Marketers may think that they and their systems are the center of the business universe but the rest of the world doesn’t necessarily agree. When Computerworld asked IT managers to describe their single most important technology project, marketing technology ranked a dismal 20th of 28 categories. The list was headed by security, legacy system modernization and on-premise software. Slightly better news is that “customer satisfaction/experience” ranked just behind productivity and security as the project goal. But it’s a safe bet that IT defines customer experience as more than better marketing.

Finding three machine learning stories in one day is pretty easy, so don’t be impressed. Here’s news that predictive analytics vendor Lityx (not to be confused with customer data platform vendor Lytics) has integrated its system with Valassis, which mostly delivers coupons through print and online media. The deal will apply Lityx’s analytics to Valassis’ massive customer databases to better target and optimize Valassis marketing campaigns. As one does.

Continuing its early fall shopping spree, Salesforce has signed a definitive agreement to acquire data protection and management company Own (it is also acquiring voice agent vendor Tenyx). In addition to analytics capabilities Own will enhance Salesforce’s existing data security tools. It has been a Salesforce AppExchange partner for over 10 years.