The education services function, in most software companies, is treated as a cost center. The mindset is about allocating budgets, controlling spend, and minimizing the resources allocated to training customers, and the main metric of success is adherence to the budget. Each year, during the planning process, there is a risk that some budgets (maybe yours) get cut. Inevitably, the CFO will look at the education services line item and ask, “Do we really need to spend $420K training customers? Can we deliver the same training for $280K so we can free up some budget for customer success or product?”
You may have created a solid business case. The CFO may even have seen your case. But the risk remains that the CFO does not make the connection between your budget request and the benefits you promise to deliver.
Tags: Education Services • Revenue Growth