CyberArk achieves 4x higher close rates with an ABX approach powered by Demandbase

Executive summary

CyberArk, a global cybersecurity leader specializing in identity and access management, partnered with Demandbase to modernize its go-to-market approach. By embracing an account-based experience (ABX) strategy powered by intent data and smart orchestration, CyberArk brought its marketing and sales teams into alignment around the same high-priority accounts. As a result, CyberArk saw a 4x higher close rate among high-propensity accounts, with 3% of target accounts generating over one-third of its pipeline.

Today, Demandbase is a core pillar of CyberArk’s go-to-market engine, driving the modeling, orchestration, and enablement efforts that continue to deliver measurable business impact.

Introduction

CyberArk protects organizations against identity-driven cyber threats through advanced access management and machine identity solutions. CyberArk’s go-to-market structure spans solution-specific and vertical-based sales motions, each supported by dedicated teams.

As the company expanded its offerings, it sought to unify its marketing, field, and solutions teams around a shared, data-driven ABX model — one that could identify the right accounts, engage the right buying groups, and provide real-time insight into engagement effectiveness. Demandbase became a core partner to power this evolution.

The problem

Marketing challenges

CyberArk struggled to align its solution-based and vertical-based target account lists, which led to overlap and inefficiency in account coverage. Their previous ABM system functioned as a “black box,” leaving teams uncertain about how accounts were scored or prioritized. This lack of transparency undermined confidence in the model and slowed adoption.

Additionally, measuring top-of-funnel ad effectiveness and understanding which audiences contributed to pipeline creation proved challenging, creating disconnects between awareness and conversion efforts.

Sales challenges

On the sales side, field teams needed clarity on which accounts to prioritize and why. The lack of actionable insights and inconsistent alignment with marketing’s campaigns hindered follow-up efficiency. Sales and marketing leaders sought a clear, data-backed way to rebuild confidence in their ABX strategy.

Why Demandbase

Before partnering with Demandbase, CyberArk faced challenges in building internal confidence around their data and account-based strategy. Teams struggled to understand how target accounts were prioritized and how intent signals connected to real opportunities. As marketing and sales tried to operationalize account-based programs, the lack of clarity made adoption uneven and outcomes inconsistent.

Demandbase offered something fundamentally different: transparency, flexibility, and partnership, empowering CyberArk to build trust in the data, align teams, and drive measurable impact.

With Demandbase, CyberArk could:

• See inside the model — understanding exactly how accounts were scored and prioritized.
• Customize propensity and intent models to match CyberArk’s specific GTM motions (machine identity, workforce identity, and vertical strategies).
• Combine engagement and intent signals to identify the “top quadrant” of high-likelihood, high-engagement accounts — their “sweet spot.”
• Collaborate directly with Demandbase’s customer success and strategy teams to refine playbooks, enablement, and orchestration.

The shift wasn’t just technological; it was cultural. The clarity and flexibility Demandbase provided helped CyberArk rebuild confidence in its ABX strategy and foster buy-in across the organization.

The solution

To address these challenges, CyberArk and Demandbase partnered to create a three-pillar ABX foundation — Foundational, Orchestration, and Enablement that redefined how CyberArk approached account-based go-to-market.

1. Foundational: Intent + model building

Demandbase partnered with CyberArk to rebuild its propensity and engagement models from the ground up, creating a more transparent, data-driven foundation for go-to-market decision-making.

Together, teams across Product Marketing, Solutions, and Campaigns collaborated to redefine CyberArk’s intent models around its key solutions and use cases. This cross-functional effort ensured that the resulting intent signals were more inclusive, digestible, and actionable across the organization.

To bring this strategy to life, CyberArk and Demandbase focused on several key elements:

• Closed-won retrospectives informed new predictive models that accurately identified high-propensity accounts.
• Combined engagement and propensity insights enabled CyberArk to zero in on the “top quadrant” — the intersection of high engagement and high likelihood to buy.

The result: accounts in this top segment demonstrated 4x higher close rates than average.

This foundational modeling not only sharpened targeting precision but also rebuilt trust in the data, transforming opaque, legacy models into a shared source of truth that empowered every go-to-market team.

2. Orchestration: Turning data into action

With a solid foundation established, CyberArk expanded its use of Demandbase to orchestrate coordinated marketing and sales activities:

• Campaign activation across channels ensured high-intent accounts received relevant, timely messaging.
• Buying group functionality empowered CyberArk to reach decision-makers within each account, aligning messaging with business needs and roles.
• Automated reporting gave every Account Executive and SDRs a clear view of their high-propensity accounts and recent engagement trends.
• Demandbase’s orchestration also supported the company’s “always-on” engagement strategy, enabling continuous optimization of spend and message resonance.

This orchestration layer turned intent data into measurable action, bridging the gap between awareness and pipeline creation.

3. Enablement: Driving global adoption and alignment

CyberArk recognized that technology alone wouldn’t drive transformation — people and process alignment were key.

Together with Demandbase, they launched a robust enablement initiative:

• Introduced global ABX training at the company’s Sales Kickoff, with seven-minute learning modules to accelerate adoption.
• Established regional office hours led by ABX Program Managers in each region (AMER, EMEA, APJ) to reinforce best practices.
• Stood up an ABX resource hub with on-demand Demandbase resources and quick-reference guides.
• Partnered with Marketing Operations to deliver automated weekly reports to every sales rep.

This comprehensive enablement approach, backed by close collaboration with Demandbase’s customer success and strategy teams, ensured that ABX was not a marketing initiative, but an organizational transformation.

“Demandbase has been more than a platform, it’s been a partner in building the muscle of our ABX organization,” noted Alex Pappas, Sr. Global ABX Strategy Manager. “Their flexibility and support have been critical to helping us make ABX a cornerstone of how CyberArk goes to market.”

Results

CyberArk’s partnership with Demandbase yielded measurable impact across every stage of the funnel:

• 4x higher close rates for high-propensity accounts.
• 3% of targeted accounts generating more than one-third of total pipeline, underscoring the precision of targeting.
• Sales confidence was reborn, moving from “black box” skepticism to a data-driven, collaborative GTM culture.
• Enhanced alignment between marketing, sales, and operations — the “ABX Trifecta” now embedded into daily processes.

This transformation wasn’t just about better data; it was about creating an ABX-driven culture that connects strategy, technology, and execution.

Key takeaways

• Foundations matter: Building trust in predictive models and intent data set the stage for sustained adoption and success.
• Data + Orchestration = Action: Turning insights into coordinated, personalized campaigns delivered measurable pipeline lift.
• Enablement is the glue: Continuous education, reporting, and support embedded ABX into CyberArk’s culture.
• Partnership drives performance: Demandbase’s strategic and technical support accelerated time-to-value and empowered cross-team collaboration.

Looking ahead

CyberArk plans to expand its use of Demandbase from an execution platform to a campaign planning and strategic orchestration hub. With three core buying groups now established, the company’s next phase will focus on deepening AI-driven insights and refining buying group engagement models for FY26.

By uniting AI innovation (Demandbase + Jasper + Gong) under one ABX strategy, CyberArk continues to push the frontier of intelligent, data-powered marketing — turning ABX from a function into a competitive advantage.

Conclusion

CyberArk’s journey shows that account-based excellence doesn’t come from technology alone. It comes from partnership, process, and belief in the data behind every decision.

By working closely with Demandbase, CyberArk built a foundation of transparency, alignment, and measurable performance that connects marketing, sales, and operations like never before. The result is not only stronger pipeline outcomes but a shared culture of precision and accountability.

With Demandbase as a strategic ally, CyberArk has turned ABX into one of its most powerful competitive advantages, setting a new benchmark for what’s possible when people and platforms move in perfect sync.