Software Suites, AI Reshaping Customer Experience, ISG Says
New ISG research says most companies view CX as essential, but use a wide range of strategies and tools to operate, analyze and improve it. By 2027, most CXM suites will include components that combine analytics, AI and customer data integration.
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The ISG Buyers Guides™ for Customer Experience Management, produced by ISG Software Research, provide rankings and ratings of 29 software providers and their products for governing and optimizing customer experience across all channels. The research finds that most companies view CX as essential, but they use a wide range of different strategies and tools to operate, analyze and improve it. Traditionally, customer relationship management (CRM) and contact center processes have been dispersed across organizations.
In recent years, enterprises are starting to take a more centralized approach to CX using customer experience management (CXM) software, which combines applications on a common platform so organizations can view and control customer activity across departments, the reports say. Software providers are making this possible by synthesizing functions, packaging together previously separate systems for managing interactions and influencing customer behavior.
A key benefit of combining CX software into a single platform is consistency and continuity around data collection and metrics, ISG says. This allows enterprises to transcend the separate metrics used by each department, achieving a more holistic view.
'By 2027, we expect most CXM suites, by default, will include components that combine analytics, AI and customer data integration,' said Keith Dawson, director of research, customer experience, ISG Software Research. 'This will make them increasingly essential to providing great customer experience.'
CXM software is evolving rapidly, so each suite has different strengths depending on its components and on the traditional expertise of the provider, the reports say. Providers of contact center, CRM and marketing software have been assembling CXM suites. The platforms include tools for functions that may include customer data, contact center interaction handling, knowledge management and customer journey management (CJM).
ISG expects providers to fill out their suites over time, converging on five core functional areas that every CXM suite should include: interaction handling, resource management, workflow automation, insights and analysis and CJM. Interaction handling includes both traditional call-center voice interactions and digital customer contact channels.
CJM turns the passive act of responding to service calls into a deliberate effort to optimize customer experiences and relationships, the reports say. By mapping the customer journey or lifecycle, enterprises may identify moments of influence when they can generate more business or turn customers into advocates. CJM includes software for personalizing interactions and managing proactive sales and marketing efforts.
Enterprises should evaluate CXM suites based on how they manage and measure customer behavior, whether they can give senior management a useful overview of the customer base and how easily they can be expanded into software segments related to other departments and processes, ISG says.
For its 2025 Buyers Guides for Customer Experience Management, ISG evaluated software providers across three platform categories — Customer Experience Management, Customer Journey Management and Knowledge Management — and produced a separate Buyers Guide for each. A total of 29 providers were assessed: Adobe, Braze, CSG, CallMiner, eGain, Emplifi, Exotel, Freshworks, Gainsight, Genesys, HubSpot, Insider, Medallia, Microsoft, MoEngage, Netcore, Nextiva, NICE, Oracle, Qualtrics, Salesforce, SAP, SAS, ServiceNow, Sprinklr, SugarCRM, Verint, Zendesk and Zoho.
ISG Software Research ranks software providers on seven performance categories. Five are product-related: usability, manageability, reliability, capability and adaptability. Two are customer assurance-related: validation and total cost of ownership and return on investment (TCO/ROI). Providers ranked in the top three for each performance category are named Leaders. Within each platform category, those with the most Leader rankings are named Overall Leaders.
The Overall Leaders of the 2025 Buyers Guides for Customer Experience Management were the following:
Customer Experience Management: Salesforce earned the highest overall rating, followed by Verint and NICE. Salesforce was designated a Leader in four categories, NICE in six categories and Verint in two categories. Adobe, Emplifi, Freshworks, Gainsight, Genesys, HubSpot, Microsoft, SAP, ServiceNow, Sprinklr, Zendesk and Zoho were also rated Exemplary. Netcore, SAS and SugarCRM were rated Innovative.
Customer Journey Management: Salesforce was rated highest overall, followed by Oracle and Verint. Salesforce was named a Leader in four categories and Verint in one category. Adobe, Emplifi, Freshworks, Gainsight, Genesys, HubSpot, Microsoft, NICE, SAP, ServiceNow, Sprinklr, Zendesk and Zoho were also rated Exemplary. Netcore, SAS and SugarCRM were rated Innovative.
Knowledge Management: Verint earned the highest overall rating. Salesforce was second highest, followed closely by ServiceNow. Of the top three providers, Verint was designated a Leader in two categories, Salesforce in four and ServiceNow in six. Adobe, Emplifi, Genesys, NICE, Oracle, Sprinklr, Zendesk and Zoho were also rated Exemplary. No providers were rated Innovative.
'CXM suites are evolving into platforms of great utility and variety,' said Mark Smith, partner and chief software analyst, ISG Software Research. 'The integration they provide will be increasingly important to enterprises navigating rapidly changing needs to engage and satisfy customers. This research guides enterprises to more accurately assess and select the software that meets their specific needs with the subject matter experts that can advise with experience and best practices.'
The ISG Buyers Guides™ for Customer Experience Management are the distillation of 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 three 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 Software Research.
About ISG Software Research
ISG Software Research provides authoritative coverage and analysis of the business and IT software industry. It distributes research and insights daily through its user community, and provides a portfolio of consulting, advisory, research and education services for enterprises, software and service providers, and investment firms. Its ISG Buyers Guides™ help enterprises evaluate and select software providers through tailored assessments powered by ISG's proprietary methodology. Visit www.isg-research.net for more information and to sign up for free community membership.
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, in-depth knowledge of provider ecosystems, and the expertise of its 1,600 professionals worldwide working together to help clients maximize the value of their technology investments.
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(Nasdaq: AGAE) is a global experiential entertainment company focused on providing a growing world of gamers and concertgoers with unique experiences through renowned assets, products and services. For more information, visit Forward Looking Statements This press release contains certain forward-looking statements under federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements may include our statements regarding our goals, beliefs, strategies, objectives, plans, including product and service developments, future financial conditions, results or projections or current expectations. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as 'may,' 'will,' 'should,' 'expect,' 'plan,' 'anticipate,' 'believe,' 'estimate,' 'predict,' 'potential,' 'intend' or 'continue,' the negative of such terms, or other comparable terminology. Specific forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our ability to execute on strategic and business plans and drive stockholder value, our projections on Allied Gaming's future financial performance and expense structure and our beliefs on the impact of Knighted director nominations and other actions of Knighted on the performance of the Company. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors, many of which are outside our control, that may cause actual results to be materially different from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. The inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by us, or any person, that the objectives of Allied Gaming will be achieved. Important factors, among others, that may affect actual results or outcomes include: risks associated with our strategy, future direction or governance; the substantial uncertainties inherent in the acceptance of existing and future products and services; risks associated with our ability to retain key personnel; risks related to our common stock and the listing of our common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market; risks associated with intellectual property; uncertainty around current and potential litigation and related legal expenses; and general economic, political and market conditions and events. You should consider the areas of risk described in connection with any forward-looking statements that may be made herein and other risk factors discussed from time to time in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the 'SEC'), including those factors discussed under the caption 'Risk Factors' in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on June 9, 2025, as well as subsequent reports filed with the SEC. Readers are also urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures we made in such Annual Report on Form 10-K and in subsequent reports with the SEC. We assume no obligation and do not intend to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law, to reflect events or circumstances occurring after today's date.
