End-to-End Platforms Unify Customer Experience, ISG says

Companies generate more value from customer relationships by consolidating tools, automating processes with AI, new research says

Enterprises are migrating customer experience management (CXM) from departmental tools to platforms that orchestrate diverse functions for better customer engagement and business outcomes, according to new research from global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III).

The 2026 ISG Buyers Guides™ for Customer Experience Management provide the rankings and ratings of 42 software providers and their products for customer experience management (CXM). In addition to an overview of CXM platforms and providers, the series includes guides to AI-enabled CXM platforms, CXM platforms for retail enterprises, emerging CXM providers and platforms for customer journey management (CJM). The research finds that broad-based CXM platforms have emerged as customers expect experiences to span multiple channels and reflect constant contextual awareness based on historical and real-time behavior.

“Customer-facing technology has been fragmented across channels and business units for decades, but enterprises cannot create coherent end-to-end experiences with tactical tools alone,” said Keith Dawson, director of research, Customer Experience, ISG. “Unified CXM multiplies the value of customer relationships by sustaining and growing them over time.”

CXM platforms are being formed through the convergence of contact center systems, customer data platforms, analytics tools and marketing automation. They provide several core capabilities, including interaction handling, knowledge management and customer behavior analytics and insight. By orchestrating functions, the platforms deliver information and tasks where needed across departments. Customer journey management (CJM) is an essential part of this mission, identifying key moments and personalizing engagement to influence outcomes throughout the customer’s experience.

The rapid growth of AI is reshaping all these functions, supporting automation, real-time guidance and predictive decision-making. AI and machine learning enhance orchestration and workflow management by automating service requests and enabling proactive engagement. Knowledge and resource management are increasingly important to ensure automation runs on accurate and accessible information. Over time, AI is expected to give CXM platforms the power not just to recommend actions but to carry them out.

Enterprises should evaluate CXM software in the context of AI strategies, carefully considering how well providers will use AI to enhance CJM, analytics, knowledge management and other functions. A platform’s orchestration capability, lifecycle visibility and extensibility into domains such as marketing and service are also important considerations, ISG says.

For its 2026 Buyers Guides for Customer Experience Management, ISG evaluated software providers in five separate guides devoted to specific platform categories: Customer Experience Management, Customer Journey Management, AI Customer Experience Management, Retail Customer Experience Management and Customer Experience Management Emerging Providers. A total of 42 providers were assessed: Adobe, Alida, ASAPP, Birdeye, Braze, CallMiner, ChurnZero, CSG, Custellence, Emplifi, Exotel, Forsta, Freshworks, Gainsight, Genesys, Glassbox, Hiver, HubSpot, Insider One, Intercom, KMS Lighthouse, Medallia, Microsoft, MoEngage, Netcore, Nextiva, NiCE, Oracle, Qualtrics, Quantum Metric, Salesforce, SAP, SAS, ServiceNow, Sogolytics, Sprinklr, SugarCRM, Talkdesk, Tidio, Verint, Zendesk and Zoho.

ISG rates software providers in five evaluation categories: Overall, Product Experience, Capability, Platform and Customer Experience. Providers ranked in the top three for each evaluation category are named as Leaders. Within each platform category, those that meet the greatest proportion of our evaluation criteria are named as Overall Leaders.

Of the five Buyers Guides, four cover established providers and one covers emerging providers. Among the established providers, Salesforce was the top Overall Leader, followed by NiCE. Oracle was the third-place Overall Leader in three of these guides, while SAP was in third place in one guide.

For emerging providers, Exotel, CallMiner and Forsta were the top three Overall Leaders.

In addition, the following providers were rated as Exemplary or Innovative in each of the Buyers Guides:

Customer Experience Management: Adobe, Genesys, Microsoft, NiCE, Oracle, Salesforce, SAP, ServiceNow, Sprinklr, Talkdesk, Verint, Zendesk and Zoho were rated Exemplary. Freshworks was rated Innovative.

Customer Journey Management: Adobe, Genesys, Microsoft, NiCE, Oracle, Salesforce, SAP, ServiceNow, Sprinklr, Talkdesk, Verint and Zoho were rated Exemplary. Freshworks and HubSpot were rated Innovative.

AI Customer Experience Management: Adobe, Genesys, Microsoft, NiCE, Oracle, Salesforce, SAP, ServiceNow, Sprinklr, Talkdesk, Verint, Zendesk and Zoho were rated Exemplary. Freshworks was rated Innovative.

Retail Customer Experience Management: Adobe, Genesys, NiCE, Salesforce, SAP, Sprinklr, Talkdesk, Verint, Zendesk and Zoho were rated Exemplary. No providers were rated Innovative.

Customer Experience Management Emerging Providers: ASAPP, Birdeye, CallMiner, Exotel, Forsta, and Quantum Metric were rated Exemplary. ChurnZero was rated Innovative.

“Enterprises evaluating CXM platforms need to consider a wide range of software capabilities in the context of their specific requirements, plus their own ability to establish governance and cross-functional coordination,” said David Menninger, executive director and distinguished analyst, ISG. “This research includes the in-depth provider evaluations, rankings and ratings that organizations need to choose best CXM solutions for their needs.”

The ISG Buyers Guides for Customer Experience Management are the distillation of more than a year of market and product research efforts. The research is not sponsored nor influenced by software providers and is conducted solely to help enterprises optimize their business and IT software investments.

Visit this webpage to learn more about the ISG Buyers Guides for Customer Experience Management and read executive summaries of each of the five reports. The complete reports, including provider rankings across seven product and customer experience dimensions and detailed research findings on each provider, are available by contacting ISG.

About ISG

ISG (Nasdaq: III) is a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm. A trusted partner to more than 900 clients, including 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is a long-time leader in technology and business services that is now at the forefront of leveraging AI to help organizations achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm, founded in 2006, is known for its proprietary market data and research, in-depth knowledge and governance of provider ecosystems, and the expertise of its 1,500 professionals worldwide working together to help clients maximize the value of their technology investments.

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Customer-facing technology has been fragmented for decades, but enterprises cannot create coherent end-to-end experiences with tactical tools alone. Unified CXM multiplies the value of customer relationships by sustaining and growing them over time.