began writing the principles that would eventually become the company’s Values and Beliefs.

“We built our company from scratch and had the benefit of establishing a unique and empowered culture from the onset. Our 10 Values and Beliefs drive our positive culture and are what truly makes us different. Value & Belief No. 6 We expect to be our customers’ best service provider, no matter what business we are in — is the foundation for our unique culture of service that permeates the organization. From the beginning, Convergint believed that customer service would be our biggest differentiator,” says Convergint’s Greg Lernihan.

Four quadrant security system knowledge — In Quadrant Four, where Convergint Technologies serves the market, the highest level of enterprise integration is where IT, applications and product knowledge are combined to develop solutions that help customers drive business excellence. ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF CONVERGINT TECHNOLOGIES

Four quadrant security system knowledge #2 — In Quadrant Four, where Convergint Technologies serves the market, the highest level of enterprise integration is where IT, applications and product knowledge are combined to develop solutions that help customers drive business excellence. ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF CONVERGINT TECHNOLOGIES

Convergint's Brian Nuss configures network gear in one of the Professional Services test labs for use in testing a custom solution prior to delivery to the customer. PHOTO COURTESY OF CONVERGINT TECHNOLOGIES

Convergint's management team, business leaders and sales professionals gathered in February for the annual sales conference. The tee-shirts the team is wearing have a logo that reads WGIBTU, short for "Who's Got It Better Than Us? Nobody." PHOTO COURTESY OF CONVERGINT TECHNOLOGIES

Convergint's Richard Bellamy leads a class, available to all colleagues, on access control principles. The class took place at Convergint's Dallas training center last month. PHOTO COURTESY OF CONVERGINT TECHNOLOGIES

The folks from Convergint installed water filters in Haiti. PHOTOS COURTESY OF CONVERGINT TECHNOLOGIES

Convergint colleagues, alongside Haitian construction workers, built a church/school in a village in Haiti. PHOTOS COURTESY OF CONVERGINT TECHNOLOGIES

The Quadrant Four vision “provided Convergint with a clear picture of what we want to become and, more importantly, what our clients want us to become,” Varco acknowledges. “Our clients are looking to solve enterprise business challenges, and desire an integration partner who understands how to get this done. For our clients, we are not installing cameras — we are creating compliance. We are not installing fire alarm and life safety systems — we are ensuring business continuity.”

In developing this vision, it was important to understand the nature of Convergint’s client base. Its primary customer segments are healthcare, commercial office building, government, educarion, petrochemical, data centers and utilities. Additional customer markets include high-rise residential, retail, transportation, financial and hospitality. “Convergint tends to serve larger, more sophisticated clients who have challenging application and integration and service needs,” Varco emphasizes.

The 4 Quadrants

So, if Convergint Technologies envisioned itself as operating in a fourth quadrant, does that mean it had passed through the first three quadrants in its evolution as a security business? Not necessarily.

At the 2010 Securing New Ground Conference in New York, Moceri presented Convergint’s Quadrant Four vision to an audience of security and finance professionals, offering descriptions of each quad. Quadrant 1 is the space occupied by traditional security dealers that install stand-alone systems and provide service when systems need repair. Quadrant 2 is the space occupied by advanced IT systems integrators, which design networks, source technology, provide cyber security solutions, and the like. Quadrant 3 is the space occupied by advanced physical security integrators. They integrate disparate and complex systems, implement PSIM solutions, analytics, smart cards and similar technologies, and provide value-added services. This is where Convergint started out when it was founded in 2001.

Quadrant 4 is considered enterprise systems integration — the area it has evolved into. Some of the elements under Quadrant Four are credential/identity intelligence; regulatory and certification compliance; on/off boarding, time and attendance, and workflow systems; and cyber security. A company operating in this realm acts as a true partner, helping their customers create business excellence in the areas of compliance, risk mitigation, and business continuity, Moceri told conference attendees at the time.

“Reaching Quadrant Four is a result of combining the highest level of building application skills and knowledge with a high level of IT/networking applications skills,” Moceri further explains.

Next for Convergint’s leaders was turning the concept into an actual business model and planning how to advocate its advantages and utility to the market. The company has already developed — and continues to develop — specific tools and professional services competencies across Convergint Nation. (“Convergint Nation” is the name Convergint uses for itself in regards to being a single entity operating across 27 North American offices, or Convergint Technology Centers.) A Professional Services Group (PSG), consisting of more than 45 colleagues in different office locations, was established. To date, the PSG has implemented more than 150 unique solutions for Convergint’s enterprise clients over the past 24 months, Lernihan reports.

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Laura Stepanek is a SDM contributing writer. Laura was the Editor of SDM from 2001-2020 and first joined the publication in 1984. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Barat College of DePaul University.