The Front Office

Summary

As the first era of digital transformation unfolded, marketing and sales leaders suddenly became major technology buyers. Customer relationship management, marketing automation platforms, and an ecosystem of revenue‐focused software applications transformed these functions. Buyers of front‐office apps are unlike any other buyers. The front‐office tower of automation includes parts of the company that are customer‐facing or revenue‐driving. Sales and marketing are the largest functions of the front office. The front office is one of the most valuable automation opportunities because of its direct connection to revenue; however, it is also the most volatile. The opportunity for every front‐office leader is to not simply use integration and automation to fix the occasional manual process but to create a culture of automation that elevates the customer experience. Leadership across the organization must then partner to drive true business transformation through automation.