CMO opportunity worth $39 bn for Indian IT firms by 2020: Study

NEW DELHI: As digital technologies reinvent the way brands and consumers communicate globally, a study by IT-ITeS industry body Nasscom and software firm SapientNitro says there will be $ 37 billion of CMO opportunity for the Indian technology industry by 2020.

The research report, 'Marketing, Disrupted: Opportunities for the Indian technology industry', also states that rising interest in outsourcing creative marketing work and digital marketing opportunity are contributing to the huge addressable CMO market.

"Marketers are responding to this change and finding new ways to engage with this digitally empowered, always-on consumer. This has led to increasing technology spends by the CMO. By the end of 2017, the CMO is predicted to buy more technology than the CIO," the report reveals.

Besides, spending on digital marketing is projected to grow from the current 8 per cent to at least 35 per cent of the total CMO spend by the year 2020, it added.

Releasing the report, Nasscom President R Chandrasekhar said: "Digital technologies are creating disruption in areas beyond those under the purview of the CIO.

"Clearly, new opportunities for Indian technology players are opening up, opportunities that demand closer coordination with new stakeholders in businesses and modify their services to address new kinds of needs."

Technology players need to review and streamline their services and offer customised solutions for modern business to make the most of the new opportunity, he added.

Expressing similar views, Sapient India Managing Director Rajdeep Endow said to realise $ 37 billion CMO opportunity, companies need to rethink and restructure their priorities and perspectives.

"First, they need to get design and experienced design capabilities. Second, there is a need for experienced technology innovations like mobile apps, augmented reality, etc and third, they need to build a reputation as a creative destination," he added.

"Industry is obsessed with scale. Also there is a need to create a culture of speed and innovation because a job done is better than perfect. Indian firms values perfection over speed does not appeal to the marketer," he said.

Research firm Offshore Insights CEO and Research Director Sudin Apte said Indian technology industry is not aligned with the marketers mindset and it does not not enjoy CMO relationships.

"This needs to change if we want to realise this opportunity. We need to equip customer-facing staff to interact with marketers, he added.

The study was conducted by Offshore Insights. It took the views of CMOs/Senior marketers from North America and Europe, technology providers and industry experts between October and December last year.