Organisations stay competitive in today's online realm by establishing connections via communication, which involves speaking and listening. Content is used to talk, while data is used to listen. A Digital Experience Platform or DXP is a cohesive set of basic technologies that facilitate the configuration, administration, delivery, and optimisation of contextualised digital experiences.
Digital Experience Platform (DXP) is an integrated range of core technologies for engaging a wider customer base across many devices and touchpoints. It employs a series of integrated technologies to regulate a huge spectrum of touchpoints. Furthermore, it serves as the control centre for this extended experience by serving as a single-core platform.
DXPs provide firms with a unified set of tools for developing genuine relationships with customers, leads, associates, staff, and other audiences by speaking and listening to them. They enable organisations to provide content to any touchpoint, such as ads online, in-store, at a kiosk, or in an e-commerce network. It can predict what they are interested in buying and then present them with related material and possibilities when they are ready to choose. Digital Experience Platform is a new type of software solution. It contributes to improving customer experience and, as a result, attracts consumers for businesses that utilise DXP.
The advantages of using a DXP cover a range of subjects. They directly benefit customer interactions, but they also assist the organisation in establishing control over every touchpoint. It is built around a flexible structural design and helps integrate the business or its operations. Read on till the end of this article to know more about the benefits of DXP.
Why is it better to have a DXP?
As discussed earlier, the benefits of a DXP can be seen in many aspects of the functioning of a business. Some of these are described in detail below.
Security
A comprehensive framework for monitoring all of your digital channels improves security and performance. It helps in the reduction of technological debt. It additionally protects customer data and ensures that it is received across all vast digital channels.
Gartner Research defines DXP as "an integrated set of technologies, based on a common platform that provides a broad range of audiences with consistent, secure, and personalised access to information and applications across many digital touchpoints."
Personalisation
DXP seamlessly integrates with other systems, including CRMs, telephony, and social media. As a result, it gives a 360-degree overview of every client that the business encounters. The platform also provides the organisation with intuitive dashboards and rich insights powered by machine learning. Consequently, it helps in the personalisation of your interface.
Regarding customer's advantages under the subject of "personalisation," DXP delivers the correct value at each touchpoint. For instance, an organisation has all the necessary information about you before it makes the call. This information is given to the firm through the relevant form you filled online.
Makes complex websites easier to manage
DXP was among the first systems to effectively merge multi-channel marketing experiences. A DXP compiles and examines the search, browsing, and purchase histories of customers and their social media activities, location, and demographics. It can predict what they are interested in buying and then presenting them with related material and offers when they are ready to choose.
A DXP extends beyond a CMS or WEM by assisting a brand in creating digital experiences across websites, applications, portals, IoT devices, and other platforms. It comes with APIs that help in building sites that are easier to govern.
Examples of DXP
Bloomreach Experience
It is a commerce-heritage DXP vendor that specialises in retail transactions in the e-commerce scenario. The retail transactions span across fashion, food, entertainment, travel, electronics, and the like.
Liferay DXP
It is a portal-heritage DXP vendor and focuses on insurance, retail banking, governance, and manufacturing. The DXP undertakes in-depth interoperability for an improved client experience.
FirstSpirit DXP
It features a hybrid headless CMS, customisation driven by AI frameworks and support for multi-channel marketing. Marketing experts rely on FirstSpirit for customised and synchronous content distribution across all platforms to inspire customers to act.
Drupal
Drupal is one of the finest Digital Experience Platforms available on the internet, and it is fully open-sourced. It offers strong content management technologies as well as advanced APIs for multi-channel distribution. Acquia has been crowned a Leader in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Digital Experience Platforms (DXPs) 2021 study. Acquia is known for its ability to execute and the breadth of its vision. Their architecture and platform design, extensibility and integration, and cloud capabilities were some of the factors that contributed to overall distinction.
Open against close? Which DXP is better?
What is an open DXP?
An open DXP is a platform that unifies digital experiences by combining various products from different sources to function and behave as one. As a result, organisations that have a large digital presence and own various digital experience products will be able to make greater use of Open DXP. Such organisations can easily link your digital experience with a platform like SalesForce by using an open-source DXP like Drupal.
An open DXP flourishes on the alliance, coalitions, creation, and assistance for common accomplishment. In Open DXPs, there is a combination of open source components and closed services. It is distinguished by a collection of best-of-breed components. Open DXPs use a bottom-up method in which a platform is developed to accommodate the relevant challenges.
With an open DXP, you can effortlessly develop and offer accurate experiences to your customers. An open DXP empowers IT teams to accomplish more by delivering enterprise features, basic web components, and low-code site-building alternatives that allow teams to rebuild digital experiences as needed without the cost of re-platforming from scratch.
What is a closed DXP?
A closed DXP consists of all key DXP components; however, it is a "limiting" choice. There is very little choice between vendors as all of these components are maintained by a single supplier and interface with other applications. Closed DXPs are all-in-one platforms that comprise all the particular portions of a DXP as a sole network. Closed DXPs acknowledge the merits of closely correlated components and supply all of them through a unified portal to fuel the interaction. Adobe Experience Cloud is an example of a closed DXP.
What should you choose?
Choosing the correct strategy from these two DXP models might be difficult for an organisation because it relies on what the particular firm aims for. Nonetheless, to make a choice easier, let us make a list of the major differences between Open and Closed DXPs.
We believe you now know what choice to make after three of the major and most important differences have been listed in favour of Open DXPs!
What benefits does an open DXP bring to you?
Adaptable with future
An open DXP is developed API-first and supports the notion of connecting with third-party tools. Thus, implementing a prospective product into the system is relatively simpler than in a tightly coupled DXP, which makes claims about the technological stack. The only way to be fully prepared for an unforeseen situation is to use an open DXP.
Cost-effectiveness
Open DXPs serve as a central management tool, allowing you to manage several sites, all the while offering the flexibility, security, control, and efficiency that you need. Once you have it, there would be very little potential for resource duplication, whether it is in IT or marketing. It will indubitably be a worthwhile investment. Furthermore, an open-source solution is a hybrid of microservices and SaaS, which makes sure that you only pay for the services you want and nothing more.
Extensibility
An open platform is created for extensibility by utilising integrations and open APIs. This assists you in eradicating repetitive data and content silos and enables you to navigate through them comfortably. Open digital experience platforms characterise them with extensibility as they are malleable and can be altered per individual requirements.
Flexibility
Open DXPs are characterised by the unification of various products by multiple providers. Thus, it facilitates the synchronisation of various kinds of functional tools. Open DXP is an API-first framework and allows for interoperability with both purchased and indigenous technologies. It provides more flexibility than an exclusive outcome. An open digital experience platform empowers you with the skill to renovate discrete areas of the program over the period.
Less time to market
With an open DXP, there is no vendor lock-in or dependency on improving their software capabilities.This framework makes it possible to build, produce, modify, and govern digital experiences across the client lifecycle. Moreover, you have control over the DXP, its components, and how soon you wish to grow its skills. As a result, instead of depending on a vendor's software roadmap, you essentially control the speed of your DXP abilities.
Conclusion
Today, having a digital presence has grown to be a vital part of any organisation. An open DXP is what will help you make an impression and attract your target audience. To explore how your business can benefit from a DXP implementation reach out to us at business@qed42.com or click here to know more about our DXP offerings.