Enterprise buying influences are changing, and it is the "line of business" decision makers who are more influential now, says Kneko Burney, Compass Intelligence president. "New purchases generally come at the request of the LOB dimension," she says. In fact, this is where "the money really sits." So don't wait for IT to recommend a solution. Software providers have to create demand by the line of business units.
The other thing is that end users are getting more influential as well, she says. The "voice of the end user gets louder each year and is a force of influence that could be better leveraged in marketing strategies," says Burney. End users don't care about price or platform. They do care about ease of use and "coolness."
And what about IT executives? Burney says they primarily are reactive rather than proactive. So don't bother telling them about the strategic advantages. They need to solve problems at a very tactical level.
