The start of something new: ITGL and ISN today rebrand as Conscia UK

New company MD Neil Pemberton tells CRN he can now look at M&A as part of a bigger group

Today ITGL and ISN become Conscia UK following the Danish company’s acquisition of the Portsmouth-based digital consultancy last year.

The Denmark-HQ Conscia entered the UK market in February 2024 with the addition of ITGL and its 70 people strong team.

ITGL then subsequently acquired Intuitive Systems & Networks (ISN), a Swindon-based solutions and services provider in February this year.

Now, both brands will fall under the Conscia umbrella as its UK arm, with a roster of 150 staff.

Former ITGL CEO Neil Pemberton is now managing director of Conscia UK, and tells CRN how being part of a bigger group as opposed to a privately owned company opens up new doors.

M&A is core to Conscia’s strategy, with its ITGL buyout marking acquisition number 17 over a ten-year span.

“What's exciting about being part of Conscia is we can look at things like M&A,” Pemberton says.

“It's given us the ability to think on a larger scale. How can we do more with more clients?

“We’re interested in what’s going on in the UK market whether it’s about scale, geography or adding capability.

“We're certainly not against the idea of adding to our core business. There are more innovative areas that are opening up.

“The whole world of AI is moving at such a pace, that’s an area of interest as it links to datacentres and cyber.”

Pemberton adds the Cisco-centric aspect of the former ITGL will remain unchanged, while he’s excited by Conscia’s European presence.

“The Conscia group operates in ten countries, and one of the things I've really enjoyed is learning from those other countries and what they do, and how they do things, and how they innovate, and how they bring new things to market.”

Immediate priorities

As he takes the helm of the freshly minted Conscia UK, Pemberton explains his first priority is ensuring the business is maintaining happy and motivated employees.

“We're a very people-centric business, and you've got to make sure you take your people with you.

“For all of our employees, which is now around 150, we've got to make sure they understand what the new business represents, and they're motivated and happy.”

Second is brand awareness.

“There is always a danger in this situation, if you're not careful, that trusted brands like ours are going to stop being in the marketplace and a new brand is going to appear.

“Conscia is not a well-known brand in the UK at the moment. So priority number two is to make sure our partners, our employees, our clients, recognise Conscia as a brand for all the innovation that happened before.”

Finally, just because the ITGL name is no more, does not mean what it always set out to achieve is gone.

“What we want to achieve in the UK doesn't come to an end today, this is just the start of something new.

“Now it's about planning ahead and making sure we have the right plan for the next three, five and ten years because we think the marketplace in the UK is ready for something new.”

Tackling the economic challenge

Pemberton notes that the biggest obstacle in Conscia UK’s way is currently the challenging economy.

“Both in the UK and globally, the macroeconomic environment is affecting client confidence and budgets, both in the private and public sectors.

“There’s no lack in our client base of things people would like to do with us, but there isn’t enough budget.

“Having said that, what I see is, whilst there's not the biggest budget for everybody at the moment, there is still budget there because people have got to evolve and become more efficient.

“Which is, of course, where technology can play a massive role.

“So people will spend money with companies that have got well thought through ideas, innovation, solutions to problems, and can be trusted to deliver meaningful outcomes.”