In this week鈥檚 episode, Rick is joined by Andrea D’Amato, Chief Revenue Officer at Foundry. Listen in as they discuss how to engage your customers with effective content marketing strategies, including exclusive insights from Foundry鈥檚 10^th annual Customer Engagement study. Learn about the challenges and opportunities in content marketing, such as the potential of generative AI and the importance of educational content for IT decision-makers. Gain valuable perspectives on event marketing trends and strategies, including the role of virtual and face-to-face events in today’s marketing landscape. 

is the Chief Revenue Officer, Foundry

About Foundry, an 香港六合资料 Inc. Company:  

Foundry helps companies bring their visions to reality through a combination of media, marketing technologies and proprietary data on a global scale. Our intent data and martech platforms are powered by data from an owned and operated ecosystem of global editorial brands, awards, and events, all engineered and integrated to drive marketing campaigns for technology companies. Foundry is dedicated to generating and innovating with data, driving demand for technology marketers with 38 offices in markets around the globe. Foundry is a wholly owned subsidiary of International Data Group, Inc. (), the world鈥檚 leading tech media, data, research, and marketing services company. To learn more about Foundry, visit www.foundryco.com. 

Join host Rick Currier as he explores the dynamic world of tech marketing with Jennifer Jarrad, Partner Marketing Director at Elastic. Discover Jennifer鈥檚  journey from G-Tech Technologies to leading innovative marketing strategies at Elastic. Explore topics like search analytics, observability, and partner marketing’s challenges and opportunities in the B2B tech space. Gain insights into the future of marketing and the importance of human connection in virtual settings.

is the Partner Marketing Director at Elastic

About Elastic :

Elastic (NYSE: ESTC), the leading search analytics company, securely harnesses search powered AI to enable everyone to find the answers they need in real-time using all their data, at scale. Elastic鈥檚 solutions for security, observability and search are built on the Elasticsearch platform, the development platform used by thousands of companies, including more than 50% of the Fortune 500. Learn more at 

Every year, Foundry鈥檚 State of the CIO study takes a close look at what鈥檚 on the modern CIO鈥檚 radar for the year ahead. The study is always packed with valuable datapoints, but more importantly it reflects how the CIO role has evolved in recent years as our world careens in a wholly digital direction and virtually every company becomes a tech company first.

When we released this year鈥檚 State of the CIO study in January, one of the most telling datapoints was that 85% of CIOs now consider themselves to be a changemaker in their organization. In a conversation with my colleague Lee Rennick, I asked her to elaborate on what this datapoint means in the context of the remit for today鈥檚 CIO, and what tech marketers and vendors need to know to best support them. 

As Executive Director of CIO Communities at Foundry, Lee speaks with some of the world鈥檚 most senior CIOs, CTOs, and IT leaders every day to gain a more rich and nuanced understanding of their changing role, their daily challenges, and their shaping visions.听

For tech marketers aiming to better understand and support IT leaders in real and relevant ways, there isn鈥檛 a better brain to pick than Lee’s.听

Asked to expand on the changemaker label, Lee noted that when COVID accelerated companies鈥� push to digital-first models, the CIO was propelled overnight as a business leader and strategist. Whereas in the past, the office of the CIO mainly supported the business through technology, recent years have seen the core value proposition become centered around that technology.

For CIOs that had to adjust to this shift in record time, they were looking to their vendors to support them, as Lee’s Parm Sandhu, CIO at ISSofBC told her.听

Building trusted vendor relationships is mandatory. The more they understand what we鈥檙e doing and why, the better equipped they are to help us on that journey.

鈥淏uilding a trusted relationship with vendors is absolutely mandatory,鈥� says Parm in the interview. 鈥淎s an IT organization, we simply cannot keep up with the evolution, development, and pace of change in technology.鈥� He goes on to say that he has come to rely on his vendors as a source of trusted guidance along ISSofBC鈥檚 strategic roadmap.听

Parm’s approach to vendor evaluation and selection is no longer just about the products and services they sell out of the box鈥攊t now involves 鈥渙pening up my strategy, my vision, and my aspirations鈥� to them so that vendors can act more like partners and advisors to support Parm’s unique needs. 鈥淭he more they understand what we鈥檙e doing, why we鈥檙e doing it, and where we want to get to,鈥� he says, 鈥渢he better equipped they are to help us on that journey.鈥�

For CIOs like Parm who are looking to vendors to add strategic value in new ways than before, this also means those that can鈥檛 will be cut. 鈥淚鈥檝e really looked at my vendors, at who鈥檚 helping me to get to the next level鈥攁nd I鈥檝e gone on a journey to consolidate,鈥� he says.听

In this new era of the changemaker CIO, there鈥檚 a clear call to action for technology vendors and marketers: now, more than ever, the CIO needs you to be all in on their vision. And because each CIO鈥檚 vision is unique, the way you communicate with them needs to be tailored to support them at each turn. 

This flips our old approach of selling to the CIO on its head. Gone are the days of delivering a standard pitch and serving generic product information鈥攖hey鈥檙e now looking to vendors to solve their challenges, bring new ideas to the table, and gain their trust to innovate alongside them. 

In that way, I suppose you could also interpret the CIO鈥檚 changemaker status as making us change the way we market to them鈥攖o a way of real relationship building through shared commitment to their vision. 

To learn more about how tech marketers can adapt to the changing role of the CIO, check out the rest of this video series, and today.

Download to learn:

• The current “AI everywhere” landscape
• Who’s involved in AI-specific purchases
• What influences vendor selection for AI tools
• How to deliver value through content

Join Rick Currier as he sits down with 窜辞毛 Crowder, Group Vice President at IDC’s custom solutions group. Together, they explore the world of market research and IDC, discussing topics such as AI trends, partner marketing strategies, and content creation for lead generation. From听 insights on integrating analysts into marketing campaigns to the importance of empathy in sales and marketing, this episode offers engaging conversation filled with practical advice and thought-provoking perspectives.

is听the Group Vice President, Large Enterprise, Custom Solutions Sales at IDC

About IDC:

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,300 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology, IT benchmarking and sourcing, and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC’s analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a wholly owned subsidiary of International Data Group (), the world’s leading tech media, data, and marketing services company. To learn more about IDC, please visit .

Download to learn:

• The current security landscape
• Who’s involved in security purchases
• How to deliver value through content
• Security buyers’ vendor engagement preferences

Join Rick Currier for another dynamic episode as he converses with Dean Wootton, a partner marketing professional at Pure Storage. Discover Dean’s journey from sales and distribution to his current role, where he navigates the complexities of partner relationships and marketing strategies in the data storage industry. Explore Dean’s unique approach to measuring success and fostering communities in B2B marketing, and gain insights on overcoming challenges with confidence and innovation. Tune in for a captivating discussion packed with valuable advice and industry expertise.

is听the Senior Manager, Global Partner Demand at Pure Storage

About Pure Storage :听听

Pure Storage (NYSE: PSTG) delivers the industry鈥檚 best platform to store, manage, and protect the world鈥檚 data. With a cloud experience across a unified storage operating environment, Pure empowers every organization with the agility to meet evolving data requirements at speed and scale, while reducing total cost of ownership. Pure believes it can make a meaningful impact in reducing data center emissions worldwide by providing a storage platform that enables customers to significantly reduce their carbon and energy footprint. Pure is proud to be a customer-first organization, as evidenced by the highest Net Promoter Score in the industry. For more information, visit.

This week, Rick is joined by Raj Rammohan, VP of Partner Marketing and Alliances at Foundry. This episode explores how to overcome marketing challenges and maximize resources in the EMEA region. Raj’s firsthand experiences, including navigating the 2008 recession and thriving in partner marketing with a global perspective, offer invaluable insights into achieving remarkable results despite resource constraints. From the importance of face-to-face events in building trust to the complexities of partner marketing collaboration, Raj illuminates key strategies for success in a diverse market landscape.听

is the Vice President, Partner & Alliance Marketing, Foundry

About Foundry :  

Foundry is at the intersection of media and martech.

Our industry is about people, not machines. Algorithms, optimization and automation play a role in what we do, but connections and trusted relationships are vital. We derive fully-consented data from our ecosystem of global editorial brands, awards, and events, and use it to power our media, demand generation and martech solutions making them among the most effective in the market. We鈥檙e passionate about the fact that tech can be a force for good. Leveraged wisely, it can have a hugely positive influence, and to this end we鈥檙e driving progress globally in a number of areas, including diversity and inclusion, tech accessibility and women in leadership, both at our company and through our channels. Learn more at /

Status of AI exploration and adoption

Because of this, it鈥檚 no surprise that only 8% of IT decision-makers are not interested in Generative AI technology according to Foundry鈥檚 AI Priorities study. More specifically, this year鈥檚 found that 80% of CIOs say they are tasked with researching and evaluating possible AI additions to their tech stack. Additionally, those that have technology budgets dedicated to AI show no signs of slowing down. Close to two-thirds expect their spending towards AI projects to increase this year. With 55% of tech leaders stating that Gen AI-infused products create better business outcomes and allow employees to refocus on value-adding tasks, this seems like a no-brainer.

The same enthusiasm holds true for business departments. 79% of technology content marketers report using generative AI tools according to Content Marketing Institute鈥檚 Technology Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends: Outlook for 2024 research. More than half (53%) use generative AI to brainstorm new topics, 48% use the tools to write drafts, and 43% to research headlines and keywords. Fewer said they use AI to outline assignments (29%), proofread (19%), generate graphics/images (10%), and create videos (7%) and audio (7%).

Are Gen AI users moving too fast?

Does this all sound too good to be true? Maybe that鈥檚 because it is. While these solutions have clear business benefits, they also pose some risks, especially if the organization is not fully prepared to embrace the technology. In fact, 23% of IT decision-makers agree that their organization is moving too fast with respect to the use of generative AI. Of the technology marketers using gen AI tools, 88% use free tools, which means they can have their own personal accounts and create accounts without letting their IT team know.

The rapid change that resulted due to the gen AI frenzy did not allow organizations to establish a set of guidelines before everyone decided to join the movement, and even the marketing team acknowledges this. Only 26% said that their organization has a set of guidelines for their gen AI tools. When asking the IT team, 36% said that their organization has a policy and/or system in place to monitor the use of generative AI. But, close to half (46%) of organizations with more than 1,000 employees are establishing policies and guidelines to prepare for gen AI.

IT concerns marketers should be aware of

What exactly is the IT team concerned about and what should marketers take into consideration when using generative AI tools? The most pressing considerations and ethical implications they have to implementing the technology are security and cybersecurity as these systems can be vulnerable to attacks; privacy concerns around the large amounts of data required to generate accurate content; authenticity and trust as the proliferation of gen AI content challenges the authenticity of digital media; questions about intellectual property rights; and regulatory compliance to make sure the technology complies with data protection, intellectual property, and consumer protection laws.

Many of these fears come down to the system, and marketers must do their due diligence before creating a profile and entering company data into a generative AI platform. The entire point of these tools is to increase employee productivity and give time back for more high-value tasks, but if these tools lead to cyberattacks, deepfakes, or forgery, it鈥檚 game over.

Continuing to work together

The benefits of AI and gen AI are only as good as the people who use it. IT and marketing teams must work together, and the good news is that 71% of CIOs agree that they鈥檙e working more closely with lines of business on AI applications. There鈥檚 also some improvement to be made 鈥� 58% say that IT and LOB are aligned on the adoption and use of generative AI. It鈥檚 important for technology marketers to be transparent with their IT team about their desired use for the tools and explain the benefits they see out of one certain tool versus another. Ultimately IT should work with them to recommend and implement the proper systems.

Cheers to hopefully a year of gen AI success 鈥� check back next year and see how the IT and business alignment has shifted. In the meantime, explore how you can engage with AI-focused IT decision-makers through Foundry鈥檚 editorial expertise.

Join Rick Currier in London with special guest Clarissa Gent, a trailblazer in partner marketing at AWS, as they explore career growth and empowerment. Clarissa details her career journey, emphasizing the pivotal role of mentorship and supporting women in tech. From her beginnings as an individual contributor to leading commercial-focused initiatives, Clarissa’s story underscores the importance of resilience and skill diversification in navigating the tech industry. Tune in for an in-depth exploration of success, leadership, and the transformative power of diversity in tech.

is听the Director of EMEA Partner Marketing at Amazon Web Services

About Amazon Web Services :  

Since 2006, Amazon Web Services has been the world鈥檚 most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud. AWS has been continually expanding its services to support virtually any workload, and it now has more than 240 fully featured services for compute, storage, databases, networking, analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), mobile, security, hybrid, media, and application development, deployment, and management from 105 Availability Zones within 33 geographic regions, with announced plans for 18 more Availability Zones and six more AWS Regions in Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and the AWS European Sovereign Cloud. Millions of customers鈥攊ncluding the fastest-growing startups, largest enterprises, and leading government agencies鈥攖rust AWS to power their infrastructure, become more agile, and lower costs. Learn more at