Data Analytics / Cybersecurity
How Splunk improved renewal performance by 4% and doubled scale coverage through a unified engagement framework
4%
Improvement in global renewal rates through success execution discipline
2x
Increase in account coverage through scale-based engagement models
About
Splunk is a leading data analytics company specializing in cybersecurity, observability, and IT operations intelligence. Operating globally across industries such as finance, telecommunications, and government, Splunk enables organizations to monitor, investigate, and respond to digital performance and security challenges in real time. The company’s Customer Success and renewals teams support thousands of enterprise customers, ensuring measurable outcomes through data visibility and operational resilience.
Industry
Data Analytics / Cybersecurity
Company size
8,000 employees
Founded
2003
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“At Splunk, Customer Success had to mature quickly. We needed to transform relationship management into measurable execution and prove the link between effort and renewal.”
Mike Carter
SVP Global Customer Success
The Company
Rapid growth demanded operational clarity.
Splunk’s mission is to help organizations bring data to every question, decision, and action. As the company scaled, Customer Success became a core pillar of revenue retention and expansion.
While engagement levels were high, processes varied widely by region and segment. Renewal strategies were inconsistent, forecasting models were subjective, and teams often relied on institutional knowledge rather than data. The organization needed operational consistency and measurable accountability to support sustained growth.
Splunk recognized that to protect and expand recurring revenue, Customer Success needed to operate as a system — predictable, disciplined, and data-driven.
The Challenge
Renewal execution lacked measurable proof.
Despite a loyal customer base and strong product adoption, renewal performance lacked predictability. Renewal managers and CSMs were highly engaged but operated without unified standards for measurement or value demonstration.
Forecasting depended heavily on manual inputs and anecdotal customer sentiment. Leaders could not easily identify early risk or track the correlation between adoption activity and renewal outcomes. Without shared frameworks, best practices stayed isolated, and high-performing teams could not scale their success across the enterprise.
To drive improvement, Splunk needed to shift from reactive renewal management to proactive, measurable value delivery — ensuring every renewal reflected tangible business proof.
“We had talented people doing heroic work, but heroics are not a strategy. Every region had its own tools, data, and definitions of success. Once we standardized the model, renewal accuracy improved, and teams finally had a shared language of performance.”
Mike Carter
SVP Global Customer Success
The Solution
Structure replaced instinct with measurable rigor.
Splunk’s leadership launched a Customer Success transformation initiative to create global consistency, predictability, and transparency in renewal performance. The strategy focused on three pillars:
Unified processes: Renewal workflows, CSM motions, and data entry standards were harmonized globally.
Data-driven forecasting: Predictive analytics replaced manual reporting, identifying risk and opportunity earlier.
Value realization playbooks: Success teams began documenting customer outcomes in financial terms to link engagement to business impact.
The initiative gave Splunk’s Success organization a common language of performance. Renewals were no longer managed reactively but guided by shared data and measurable value.
The Results
Operational discipline improved renewal clarity.
The new system created measurable business and organizational impact:
4% improvement in renewal rates across global enterprise segments.
2× increase in account coverage through scalable engagement models.
3,000+ enterprise customers managed through consistent value realization frameworks.
More importantly, Splunk’s Success teams gained credibility as a growth engine. Renewal forecasting became accurate and data-backed. Executive reviews focused on progress and proof, not anecdote. Customer Success evolved from a relationship-based function to a measurable performance discipline.
“Structure gave Customer Success the confidence to lead. Renewal conversations stopped being about defense and started being about evidence — and that changed everything.”
Mike Carter
SVP Global Customer Success
