What is a True DXP?

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Jahia is the only DXP that truly empowers you to deliver personalized journeys powered by customer data Learn how here


The term “DXP,” or Digital Experience Platform, is tossed out by a lot of companies nowadays. But what exactly defines a DXP can be unclear.

The problem is that most DXPs nowadays are not, in fact, “DXPs.” They brand themselves as such, but only to take advantage of market trends rather than based on the actual capabilities of their software. In truth, most of these platforms can hardly be considered true DXPs at all, but rather are just pretenders in convincing disguises. 

Jahia calls itself the only true DXP, and we do so with confidence. Jahia was built from the ground up to take full advantage of an organization’s content and data to deliver better, more personalized digital experiences to their customers. This wasn’t accomplished through acquisition, nor compromise, nor bundling multiple products together — rather, our entire platform was designed from Day 1 to deliver on the promises of the DXP concept.

As such, we know what it takes to deliver a fully realized, actual DXP. We also know where the pretenders often stumble in the attempt. We can boil it down into three simple rules.

RULE #1: A DXP is a single platform

When we talk about a DXP, we’re talking about a single platform. Not multiple, disparate technologies stapled together and called a “platform.” This is an important distinction, as a true DXP is designed to naturally deliver on the promise of personalized digital experiences.

Too often, we see other companies offer DXPs that are little more than rebranded Content Management Systems bolstered by acquisition technologies that feature data management, analytics, and personalization. The idea here is that, if they are able to check enough boxes, a customer will ignore the fact that these technologies weren’t built to work well together and often have overlapping and/or redundant functionalities.

This strategy is very commonly seen with DXP suites, which are a collection of products all revolving around digital experience. They are sold this way because their so-called “platform” requires almost all of the technologies within the suite to deliver what would be considered a “DXP” product. These suites also tend to be over-complicated and messy to implement, not to mention nearly impossible to integrate with outside technologies that aren’t part of the suite’s so-called “ecosystem.” 

Jahia, meanwhile, is our platform. We designed and grew its functionality — content management, data management, personalization — all out of that base structure, and each piece was built to work in-sync with each other. Think of it like a jigsaw puzzle — other so-called “DXPs” are handing you hundreds of scattered pieces and telling you they have to be put together in order for a DXP to take shape. Meanwhile, Jahia gives you the completed picture from the start. 

RULE #2: A DXP must organically manage both content AND data

Digital experiences begin and end with the customer. You deliver content to the customer. The customer engages with the content, providing data about themselves in the process. That data is then analyzed so you can learn more about the customer. And, finally, you leverage that knowledge to deliver content that speaks more directly to them. This is the loop that forms the backbone of a DXP. 

Yet, often we see organizations call themselves “DXPs” without being able to deliver on this core concept within their own platform. Either they require an outside Customer Data Platform (CDP) to be integrated into their software or they forego handling customer data altogether and instead deliver personalization using external analytics.

Both of these approaches are inherently flawed and fail to deliver the end-goal of a cohesive digital experience. A DXP must be able to natively bring together content and data, using each one to further improve and grow the other. Failure to do this means that organizations are often stymied when it comes time to grow their content and data strategies, as they aren’t inherently interlinked.

We understood this from the beginning with our Jahia platform and built jExperience to address this exact issue. Combining jContent (our Content Management System, or CMS) and jCustomer (our CDP), the resulting product is a DXP that truly unites content and data together in the same ecosystem. 

RULE #3: A DXP is built around integrations

A DXP is a living, breathing system that should act as the basis of your entire marketing technology stack. It should grow along with that stack, always ensuring that its capabilities stretch out beyond the limits of the platform’s own borders.

Many “DXPs” don’t seem to understand this. In fact, we often see DXPs sold as end-to-end solutions for digital experience and an ecosystem unto themselves. While it’s true that a DXP can stand alone as a piece of software, the very idea of it is antithetical to a DXP’s mission statement.

Technology changes. So do customers. A DXP is only effective when it is able to deliver the most up-to-date, personalized content to customers across every digital channel. A DXP incapable of keeping up with those changes – or integrating with technology that empowers them to do so - is no better than a smartphone without internet access.

Meanwhile, Jahia is built to integrate. With over 400 integrations available, and more being added every day, Jahia’s technology was designed to be flexible enough to connect with both legacy technology and future technology. This means that Jahia’s DXP will always be able to deliver the most effective digital experiences imaginable, no matter how the digital landscape may change in the future.

Connect With Us

We hope this helps you understand why Jahia is indeed the only true DXP available today. Our team is passionate about digital experience and believes you deserve a product that can truly deliver on the promise of a genuine Digital Experience Platform. Set up time to chat with our experts. 

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