ICT business development managers increase business opportunities for the organisation and develop strategies that will enhance the smooth running of the organisation, product development and product distribution. They negotiate prices and establish contract terms.
This role involves identifying new business opportunities, forging strategic partnerships, and driving the growth of ICT products and services. ICT Business Development Managers are responsible for creating and executing strategies that align with the company’s goals and contribute to its overall success.
ICT Business Development Managers typically work in office settings and may travel frequently to meet with clients, attend industry events, and visit partners. The role requires strong communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills, as well as the ability to analyze market data and identify growth opportunities.
A bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, information technology, or a related field is often required for a role of ICT business development manager. Strong business acumen, analytical skills, and industry knowledge are essential. Previous experience in business development, sales, or the ICT sector is highly valuable. Some companies may also require certifications related to business development or specific ICT products and services.
ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:
the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.
ICT business development manager is a Skill level 4 occupation.
This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of ICT business development manager.
Innovation processes: The techniques, models, methods and strategies which contribute to the promotion of steps towards innovation.
Decision support systems: The ICT systems that can be used to support business or organisational decision making.
Business processes: Processes which an organisation applies to improve efficiency, set new objectives and reach goals in a profitable and timely manner.
Business strategy concepts: The terminology related to the design and implementation of major trends and aims which are taken by an organisation’s executives, while keeping in mind its resources, competition and environments.
Business ICT systems: The software packages, hardware devices and new technologies used in supporting business processes such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), mobile devices and network solutions.
ICT market: The processes, stakeholders and the dynamics of the chain of goods and services in the ICT market sector.
These skills are necessary for the role of ICT business development manager.
Interpret current data: Analyse data gathered from sources such as market data, scientific papers, customer requirements and questionnaires which are current and up-to-date in order to assess development and innovation in areas of expertise.
Perform business analysis: Evaluate the condition of a business on its own and in relation to the competitive business domain, performing research, placing data in context of the business’ needs and determining areas of opportunity.
Collect customer feedback on applications: Gather a response and analyse data from customers to identify requests or problems in order to improve applications and overall customer satisfaction.
Monitor technology trends: Survey and investigate recent trends and developments in technology. Observe and anticipate their evolution, according to current or future market and business conditions.
Innovate in ICT: Create and describe new original research and innovation ideas within the field of information and communication technologies, compare to the emerging technologies and trends and plan the development of new ideas.
Analyse business requirements: Study clients’ needs and expectations for a product or service in order to identify and resolve inconsistencies and possible disagreements of involved stakeholders.
Give live presentation: Deliver a speech or talk in which a new product, service, idea, or piece of work is demonstrated and explained to an audience.
Seek innovation in current practices: Search for improvements and present innovative solutions, creativity and alternative thinking to develop new technologies, methods or ideas for and answers to work-related problems.
Perform market research: Gather, assess and represent data about target market and customers in order to facilitate strategic development and feasibility studies. Identify market trends.
This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of ICT business development manager. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.
Sales argumentation: Techniques and sales methods used in order to present a product or service to customers in a persuasive manner and to meet their expectations and needs.
Business intelligence: The tools used to transform large amounts of raw data into relevant and helpful business information.
Visual presentation techniques: The visual representation and interaction techniques, such as histograms, scatter plots, surface plots, tree maps and parallel coordinate plots, that can be used to present abstract numerical and non-numerical data, in order to reinforce the human understanding of this information.
ICT capacity planning strategies: The methods, techniques and ICT tools used for planning the maximum amount of work that an organisation is capable of completing in a given period, based on the number of machines, workers and shifts and taking into account constraints such as quality problems, delays and material handling.
Crowdsourcing strategy: The high level planning for managing and optimising business processes, ideas or content by gathering contributions from a big community of people, including on-line groups.
Information extraction: The techniques and methods used for eliciting and extracting information from unstructured or semi-structured digital documents and sources.
Outsourcing strategy: The high level planning for managing and optimising external services of providers to execute business processes.
Business process modelling: The tools, methods and notations such as Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) and Business Process Execution Language (BPEL), used to describe and analyse the characteristics of a business process and model its further development.
Investment analysis: The methods and tools for analysis of an investment compared to its potential return. Identification and calculation of profitability ratio and financial indicators in relation to associated risks to guide decision on investment.
Insourcing strategy: The high level planning for managing and optimising business processes internally, usually in order to maintain control of critical aspects of work.
These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of ICT business development manager. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.
Communicate with customers: Respond to and communicate with customers in the most efficient and appropriate manner to enable them to access the desired products or services, or any other help they may require.
Use different communication channels: Make use of various types of communication channels such as verbal, handwritten, digital and telephonic communication with the purpose of constructing and sharing ideas or information.
Manage contracts: Negotiate the terms, conditions, costs and other specifications of a contract while making sure they comply with legal requirements and are legally enforceable. Oversee the execution of the contract, agree on and document any changes.
Coordinate technological activities: Give instructions to colleagues and other cooperating parties in order to reach the desired outcome of a technological project or achieve set goals within an organisation dealing with technology.
Build business relationships: Establish a positive, long-term relationship between organisations and interested third parties such as suppliers, distributors, shareholders and other stakeholders in order to inform them of the organisation and its objectives.
