Partners Need To Become ‘Bilingual’

Sixty-one percent of technology projects are being funded by lines of business rather than the corporate IT organization, and 81 percent of projects are being influenced by those lines of business.

“Solution providers need to learn (the line-of-business) language, and start listening,” the report said. Those that do “will more than likely outperform those that rely solely” on selling IT stuff to IT departments.

But unless you have the green light to talk directly with line-of-business managers, don’t ignore the chief information officer. A straw poll of attendees at last year’s Best of Breed conference, sponsored by The Channel Company (ITBestofBreed.com’s parent company), revealed that the CIO remains a force in technology-buying decisions.