Every year we attend the Channel Partnerb s Conferenceb &typically in late March.B One of the highlights is the keynote presentation with Tiffani Bova from Gartner.B She always shares a couple of observations that can put you ahead of the curveb &if youb re paying attention.
This year, she shared that there is a new trend emerging for IT.B Gartner has noticed that many IT purchase decisions are moving out of the IT department and into new buying centers within the organizationb &typically marketing!
We found this particularly interesting and thought web d do a bit of research with our own clients when we got back from the conference.
In fact, that is exactly whatb s happening.B For example, one of our larger customers just placed an order for a massive increase to bandwidth across their entire MPLS network.B This customer is notoriously slow to make a decision and put ink to paper, but in this case, the decision-making process was swift.
What drove their hasty decision?B The marketing department!B When technology is holding the organization backb &itb s much easier to motivate the decision-makers to move quickly.
When I taught business courses at the University, students regularly asked me what major I would recommend.B Wellb &I am a CPA, so accounting is a b no brainerb for me.B But, I always recommend they add a second major or at least a minor in marketing.B Marketing savvy is essential for successb ®ardless of your chosen professional emphasis.
I hope this stirs up some new ideas for you!
