Software and tech executives have become familiar with uncertainty over the past few years. With the pandemic, slower spend, monumental growth, and heightened demand for technology companies, ups and downs have become the norm.
The latest variable revolves around questions of a recession, but there are still key tactics that will continue to position enterprise software companies for profitable growth.
Operations like marketing, sales, service, finance, and IT historically have worked in silos. That meant siloed systems and data, loosely connected processes, and a lack of visibility into key metrics that drive growth and profitability. But a fast-paced, constantly evolving, anything-as-a-service world has rendered those siloed revenue-driving functions inadequate and ineffective. Systems and business models driven by data are no longer just “nice to haves.”
Enter revenue operations (RevOps)—an integrated set of data and insights, processes, and systems intended to align functions of an organization, facilitate emerging business models, and earn revenue faster. RevOps programs have clear benefits: higher revenue, improved net retention rates (NRR), and lower go-to-market expenses.
The vast majority (97%) of high-tech and software leaders are familiar with RevOps, and many believe they’re implementing it. But a recent survey of 200 C-suite executives reveals a more complicated—and ineffective—picture of defining, executing, and measuring initiatives around RevOps.
Even with 97% familiarity, the surveyed executives showed no consensus or shared understanding about its true definition. Many respondents described RevOps by listing individual tasks, such as data management, instead of the comprehensive set of functions it really represents.
What’s more, the survey uncovered significant pain points—organizational misalignment and the inability to acquire quality data—that inhibit the data-driven approach organizations need to drive and measure financial impact.
Successful transformation requires a focus and understanding in four areas: awareness, maturity, obstacles, and impact. Analyzing the survey results in each area shows where leaders are missing the mark—and the next steps they should take to get their RevOps journey back on track.
What Companies Get Right and Wrong on RevOps
Most respondents are taking steps to incorporate at least some aspects of RevOps into their businesses.
Ninety-seven percent say they are at least moderately familiar with RevOps, and most say they have implemented or are in the process of implementing associated initiatives around data and insights, systems, processes, and organization.
But executives struggle to define what RevOps actually is. Many define RevOps as separate functions rather than as a holistic initiative.
Most respondents called out individual functions such as data management, organizational alignment, and automated decision making, rather than a more comprehensive definition.
Securing high-quality, accessible data is the chief obstacle with RevOps. That information is critical for establishing where organizations should focus their RevOps efforts and for driving and measuring financial impact. The second most significant obstacle the survey cited is the organizational shift companies need in order to undertake RevOps.
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