It’s a painful time to be a RevOps leader, caught between the limitations of clunky, outdated tech and the transformative promise of AI and data. How do you build for the future when you’re stuck managing the past?
Enter Andy Mowat, Founder at Whispered and a seasoned GTM executive who knows this playbook well. Having scaled RevOps and Demand Gen at four unicorns including Upwork, Box, CultureAmp, and Carta, he brings a hard-won perspective on what’s next.
Mowat’s forward-lookingย revenue operations strategyย argues that the future of all GTM motions will be built not on the traditional CRM, but on a flexible, powerful data foundation. His core prediction is that your data warehouse, not Salesforce, will become your true system of record.
Mowat shared these insights during a recent conversation onย The Go-to-Market Podcastย with host Amy Cook, Co-Founder & Chief Marketing Officer at Fullcast.
The Great Rewiring: Why Data, Not Salesforce, Will Define Your Next GTM Strategy
The future of GTM is built on the data warehouse, not the CRM.ย The current go-to-market tech stack is fundamentally broken, and a new, data-centric model is rapidly emerging to replace it. The core thesis is simple: data, not the CRM, will be the engine of your next GTM strategy.
The Limits of Today’s Clunky GTM Tech Stack
Andy Mowat is direct when describing the current state of GTM technology. “I remember sitting with a person at a $300 million company and they showed me their GTM setup and I was like, oh, this is terrible,” he recalls. He points to a familiar set of problems that plague even the most sophisticated RevOps teams: clunky objects, a mediocre user experience, and the inherent inflexibility of legacy systems like Salesforce.
This rigidity creates constant operational friction. A simple request, like adding a field from a different object for a sales rep, can become a complex project. Worse, these systems fail at critical strategic functions. “Salesforce is just terrible at snapshotting data and then looking back at it and looking at pipeline coverage,” Mowat explains. This inability to easily analyze historical data leaves leaders making decisions without clear data when they need it most.
Your Data Warehouse as the Single Source of Truth
The solution, according to Mowat, flips the traditional model on its head. “Your next CRM is your data warehouse,” he predicts. “I deeply believe that data will rewire the technology stack.” He’s not alone; among his peers leading RevOps at top tech companies, the shift is already underway.
The data warehouse is increasingly becoming the true system of record. The CRM is just one of many applications that reads from and writes to it. This new architecture leverages theย modern data stack, including tools for pulling data from various sources (like Fivetran), modeling it (like dbt), and pushing it back out to GTM systems (like Census or Hightouch). This model provides the flexibility that modern RevOps teams desperately need to unify product data, sales data, and marketing data into a single, coherent view of the customer.
Preparing for a Post-CRM World
This architectural shift is already having a tangible impact on GTM functions. In marketing automation, for instance, a new generation of tools is bypassing the CRM entirely. Mowat points to Klaviyo, which famously shut down its Salesforce integration, and innovative platforms like Inflection.io that operate directly on a company’s data warehouse.
This data-first approach solves problems that have long plagued GTM teams. “Marketo is terrible about product-triggered email,” Mowat notes, explaining that product usage data presents a challenge “a hundred times the size of go-to-market data.”
A data warehouse can seamlessly combine product-triggered events with GTM-triggered campaigns for a truly unified customer journey. As you rethink your GTM motions, it’s critical to break down silos between marketing, sales, and product. This new data-centric model is the key to creating a trulyย collaborative customer-centric model.
An Action Plan for Your Revenue Operations Strategy
RevOps leaders must invest in data skills and infrastructure now to prepare for this shift.ย For RevOps leaders looking to prepare their GTM engine for the future, the work begins with a foundational investment in data.
Your First Move: Invest in Data Fluency Across the RevOps Team
Mowat’s number one recommendation is to achieve “data fluency.” This isn’t an easy fix; it’s a strategic, year-long investment in building a solid data layer that unites all your systems. For aย RevOps leader, this means getting comfortable with new terminology. If terms like ETL, reverse ETL, and data modeling are foreign, it’s time to learn them.
Crucially, this journey requires collaboration. “Generally you’re gonna find the data fluency in an org is gonna be more with the product team,” Mowat advises.
Partnering with product and engineering is essential to build the necessary infrastructure. Adopting this data-first mindset is not just a technical project; it’s a cultural shift that requires treatingย RevOps as a philosophyย that guides the entire organization.
Bridge the Gap: Connect Your Product Data to Your GTM Systems
At nearly every company he joins, Mowat finds the same critical failure point: the product and the CRM don’t talk to each other. He poses a simple diagnostic question: “When we add a new customer and when people change their admins, do those automatically sync for the CS team?” The answer is almost always no.
This disconnect creates downstream chaos and missed opportunities. Solving complex mapping issues, such as linking five different product instances to a single Salesforce account, is a foundational step. Integrating product usage data with your GTM systems is no longer a nice-to-have; it’s a prerequisite for building a modern revenue engine.
Consolidate and Conquer: Untangle Your Comms and System Architecture
System sprawl is another common symptom of a broken GTM architecture. Mowat recalls working with one company that had nine different systems sending emails. This creates a fragmented customer experience while making data governance impossible. A key part of a modernย revenue operations strategyย is rationalizing the tech stack to ensure data flows cleanly and processes are streamlined.
By centralizing GTM planning and execution, you can eliminate the chaos of disconnected systems. For example, leading RevOps teams at companies likeย Collibraย have slashed planning time by using a unified platform.
Similarly, consolidating GTM operations into a single source of truth can dramatically accelerate planning cycles, just look at howย Udemyย reduced its annual planning time by 80%. This consolidation isn’t just about efficiency; it’s about creating the clean, reliable data foundation required to leverage AI effectively.
From System Admin to Strategic Force
The modern RevOps leader is a strategic business partner, not just a system administrator.ย As the GTM stack evolves, so does the role of the RevOps leader.
They are a central driver of business growth who must be comfortable with ambiguity, strategic risk, and executive-level communication.
Why Taking on New Challenges Is Non-Negotiable
A key trait of successful leaders is the willingness to take on unfamiliar challenges. Mowat’s own career is a testament to this. At Box, he was running post-sale operations when the COO called and asked, “I hear you’re good. Can you also take over mops?” He accepted the challenge, knowing it would stretch him.
“It’ll go from, ah, I’m doing really well in my current role to like, I’m way outta my comfort zone,” he admits. But this willingness to take on new, cross-functional responsibilities is essential for growth. In today’s tough economy, taking on more and proving your value is critical. This approach is central toย becoming a wartime RevOps leaderย who can drive efficiency and demonstrate clear ROI.
Push the Envelope (Ethically) on Data and Privacy
Navigating complex privacy laws like GDPR requires a nuanced approach. Mowat argues that a leader’s job is to test the limits while remaining steadfastly ethical. “You can’t outbound prospect if you read GDPR fully,” he states. “And your competitors are gonna do it.”
Paralysis by compliance is not an option. The key is to operate in good faith, respect opt-outs, and avoid predatory tactics. It’s about finding the balance between what is legally gray and what is good for the business and the customer. As Mowat puts it, “You have to be ethical. You have to do right.”
Focus on Business Impact, Not Just Tech
Ultimately, the best RevOps leaders are strategic partners to the CRO and CEO, not just technical experts. The shift to a data-warehouse-centric model is the perfect example. It’s not just a technical project; it’s a strategic move that enables better decision-making, a superior rep experience, and more predictable revenue. Your success depends on your ability to show the C-suite how a better data stack leads to more predictable revenue.ย Mastering RevOps executive partnershipsย is the key to securing buy-in for these long-term strategic investments.
Charting the Course for a Data-First Future
The era of the CRM as the primary GTM system is officially ending. As 4x unicorn veteran Andy Mowat makes clear, the future belongs to companies that build theirย revenue operations strategyย on a flexible, unified data foundation powered by the modern data stack. This is a fundamental rewiring of the revenue engine that delivers the speed and intelligence today’s market demands.
The directive for every ambitiousย RevOps leaderย is clear: become data-fluent, forge unbreakable partnerships with product and engineering, and never stop learning. This transition from system administrator to strategic force won’t happen overnight. However, the companies that start making this investment today are the ones that will thrive in a data-driven market.
In a market where a strategic, data-driven GTM plan is more critical than ever, our latest research shows 76% of sellers are missing quota. For more insights on current market performance, download theย 2025 GTM Benchmarks Report.
