This IDC study provides the most up-to-date IDC sales and marketing taxonomy, which has been developed over five years in collaboration with industry leaders. The slowing IT industry, coupled with an increased level of competition will require sales and marketing executives to significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their organizations. Based on a managerial accounting approach, IDC's sales and marketing taxonomy will serve as the foundation for sales, marketing, and finance executives to better demonstrate fiscal management capabilities to C-level executives and to improve decision-making processes based on known resource allocations.

"Using the IDC sales and marketing taxonomy, coupled with benchmarking against IDC's industry-leading Sales and Marketing Technology Benchmarks database, will enable executives to advance their investment management capabilities," said Rich Vancil, vice president of IDC's CMO Advisory Practice. "Executives should use this taxonomy guide as a tool to optimize return on their activities and expenses across the customer creation process."