The Customer Data Platform (CDP) industry is entering a new phase of growth, driven by adoption across diverse users, industries, and regions. According to a recent survey by the Customer Data Platform Institute, significant strides have been made in customer data unification, although the pace of new deployments has slowed.

• Key Survey Findings

  • Customer Data Unification Progress:
    • 57% of respondents report unified customer databases for the first time.
    • 68% have a deployed CDP, though in-process/planned deployments dropped to 17%.
  • Growth Areas:
    • Higher deployment expectations in B2B sectors, mid-sized businesses, and regions outside the Americas.
    • Large firms outperform smaller ones in data integration and CDP deployments.

• Martech Management Trends

  • Increasing role of IT teams in martech management over individual departments.
  • Higher satisfaction levels when dedicated martech teams lead the efforts.

• CDP Deployment Models

  • Traditional "packaged" CDPs remain dominant.
  • 25% of service vendors now favor "warehouse-native" (composable) CDP projects.

• Organizational and Functional Insights

  • Unified data is the primary purpose of CDPs, with integration as the top selection criterion.
  • Organizational challenges are the greatest obstacles to CDP success.
  • Feature-based system selection yields higher success rates than cost-based selection.

The CDP industry is evolving, with new opportunities for growth among non-traditional users and markets. While challenges persist, particularly in organizational alignment, firms that prioritize unified data, robust integrations, and strategic deployments are better positioned to harness the value of CDPs.