DiscoverOrg continues to build out its functional datasets to assist firms in targeting specific departments. The newest dataset, Operations, joins functional coverage of IT, Product Management (TEDD), Sales, Marketing, HR, and Legal/Compliance. The Legal/Compliance dataset was released in January.
The new dataset covers 250,000 operations professionals and is divided into twelve sub-functions: Operations (including COOs), Customer Service, Supply Chain, Facilities Management, Logistics, Corporate Strategy, Office/Store Management, Safety, Real Estate, Physical Security, Quality Management, and Construction.
“Operations teams are rapidly transforming; in response, there has been an explosion in technology and service providers serving their needs,” said DiscoverOrg CEO Henry Schuck. “Our new operations dataset makes it easy for these companies to find and connect to the right decision-maker, nail their pitch, and save hours of grind.”
DiscoverOrg projects that operations will be the next function transformed by technology. “Operations, which has historically have had to rely on trickle-down budget from IT or other departments, now has a budget of its own,” said Justin Stanley, VP of Data and Research at DiscoverOrg. “Historically, sales to the operations function has been based on long-standing vendor relationships, making it difficult for startups, newcomers, and disruptors to get a piece of the pie. The democratization of data has made it much easier to contact buyers directly (if you can find them) – and beat out older incumbent vendors.”
Furthermore, the budget is “huge” and includes “smart” buildings, security, infrastructure, transportation, insurance, planning, and facilities management.
Stanley noted that operations buyers are focused on efficiency, digitization, automation, and efficiency. They also have a significant role in purchasing and implementing the Internet of Things (IoT) at their facilities. Forbes sized process automation and digitization at $157 billion in 2016 growing to $457 billion by 2020.
But selling into this function is difficult. “First, ‘operations’ is a pretty vague term. It doesn’t usually appear in an employee’s title, so it’s hard to identify exactly the role you’re looking for,” said Stanley. “Second, Operations employees don’t often hold high-profile titles. These aren’t roles that are typically listed on a corporate website, and there aren’t a lot of operations ‘thought leaders’ on LinkedIn. So, they’re difficult to identify – and harder to find contact information for.”
A recent survey by BSG found that the two biggest problems for operations and facilities sales are prospecting and accessing the right decision makers.
“Customers and prospects repeatedly asked for it [an operations database],” said Senior VP of Data and Research Derek Smith. “Over time, it became clear that plenty of people wanted to reach these types of contacts. But there was nowhere to get them.”
DiscoverOrg now covers over 3.6 million contacts across 140,000+ global companies. Data is collected through direct research by their multi-lingual editorial team and refreshed every ninety days. The dataset includes firmographics; contact details like direct dials and verified email addresses; org charts and reporting structures; installed technologies; and buying signals like planned projects, online research behavior, funding announcements and personnel moves.
“We are currently evaluating and prioritizing what our next dataset launch will be,” said Chief Growth Officer Katie Bullard. The database will double in size again this year – some of that growth will be from new dataset launches and most from additional contacts in our existing datasets.”