Graham Douglas, Chief Customer & Revenue Officer (CCRO) at Mimecast chats about a few SaaS sales and salestech trends that are set to dominate the marketplace in this catch-up:
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Hi Graham, tell us about your most exciting moments from your time in SaaS?
For me, the biggest moment was when I joined Oracle and it was predominantly an on-premise business and the change management involved in that transition for the Oracle base at the time was critical. Important learnings in those early years and the implications for customer departments and personas. It was never a one size fits all approach.
One thing that I often shared through observation (that still holds true today) is that SaaS democratized the buying process in favor of the customer. The customer could now vote annually or more commonly every three years. It shifted the conversation to user adoption and value. This created a better place for a trusted relationship. There is also a better coordination that comes from SaaS that compounds the benefit coming from sales, customer success, and marketing who all start to act in tandem, that delivers a more customer centric outcome.
As a revenue leader: what are the top best practices you lead with daily?
Understand the metrics daily, lead by example in tacking the needs and issues at hand, and act with urgency to an outcome.
How can modern CROs drive better sales output and marketing alignment?
Communication between Marketing and Sales is key. Trust in it being a team effort and solutions that evolve as opposed to temporary fixes that solve only for today. CROs must create a forward-looking plan that addresses opportunities by segment, geography and vertical level and consistently review them.
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Can you talk about some of the revtech and salestech you’ve often relied on to drive goals?
It’s very important that you have a clear reason for using the tech and have a strategy that everyone aligns to. Key ones that come to mind are obviously CRM and pipeline hygiene, where you add conversational intelligence and forecasting accuracy. Intent platforms are also useful and are enablement tools. The most important aspect though is usage and the quality of the data.
What are some of the biggest revenue generation myths in SaaS you’d like to bust and address today?
There are a few myths I would start with the misconception about what the CRO does. It’s more than driving a sales number. The best CROs drive integration between customer experience, product promise and usage in addition to financial outcomes.
What trends do you think will dominate the B2B SaaS Sales space in 2026 and beyond?
I have to whisper the over used AI will change everything comment here. The impact will be profound and enable better insights, and improve and accelerate GTM motion. We will have better management of the metrics/KPIs and how to adjust them in real time for performance and customer outcomes. This will become a critical upgrade to the already important role of RevOps. RevOps will be the orchestrater and glue.
What are some of the top pointers you’d leave sales and revenue teams with as we wrap up?
Solve problems, offer insight or solutions. Be open to learning no matter how experienced you are, as it will change. Serve your team and have them serve the customer. Be humble and build the best customer-centric business possible.
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Mimecast is a global cybersecurity leader redefining how organizations secure human risk. Its AI-powered, API-enabled connected human risk platform is purpose-built to protect organizations from the spectrum of cyber threats. Integrating cutting-edge technology with human-centric pathways, our platform provides enhanced visibility and strategic insight. By enabling decisive action and empowering businesses to protect their collaborative environments, our technology safeguards critical data and actively engages employees in reducing risk and enhancing productivity. More than 42,000 businesses worldwide trust Mimecast to help them keep ahead of the ever-evolving threat landscape.
Graham Douglas, is Chief Customer & Revenue Officer (CCRO)
Graham leads Mimecast’s global customer and revenue operations, bringing together customer success, sales, and go-to-market strategy to drive accelerated growth and deepen the company’s unwavering commitment to customer value. With more than 25 years of experience, Graham is a seasoned go-to-market executive known for delivering customer-centric growth and operational excellence as well as building and scaling high-performing teams across the cybersecurity and technology sectors. Douglas brings more than 25 years of experience building and scaling high-performing teams across the cybersecurity and technology sectors. Prior to Mimecast, he served in senior global leadership roles at Cloudera, Momentive AI, and Oracle, where he managed enterprise sales teams across North America and Europe during a ten-year run. His proven track record of delivering customer-centric growth and operational excellence makes him an ideal fit for Mimecast’s next phase of expansion. A Scotsman by birth, Douglas graduated from the University of Strathclyde and RMIT University. With his global perspective and extensive experience in cybersecurity and SaaS, he strengthens Mimecast’s executive team as the company continues to distinguish itself as a leader in securing human risk. Douglas resides in the U.S, just outside of Boston, MA.
