The Customer Data Platform (CDP) market is continuously evolving, with new trends, emerging technologies, and shifting industry dynamics reshaping how businesses manage and activate customer data. In 2024, we've seen a surge in acquisitions, the rise of composable CDPs, and a geographic shift in industry growth, making it harder than ever for companies to keep up. Here's what you need to know:
1. Industry Expansion, But Not From Startups
The CDP market continues to grow, with employment rising by 4% and total funding increasing by 13%. However, this growth is not fueled by new startups—instead, established tech companies in Europe and Asia are integrating CDP capabilities into their existing solutions.
2. Acquisitions Are Back—Big Players Take Over
After a period of slow mergers, acquisitions have surged in the CDP space. Some notable transactions include:
- ActionIQ was acquired by Uniphore, integrating AI-driven conversational processing into CDP functionalities.
- Lytics was bought by ContentStack, signaling a growing overlap between content management and customer data.
- mParticle was acquired by Rokt, hinting at a push toward commerce-driven customer insights.
These deals indicate that larger customer-facing software firms are looking to strengthen their AI, personalization, and data unification capabilities.
3. Composable CDPs: Disrupting the Traditional Model?
The "composable CDP" trend is gaining traction, where businesses build their own CDPs using cloud data warehouses and modular software rather than relying on traditional all-in-one solutions.
Composable vendors like Hightouch, Census, and Rudderstack saw faster growth rates compared to traditional CDPs.
4. What’s Next for the CDP Market?
Looking ahead, we expect the CDP industry to evolve with:
- Greater AI integration, especially for real-time customer engagement.
- More consolidation, as marketing tech companies merge with data management firms.
- Rising adoption of composable solutions, as businesses seek flexibility and cost efficiency.
While the traditional CDP model remains strong, funding challenges, global shifts, and alternative solutions are redefining the industry. Businesses investing in CDP strategies must stay agile, innovative, and data-driven to succeed in this evolving space.
What This Means for You
Keeping up with these new trends, acquisitions, and shifting best practices can be overwhelming. That’s where we come in. Our goal is to help businesses navigate these changes—whether you need to evaluate new CDP solutions, optimize your data strategy, or understand emerging technologies.
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All information is derived from our partner, the CDP Institute, in their latest CDP industry update. For the full report, visit CDP Institute's website.
