The State of Revenue Operations in High-Tech & Software

Operations like marketing, sales, service, finance, and IT historically have worked in silos. That reality also meant siloed systems and data—and loosely connected processes leading to 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 a nice-to-have to continue profitable growth.  

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 ultimately earn revenue faster. RevOps programs have clear benefits: higher revenue, improved net retention rates (NRR), and lower go-to-market expenses.

The vast majority of high-tech and software leaders are familiar with RevOps, and many believe they’re implementing it correctly. But our recent survey of 200 C-suite executives reveals a more complicated—and ineffective—picture about defining, executing, and measuring initiatives around successful RevOps. 

Case in point: 97% are familiar with RevOps. But there was no consensus or shared understanding about its true definition; many respondents described RevOps by listing individual tasks (e.g., “data management”) instead of a comprehensive set of functions. 

What’s more, our survey uncovered significant pain points—organizational misalignment and the inability to acquire quality data—that inhibit the data-driven approach needed to drive and measure financial impact.