Many manufacturers are caught in a catch-22: they must invest in digital transformation to stay competitive and drive efficiencies across business functions, yet they need those same cross-functional connections to ensure transformation success. Too often, digital transformation initiatives fail to deliver the expected value. In fact, across industries, companies capture less than a third of the expected value from transformation initiatives.
For manufacturers facing pinched margins and rapidly shifting market demands, new technological investments need to be more closely tied to broader business strategies. But digital transformation strategies today are happening in silos. The most successful transformations will see IT executives leading conversations across business functions—most notably with go-to-market teams—early in the journey to connect new technologies to revenue growth, buyer engagement, and long-term competitive differentiation.
Early Collaboration Changes the Trajectory of Your Transformation
IT has typically led the evaluation and implementation of new technology, often focusing on backend optimization, cost reduction, and infrastructure management. But today, technology leaders have a unique opportunity to step into a broader role: acting as cross-functional connectors and ensuring that digital transformation becomes a catalyst for long-term growth and go-to-market success. And the broader business wants this too—32% of IT executives report being asked to advise on their company’s go-to-market strategy more often than in previous years.
Yet this is not how businesses are currently approaching their transformation journey.
Gaining Buy-In from the Start
Lack of early stakeholder buy-in is putting digital transformation initiatives at risk before they begin. In one scenario, IT may select a new tool and introduce it to sales and marketing with a proof-of-concept demo at an annual kickoff. The response is generally positive—teams see how the tool makes their jobs easier and it feels exciting. But does the team fully understand how to maximize its value? Have they defined how success will be measured beyond surface-level improvements? Without clear alignment on expectations and business objectives, adoption is limited, and the technology never reaches its full potential.
Addressing resistance to change is equally critical. In another scenario, teams are hesitant to adopt new technologies that may disrupt their usual workflow. However, these stakeholders often have valuable insights about potential implementation challenges. By acknowledging concerns early and creating space for constructive feedback, leaders can turn skepticism into engagement and address real-world needs rather than theoretical benefits.
When IT and go-to-market teams evaluate technology together, then sales, marketing, and product teams become equal owners in the adoption and roll-out of the new technology. It drives accountability, but it also gives less technical business functions a more realistic understanding of how they can use the tool and what the roadmap looks like for time to value.
Overcoming Misalignment and Objections
In many cases, IT and go-to-market teams are working from fundamentally different assumptions about what they need. IT believes that the business needs to increase sales before investing in a more advanced tool, while go-to-market leaders argue that they need the right tools in place to generate those sales. If these teams are not engaged in early, structured conversations, they remain entrenched in their perspectives, never addressing the root issue.
Among the same IT leaders surveyed about their role in strategic go-to-market conversations, 54% report experiencing stress from cross-functional work. It’s enough to stop early conversations in their tracks.
Consider refocusing the conversation. Technology should be a means to an end—not the starting point. When teams align first on the business outcomes they need to achieve, whether it’s increasing deal velocity, improving customer experience, or enhancing margin control, they create a common foundation for decision-making. From there, the conversation naturally shifts to how technology can support those goals, rather than forcing teams to justify technology choices in isolation. By framing discussions around shared success metrics and strategic priorities, IT can better handle objections and bridge gaps in understanding how the technology provides value.
Creating Market Agility and Real-Time Responsiveness
McKinsey research has found that top-performing companies in digital transformation focus on customer engagement and innovation rather than pure operational efficiency. As market instability and supply chain disruptions continue to challenge manufacturers, agility has never been more critical. Businesses can no longer afford to wait for the “perfect” moment or tool to invest in technology. The market moves too fast, and you must be able to adapt in real time.
For IT leaders, this means shifting the conversation from rigid technology roadmaps to dynamic business strategy. Rather than waiting for stability, organizations need systems and processes that enable agility. This requires IT and go-to-market teams to move beyond isolated technology decisions and instead align on a strategy that connects digital investments to broader business responsiveness.
When IT facilitates cross-functional conversations focused on adaptability (e.g., how quickly teams can adjust pricing strategies or respond to shifts in buyer demand), they enable market agility. Technology then becomes the mechanism that allows businesses to pivot at the speed of change and differentiate themselves in the market.
A Framework for Leading Early Cross-Functional Conversations
Ensure digital transformation delivers real value by engaging in outcome-driven conversations from the start. This will include relevant business functions and even the vendor for the technology you’re evaluating. A strong framework helps teams and technology partners move beyond technology discussions and instead focus on strategic impact.
1. Start with business objectives, not technology. IT, sales, product, and executive teams must first define the key outcomes they want to achieve, whether it’s increasing quote-to-order efficiency, improving customer engagement, or enhancing product data management. These objectives shape all technology decisions. For example, IT and sales should begin their discussions with revenue growth strategies and sales process pain points, not software capabilities.
2. Work with the vendor as a collaborative partner. Bring in your potential vendor to help facilitate discussion and answer key strategic questions. Move beyond feature lists and lead the focus on how different solutions contribute to broader business goals. For example, how well does the potential technology support complex product sales and accelerate sales cycles? How does it align with the buyer journey, sales process, and channel partner needs? How effectively does it support engineering and product teams in managing customization, compliance, and product lifecycle considerations? When conducted alongside your vendor, go-to-market teams will get the most realistic understanding of how the solution can help drive value, while dispelling potential objectives.
3. Define best practices and deployment strategies. IT must work cross-functionally to ensure the technology is effectively adopted. This includes co-developing usage guidelines tailored to different teams. The C-suite will prioritize long-term scalability and ROI, while sales and product teams need clarity on how the tool enhances day-to-day execution.
4. Map out deployment milestones and KPIs. A structured project plan ensures every team understands its responsibilities at each stage of deployment. By clarifying roles early, IT minimizes misalignment, accelerates adoption, and transforms digital investments into business-driving initiatives. Teams should clearly identify KPIs around both adoption and performance post-launch.
Lead Your Digital Transformation Success
The role of IT is no longer confined to cost efficiency. It’s a driver of business growth. By breaking down silos, embedding technology into go-to-market strategies, and fostering cross-functional collaboration, IT can ensure that digital transformation investments deliver real, lasting value. Organizations that embrace this shift will not only see greater ROI from their technology investments but also build a more agile, aligned, and future-ready business.
At Tacton, we help manufacturers accelerate their digital transformation with our industry-leading CPQ solution. Our consultative approach ensures that IT and business leaders align on strategic objectives before making technology decisions, reducing misalignment and accelerating adoption. With our proven evaluation framework and industry expertise, we empower companies to turn digital transformation and investment in CPQ into a competitive advantage. Let’s start the conversation.