If you missed Apttus Accelerate this year, or just need a recap, here are the crucial conversations that emerged during this year’s event and what they mean for the future of business in the cloud. 

Disruption Is Not Just for B2C 

The B2B world is entering into a new era of disruption. Andy Hoar, principal analyst at Forrester, presented research indicating that the B2B world is following in the footsteps of groundbreaking B2C brands like Amazon. 

The ease and convenience of online shopping has been the catalyst. The majority of people report researching business purchases online, and more than half of them say that making a purchase is more convenient without a salesperson. Due to Millennial shoppers and online apps, expectations of the buying and customer service processes are that it’s fast, easy, and available at the push of a button. Now, B2B companies are following suit, which means companies must adapt to this new demand for a seamless experience or go extinct.

Apttus Makes a Smart Move with Intelligent Cloud 

Apttus seemed to be well-prepared for this disruption as they announced the release of their latest cloud, Intelligent Cloud. This new tech uses prescriptive analytics to provide suggestions and quotes throughout the selling process. Intelligent Cloud can suggest the best time to open a new opportunity, which products to sell, and which discounts to offer based on data collected from previous transactions. 

Because it “thinks” with the data from previous transactions, Intelligent Cloud highlights the power of correct, clean data to help salespeople sell smarter and faster. Designed with the employee experience in mind, it also helps employees understand the reasons why it’s suggesting certain actions, instead of just having them go through the motions, which makes for a better salesperson and customer experience.

The Work Is Worth It 

From huge health and medical businesses, to smaller hardware and manufacturing companies, there were a lot of customer stories told about adopting Quote-to-Cash. Regardless of size or business model, each customer admitted that adoption was a lot of work, but worthwhile — the changes they saw in how their salespeople were able to sell more quickly, more accurately, and from any device boosted positive feedback from customers, clients, and the employees themselves.

The underlying theme is in order to see continued success, companies must be willing to embrace change while investing in their foundation — their employees and the experiences they create for their customers. Technology is making exciting steps in enabling this, but at its core, good business is still all about empowering good relationships.

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