Correspondence: Larissa DeCarlo, Marketing Transformation Services, Inc., San Francisco, CA94133, USA. Tel: +1 415 990 9075; E-mail: ld@marketingtransformation.net; Web: www.marketingtransformation.net

¹is Vice President of Commercial Operations at Capital ID, a leading vendor of marketing operations software. Previously, David was a senior consultant at Marketing Supply Chain, a specialist London-based consultancy that assists global corporations in optimising marketing investment. In 2000, David co-founded ProMost Inc., which became the world's leading e-procurement marketplace for marketing materials and services, with clients such as Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, SABMiller and Unilever.

²is the CEO of Marketing Transformation Services and a pre-eminent authority on marketing automation. Beth has advised hundreds of marketing executives on how to successfully optimise marketing technology, and has been instrumental in guiding over 40 Fortune 500 client engagements. Beth has held key roles in the marketing resource management, marketing automation and marketing performance management groups of industry leaders such as Aprimo and Unica.

³is Vice President of Marketing Transformation Services' consulting services, and one of the most seasoned marketing operations professionals in the field. She most recently served as Vice President of Marketing Operations at Blue Coat Systems. Before this, she consulted at Symantec on the development of its annual marketing plan, and served as Senior Director, Marketing Planning & Operations, for Hyperion Solutions, where she initiated, developed and managed the company's Marketing Operations function.

Received 17 November 2008; Revised 17 November 2008.

Abstract

Improving efficiency and effectiveness of the marketing organisation is chief among most CMOs' responsibilities. As marketing evolves from art to science, technology is playing an increasingly important role in the CMO's toolbox. Learn about the types of solutions and vendors available, and get some valuable tips on how to manage your deployment and negotiate the best deal.