CX Path is IDC's premier benchmarking survey, providing subscribers with demand-side guidance on the mind and journey of buyers of customer experience (CX) applications and services, including a deep dive into 13 functional markets that cover the end-to-end customer journey from awareness to loyalty.

Coverage includes application adoption, deployment models, budget plans and replacement cycle timing, purchasing preferences and attitudes toward buying channels, application migration strategy, drivers and inhibitors, packaging and pricing options, and in-depth vendor reviews, ratings, spend, and advocacy scores for most leading vendors in each of the 13 functional markets. CX Path is a global study covering 12 countries across all regions of the world. For more information, view this product video.

Markets and Subjects Analyzed


  • Advertising
  • Marketing (Enterprise, SMB)
  • Sales
  • Digital Commerce
  • Configure Price Quote (CPQ)
  • Product Information Management/Product Experience Management (PIM/PXM)
  • Contact Center and Customer Service

Core Research


  • CX Path Executive Summary Report
  • CX Path Vendor Ratings Report
  • CX Path: Worldwide Banner Book
  • CX Path: Additional 13+ Banner Books — By Category/Region

In addition to the insight provided in this service, IDC may conduct research on specific topics or emerging market segments via research offerings that require additional IDC funding and client investment.

Key Questions Answered


  1. Which CX applications are organizations investing in? when? and where?
  2. How do CX application buyers like to be sold to? Through what channels? What are their buying preferences, attitudes, fears, needs, and priorities? How do these vary by CX application market?
  3. Which vendors are organizations considering for each CX application solution? How satisfied are organizations with their CX technology vendor/partner, and how do they rate their provider on 30+ different metrics?
  4. How do buyers of CX technology like to be engaged, and what are the most common friction points they experience related to the selection, contracting, and management of customer experience–oriented technology?
  5. What are buyers seeking in their drive toward a "future customer experience," and how must technology vendors/partners support them to meet those needs and expectations?

Companies Analyzed


This service reviews the strategies, market positioning, and future direction of several hundred providers in the customer experience (CX) market. A small sampling of those includes:

Adobe Systems Inc., Bazaarvoice, BigCommerce, Cisco, Conga, Contentsquare, Contentstack, Criteo, Medallia, Microsoft, NICE, Oracle, Qualtrics, Salesforce, SAP, ServiceNow, Shopify, Sprinklr, Treasure Data, Twilio, Ushur, Zendesk, and Zoho.

  • Eric Newmark

    Group Vice President & General Manager of IDC’s SaaS, Enterprise Software, and Worldwide Services Division

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  • Douglas Hayward

    Senior Research Director, Worldwide Customer Experience Services and Strategies

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  • Roger Beharry Lall

    Research Director, Advertising Technologies and SMB Marketing Applications

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  • Aly Pinder

    Research Vice President, Worldwide Aftermarket Services Strategies

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  • Gerry Murray

    Research Director, Marketing and Sales Technology

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  • Sudhir Rajagopal

    Research Director, Future of Customer Experience

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  • Mary Wardley

    Program Vice President, Customer Care and CRM

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  • Tapan Patel

    Research Director, Customer Data Platform, Intelligence and Analytics

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  • Michelle Morgan

    Research Manager, Sales Force Productivity and Performance

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  • Heather Hershey

    Research Director, Worldwide Digital Commerce

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  • James McCormick

    Senior Research Director, Digital Experience

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  • Lou Reinemann

    Research Director, Voice of the Customer and Customer Success

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