bcg -当 CRM 开始自主搭建：智能代理 SaaS 时代首席信息官的角色 When Your CRM Starts Building Itself The CIOs Role in the Agentic SaaS Era

AIAGENTS

WhenYourCRMStartsBuildingItself:The

CIO'sRoleintheAgenticSaaSEra

BySakshitTeotia,RajeevSingh,MattEmara,KaranGupta,andSrikanthSrninivasan

ARTICLESEPTEMBER15,202612MINREAD

CRMdevelopmentisbecomingalotmoredemocratic,andCIOsneedtoquicklyadapttothischange.Doingsomayseemchallenging,butitrepresentsagenuineopportunity.

WithagenticAl,businessuserscanbuildandautomatemoreoftheirownworkflowsdirectlyintheCRM,withoutdeeptechnicalexpertiseorday-to-dayrelianceonIT.Everymajorenterprise

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SaaSplatformnowshipswithcapabilitiesthatputmorecontrolinthehandsofbusinessusers.Thequestioniswhentheywillstarttousethem.

CIOshaveseencitizendevelopmentbefore,fromAccessdatabasesandSharePointtolow-codeapps,andtheylearnedtolivewiththesprawl.ButAIagentschangetheequationbecausetheydon’tjustpresentinformation.Theymakedecisions,actonthem,andrunupcostswithevery

actiontheytake.

ForCRM—thesystemofrecordforthecustomerandtheengineforrevenue-criticalworkflows—therisksareparticularlyacute.Theyincludefragmentationofthecustomerrecord,ungovernedagentdecisions,vendorlock-in,andrunawaycostsasSaaSvendorsmovefromseat-basedto

consumption-basedpricing.

Already,70%oftechnologyleaderssaythattheirbusinessteamsaredeployingtechnologyfasterthanITcantrack.ThetraditionalmodelhadclearadvantagesforCIOs:

IT

hadfullvisibilityintoandcontrolofeverychange.Butitcamewitharealcost:bottleneckswerecommon,asIT’s

limitedcapacitytobuildwhatthebusinessneededconstrainedinnovation.

HereinliestheopportunityforCIOstocapturethebestofbothworldswithoutinheritingthedownside.Thegoalisanenvironmentinwhichdevelopmentmovesclosertothepeoplewhounderstandthebusinessbest,yetremainssafe,consistent,andeconomicallyviable.

SowhatshouldCIOsdo?Stopowningdeliveryontheplatformandstartowningthefoundations:thedataarchitecture,the

agentgovernancemodel

,theorchestrationlayer,andthecostmodelunderpinningthecommercialstrategy.

CIOsthatgetthisrightcanturnanoperationalshiftthatinitiallyraisesflagsintoaforce

multiplierfortheentireorganization.Theycanexpandtheirowninfluenceandimpactwhilefosteringinnovationandgrowth.

WhyCRMRaisestheStakes

ThepressuretoopenupdevelopmentwillonlyincreaseasmorebusinessusersrelyonAI

agents.Morethanhalfofsellershaveusedagents,accordingtoSalesforce’s2026StateofSales

report,andnearlynineintenexpecttodosoby2027.Amongsalesleaderswhoseorganizationsalreadyusethem,94%saythatagentsarecriticaltomeetingbusinessdemands.

Asrelianceonagentsgrows,sowilldemandformoreofthem.Withinacoupleofyears,alargeenterprisecanreasonablyexpecttoberunninghundredsofagents,andinsomecases

thousands.Fewtechnologyleadersarepreparedtomanageatthatscale.

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Wearestartingtoseehowthiswillplayout,asenterprisesdiscoverdozensofungovernedAI

agentsrunningacrosssalesandservicefunctions,makingdecisionsaboutpricing,lead

prioritization,andcustomeroutreachbeforeanyframeworkexiststotrackthem.Thegap

betweenwhatagentsaredoingandwhatITknowsaboutthemisarealityformanyorganizationstoday.

Thatgapmattersacrossthetechnologylandscape.Butnowherearethestakeshigherthanin

CRM,whichsitsattheintersectionofthreethingsthatenterprisescanleastaffordtogetwrong:

thecustomerrecord,revenue-criticalworkflows,andcustomertrust.TheCRMholdsthedata

definingwhothecustomersareandwhattheenterpriseknowsaboutthem.Itpowersprocessesfromleadmanagementandpricingtorenewalsandservice.Anditshapesinteractionsthat

customersexperiencedirectly,fromoutreachandofferstoserviceresolution.

ThismakesCRMparticularlywellsuitedtodistributedbuilding:sales,service,andmarketing

teamscancreateagentsaroundthecustomerprocessestheyknowbest.Butitalsoraisesthestakeswhenthingsgowrong.WhenanagentmisfiresonCRM,theimpactcanhitdata,revenue,andcustomertrustatthesametime,oftenbeforeITevenknowsthattheagentexists.

Inpractice,theriskstendtosurfaceinfourways:

Thecustomerrecordfragments.Whenteamsbuildagentsindependently,theymaycreatedifferentviewsofthecustomer.Salesmaydefinean“activecustomer”oneway;service,

another.Overtime,thosedifferencescanunderminethesharedcustomerrecordthatCRMissupposedtoprovide.Theeffectsrippleintobilling,forecasting,analytics,andcompliance,asdifferentpartsofthebusinessbeginoperatingfromdifferentversionsofthetruth.

Agentsmakerevenuedecisionswithoutadequatecontrols.Agentscanprioritizeleads,

recommenddiscounts,andgenerateoffers.Theycanmakedecisionsthatoncerequired

humanjudgment,andtheycanexecutethematmachinespeed.Withoutclearlimitsonwhatagentscandecideanddoautonomously,abaddecisioncanquicklybecomeabaddecisionatscale.Arenewalagentthatappliesanunapproveddiscount,forexample,couldaffect

hundredsofaccountsbeforeanyonespotsthepattern.

Vendorlock-ingetsdeeper.AsteamsbuildmoreagentswithinaSaaSplatform,moreoftheenterprise’sworkflowscanbecometiedtothatvendor’stechnology.Overtime,itbecomesharderandmoreexpensivetoswitchproviders,oreventorouteworktoadifferentAImodeloragentplatform.Theriskisnotjusttechnicallock-in.Asthecostofswitchingrises,the

enterprise’snegotiatingleveragefalls,too.

Consumptioncostsrunaway.AgenticSaaSisshiftingtheeconomicsofsoftwarefrom

predictableseat-basedlicensestowardmodelsthatchargeforusage,actions,oroutcomes.MostmajorSaaSvendorshavealreadylayeredanAIconsumptionmeterontopofexistingseatpricing(whilealsobundlingAIcapabilitiesintonewSKUsthatcarryastep-upat

renewal).Thismakescostshardertoforecast:everynewagentorworkflowcangenerate

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incrementalexpenseasitruns.Asinglehigh-volumeagent,runningautomatedoutreachorresolvingcustomercases,canincurcostsatapacethatbearslittleresemblancetothe

headcount-basedbudgetingmodelsthatCIOshavehistoricallyused.Multiplythatdifferenceacrossteamsbuildingindependently,andconsumptioncanclimbquickly,withoutthe

visibilityornaturalbudgetceilingsthataretypicaloftraditionallicenses.Theresultcanbeaveryunwelcomesurprisewhenthebillarrives.

ForCIOs,thechallengenowistomakedistributedbuildingbothsafeandscalable.

OwntheFoundations,NottheDelivery

Theanswerisnottoreclaimthebuilderrole.IfCIOsattempttocentralizeagentdevelopment,businessteamswilleitherfindthemselveswaitingindevelopmentqueuesagainorfigureout

waysaroundtheprescribedprocess.NorshouldCIOsletfunctionsbuildbutthenstipulatethatITmustapproveeveryagentonebyone.Thatapproachtradesadevelopmentbottleneckforagovernancebottleneck.

Thestakesarebecomingclear.Manyagenticprogramsarebeingabandonedbeforetheyreach

production,andinmanycasesforthesamereasons:costsoutrunthebusinesscase,teamslackabaselinetocomparevalueagainst,andITtacksriskcontrolsontotheexistingsysteminsteadofbuildingthemintothedesign.Thesearemanagementfailures,notmodelfailures.Avoiding

themmeansbalancingcontrolwithvelocitytomakethesafepaththefastestpath.Donewell,

distributedbuildingcandramaticallyexpandtheenterprise’scapacitytoinnovatebecauseeveryuserbecomesapotentialbuilder.

Businessfunctionsshouldowntheusecasestheypursue,theagentstheybuild,andthe

outcomestheyproduce.TheCIO’sjobistocreateanenvironmentthatletsusersmovequicklywhileensuringenterprise-wideconsistencyandgovernance.ThisrequiresCIOstoownfour

foundations:thedataarchitecture,theagentgovernancemodel,anenterprise-controlledorchestrationlayer,andthecostmodelunderpinningthecommercialstrategy.

DataArchitecture:GiveEveryAgenttheSameTruth

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TheCIOneedstoownasingle,governeddataarchitecturethateveryagentuses,regardlessofwhichfunctionbuilttheagent.ForCRM,theresultswillbeonecustomeridentity,common

definitionsforkeybusinessconcepts,andaconsistentviewofeachcustomer’sengagements.Salesandservicemaybuildverydifferentagents,butthoseagentsshouldagreeonwhothe

customerisandwhatactionstheagentcanperform.

Thismeansmakingcustomerdataagent-readyratherthanreport-ready.Report-readydata

answers“Whathappened?”Agent-readydatamustanswer“WhatamIallowedtodo,andfor

whom,rightnow?”TheCIOshouldownthatcommoncontextandtherulesgoverninghowagentsaccessandupdateit,ratherthanallowingeachfunctiontocreateitsownforitsagents.In

addition,allfunctionsshouldautomateloggingofagentinteractionswiththecustomerrecord,sotheycantraceandauditdecisionsandchangesafterward.

Asimpletest:Couldtwofunctionsindependentlybuildanagentandgetthesameansweraboutthesamecustomer?Ifnot,thefoundationisnotready.

AgentGovernanceModel:MakeAgentsEarnTheirAutonomy

Traditionalaccesscontrolsanswerafamiliarquestion:“Whatisthisuserallowedtoseeanddo?”

Agentgovernanceaddsanother:“Howmuchcanthisagentdoonitsown?”

Autonomyshouldbeearnedingraduated,revocablesteps.Anagentmightbeginby

recommendinganactionforahumantoapprove,thenprogresstotakingcertainactions

independently,andeventuallyoperateautonomouslywithinaclearlydescribedscope.TheCIOshoulddefinethisprogressionacrossfunctions,includingtheboundariesandtheevidence

necessarytomovefromoneleveltothenext.Inaddition,everyagentshouldhaveanamedhumanownerwhoisaccountableforit.Ifanagent’sperformancedeterioratesoriftheagentbreachesitsboundaries,theorganizationshouldreduceitsautonomyaccordingly.

Agentsrequiregovernanceandoversightthroughouttheirlifecycle,notjustatlaunch.Everyagentshouldberegistered,monitored,reviewedasitchanges,andretiredwhenitnolongerdeliverssufficientvalue.Audittrails,decisionlogs,costandperformancetracking,alertsforunexpectedbehavior,andatestedkillswitchshouldbestandardpartsofthemodel.

Asimpletest:Foreveryagentrunningacrosstheorganization,isitclearwhoownsit,whatitisauthorizedtodo,whatithasactuallydone,andhowtostopitwithinminutes?

Enterprise-ControlledOrchestration

Layer:PreservetheFreedomtoChoose

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Asagentsproliferate,enterpriseswillrarelyrelyonasingleprovider.Asaresult,agentsbuilt

acrossSaaSplatformsandelsewherewillneedtoworktogetheronprocessesthatspanmultiplesystems.

Theorchestrationlayerservesasastrategiccontrolpointthatdetermineswhichagentor

platformhandlesataskandhowworkmovesbetweenagentsorplatforms.TheCIOshould

decidewhethertheCRMvendorwillcontrolthislayerorsimplyparticipateinit,ratherthan

lettingtheansweremergebydefault.Ineithercase,theenterpriseshouldretaincontrolofthepoliciesgoverninghowagentsoperateacrossplatforms.

Thegoalistopreservechoice.Theenterpriseshouldbeabletorouteworktothemodel,agent,orproviderthatbestsuitsthetask,anditshouldbeinapositiontochangethatchoiceas

technology,performance,oreconomicsevolve.Thatflexibilitypreservescommercialleverage,too:theeasieritistomoveworkelsewhere,thelesstheenterprisemustdependonanysinglevendor.

Asimpletest:IftheCRMproviderchangeditspricingmodeltomorrow,howmuchoftheagentestatecouldmovetoanalternativeplatformwithinsixmonths?

CostModel:MaketheEconomicsVisible

CIOsshouldtaketheleadindefiningthecostmodelforagenticsoftware:howagentcostsare

measured,howtheyconnecttobusinessoutcomes,andhowthoseeconomicschangeasusage

grows.AsSaaSpricingshiftstowardconsumption,costvisibilitybecomesincreasinglyimportant.Alistedcostperseattellsyoulittlewhenagentactivitydrivesthebill.Moreusefulmeasurestiecoststoindividualbusinessresults,suchasaresolvedcaseoraqualifiedlead.

Thefunctionthatbuildsanagentshouldbeaccountableforwhatitcostsandforthevalueitdelivers.Chargingconsumptionbacktothefunctionbringsthataccountabilityhome.TheCIOshouldprovideaclearviewoftherelevanteconomicsbytrackingagentcosts,forecastinghowtheyarelikelytogrow,andmeasuringcostperbusinessoutcome.

ThesameinformationwillstrengthentheCIO’shandwithvendors.Ratherthannegotiating

primarilyoverseatsanddiscounts,CIOscanchallengepricingbasedontheeconomicsoftheoutcomesthatthetechnologydelivers.

CIOsshouldzeroinonthefineprint.Doesthecontractmakeclearwhatgeneratesacharge?Doesitkeepratespredictableasconsumptionchanges?Doesitpreservetheorganization’sabilitytomoveworkloadselsewhereiftheeconomicsnolongermakesense?

Asimpletest:IsitpossibletotelltheCFOtodaywhateachAIagentcostsperbusinessoutcome?IftheCIOcanidentifythespendingbutnotwhatitdelivered,theeconomicsarenotyetmanaged.

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WheretoStart

CIOsdonotneedtoperfectallfourfoundationsbeforetheystart.Instead,theycanbeginwithafewhigh-valueusecases,identifywhichfoundationsthecasesexposeasweakest,andaddressthosegapsfirst.Thentheycanfurtherstrengthenthefoundationsasadoptiongrows.

Inpractice,thatmeansthreemoves.

Inventorywhatexists.Mostenterpriseshavemoreagentsrunningthantheyareawareof.

InventorywhathasbeenbuiltontheCRMstack,functionbyfunction,andgiveeveryagentanidentityandanamedowner.CIOscannotgovernwhattheycannotsee.

Prioritizewheretheconsequencesaregreatest.ChoosethetwoorthreeCRMworkflowswhereabadagentdecisionwouldhavethegreatestimpact,andapplyallfourfoundationsthere.Adjustthefoundationsasneeded,thenextendthemacrossotherworkflows