New Study by Tealium Reveals the Customer Data Platform Landscape is Changing, and Organizations are Struggling to Navigate It

The report highlights how internal silos, changing data privacy laws and general confusion around what a CDP does are preventing companies from getting the most from their data

SAN DIEGO, January 15, 2020 – With the Customer Data Platform (CDP) space becoming more crowded than ever, there’s enormous confusion around what a CDP should do – as well as which CDP is right for each specific business or organization. Tealium, the market leader in the customer data platform industry, today released the “Tealium State of the CDP Report 2020” which details the enormous extent of this uncertainty and captures the real-life experience of organizations using CDPs. 

It’s increasingly clear that successful digital transformation rests on managing and utilizing customer data — an organization’s most valuable asset. If companies want to solve business challenges like organizational silos and poor customer experiences, they need the ability to orchestrate data across the enterprise. Additionally, with several new privacy laws going into effect, the risk for companies who do not understand or comply with these regulations is larger than ever. How are organizations addressing these challenges and overcoming risk? These challenges explain why the CDP market has exploded in the last few years, and companies have been so drawn to them.

In order to demystify the confusion around CDPs, Tealium surveyed over 300 U.S. decision makers in marketing and data/analytics on how they are leveraging CDPs today, the challenges they face with current vendors and their future plans for CDP technology. The results reveal that many organizations are still searching for the right solution, even after purchasing a CDP. Surprisingly, the top reasons why organizations are switching CDPs include lack of third-party integrations, bad customer service and lack of support for compliance with data regulations. The study also found that it’s more critical than ever to find the right CDP for your business in order to remain compliant with the growing list of regulations, as over 62% of respondents said that CDPs will be absolutely essential for complying with data regulations by 2025.

“This survey is a wake-up call for everyone who uses customer data: while many have an existing system that’s called a CDP, half of those systems don’t meet even the most basic CDP requirements. Even fewer provide other important features,” said CDP Institute Founder, David Raab. “Companies need to be rigorous in defining what they need from a CDP and be sure they find a solution that can actually provide it.”

Key findings include: 

1. Even satisfied customers are switching CDPs. Eighty-five percent of respondents with CDPs were satisfied with their current CDP provider, but a majority still said they planned to switch their CDP within the next 12 months. 
2. Many solutions calling themselves CDPs don’t offer full CDP functionality. Over 50% of organizations said their CDP lacked basic capabilities like the ability to ingest data from any channel.
3. Organizations are hungry for real-time functionality. More real-time functionality was the top answer for how an organization’s CDP could improve.
4. Many stakeholders aren’t yet convinced of CDPs’ value. Getting buy-in from other departments was most respondents’ biggest challenge in implementing a CDP.
5. Data governance in CDPs needs improvement. Eighteen percent said that better data governance was the top improvement they’d like to see in their current CDP — the second most popular response. 
6. Data privacy compliance will drive CDP adoption. Sixty-two percent of respondents said that CDPs will be absolutely essential for complying with data regulations by 2025.

“The results really demonstrated that there is obvious confusion regarding CDPs,” said Jeff Lunsford, CEO of Tealium. “As innovators in the space since 2013, we’re seeking to illuminate how and where the confusion lies and inform companies of not only what a good CDP should do, but which CDP is right for them based on their specific needs.”

To download the full report and learn more about the state of CDPs, visit here.