Adobe, X Plus One, BlueKai, and Aggregate Knowledge top Forrester’s first-ever ranking of data management platforms — platforms for insights, segmentation, and data that help marketers deliver more relevant and consistent marketing communications. “In this era of highly demanding mobile consumers, marketers struggle to deliver relevant experiences across a vast array of touchpoints. Data management platforms (DMPs) have broadened beyond simple tools for managing third-party audience targeting to become sophisticated platforms that help marketers build relevance in multi-touchpoint consumer communications,” writes Principal Analyst Joanna O’Connell in her new report.

In the Forrester Wave™ evaluation, Forrester examines seven vendors based on 70 evaluation criteria across each vendor’s current offering, strategy, and market presence. The evaluation shows:

  • Adobe Audience Manager leads the pack thanks to a strong current offering, well-defined strategy, and the force of a multibillion-dollar company to help deliver on that strategy. Adobe’s 2010 acquisition of Demdex gave it a foothold in the space, but the real Adobe Marketing Cloud story — of which AAM is considered a critical component – is only just beginning.
  • CoreAudience, Knotice, and NPario offer relatively strong competitive offerings and flexible platforms, but have less marketer experience, ranking these vendors in the Strong Performers category.

“Leaders in the DMP space have demonstrated experience in delivering audience insights and targeting functionality, and possess an interconnected suite of tools that make data integration and message delivery seamless,” notes O’Connell. “Many DMPs in our evaluation must still build out mobile tracking and targeting plus integration with existing platforms. Only then will marketers find true end-to-end audience management capabilities.”

Learn more about “The Forrester Wave: Data Management Platforms, Q3 2013,” here.