The Forrester Wave™: Demand-Side Platforms, Q4 2011

In Forrester's 48-criteria evaluation of demand-side platform (DSP) vendors, we found that MediaMath, Turn, and DataXu led the pack because of the breadth of their media access, the depth and acumen of their audience management capabilities, and their expertise in algorithmic optimization. Invite Media by Google features an intuitive and easy-to-use self-serve offering but lacks some of the bells and whistles of our top three. AppNexus, a well-scaled provider of real-time bidding (RTB) infrastructure and tools for the sell-side, lags behind in its buy-side focus, while X Plus One, strong in audience management and algorithmic optimization, is less focused on providing a self-serve platform solution. LucidMedia Networks, which trails the pack, brings a strong technology focus to its DSP but lacks the resources and marketer-friendly orientation of several of its competitors.