Gartner has released their first ever Magic Quadrant for Digital Experience Platforms and has named Liferay as a Leader. The independent analysis saw Gartner evaluate 21 providers based on their completeness of vision and ability to execute in the integrated set of technologies they provide to customers, with Liferay being named as one of only four Leaders.

The Magic Quadrant for DXPs takes the place of the long-running Magic Quadrant for Horizontal Portals, which is a natural step given Gartner noted the evolution of portals into digital experience platforms last year. Digital experience platforms (DXPs) provide a set of tools for managing experiences that have grown out of the needs of businesses to offer consistent and connected experiences across channels and touchpoints, such as portals, websites, mobile and IoTs devices.

As shown by the representation of technologies in the report, DXPs most often have a heritage in either portal or content management system (CMS) technology. Providers, including Liferay DXP, that find their roots in portal technology have distinct strengths regarding how they can be used to connect businesses both internally and with target audiences.

The following six advantages of a portal-based DXP can empower businesses in unique ways. While these elements may also be found in some CMS heritage portals, they are often inherent in most portal platforms and therefore have a strong presence in those that become DXPs, even at initial launch.

1. Integration Capabilities

Digital experience platforms allow companies to embrace digital transformation in both how they operate as a business as well as the customer experiences they create. Great modern customer experiences depend on the ability of the customer to shift seamlessly between websites, applications, back-end systems and all other touchpoints while companies gather data and provide customized services. A company must be able to integrate a wide variety of currently existing systems in order to provide such exceptional experiences.

Portal-heritage DXPs have core capabilities for the integration of backend systems, which give customers, employees and other end users access to the data they need across multiple applications within a company. For example, customer data locked in a CRM or company’s marketing automation tool can be unified and shared through a portal-heritage DXP. Doing so can save both businesses and customers time and effort while also helping companies better understand and support their target audience through the insights provided by this shared data.

2. Long-term Customer Relationships Focus

Portals are designed to help connect businesses with target audiences through secure interfaces. This can include specific user bases such as customers who are in need of accessing information and tools integral to their experiences. Rivet Logic highlights portal-heritage DXPs as being particularly strong in the fostering of long-term customer relationships, as their ability to create unique individual experiences through logins to support and serve customer needs has been an established and core tenant of portals since they were first created. This is a distinct advantage over CMS technology, which has traditionally focused on anonymous prospects.

Liferay has empowered a wide variety of businesses to understand and reach their target audiences through the use of portals and portal-heritage DXP. Global IT company Unisys created VantagePoint by using Liferay, a business services portal using integration features to provide configurable services for a wide variety of clients around the world. Gartner’s Magic Quadrant report highlights that modern IT departments are frequently finding the solution in horizontal portal heritage DXPs. The customer experiences they create can help increase return customers and better equip sales teams through in-depth customer insights.

3. Digital Workplace Scenario Support

Digital experience platforms encompass a wide variety of online needs, including the ability to support the everyday lives of employees. By leveraging the various tools and methods of communication already used within employee portals, portal-heritage DXPs can take proven methods and expand them into robust digital workplaces. While both CMS and portal-heritage DXPs can be used to create these digital workplaces, portal software has a legacy of being used to create employee intranets and workspaces. These scenarios include customized interfaces based on employee preferences and duties, mobile-friendly interfaces that equip workforces on the go and information management capabilities that improve how a company internally communicates. These various elements are used to an even greater degree in DXP-created digital workplaces.

These online workplaces give teams access to a wide variety of needed information and digital tools that help them better complete their various duties and serve the needs of customers. With the flexibility of a DXP, these workplaces can be accessed on various devices so that employees can find what they need at any moment. Through the use of DXPs, companies are renovating their portals and intranets in an effort to bring the same level of care and customization shown to customers to employees for a more efficient and helpful online work environment. In addition, building workplace support for all departments on a single platform can bridge company silos through the sharing of information and insights.

4. B2B Relationship Management

As already discussed, portals play an important role in B2C and B2E scenarios. However, portals also play a crucial role in DXPs used for business-to-business (B2B) scenarios.

Many B2B companies have used portal technology to facilitate their relationships by creating secure and helpful interfaces with the businesses they serve. Harvard Business Review highlights that the modern B2B sales process has become more complicated than ever, leading to complications and a lack of satisfaction that can be solved by becoming more like B2C experiences. This means a clearer and more customized customer interface that provides needed services that match their unique customer journeys. Effective DXPs with a portal heritage take the well-established connections created by portal software and create a more robust experience through the many features possible via DXPs. In doing so, B2B companies can keep up with expectations and strengthen business relations in an age where competition is high due to rapid innovation in online experiences.

5. Secure Data Handling Capabilities

Data insights play a major role in modern marketing and customer service strategies for companies in all types of industries. However, this data must be secured against potential breaches to prevent harm to companies and the people who have entrusted them with their sensitive information. In addition, the modern audience generates larger amounts of data than ever before, which is used for increasingly specific targeted marketing and customer experience strategies. As opposed to CMS software, portals are based on supporting a large number of users and a large flow of information, which often contains sensitive details from both customers and businesses. As such, portal-heritage DXPs are founded in systems that are encrypted and ready to both store and analyze data for secure and insightful information management.

6. Digital Agility

As highlighted by Gartner, portals are able to be used as a common architectural framework. This functionality of a portal-based DXP allows companies to build a website and quickly reuse the framework they have created in order to build more touchpoints. In doing so, companies can not only ensure that all aspects of their digital presence are uniform in functionality and appearance, but will also save both time and money by avoiding a rebuild from scratch. By turning a portal-heritage digital experience platform into a solutions factory, businesses can quickly advance their digital strategies while still maintaining control over the quality of individual experiences.

Leveraging Portal Heritage with Liferay DXP

In choosing Liferay as a Leader, Gartner pointed to the flexibility and agility of Liferay DXP when being used to build highly customized experiences, the company’s responsiveness and organic growth in creating new product features to meet customer demands, and a strong record of providing excellent customer support and customer experience.

Liferay DXP is built on Liferay’s heritage as a portal platform, using technology created to empower workforces and provide customers with access to the information they most need. Companies around the world have used Liferay DXP to create numerous aspects of their online experience, including websites, mobile apps and connected digital experiences, along with using portal technology to carefully manage a wide variety of assets in order to better serve their customers and support their employees. These portal heritage advantages have helped distinguish Liferay DXP in the field.