This report on findings in Sand Hill Group’s Software CEO / CFO Outlook 2015 study provides a detailed look at the industry’s hyper growth and the forces now shaping the industry’s future. Buyers have much higher expectations of software companies now than 12 months ago.
The report finds the software industry is in a state of transition to a customer-centric business model. Executives participating in the study describe it as focusing on the “customer success journey” and agree that it is not the same thing as focusing on delivering stellar customer onboarding and support, nor is it just a way to reduce churn.
The study also finds the industry in the midst of a “perfect storm” that tosses major challenges in the path, making it difficult for software companies to find footing for their growth strategies.
This report is the fourth in Sand Hill Group’s ongoing series of software industry CEO / CFO Outlook studies. Insights for this report come from top executives in an online survey and several follow-up in-depth phone interviews. CEOs, presidents, managing directors and chairmen comprise 38 percent of the survey respondents; 42 percent are CFOs; 9 percent are chief customer success officers or chief strategy officers; and 11 percent are primarily CIOs, COOs, directors and vice presidents.
This report is intended to give software company executives and investors directional insight for decisions for the next two years. You’ll learn valuable information on such aspects as:
- Areas of growth opportunity in 2015 to 2016 and top growth strategies
- Biggest drivers in customer spending over the next 12 months
- Internet of Things trends and opportunities and where companies are in their current IoT competitive space
- The new emphasis on the customer success journey – what it is, what it entails
- The software industry’s “perfect storm” – the three components creating the storm and how they impact operations and strategies at software companies
- Top operational concerns
- Top operational goals
- Aspects of raising capital
- Talent acquisition challenges
- Changes since 2014 in the most important measurements used to track business
- and much more . . .
The 32-page report is packed with charts on quantitative and qualitative research findings along with comments from interviewed CEOs and CFOs. Click on the image below to read an excerpt of the report’s contents.