CMO/CIO collaboration has been a topic of conversation for years now. But despite all that’s been said, progress between this troubled power couple still remains fleeting, according to Forrester’s annual joint study with Forbes, surveying 308 marketing and tech management leaders.

Starting with the good news:

CIOs and CMOs are making strides toward improved alignment. In terms of confidence in each other’s ability to communicate the other’s priorities, 56% of marketing leaders and 63% of tech management leaders now have this confidence — compared with a 20-point gap last year. Further, CMOs and CIOs share a growing trust for one another: 62% of marketing leaders and 68% of tech management leaders agree with this sentiment — improving 8% and 3%, respectively, this year.

Now for the bad news. While it’s a growing priority for CMOs to work with their CIO counterparts when choosing and implementing marketing technologies, only slightly more than half of surveyed execs say that both sides of the house select and deploy technologies jointly. And perhaps worse, just 54% believe the leadership is in place to support marketing technology strategies.

Surprisingly, the survey results also show virtually no progress in solving how to turn customer data into actionable insight. Despite it being a top strategic priority for both parties, less than half have a single view of customer interactions, and data management roles and responsibilities remain muddled.

According to the new research, CMOs and CIOs simply can’t afford to waste any more time figuring out how to reach across the aisle. Those that don’t come together around pertinent issues like big data will be at risk of being pushed aside by the chief digital officer — who is believed to be able to make the necessary changes to compete in the age of the customer.

To learn more about this research, visit the CMO blog.