October 03, 2013 06:15 PM Eastern Daylight TimeFRAMINGHAM, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today at the International Data Corporation (IDC) Global Regional Advisory Council event, Meredith Whalen, IDC Senior Vice President, presented The Implication of Shifting Technology Buying Centers on Your Business, based on a new survey of 1,200 line of business executives. According to the survey, 61% of enterprise technology projects are now funded by the business rather than the IT department, and IT spending driven by the functional business areas will continue to outpace IT spending by the IT organization in the future. Marketing takes the top position with a 5-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 9%.
“The link between technology and business results has never been greater and is shifting the buying center away from IT and towards the business. Navigating these waters requires a change in your go-to-market approach, focusing now on understanding the unique pain points and investment priorities across the various business functions”
“Technology has long been central to improving business processes, enabling greater speed, efficiency, and reliability,” said Whalen. “As businesses embrace the 3rd Platform, built on cloud services, big data analytics, mobile computing, and social networking technologies, they are taking the critical first steps toward business process transformation and, in some cases, business model transformation. With such high stakes, the business is increasingly taking a front seat in technology initiatives.”
As today’s business executives are more tech savvy, have easier access to technology through the Cloud, and are under pressure to implement new technology initiatives more quickly, it’s not surprising that line of business executives are spearheading more IT projects. In fact, today’s line of business employees are looking more and more like an extension of the IT department as, on average, 8% are technical personnel. The survey also found that IT continues to be a strong partner to its business colleagues. According to respondents, 85% suggest that “compared to three years ago, IT is becoming a more valuable partner to my functional area.”
“The link between technology and business results has never been greater and is shifting the buying center away from IT and towards the business. Navigating these waters requires a change in your go-to-market approach, focusing now on understanding the unique pain points and investment priorities across the various business functions,” said Eileen Smith, Program Manager of IDC’s Global Technology and Industry Research Organization.
IDC offers the following key ways IT can improve its relationship with business to successfully execute and implement innovative IT projects:
- Learn the business and unique business processes
- Bring new process ideas on how to run more efficiently
- Build relationships with key stakeholders in the group
- Bring new technology ideas that could positively impact the business
To learn more about this presentation and recent survey, please visit www.idc.com or to arrange a one-on-one briefing, please contact Sarah Murray at 781-378-2674 or sarah@attunecommunications.com. Reports are available to qualified members of the media. For information on purchasing reports, contact insights@idc.com; reporters should email sarah@attunecommunications.com.
About IDC
International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of IT market intelligence and advisory services. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. More than 1,100 IDC analysts provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries worldwide. For more than 49 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world’s leading technology media, research, and events company. For more information, please visit www.idc.com, email insights@idc.com, or call 508-872-8200. Visit the IDC Insights Community at https://idc-insights-community.com.
