Marketing Software

On the topic of “open marketing platforms” — foundational marketing software systems that make it easy to plug in or connect with other marketing applications built by third-parties — I admit that I’m thoroughly biased. As an industry observer, I’ve staked my prognostication badge on the case for consolidated platforms and diversified ecosystems (2012), the emerging third-party era of marketing automation (2013), and open platforms as the enablers for 1,000+ marketing technology vendors as the …

Ridiculously biased in favor of open marketing platforms Continue Reading »

The battle of the marketing clouds is heating up. Last month Oracle announced its unified Oracle Marketing Cloud, and yesterday IBM introduced ExperienceOne — both massive visions of how all the different acquisitions they’ve made in the marketing space will be stitched together into more cohesive offerings. But with all these proclamations of marketing technology nirvana, I have one overriding criterion that I look for: do they embrace an open model for third-party marketing applications? …

Adobe embraces open model for its Marketing Cloud too Continue Reading »

My fellow marketing technology enthusiasts, mark this week in your journals. Here at their Marketing Nation Summit in San Francisco, Marketo just triggered a major inflection point in our industry. First, let me set the stage for the significance of what they’ve done. For a number of large companies assembling marketing “suites,” the narrative they’ve been preaching is: buy from us, and you’ll get everything you need in one box. Buy our cloud or hub, …

Boom! Marketo ignites the real marketing platform wars Continue Reading »

Overcrowded. That was probably the most common remark to my latest marketing technology landscape. Well, aside from more colorful exclamations that decorum prevents me from repeating. And the truth is that this graphic, even with nearly 1,000 companies represented, was far from complete. There are hundreds of great companies that weren’t included: AppNexus, AdColony, Addroid, Adestra, Aginity, Ambassador, Amobee, Amplifinity, Avoka, and AWeber are just the ones beginning with the letter “A” that people noted …

What if 1,000+ marketing technology vendors were the new normal? Continue Reading »

UPDATE: The 2020 Marketing Technology Landscape is now available. The short version: the above graphic is the latest incarnation of my marketing technology landscape supergraphic (click for a high-resolution 2600×1950 version, 4.7MB). It represents a whopping 947 different companies that provide software for marketers, organized into 43 categories across 6 major classes. A high-resolution PDF version is also available (14.3MB). Please feel free to copy, repost, distribute, and use this graphic “as is” in any …

Marketing Technology Landscape Supergraphic (2014) Continue Reading »

I started working on a new version of a marketing landscape that will be released early next month. The last one I did was back in 2012, and a lot has happened since then. One thing in particular that has surprised me in my research is how much the marketing automation category has expanded. While I’ve expected the overall marketing technology space to expand, I’ve largely subscribed to the narrative that the marketing automation category …

The marketing automation super-collider of 2014 Continue Reading »

Will marketing technology consolidate into a handful of behemoth super-platforms? Or will it continue to diversify with more innovative new software? My theory on marketing technology consolidation vs. diversification has been both. I believe that a set of “backbone” platforms will serve as the foundation of marketing’s technology infrastructure, but they will promote open APIs and robust third-party developer communities. Marketers will have the best of both worlds: a coordinating platform for standardized data and …

The emerging third-party era of marketing automation Continue Reading »

There is a myth that implementing a marketing technology point solution is a bad idea. Like giving your significant other a bathroom scale as a birthday present is a bad idea. First aid kit sold separately. But it is a myth. (The bathroom scale is still a bad idea though.) I’ll explain what a point solution is, why they’re considered bad, and why that’s bunk. I’ll discuss what the real problem is with point solutions …

In defense of marketing technology point solutions Continue Reading »

In the competition for the best visualization of the kaleidescopic marketing technology space — other entries include my marketing technology landscape from last year and the marketing technology LUMAscape from last month — I’d say Gartner has just jumped into the lead with their new digital marketing transit map. Their high-level map is visualized around types of products and services — represented as stations on the map — rather than the individual vendors themselves. However, …

Gartner’s mind-blowing digital marketing transit map Continue Reading »