What is an ABM Center of Excellence in 2026

Most ABM programs don't fail because of poor strategy. They fail because of fragmentation. As Account-based Marketing spreads across regions, business units, and teams, it loses the consistency, rigour, and shared philosophy that made it work in the first place. This hidden operational risk is what an ABM Center of Excellence (ABM CoE) is designed to solve - and it explains why the world's most mature ABM programs, from IBM to Kyndryl, have built one. Here at strategicabm, we've been helping our clients to build, scale, and operationalize their ABM programs  and an ABM Center of Excellence (ABM CoE) is often the turning point between ABM as an experiment and ABM as a capability.

In practice, this means:

• ABM programs that start working in one region quickly fragment when scaled without shared methodology, tools, or KPIs
• An ABM Center of Excellence (ABM CoE) acts as the central hub that sets standards, enables learning, and ensures consistency - while giving in-market teams the freedom to execute locally
• Without an ABM Center of Excellence, ABMers spend time on operational overheads instead of account strategy
• ABM matures from a campaign into an organizational capability only when the infrastructure exists to support it at scale

ABM success can be the beginning of ABM failure

The moment it starts working...it starts fragmenting.

Post pilot, post year one... even post year two... it works.

One region builds momentum. Another launches a pilot. A third copies the playbook. Suddenly, you don't have "an ABM program." You have five different versions of ABM.

• Different tools

• Different metrics

• Different playbooks

• Different definitions of success

That's the moment maturity shows up. And it's why an ABM Center of Excellence (ABM CoE) becomes the logical next step.

Not bureaucracy. Infrastructure.

Here at strategicabm, we've helped clients build and scale their ABM programs - and we've seen firsthand how a CoE transforms ABM from a campaign into a capability.

In practice, a well-built ABM Center of Excellence:

• Scales ABM without losing control
• Reduces operational drag for ABMers
• Keeps the focus on accounts - not products
• Aligns the business to value - not just pipeline
• Aligns global standards with regional execution
• Creates consistency without killing local flexibility
• Evolves tools and reporting based on real practitioner needs

Most importantly... it turns ABM from a campaign into a capability.

If your ABM is still experimental - an ABM Center of Excellence is premature. If ABM is working and spreading - an ABM CoE is a must. The question isn't whether you need one. It's whether you're "ABM mature" enough to need it.

The ABM fragmentation problem

Think of ABM like a franchise model.

The moment the first location succeeds, others want to replicate it. But without a shared playbook, brand standards, and operating model, each franchise slowly drifts. Some thrive. Most fragment. A few quietly undermine the brand they were meant to represent.

This is what happens to ABM programs at scale - without an ABM Center of Excellence to hold things together.

The irony is that this fragmentation is almost always caused by success. ABM starts getting results in one market or business unit. Others hear about it. Leadership demands it be rolled out. Teams improvise. The program spreads faster than the methodology.

And before long, the thing that was working...isn't anymore.

An ABM CoE is the antidote to ABM entropy.

It's what keeps the philosophy intact as the program grows. It's what allows sixty ABMers, spread across the globe, to operate from the same foundation while still meeting clients where they are.

What is an ABM Center of Excellence?

An ABM Center of Excellence (CoE) is a centralized, strategic function that defines the tools, standards, best practices, and methodologies for Account-based Marketing across an organization.

It supports local and regional teams by accelerating learning, enabling consistency, and fostering collaboration — ensuring ABM is scalable, measurable, and aligned to business objectives.

But it's more than a governance body. The CoE empowers in-market teams to deliver impactful, localized ABM while ensuring everything 'scrolls up' to a unified, enterprise-wide strategy.

Avishek Chakrobarty, Head of Global ABM Centre of Excellence at Kyndryl, defines it this way:

"A CoE acts as the glue between the different functions, both within and outside Marketing, when it comes to interacting and working with customers… it's a high-level consulting entity inside the larger organization, to deploy the philosophy of working together, aligning together, to achieve business outcomes." Avishek Chakrobarty, Head Global ABM Centre of Excellence at Kyndryl

Cheryl Caudill, Global ABM and Demand Marketing Leader at IBM, frames it in operational terms:

"We decided early on that in order to have a program with practitioners sitting in markets all over the world, we really needed to have a Center of Excellence - somewhere we can set standards and make sure there's consistency across the program."  Cheryl Caudill, Global ABM and Demand Marketing Leader at IBM

In short: an ABM Center of Excellence (ABM CoE) is the difference between ABM as a series of local experiments and ABM as a scalable organizational capability.

When is the right time to build an ABM Center of Excellence?

This is perhaps the most important question of all - and getting the timing wrong in either direction is costly.

Build an ABM CoE too early, and you're creating infrastructure for a program that isn't ready for it. You'll over-engineer something that needs to stay nimble. You'll spend energy on governance when you should still be learning what works.

Build a CoE too late, and you're playing catch-up. The fragmentation has already set in. Multiple teams are running different versions of ABM, using different tools, reporting against different KPIs. Bringing them together becomes a political challenge as much as an operational one.

So what's the right signal?

Avishek at Kyndryl is clear:

"It's not something you can do at any point of time. The moment is right when you reach a certain level of ABM maturity."

 

At Kyndryl, that maturity signal was a significant portion of their customer base becoming Fortune 500 accounts - enterprise relationships that have the headroom and complexity that ABM is built for. Secondly, it came when leadership expressed genuine belief in ABM: a readiness to invest time, money, and effort, and a preparedness to align teams behind it.

Cheryl at IBM echoes this. Their current ABM program - built around a CoE model - has been running for roughly four or five years. But the trigger was a deliberate leadership decision to stop treating ABM as a business-unit-level function and instead make it cross-IBM, client-centric, and funded separately from any single product line.

The common thread? Leadership conviction + ABM maturity = CoE readiness.

If you're still running a pilot, focus on proving the model. If ABM is working, spreading, and starting to fragment - it's time.

"I think it comes from leadership. Without buy-in and belief, and vision of ABM from the leadership, it's very difficult to just set up a Center of Excellence and make yourself popular across the board." — Avishek Chakrobarty, Head – Global ABM Centre of Excellence at Kyndryl

What does an ABM Center of Excellence actually do?

The best way to understand an ABM Center of Excellence is through the hub-and-spokes model.

The CoE sits at the center, with in-market ABMers and regional teams radiating outward. Critically, communication flows in both directions.

The ABM CoE pushes out: methodology, playbooks, tools, templates, KPIs, training, and best practices.

But the CoE also pulls in: feedback from field teams, account insights, what's working locally, emerging tools spotted by practitioners on the ground.

This bidirectionality is what makes a CoE a living function — rather than a top-down directive machine.

As Avishek puts it:

"It's not just that the Center of Excellence will sit and give directives, like 'Do it this way!' What we do at Kyndryl is bidirectional communication."

At IBM, this manifests as a genuine community. Monthly calls. A dedicated internal website. A culture where - as Cheryl puts it "There are no dumb questions - it's just 'let's figure this out together.'"

The CoE in practice does several things simultaneously:

• Sets the foundation. Shared methodology, consistent education, standardized tools and KPIs. Every ABMer - regardless of geography - works from the same playbook, even if the execution differs market by market.

• Reduces operational drag. One of the biggest hidden costs in scaling ABM is the operational overhead borne by individual ABMers - sourcing tools, building templates, navigating internal processes. The CoE centralizes this, freeing ABMers to spend more time with account teams and less time reinventing the wheel

• Builds Sales alignment. This is where CoEs earn their keep. Getting Sales to believe in ABM is not a one-time conversation - it's a sustained, deal-by-deal demonstration of value. The CoE provides the air cover: explaining what ABM is to sellers, sharing wins, showing how the program creates relationships that Sales couldn't create alone.

• Scales learning. When an ABMer in the UK runs a campaign that moves a stalled deal forward, that insight should reach Japan within weeks - not years. The CoE is the mechanism for that transfer.

• Evolves reporting. IBM began with a simple A/B test: did ABM-covered accounts outperform uncovered accounts? Over time, that evolved into nuanced metrics covering share of voice, new stakeholder engagement, and account penetration. The CoE drove that evolution.

7 things a strong ABM Center of Excellence delivers

Drawing on conversations with ABM leaders at IBM and Kyndryl - and our own experience building ABM programs - here's what a well-run ABM Center of Excellence should deliver for your business.

1. Drives consistency across global teams

ABM is only as strong as its methodology. Without a shared foundation, different teams make different decisions about what ABM means, which accounts qualify, how success is measured, and what 'good' looks like.

The CoE standardizes this - not to kill local creativity, but to give every ABMer the same starting point. Shared methodology, shared tools, shared KPIs. What you do with them in market is up to you.

At IBM, this is central to how Cheryl's team operates:

"We really wanted to ensure that all of the ABM practitioners had the same methodology. Yes, they can localize it - but their education and tools are consistent."

2. Scales ABM without losing control

Scaling ABM is easy. Scaling good ABM is hard.

A CoE provides the structure, resources, and governance to grow the program without fragmenting it. It means the twentieth ABMer you hire is operating from the same playbook as the first - while still having the autonomy to do what the market demands.

3. Enables regional flexibility with global standards

This is perhaps the CoE's most underappreciated function. It's not about imposing uniformity. It's about creating a framework that allows local teams to customize intelligently - rather than arbitrarily.

At IBM, ABMers sit in-market, embedded within account teams. They have the freedom and budget to do what their market requires. But they operate within a shared methodology, which means best practices travel across geographies.

"If something worked in the UK, how can I apply that in Japan? It might need to be with a local partner or less focused on social but we do a lot of sharing, so teams can ask: 'Who did you work with? What would be something similar in my market?'"  Cheryl Caudill, IBM

4. Builds a collaborative culture of ABM

Culture is what makes ABM stick - or fail - at scale.

A CoE builds this culture deliberately. It creates community. It makes learning visible. It ensures that insights from one corner of the business can reach every other corner.

IBM's ABM community is a real thing: open, bidirectional, built around the idea that there are no dumb questions. This culture is part of why their program has scaled to 60 ABMers across global markets.

5. Reduces operational overhead for ABMers

The hidden cost of scaling ABM without a CoE is the time ABMers spend on non-ABM activities: finding tools, building templates, navigating internal approvals, onboarding to new platforms.

The CoE absorbs this overhead centrally - so ABMers can spend their time where it matters: with account teams, understanding customer challenges, and planning campaigns that move the needle.

6. Provides air cover and advocacy

ABM is often a foreign concept to Sales teams - especially early on. They don't understand what it is, what ABMers do, or why Marketing is suddenly embedded in their account plans.

The CoE provides the internal advocacy to change this. It educates sellers. It celebrates wins in language Sales understands. It makes the intangible tangible - showing, deal by deal, how ABM creates relationships and opens doors that Sales couldn't open alone.

"You have to earn your seat at the table with Sales - and build belief in ABM deal by deal." Cheryl Caudill, IBM

7. Aligns the business to metrics that matter

ABM is about more than pipeline. Reputation, relationships, and revenue - the Three Rs - all require measurement. But most organizations only have infrastructure to measure the third.

An ABM Center of Excellence builds the measurement capability to track all three. At Kyndryl, this means a customer relationship score that translates complex cross-functional data into something everyone can understand and act on. At IBM, it means tracking share of voice, new stakeholder engagement, and account penetration - not just revenue.

"We have about 80% solved the metrics, and we are kind of running with it. I am sleeping better! But there are times when I would wake up thinking: 'Okay, maybe THIS number would've helped!'"  Avishek Chakrobarty, Head – Global ABM Centre of Excellence at Kyndryl

Data is the core of an ABM Center of Excellence

Every function of a CoE depends on data. Account scoring. Campaign measurement. Sales alignment. Best practice sharing. All of it flows through - and is validated by - data.

The challenge is that ABM cuts across so many functions, each with its own metrics. Finance has its numbers. Sales has its numbers. Marketing has its numbers. Getting them to tell a coherent story is hard.

This is where having a Data and Analytics team - attached to or embedded within the CoE - is essential. Their job is to marry metrics of all kinds into something the business can act on.

At Kyndryl, the Data and Analytics team built a proprietary account scoring engine that combines firmographic, technographic, and intent data to produce a single score for each account. This score tells the business - in a language everyone can understand - whether an account is ready for ABM, whether the relationship is improving, and where Marketing should focus its effort.

At IBM, account data is integrated into existing reporting tools so that any ABMer can filter by their accounts and see the full picture. Revenue. New contacts. Share of voice. Account engagement velocity.

Data is not just an input to the CoE. It's what makes the CoE credible.

The ABM Center of Excellence and account selection

One of the most contentious conversations in any ABM program is account selection. Sales has one view. Marketing has another. The ABM team has a third.

A CoE brings these perspectives together - and provides the methodology and data to resolve the tension.

At Kyndryl, account selection is built around lifetime value (LTV), with quantitative and qualitative inputs combined into a single score that everyone can agree on. The CoE owns this model and ensures it's applied consistently.

At IBM, the CoE shifted account selection from a business-unit lens (which product solution does this account need?) to a client-centric lens (what does this account need to succeed, and where can Marketing help?). This shift - from product-push to client-first - is what Cheryl describes as "putting the A back in ABM."

"In my experience, one of the most robust efforts that I've seen being made towards identifying clients... it's the right approach to look at not only the quantitative aspects of the account, but also qualitative aspects, married together to come to a kind of a band - telling us this looks like a potential for ABM."  Avishek Chakrobarty, Head – Global ABM Centre of Excellence at Kyndryl

What IBM's Center of Excellence looks like in practice

IBM's ABM Center of Excellence supports approximately 60 ABMers across global markets. Here's how it works in practice.

• Structure. The CoE sits globally - initially based out of New York - while ABMers are embedded within account teams in local markets. The CoE sets standards; local teams set execution.

• Education. The CoE invested heavily in methodology early. Every ABMer goes through the same training. Every market operates from the same foundation.

• Tools and templates. The CoE centralizes access to tools, templates, and content - so ABMers aren't sourcing these independently. Over time, ABM-specific filters and dashboards were built into IBM's existing reporting infrastructure.

• Community. Monthly calls. A dedicated internal website. A culture of open sharing, where what works in one market is quickly visible to all others.

• Account model. IBM primarily runs One-to-one and One-to-few ABM, grouping accounts into "clusters" where synergies exist. The largest, most complex accounts still require true One-to-one treatment.

• Reporting. IBM started with a simple A/B lift model. Over time, this evolved to track share of voice, new stakeholder access, and account penetration - a much richer picture of ABM's true impact.

The result is a program that has fundamentally transformed the relationshi between Marketing and Sales at IBM - elevating Marketing as a true partner, not just a support function.

FAQs: ABM Center of Excellence

• What is an ABM Center of Excellence (CoE)?

An ABM Center of Excellence is a centralized, strategic function that sets the tools, standards, best practices, and methodologies for Account-based Marketing across an organization. It supports in-market teams by ensuring consistency, enabling learning, and reducing operational overhead - while giving local ABMers the freedom to execute in ways that fit their markets.

• When should a company build an ABM CoE?

When ABM is working and starting to scale - but also starting to fragment. If you have multiple teams running different versions of ABM, using different tools and different success metrics, it's time. If your ABM is still experimental or in early pilot stage, it's probably too soon. The right trigger is ABM maturity combined with genuine leadership belief in the practice.

• What's the difference between an ABM Center of Excellence and a Global Program Office?

They're often used interchangeably. Some companies, including IBM, have used the term Global Program Office to describe the same function. The core idea is the same: a central hub that sets standards, enables learning, and ensures consistency across a distributed ABM operation.

• How does a CoE enable local market customization?

By separating what from how. The CoE defines the what: the methodology, the KPIs, the tools, the training. Local ABMers own the how: how they engage their accounts, which tactics fit their market, which channels and partners make sense. The framework is consistent; the execution is flexible.

• Who should lead an ABM CoE?

Someone with both strategic credibility and operational experience in ABM. They need to be trusted by Sales leadership, respected by Marketing, and capable of navigating the complexity of a global organization. The role is as much about internal advocacy as it is about ABM expertise.

• How does a CoE support Sales and Marketing alignment?

By making the ABM value proposition tangible to Sales teams - deal by deal. The CoE provides the air cover to explain what ABM is, celebrates wins in language Sales understands, and builds belief in the practice over time. It also ensures ABMers are embedded in account teams, working alongside sellers rather than in parallel with them.

• What metrics should an ABM CoE own?

A CoE should own the full ABM measurement framework - not just pipeline. This includes leading indicators like account engagement, new stakeholder access, and share of voice, as well as lagging indicators like revenue impact and deal velocity. The Three Rs - Reputation, Relationships, Revenue - all require measurement, and the CoE provides the infrastructure to track all three.

• How large does your ABM program need to be before a CoE makes sense?

There's no single number. IBM has 60 ABMers globally. Kyndryl's program is smaller but similarly structured. What matters more than headcount is geographic distribution and program complexity. If your ABMers are operating across multiple markets or business units, a CoE almost certainly makes sense. If it's a single team in a single market, informal coordination may be sufficient.

• What's the difference between a CoE and a consultancy or agency?

A CoE is an internal function. It's built from within the organization, by people who understand its culture, systems, and politics. An external ABM agency, like strategicabm, can help you build and accelerate your ABM program - but the CoE is what allows that program to sustain itself and scale beyond any external engagement.

• Can a small company build an ABM Center of Excellence?

In theory, yes - but in practice, a formal CoE structure requires resourcing that most early-stage ABM programs don't have. A better question for smaller teams is: how do you build CoE-like principles into your operating model, even informally? Consistent methodology, shared tools, bidirectional learning, and structured measurement are all achievable at smaller scale without a formal CoE structure.

• How does an ABM Center of Excellence relate to AI and tools like ABM OS

As ABM programs mature, the challenge shifts from "do we have the right strategy?" to "can we operationalize it at scale?" This is where AI-powered platforms like ABM OS come in - acting as an always-on ABM Center of Excellence for teams that want the infrastructure and intelligence of a CoE without building one from scratch. Think of it as democratizing access to CoE-level capability.

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