We’ve already begun to see how big data and analytics can translate into business agility and real results. But while the biggest transformation so far has been in sales, a new infographic from IBM says that marketing is going to be the real tipping point for big data.

I’ll let you look at the infographic and see the numbers for yourself, but the real takeaway here is that while marketing and IT have traditionally been two separate offices within the organization, the advent of big data brings the chief marketing officer and CIO closer together than ever before. After all, actionable intelligence is pretty much the CMO’s stock in trade.

The thought that the CMO might spend more than the CIO on IT is a bold prediction, and one that I’m hoping to hear expounded on in the near future. My big question, as ever, is around the big data skills gap: If big data is really the key to the future of marketing, and CIOs are having trouble finding pros who can turn data warehouses into real intelligence, I’m not certain that marketing pros will have any kind of easier time.