CMOs Prefer to Avoid CIOs for IT Procurement

A recent Accenture survey of 252 CIOs and 405 CMOs reveals business alignment initiatives by IT have not really succeeded, especially as perceived by the CMO. If you are the CFO or CEO this truely is disappointing news you can use. If you are the CIO you are and should be very upset. According to the survey, more CIOs and other IT executives care about the IT marketing relationship than CMOs.

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Here are the Highlights:

77 percent of CIOs believe there’s a need for alignment between marketing and IT, but only 56 percent of CMOs feel the
same way.

11 percent of CIOs and 13 percent of CMOs report that there’s enough collaboration between the two disciplines in their organizations.

51 percent of CMOs say the CIO understands marketing requirements.

40 percent of CIOs believe that marketing requirements change too often to be effective.

49 percent of CIOs complain that marketing brings in technology without considering IT standards.

45 percent of CMOs want marketing employees to control data and content without IT intervention, and 35 percent say they would prefer to buy cloud-based software and bypass IT.

The two groups also worry about completely different things. CIOs’ top concern is IT complexity and integration. CMOs’ main worry is that their companies aren’t investing enough in digital marketing channels.

There are organizational benefits to greater alignment between the two groups. A recent PricewaterhouseACoopers study showed that the companies where CIOs and CMOs have the best working relationship consistently outperform the average in revenue growth, margin growth and innovation.

CMOs IT behavior has shifted more recently with the prolific availability of SaaS and wide availability of cloud based applications. They prefer to purchase directly from outside vendors and leave the IT department out of the decision making process. This is not always the best approach to procurement and many times angers the CIO to the point of complaining about the practice to the CFO or CEO.

 

 Contributor:   of myCIOview