2017 State of IT

B2B Research Report

2017 State of IT

Content Consumption and Demand Report for IT Marketers

Analysis and Insights by: NetLine Corporation, offering #1 B2B Content Syndication Lead Generation Platform

B2B Marketers Start Here.

Copyright Š2016 NetLine Corporation. All rights reserved.

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NetLine Corporation

2017 State of IT: Content Consumption and Demand Report for IT Marketers

Introduction The responsibility of the Information

Senior leadership and IT Departments are in

Technology (IT) Department within the

constant need of information and research

greater organizational structure has rapidly

that directly impacts their current project

evolved into one of the most vital entities

roadmap, as well as future vendor selection

within a business. Gone are the days when

and future purchase decisions. In addition to

the IT Department was limited to systems

content, Consultants and Contractors are now

professionals. Today, IT owns the organization

more widely used to support an organization’s

of data for strategic decision making,

IT strategy development, decision making, and

defense against external attacks, innovation,

implementations.

empowerment, mobility, scalability, and more.

In addition to the exponential volume of a

The 2017 State of Information Technology:

diverse set of responsibilities, the long-term

Content Consumption and Demand Report

implications of wrong decisions made under

is a deep dive into the research patterns of

IT’s watch raises the pressure.

IT professionals active across the NetLine network. Gain insight into the active personas

In today’s climate, IT professionals are

in IT, content consumption trends, and

struggling to discover, create, and maintain

competitive landscape among IT companies

all of the knowledge necessary to run a

to identify content patterns, strategies,

stable, secure, and scalable business. These

and actionable opportunities for your

challenges have driven the demand for

company. The industry report will empower

support resources, 3rd party subject matter

IT marketers with powerful insights and

experts, along with tools and services to

advanced demand generation strategies to

lighten the burden on IT professionals.

run more robust lead generation campaigns

Answering the demand, the IT industry is

targeting IT professionals this year.

booming with new IT solutions and vendors to choose from. What used to be a selection between several vendors is now among a pool of thousands.

8.5M

Leads Processed in 2016

NetLine Corporation operates the largest B2B content syndication lead generation network in existence today, and processed more than 8.5 million leads in 2016. *Data provided by the NetLine Corporation B2B Content Syndication Lead Generation Network, January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.

NetLine Corporation

2017 State of IT: Content Consumption and Demand Report for IT Marketers

First, we will examine the profile of Information Technology (IT) professionals who actively consumed content across the NetLine Corporation B2B Content

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The Active IT Audience

Syndication Lead Generation Network in 2016. The volume of content consumed by IT professionals in the United States increased by 13% YOY — and increased by 65% internationally. This section is an examination of the active IT professionals and their corresponding job level, function, industry, company size, company revenue, geographic region, and mobile device behavior.

IT Professional Consumption Growth: Content consumption volume from IT professionals grew significantly in 2016— driving the demand for more content to service the needs of this active and growing audience.

YOY

*Data provided by the NetLine Corporation B2B Content Syndication Lead Generation Network, January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.

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2017 State of IT: Content Consumption and Demand Report for IT Marketers

NetLine Corporation

Job Area & Function

Job Level

In 2016, IT professionals working in the Information Systems Management field generated 41% of total IT content consumption activity. IT Project Managers (19%) and Software/System Architects (10%) were the subsequent most popular fields within the active IT audience.

Content consumption activity by job level reported Directors as the most active IT professionals in 2016, generating 27% of total consumption activity. Mid-level IT professionals drove the majority of activity, including: Managers (22%) and Individual Contributors (15%).

Senior-level leadership accounted for less than 15% of consumption volume, including: VP (6%), C-level (5%), and Senior Director (2%).

Active Audience: Job Function Desktop Service/Support

Network Systems

5%

4%

Database Dev./Admin

Active Audience: Job Level Senior Director

5%

2%

Network/Server Admin

Information Systems

8%

41%

Computer/Network Secuity

8%

Remaining Values

9%

Senior Manager

4%

Consultant

4%

Director

27%

C-Level

Software/System Architecture

Project Manager

10%

19%

5% VP

6%

Manager

22%

Senior Employee

6%

Company Size

15%

Significant content consumption growth was reported by professionals working at companies within several unique market segments this year. Most notably, activity driven by professionals working at companies of 500 – 999 employees increased 99% YOY. +99%

+23%

25 - 49

The highest content consumption growth trends came from Directors and Consultants; Consultant consumption activity increased more than 40% YOY. While these professionals make up 4% of the total IT audience, Consultants are growing members of the active IT community. C-level leadership grew at 9% YOY. 44% of IT content consumption was completed

by Managers working at companies of 50-500

+33%

Small

Individual Contributor

Medium 500 - 999

Large

10,000 - 19,999

The active IT audience works at a diverse set of company sizes, 39% working at companies of 1,000 employees or greater

employees; this persona is reportedly more engaged than those working within larger organizations.

Content strategies must consider varying subpersonas within the overall campaign targets. In targeting the mid-market specifically, it’s likely that many different types of prospects will be consuming your content; each of which has a different level of responsibility and intent as it relates to exploring your product/service.

*Data provided by the NetLine Corporation B2B Content Syndication Lead Generation Network, January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.

2017 State of IT: Content Consumption and Demand Report for IT Marketers

NetLine Corporation

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Company Revenue In further review of the companies that employed the active IT audience, we reported on their annual revenue levels by ranges. In 2016, 40% of the active IT audience was working for companies generating $1 billion or greater in annual revenue.

Active Audience: Company Revenue

17%

18% 5%

7%

4%

$500K - 1M

$5 - 10M

$10 - 25M

9%

7%

$25 - 50M

$50-100M

23%

6%

$100-500M

$500M - 1B

4%

$1 - 5B

More than $5B

Remaining Values

Industry The industry sector breakout leads with Healthcare and Medical representing 31% of the active IT professionals consuming content in 2016. Subsequent industries include: Human Resources (16%) and Computers and Technology (11%). In addition, several key industries have surfaced as noteworthy areas in IT: Finance (8%), Education (6%), and Government (6%).

Active Audience: Industry Remaining Values

17%

Retail & Consumer Goods

Healthcare/Medical

Government

Education

6%

Finance

8%

• 13% Computers and Technology > Information Technology/Services • 6% Education > Higher Education • 6% Healthcare > Hospital • 5% Computers and Technology > Computer Software • 4% Government > Administration • 4% Finance > Financial Services

31%

5%

6%

Examining the industry composite further, we reviewed the most popular sub-industries of IT professionals who consumed IT content in 2016:

HR

16%

Project Managers working within the Information Technology/Services industry consumed 13% more content than the next closest job function (Information Systems Manager).

Computers & Technology

11%

*Data provided by the NetLine Corporation B2B Content Syndication Lead Generation Network, January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.

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NetLine Corporation

2017 State of IT: Content Consumption and Demand Report for IT Marketers

Insight: IT professionals working within Healthcare, HR, Education, Finance, and Government industries consumed 255% more content than their peers. Heavily regulated industries such as these require a constant stream of information to support the ongoing complexities of their profession.

Geographic Region The United States represented 54% of the active IT audience in 2016. APAC generated 26% of total consumption and increased more than 80% YOY. EMEA generated 17% of activity and increased 67% YOY.

Active Audience: Geographic Region

EMEA

17%

United States

54%

APAC

26% *Remaining regions, 3%

Globalization of the Marketplace: IT content consumption activity driven by EMEA and APAC continue to be on the rise, with 46% of activity coming from non-US regions.

*Data provided by the NetLine Corporation B2B Content Syndication Lead Generation Network, January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.

2017 State of IT: Content Consumption and Demand Report for IT Marketers

NetLine Corporation

The active IT audience consumed 83% of content on desktop, 14% on smartphone, and 3% on tablet. The US is reporting higher desktop-to-mobile rates (85%) over

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Mobile Behavior

international regions. In further review of the device usage by job level, we found that senior-level leadership consumed 20% of content on non-desktop devices. Midlevel professionals reported 15% non-desktop usage.

Insight: C-level professionals consume more content on non-desktop devices than their counterparts—suggesting that senior-level leadership more commonly performs research outside of the office; while others do not.

*Data provided by the NetLine Corporation B2B Content Syndication Lead Generation Network, January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.

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2017 State of IT: Content Consumption and Demand Report for IT Marketers

The In-Demand IT Audience

NetLine Corporation

In this section of the report, we will review the IT personas targeted by IT marketing campaigns in 2016.

Direct comparisons are made between the active IT audience realities and the competitive landscape. We have extracted the key insights found in campaign strategies by job level, function, industry, company size, and geographic region.

Company Size % of Campaigns Targeting Each Company Size

16% 18% 20% 22% 26% 35% 43% 72% 88%

1-4 5-9 10-24 25-49 50-99

100-249 250-499 500-999 1,000-2,499

90%

2,500-4,999

90%

5,000-9,999

88%

10,000-19,999

87%

20,000-49,999

87%

50,000+

In 2016, the majority of campaigns focused on targeting IT professionals working at companies of 500 employees or greater.

Professionals working at companies of 2,500 – 4,999 employees and 5,000 – 9,999 employees were targeted by 90% of campaigns.

There was a steady drop off in the number of campaigns targeting IT professionals working at small to medium sized companies of 1 250 employees. *Data provided by the NetLine Corporation B2B Content Syndication Lead Generation Network, January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.

2017 State of IT: Content Consumption and Demand Report for IT Marketers

NetLine Corporation

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Job Level % of Campaigns Targeting Each Job Level

Owner

14%

Ind. Contributor Senior Employee Supervisor

18% 29% 84%

Manager

92%

Senior Manager

93%

Director

100%

Senior Director

100%

VP

98%

Senior VP

98%

Executive VP

98%

C-Level

94%

The most common job level targeting range for campaigns in 2016 was ‘Supervisors and above’, used by 49% of campaigns; which excludes Senior Employees, Individual Contributors, Owners, Contractors, and Consultants. Less than 30% of campaigns targeted Senior Employees, Individual Contributors, and Owners, whom represented 24% of the active IT audience.

Professionals self-identified as Consultants reported the highest content consumption growth in 2016 (+40% YOY); however, were targeted in only 1% of campaigns.

*Data provided by the NetLine Corporation B2B Content Syndication Lead Generation Network, January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.

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2017 State of IT: Content Consumption and Demand Report for IT Marketers

NetLine Corporation

Job Area In 2016, 15% of IT marketers solely focused their campaigns to target professionals working within the IT Department; while the majority of campaigns (84%) expanded targets to include Executives.

Insight: The majority of IT marketers are including Executives within their campaign targets, showing that Executives are clear stakeholders in the IT buying committee.

Industry Of all campaigns targeting IT professionals in 2016, 60% accepted professionals working within any industry. In contrast, 10% of campaigns targeted a narrow set of industries (10 or less). The two most popular industry sets excluded Government or Advertising/ Marketing.

% of Campaigns By Number of Industries Targeted Only 1 Industry

4%

2 - 9 Industries

6%

All Industries

60%

10 - 24 Industries

30% In review of the campaigns targeting only one industry, IT marketers most commonly sought out professionals in the Finance, Education, Government, and Healthcare industries, all of which were well represented in the active IT audience.

The active IT audience, in-demand IT audience, and IT content trends all point to an increase of focus around subsets of tech, including: FinTech, EduTech, GovTech, and HealthTech.

*Data provided by the NetLine Corporation B2B Content Syndication Lead Generation Network, January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.

2017 State of IT: Content Consumption and Demand Report for IT Marketers

NetLine Corporation

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Geographic Region While 46% of content consumption was driven by IT professionals outside of the US, 79% of campaigns targeted US professionals only. The United Kingdom, France, Australia, and Spain were among the more popular international countries targeted by campaigns in 2016.

United Kingdom

Brazil

16%

3%

France

Germany

11%

3% United States (US)

Australia

Philippines

8%

3%

Spain

Indonesia

8%

3%

90%

ABM Account-based marketing (ABM), the strategy of targeting specific people whom work at a predetermined list of companies, continued to grow in popularity in 2016. The number of ABM campaigns run

by NetLine Corporation increased by 467% YOY. While account-based marketing surged last year and is predicted to continue to grow this year, ABM campaigns were run in tandem with non-ABM campaigns to diversify the marketing strategy and ensure consistent lead generation growth in most scenarios.

ABM is a proven strategy for marketers when run with the necessary reach and scale. NetLine recommends that marketers take a balanced approach to ABM and consider content syndication as a layered application of this strategy type. Display advertising should not be considered the only or the top solution in ABM, content syndication campaigns often report higher clickthrough rates and conversion rates over other channels. *Data provided by the NetLine Corporation B2B Content Syndication Lead Generation Network, January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.

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NetLine Corporation

2017 State of IT: Content Consumption and Demand Report for IT Marketers

Consumption Journey

In this section, we will examine the consumption journey of active IT professionals consuming content over the past year. Statistics on volume, frequency, and the consumption gap have been reviewed to extract actionable insights for demand generation and lead nurture strategy optimization.

Volume Of the IT professionals to consume content this year, 54% of professionals consumed more than one piece of content; this statistic is 5% higher than the global average of all active professionals. Additionally, at the peak of the volume scale, 11% of the active IT audience consumed more than ten pieces of content.

11+

11% 6 - 10

9% 2-5

34% 1

46%

Insight: Individual Contributors, Senior Employees, Owners, and Supervisors are 51% more likely to consume +10 pieces of content over midlevel and senior-level professionals.

The percent of IT professionals to request more than one piece of content by job level groupings are detailed as follows: • 52%: VP to C-level • 52%: Manager to Director • 58%: Individual Contributor, Senior Employee, Owner to Supervisor Lower level IT professionals were 12% more likely to consume more than one piece of content and 51% more likely to consume more than 10 pieces of content over their senior-level counterparts.

*Data provided by the NetLine Corporation B2B Content Syndication Lead Generation Network, January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.

2017 State of IT: Content Consumption and Demand Report for IT Marketers

NetLine Corporation

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Frequency In further examination of IT professionals that requested more than one piece of content, the average timespan between each content request was eleven days — one day shorter than the global average. Contractors and Consultants reported the fastest frequency of 9.5 days.

11d

Consumption Gap The timespan between the content request and the moment the content is opened is called the Consumption Gap — measured in hours. On average, the Consumption Gap was more than twentyfour hours for active IT professionals, in comparison to the global average of twenty-eight hours.

Analyzing the Consumption Gap by job level highlighted a significant delta between senior-level leadership and other professionals.

Senior-level leadership averaged more than thirty hours in-between the content request and opening the content; while mid-level employees averaged twenty-five hours.

24+h

In comparison to the global average of senior-level leadership, IT senior leadership reported a shorter Consumption Gap over the global average of forty-four hours, by 23%.

Insight: The Consumption Gap is important to be aware of as it can have significant impact on prospect nurturing. NetLine recommends companies to enforce a follow-up policy that is in line with trending content consumption patterns. To make sure the prospect is informed enough to have an intelligent discussion, allow for at least 2 days before contacting.

*Data provided by the NetLine Corporation B2B Content Syndication Lead Generation Network, January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.

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2017 State of IT: Content Consumption and Demand Report for IT Marketers

Consumption Trends

NetLine Corporation

In this section, we will examine personas of the highly engaged IT professionals consuming multiple pieces of content within popular IT focuses.

Data Infrastructure and Data Tools Senior VP

1%

Senior Director

2%

C-Level

3% VP

4% Supervisor

4%

Remaining Values

1% Manager

30% Senior Employee

24%

Individual Cont.

9% Senior Manager

9%

Remaining Values

1%

50 - 99

3%

100 - 249

4% 500 - 999

8% 1,000 - 2,499

9%

Manager, Senior Employee, and Director-level professionals represented 67% of the engaged audience. Senior Employee-level professionals represented the second largest group consuming ‘Data Infrastructure and Data Tools’ content and was seemingly their most engaged with IT topic in 2016.

Director

13% Company Size 50,000+

24% 20,000 - 49,999

12%

250 - 499

6%

Job Level

5,000 - 9,999

12% 2,500 - 4,999

11% 10,000 - 19,999

10%

Professionals working at enterprise-level company sizes employing 50K+ people represented 24% of the engaged audience, 96% higher than their peers. Comparing the percentage of professionals working at 50K+ company sizes consuming ‘Data Infrastructure and Data Tools’ content to all other IT topics, ‘Data Infrastructure and Data Tools’ was seemingly the most engaged with topic by professionals working at enterprise-level companies in 2016.

Insurance

3%

Corporate Services

3%

Retail & Consumer Goods

4%

Remaining Values

18% Computers & Technology

28%

Telecom

5% Education

8% Healthcare/Medical

8%

Professionals working in the Computers and Technology industry represented the largest percentage of ‘Data Infrastructure and Data Tools’

Manufacturing

5%

Industry

Finance

10%

content consumption, 176% more than any other industry.

Government

8%

*Data provided by the NetLine Corporation B2B Content Syndication Lead Generation Network, January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.

NetLine Corporation

2017 State of IT: Content Consumption and Demand Report for IT Marketers

IT Infrastructure

15

Owner

1%

Senior Director

2%

Job Level

Supervisor

Manager, Senior Employee, and Director-level professionals represented 68% of the engaged audience. VP and C-level IT professionals represented less than 10% of the engaged audience.

3% C-Level

3% Manager

34%

3% VP

5%

Director

20%

Individual Cont.

7% Senior Manager

8%

Remaining Values

4%

Company Size

Remaining Values

Senior Employee

14%

50,000+

19%

50 - 99

In addition to professionals working at enterpriselevel companies of 50k employees and greater, high ‘IT Infrastructure’ content consumption came from medium to large companies, including: 2,500 - 5,000, and 20,000 - 49,999 employees.

5%

100 - 249

6% 1,000 - 2,499

8% 500 - 999

8% 250 - 499

8%

5,000 - 9,999

12% 20,000 49,999

11% 2,500 - 4,999

11% 10,000 - 19,999

8%

Utility/Energy

3%

Industry

Telecommunications

IT professionals working in the Computers and Technology industry were 175% more engaged than any other industry. Additionally, top engagement with ‘IT Infrastructure’ content was equally divided across Finance, Government, Education, and Healthcare/Medical industries.

4%

Retail & Consumer Goods

4%

Remaining Values

19% Computers & Technology

24%

Corp. Services

4% Manufacturing

7% Healthcare/Medical

8% Education

9%

Finance

9% Government

9%

*Data provided by the NetLine Corporation B2B Content Syndication Lead Generation Network, January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.

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2017 State of IT: Content Consumption and Demand Report for IT Marketers

NetLine Corporation

Enterprise Applications Executive VP

1%

Senior Director

3%

Supervisor

3% C-Level

Remaining Values

1% Manager

31%

4% VP

7%

Director

22%

Individual Cont.

7% Senior Manager

9%

Remaining Values

3%

Senior Employee

Job Level Director-level professionals represented the second largest group consuming ‘Enterprise Applications’ content and was seemingly their most engaged with topic in 2016. VP and C-level IT professionals represented 11% of the engaged audience, and ‘Enterprise Applications’ was their most engaged with IT topic in 2016.

12%

50,000+

18%

500 - 999

6%

100 - 249

7% 250 - 499

7% 50 - 99

7% 1,000 - 2,499

7%

2,500 - 4,999

13% 20,000 49,999

12% 5,000 - 9,999

3%

4%

Retail & Consumer Goods

4%

12% 8%

Industry Remaining Values

17% Computers & Technology

20%

Corp. Services

4% Education

6%

Manufacturing

15%

Government

7% Healthcare/Medical

8%

70% of ‘Enterprise Applications’ content engagement was driven by professionals working at companies of 1,000 employees or more.

10,000 - 19,999

Telecommunications

Utility/Energy

Company Size

Finance

12%

Professionals working in the Manufacturing industry were the second largest group consuming ‘Enterprise Applications’ content.

The percentage of professionals from the Manufacturing industry engaging with ‘Enterprise Applications’ content was 148% higher than all other IT topics. ‘Enterprise Applications’ content consumption was driven by professionals from the most diverse set of industries in comparison to all other IT topics weighting more towards the Computers and Technology industry.

*Data provided by the NetLine Corporation B2B Content Syndication Lead Generation Network, January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.

2017 State of IT: Content Consumption and Demand Report for IT Marketers

NetLine Corporation

Security

17

Senior VP

1%

Senior Director

2%

Job Level

C-Level

Managers represented 35% of ‘Security’ content consumption, 109% higher than any other group.

VP and C-level IT professionals represented less than 10% of the engaged audience.

4% VP

4% Supervisor

5%

Remaining Values

1% Manager

35% Senior Employee

17%

Individual Cont.

8% Senior Manager

Company Size Outside the enterprise-level segment of activity, professionals working at companies of 100 - 500 employees represented 34% of ‘Security’ content consumption, more than all other company sizes.

While ‘Security’ used to only be a focus for larger organizations, it has risen to a concern across all company sizes, now surging among small businesses.

8%

Director

Remaining Values

50,000+

2%

15%

14%

50 - 99

7%

10,000 - 19,999

8%

1,000 - 2,499

8% 20,000 - 49,999

9% 5,000 - 9,999

9%

500 - 999

13% 250 - 499

11% 100 - 249

10% 2,500 - 4,999

9%

Utility/Energy

3%

Corporate Services

4%

Industry

Telecommunications

Professionals working in the Education and Government industries represented 20% of ‘Security’ content engagement.

5% Retail & Consumer Goods

Remaining Values

20% Computers & Technology

22%

5% Manufacturing

6% Healthcare/Medical

6% Finance

9%

Government

10% Education

10%

*Data provided by the NetLine Corporation B2B Content Syndication Lead Generation Network, January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.

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2017 State of IT: Content Consumption and Demand Report for IT Marketers

NetLine Corporation

Storage Remaining Values

Senior Director

1%

2%

Senior VP

1%

C-Level

3%

Manager

Supervisor

39%

4% VP

4% Indiv. Contributor

6%

Director

18%

Senior Manager

9%

Job Level Managers represented 39% of ‘Storage’ content consumption, 115% higher than any other job level. Additionally, the percentage of Managers engaging with ‘Storage’ content was 20% higher than the average of all other IT topics. Manager, Senior Employee, and Director-level professionals represent 70% of the engaged ‘Storage’ audience.

Senior Employee

13%

50,000+

19%

50 - 99

2% 10,000 - 19,999

20,000 - 49,999

8%

12%

100 - 249

8%

5,000 - 9,999

12%

1,000 - 2,499

8%

2,500 - 4,999

250 - 499

12%

9%

Company Size Professionals engaging with ‘Storage’ content were evenly spread across a variety of company sizes, not one accounting for more than 12% of the total, aside from companies of 50k employees or greater, representing 19%.

500 - 999

10%

Utility/Energy

3%

Remaining Values

20%

Corporate Services

4%

Computers & Technology

Retail & Consumer Goods

4%

24%

Telecommunications

5%

Healthcare/Med.

6%

Industry Professionals working in the Education industry surfaced as the second highest group of professionals consuming ‘Storage’ content, their most engaged with IT topic in 2016.

Education

Government

10%

7%

Finance

Manufacturing

9%

8% BoFu 3%

*Data provided by the NetLine Corporation B2B Content Syndication Lead Generation Network, January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.

2017 State of IT: Content Consumption and Demand Report for IT Marketers

NetLine Corporation

In this next section, we will examine the trends found within the library of IT content used for content syndication lead generation campaigns by marketers in 2016. We analyzed the content goals, format, themes,

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Content Trends

and keywords to extract meaningful learnings.

Content Goals NetLine labels all campaigns by content strategy to establish the stage of the buyers journey being targeted and serviced by the

ToFu 92%

content. Content is identified by one of three main groups: Top of Funnel (ToFu), Middle of Funnel (MoFu), and Bottom of Funnel (BoFu).

MoFu 6%

In 2016, 92% of IT marketers implemented ToFu content strategies; while only 6% MoFu content, and 2% BoFu content.

BoFu 2%

Insight: IT marketers have an opportunity to implement a more diversified approach outside of ToFu only content. While the entire competitive landscape is seeding the market with ToFu content; marketers should offer supplemental content that speaks to the needs of IT professionals focused on more decision oriented topics.

The majority of professionals engaging with your content are net-new and at all stages in the buyers journey – a balanced campaign will provide content for all stages within the funnel.

Content Format Additionally, NetLine labels all content by format, most commonly: white papers, eBooks, reports, guides, and webinars. In 2016, IT professionals consumed more eBooks than any other content format. While eBooks have become the most popular type for content syndication and consumption, white papers continue to be the most utilized by IT marketers to generate qualified leads. *Data provided by the NetLine Corporation B2B Content Syndication Lead Generation Network, January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.

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2017 State of IT: Content Consumption and Demand Report for IT Marketers

NetLine Corporation

Content Theme The top three most popular themes of IT content this year focused on IT management, IT infrastructure, and data infrastructure.

Security and mobile were also represented in the top five. Apps, storage and IoT fell lower in terms of popularity, which may speak to a lack of content on these topics.

TRENDING TITLES

Content Category IoT

Storage

2%

5%

Application Development

IT Management

27%

6% • 10 Essential Elements for a Secure Enterprise Mobility Strategy • 4 Best Practices for Monitoring Cloud Infrastructure You Don’t Own

Mobility

10%

IT Infrastructure

19%

Network Security

13%

Data Infrastructure

18%

• Beginner’s Guide to Multifactor Authentication • Best Practices for Making BYOD Simple and Secure • Best Practices for Monitoring Cloud Infrastructure You Don’t Own • Big Data for Dummies

Trending Content by Keywords To highlight the most popular keywords from the library of IT content run by campaigns in 2016, we’ve created the following word cloud. As shown by the cloud, ‘governance’, ‘security’, ‘cloud’, and ‘video’ were several of the top keywords to surface along with common IT phrases in 2016.

• Learning Network Forensics • Online Penetration Testing and Ethical Hacking • Ransomware Hostage Rescue Manual for IT Pros • The Innovator’s Guide to Agile IT Architecture • Top 10 Reasons to Strengthen Information Security with App and Desktop Virtualization Select titles from the Top 20 list in alphabetical order.

*Data provided by the NetLine Corporation B2B Content Syndication Lead Generation Network, January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.

2017 State of IT: Content Consumption and Demand Report for IT Marketers

NetLine Corporation

The success of any B2B organization in our current climate is dependent upon making smarter decisions

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Summary

driven by data and executing smarter with technology.

Today, the IT Department is under pressure to support organizations from all sides—each requiring a unique set of skills, knowledge, and experience. Now more than ever IT professionals need to be more informed, as shown by the 38% increase in content consumption activity by IT professionals YOY; there is a higher thirst and voracity for content.

The globalization of the marketplace has become more apparent in the last year with international content consumption activity up 65% YOY. IT marketers have begun to acknowledge this movement, with more than 20% of campaigns targeting international regions in 2016.

Marketers have a growing opportunity to reach IT decision makers by providing the content each professional is seeking to improve the way they discover and manage technological solutions and relationships. NetLine Corporation has identified 3 key opportunities for IT marketers in 2017: 1. Attack the Influencers Senior leadership will remain an important target for lead generation campaigns; however, they quite simply do not drive the same level of content consumption activity. Pivot focus to the IT influencers, the diverse profile of professionals within the IT buying committee that include Managers, Senior Employees, and Individual Contributors – as well as Contractors and Consultants. Build deeper influence within the organization by expanding your target range outside senior leadership and target the professionals that advise them. Deeper influence within the organization will directly translate into greater credibility, an often underestimated attribute associate to the vendor selection process. *Data provided by the NetLine Corporation B2B Content Syndication Lead Generation Network, January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.

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2017 State of IT: Content Consumption and Demand Report for IT Marketers

A NOTE FROM NETLINE CORPORATION We’ve set out on a journey to bring B2B marketers real content consumption insights they can’t find anywhere else.

This year our research team will be examining the consumption behavior of industry segments across the largest B2B content network. Our goal is to empower marketers with powerful insights and advanced demand

NetLine Corporation

2. Content Optimization and Humanization Content development should start with the end user and target audience – and marketers need to go even deeper when working with IT. The wide range of fields, industries, and company sizes within your target audience should have a dramatic swing on the type of content produced to reach these professionals. Marketers have begun to acknowledge tech professionals more personally with new naming conventions presented in the title and cover graphics, for example: FinTech, GovTech, EduTech, HealthTech. Diversify your content suite to offer resources by sub-persona. Address the appropriate stages within the funnel by persona. Be mindful of not ignoring key influencers that may play a role in stifling your credibility within the organization and develop content specifically focused on addressing their perceived objections.

3. Mind the Consumption Gap Lead nurture is 100% as important as lead generation. NetLine’s recommendation is to allow for at least 2 days prior to lead follow-up on content consumption in order to ensure effective conversations with prospects. Making the mistake of immediate contact will waste your team’s time and possibly alarm the prospect.

generation solutions to achieve lead generation success in 2017.

Robert Alvin, CEO and Founder of NetLine Corporation

As the responsibility of the Information Technology Department grows, professionals will require higher levels of research to not only stay abreast of new solutions and trends, but also make strategic purchase decisions. The significance of content within the buying process is priceless. The flow of researching solutions via multiple pieces of content is increasing, 11% of the active IT audience consumed more than 10 resources in 2016, averaging only 11 days between each content request.

Marketers need to stay on top of this by producing the resources their target audiences need to stay top of mind, solve their problems, and aid purchase decisions. B2B content syndication lead generation is a rapidly growing solution for demand generation.

Foster continued growth by expanding and diversifying your footprint to reach and capture the prospects required to be successful in 2017.

*Data provided by the NetLine Corporation B2B Content Syndication Lead Generation Network, January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.

2017 State of IT: Content Consumption and Demand Report for IT Marketers

NetLine Corporation

NetLine Corporation empowers B2B Marketers with the reach, technology, and expertise required to drive scalable lead generation results and accelerate the sales funnel. Operating the largest B2B content syndication lead generation network, NetLine reaches 125 million

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About NetLine Corporation

unique visitors and processes more than 700 thousand leads monthly across 300 industry sectors. NetLine’s AudienceTarget™ technology drives prospect discovery, quality customer lead acquisition, and buyer engagement from real prospect intent as professionals consume content directly across the network. Superior quality, on demand access, and advanced campaign reports enable all clients to achieve lead generation success. Founded in 1994, NetLine is privately held and headquartered in Los Gatos, California. Successful B2B Marketers Start with NetLine, visit www.netline.com.

As the #1 B2B Content Syndication Lead Generation Network we feel that it is important to share with you how we do business. NetLine operates following five core values: innovation, teamwork, integrity, customer satisfaction, and accountability. Our advanced technology

Our Commitment to You

and massive scale are uniquely positioned to achieve the results marketers are looking for. NetLine’s performancebased Portal and our dedicated team of experienced lead generation experts ensure that you will only pay for leads that meet your assigned campaign objectives – nothing less. expand your footprint and gain competitive market share.

Read more about our commitment to you.

NetLine Corporation | Successful B2B Marketers Start Here. www.netline.com *Data provided by the NetLine Corporation B2B Content Syndication Lead Generation Network, January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.