Real-time data transmission and Customer Data Plaform (CDP): What’s new in 2023?
Digitization and technological progress continue to advance, and the IT industry will continue to be dominated by various trend topics in 2023. A special focus is on the Customer Data Platform (CDP) and the integration of digital marketing as well as CRM. In this interview with Manager Marketing Technology David Deronja, we talk about the importance of CDPs and why integration tools are essential. Current trends and developments in the market are discussed, as well as the opportunities and risks for vendors and customers. Another focus is on real-time data transfer and why it is essential for successful collaboration and data analysis.
David, what does it mean for the market that digital marketing and CRM are being thought of together?
A way without the unification of sales, service and marketing is unthinkable in today’s world. That is what at least the end customer expects. The priority of this topic is clear, but what is not so clear is the technical implementation. The problem here is that different technologies, different systems, are behind the corresponding activities, i.e. sales, service and marketing, so that it leads to a heterogeneous system and data landscape. This is where we as valantic, as well as other providers, can certainly help.
What do you think will be a relevant topic in 2023?
It’s no secret that the technology market, as well as the digital marketing technology market, is consolidating. You can see it in large, small, and niche vendors, and that’s what customers are feeling, too. Decisions that were supposedly made earlier last year are now being weighed more carefully. Advantages and disadvantages are compared and there is a fear of making decisions. Do customers go with Tool A or Tool B, do they even need a tool? These are questions that customers approach companies/vendors like us with. Uncertainties like these were not yet noticeable to this extent last year.
What opportunities and risks did you think arose?
From a positive perspective, this creates opportunities. For providers, it is understandable that there is no one perfect solution to various requirements, but that there must be (partial) compromise solutions. The question for suppliers is whether to continue to rely on the approach that has proven itself over the past few years or whether to take a new approach. Ultimately, the customer must be given the right path.
Our advantage as valantic in this case is that we basically take a technology-agnostic approach to the issues. We have diverse partnerships with different providers, so we can serve both monolithic solutions and a best-of approach, so that in the end we are able to implement all requirements.
If you look at the niche scene in the context of CDP, it becomes clear that the smaller providers in particular, such as Emarsys, are all not so small anymore. Emarsys is now part of SAP and has thus clearly moved into the focus of large providers. Precisely because everything is new and not yet set, there are a lot of opportunities and possibilities.
But the same is true for Salesforce, which is now very big with former CDP, now called “Genie“. Tools such as Bloomreach, which operate with different pillars, are also very present on the market. For tech-agnostic consultants, like us as valantic, the individual approaches are of course super exciting.
Why is real-time data transmission so important?
Meanwhile, it is important that everything interacts with each other. That’s also the reason why CDP is so important. Because it connects. You could almost say that a CDP is an integration tool, without it it becomes difficult in today’s world.
A data flow must be able to take place quickly, while not losing any quality, so that all data points arrive where they are required. Sometimes, however, it can also be good to go slow. However, even that only works if information is available. For example, it may make more sense to forgo communication with the user. However, decisions like this can only be made if the information arrives in real time. Real-time is therefore not always just faster and more, but can also work in the other direction.
Thanks for sharing your experience and opinion with us, David!
In summary, the year 2023 will bring a wide range of trends in IT and marketing. In particular, the unification of sales, service and marketing will become an important task for companies. In this context, the Customer Data Platform (CDP) will also become increasingly relevant by acting as an integration tool in some respects and enabling a fast and high-quality data flow. The marketing technology market is increasingly consolidating and customers are carefully comparing the pros and cons of different providers. For companies, however, this also offers opportunities in which, in the course of the high level of uncertainty on the market, they examine the partnerships to be entered into with particular justification and, from this derivation as well as the necessary design courage, connect closer than ever before to a future-proof CX architecture.
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