A new report from Salesforce sheds further light on the shifting sands of IT; eight out of 10 UK tech leaders say IT is now the primary enabler of customer experience, while three quarters admit IT is currently undergoing the biggest historical shift of its role.

“IT stands at a crossroads of change,” a post from Devon McGinnis, editorial manager of marketing research at Salesforce explains. “Companies are increasingly adopting customer-centric models. Business units like sales, customer service, and marketing – tasked with creating new experiences that meet elevated customer expectations – are changing their views to see IT as a strategic partner.

“IT now has the opportunity to not only improve customer-facing tech, but to transform it,” McGinnis adds.

It’s worth noting here that IT teams generally have modest expectations around their abilities. 61% of the more than 2,200 global respondents said they are moderate performers, compared with 24% who thought they were lower than average and 15% who rated themselves as high performers.

Salesforce argues that with the shifting position of IT the department has turned from a cost centre to a ‘value-based service brokerage’. “The old model of IT as a maintainer of the status quo infrastructure is giving way to a new mindset, in which IT adds innovative capabilities that bring a competitive edge to the business,” the report notes.

This is something which has been covered by this publication for some time – as well as Salesforce adding that the role of CIO is ‘fundamentally changing’ to the role of business leader. More than two thirds (67%) of IT teams polled said improving their collaboration with other lines of business was a high priority, while the 15% of teams who were higher performers were significantly more likely to rate the strength of their partnerships with service, marketing and sales as ‘excellent’.

Cloud computing was assessed by respondents as the most likely technology to ‘reinvent business’ by 2020, with artificial intelligence (AI) and mobile technologies for customers winning the silver and bronze medals respectively. More than four in five (83%) IT leaders polled said they felt more comfortable with their knowledge of cloud security than they did five years ago.

Discussing the UK findings in particular, Adam Spearing, Salesforce area vice president EMEA, noted with interest the position of AI. “The rise of artificial intelligence will also help IT teams to automate more mundane, time consuming tasks and free up time for team members to focus on innovation,” he said.

“While much of IT’s work happens behind the scenes, its efforts are at the forefront of customer interactions. Without IT as the company’s backbone, UK businesses will fall flat on powering crucial customer experience initiatives,” added Spearing.

You can download the full report here (registration required).