Trends Report

To Build Tech Biz Dev Anew

"Business Development" Doesn't Equate To "Partnering"

August 11th, 2011
Tim Harmon, null
Tim Harmon
With contributors:
Peter Burris , Eric Hsieh

Summary

The business development (biz dev) function in the tech industry is essentially broken. Most tech companies have allowed biz dev to diminish into little more than a partnering function. Although potentially valuable, partnering cannot alone propel tech companies into new markets or business opportunities. Given the significant changes in the tech market, including cloud, mobile, and increased focus on business outcomes, tech companies need to redevelop the organizational capability required to evaluate strategic opportunities and threats — and the resultant strategy-to-operations process — at near real-time speed. That requires going back to the industry's biz dev roots, when biz dev played a more strategic and proactive role in tech companies, to restore planning, investment, and execution responsibilities and resources to biz dev.

Want to read the full report?

Contact us to become a client

This report is available for individual purchase ($1495).

Forrester helps business and technology leaders use customer obsession to accelerate growth. That means empowering you to put the customer at the center of everything you do: your leadership strategy, and operations. Becoming a customer-obsessed organization requires change — it requires being bold. We give business and technology leaders the confidence to put bold into action, shaping and guiding how to navigate today's unprecedented change in order to succeed.