At Salesforce, we’ve redefined what it means to be a trailblazer: it’s people and companies who leverage our platform to drive innovation, solve problems, transform their own company, and grow their career. We like to call them our Customer Trailblazers. We’re always thrilled to hear about how customers are innovating, disrupting markets, and paving the way towards new business models. And some of the most exciting transformations are happening in the IT department every day.

In today’s rapidly growing digital world, new technology has pushed IT departments from behind the scenes, to centerstage. The spotlight is on IT to use technology to drive better experiences for both customers and employees of a company by continually finding ways to innovate. That’s a big job for any IT team, and there are plenty of leaders who are rising to the challenge.

Check out these leaders and how they’re guiding their organizations towards success.

How are these IT Trailblazers managing it? Here’s what they’re focused on:

1. Empowering the business as much as possible

Traditionally, IT hasn’t played a large role when it comes to the business side of an organization. Now IT leaders are leveraging their new roles to serve as advisors to the business to align more closely with business goals. IT Trailblazers are constantly seeking out ways to empower every part of the business, from improving sales efficiency, to helping customer service access information, and building new apps for business needs.

2. Finding new ways to foster innovation

IT Trailblazers are excited to lead and innovate through technology. Whether it’s focusing on solving business challenges or creating competitive advantages, these leaders are always looking at what benefits they can get from tapping emerging tech. For instance, by using cloud technology, which is naturally adaptive, flexible, and less expensive than hardware, IT can focus on innovation instead of system maintenance. Building on a cloud platform makes it easier for businesses to scale, integrate tools, and connect data easily, providing the company with future-ready options.

3. Focusing on building better customer experiences

In the past, IT didn’t often interface with customers — that was supposed to be sales and service’s job. But now that technology is connecting every part of the business, it’s allowing IT leaders to interact with customers more. For instance, IT Trailblazers partner with marketing to create more personalized customer journeys for prospects. And then IT can empower all lines of business to deliver consistent, seamless experiences to earn customer satisfaction and loyalty by connecting all of the customer and business data. IT Trailblazers are also building useful and valuable customer-facing mobile apps and communities that make it easy for customers to stay connected from anywhere at anytime.

4. Improving the employee experience for everyone

Just like your customers, employees are also looking for seamless experiences. They want the freedom to respond and work remotely from their devices. They want easy access to information so they can make better business decisions every day. IT Trailblazers are in a position to help increase worker productivity, boost collaboration, increase talent acquisition and retention, and grow revenue. That’s a huge win for any business.

Read about how IT Trailblazers are shaking up their businesses and industries. Download our free e-book to learn more.