Zuora scales up IT to match company growth

Technology executive Paul Heard brings deep experience and expertise to lead Zuora IT to the next level

Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Zuora offers a leading monetization platform that serves more than 1,000 companies around the world. Architected specifically for recurring revenue business models, Zuora simplifies the entire subscription quote-to-revenue process.

When IT executive Paul Heard joined Zuora in 2020, he was met with the opportunity to lead an IT organization to the next level in its maturity. Zuora had grown rapidly from a small start-up to a global company, and the IT department needed to reorganize to support the expanding needs of the business. With extensive CIO experience gained across countries and industries and a history of leading enterprise-scale digital transformations, Heard was the right person for the job. “As companies grow, IT processes and technology also need to change to address the needs of the expanding organization,” explained Heard.

Actionable, step-by-step support from Info-Tech

To scale IT effectively, Heard needed to introduce new tools, processes, and automation to the department. He looked for external assistance to support the effort – research and advisory firms have been part of Heard’s toolkit for many years. He was familiar with Info-Tech Research Group and felt that their practical, down-to-earth style would be the right fit for his team at Zuora. “The Info-Tech difference is its ‘hand-holding’ approach,” said Heard, noting Info-Tech’s step-by-step methodologies, analyst guidance, and reliable partnership in driving actionable outcomes. “That’s the value of Info-Tech.”

An experienced sounding board to validate decision-making

One of the key benefits that Heard values in using an advisory firm is the external perspective and experience it brings. For that reason, Heard uses Info-Tech’s Executive Counselor membership to support his mandate at Zuora. The membership includes a dedicated advisor who has real-world experience as an IT executive and can help drive business and leadership goals. “I value being able to talk to professionals in my space who have a balanced perspective. The Info-Tech Executive Counselor provides a reliable second opinion – an experienced, seasoned CIO to bounce ideas off and give me perspective. My executive counselor has been very committed and has exceeded expectations in terms of how hard he works and his focus on understanding my organization,” said Heard.

Accelerating IT transformation with insightful tools

To further support the department’s growth, Heard and his team have used a number of other Info-Tech resources, including the ‘IT Management & Governance’ diagnostic solution to assess and benchmark the strength of core IT processes at Zuora. Heard commented, “The Info-Tech diagnostics are insightful. You get to engage your team or your internal customers as part of the improvement process. It’s not some CIO in an ivory tower making up changes. We get input about where we are, we share the results, and we develop and implement a plan to improve in the most impactful areas. It helps to build a relationship and improve the effectiveness and trust in IT.” He also noted the “plug-and-play” nature of the Info-Tech tools: “It’s a structured, out-of-the-box process. You can get it done with a lot less effort and in less time than trying to make something up by yourself.”

Heard also plans to conduct Info-Tech’s CIO Business Vision diagnostic, which measures user satisfaction with IT services to prioritize opportunities for improvement. “There are lots of areas in the IT realm, but how do we prioritize to make the most impact to the business? The CIO Business Vision survey helps us understand what is most important to the business,” he explained.

To adopt a more proactive position in their support of Zuora’s future growth, Heard and his team recently engaged in an Info-Tech Mergers & Acquisitions Guided Implementation. The advisory process will help the team drive IT value from the outset of M&A activities. Heard noted, “We’re using Info-Tech to help strengthen our post-acquisition integration practice with the goal to more quickly add value by the way we onboard companies that we purchase.”

With Info-Tech’s assistance, Zuora has been able to improve its IT organization and processes to help the company set itself up for future innovation. “We appreciate the partnership and are happy with the contributions from Info-Tech,” said Heard.