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Will a “Marketing Cloud” help coordinate efforts and drive efficiency?

Originally published on the Altimeter Group blog

Marketing technology and departments have become specialized and fragmented. Just look at the Marketing Technology Lumascape or ChiefMarTech graphic. In part, this has happened to address an increasingly complex customer journey that is difficult to track across channels and devices. Another reason is that, although that journey offers increasing insight as consumers create more data throughout it, finding and using the right data is not easy.

The proliferation of disparate tools and silos—meant to help address complexity—has become part of the problem, limiting marketing efficiencies and coordination. Vendors have taken note. Although they are not alone, Oracle, Salesforce, and Adobe in particular have been busy building their Marketing Clouds. Although no single vendor will ever be complete or fit for all, marketers need better integration of their data and customer engagement capabilities.

Especially at a time when marketing itself is being reinvented, what are marketers to do?

What goes into the marketing process today, and what technology is required? Will a “Marketing Cloud” help coordinate efforts and drive efficiency? What are the alternatives?

This is not a question with a definitive answer and it would be great to hear from a spectrum of marketing professionals and vendors across industries. Please share your thoughts in the comment section or email me directly at andrew@altimetergroup.com.