Aligning IT Opportunities With the Business

From a channel perspective, selling IT is often about first navigating the priorities of the business. In the ideal scenario, a solution provider gets a mandate from the business leaders within the organization that has the full support of the internal IT department. That challenge for both the solution provider and the internal IT organization is often figuring out what is on the mind of the business leader. Fortunately, Gartner has published a new survey of 410 business leaders at organizations with more than $250 million in revenue that brings significant clarity and insight into those priorities. As the economy has improved, growing the business is obviously a No. 1 priority for most companies, which means that IT solutions that help drive revenue growth are going to be of highest interest. The survey also makes clear that a big part of that growth strategy is the adoption of digital business processes, especially in the front office areas where the organization interacts with customers. While most business leaders still don't know what it means to be a digital company, they know they need IT to improve the overall customer experience they provide. Finally, solution providers should take note of the fact that there is a new IT player on the scene in the form of a chief data officer (CDO), who is likely to be controlling a significant portion of the IT budget going forward.