Customers expect digital experiences to accompany the physical products and services they purchase in today’s highly competitive business market. They want these digital platforms to be personal, easy to navigate, and valuable — regardless of how difficult it is to create and maintain such an experience! That’s why companies looking to create a customer- or partner-facing digital platform need a digital platform engineering services (DPES) partner to guide them through these multifaceted projects that often transform a business.

Digital platforms take a range of forms: internet of things (IoT) platforms, digital experience platforms, eCommerce platforms — basically any digital touchpoint that directly interfaces with customers and partners qualifies. What’s similar across this array of digital platforms is the deep technical talent and experience necessary to design, build, and implement them.

We surveyed seven leading DPES vendors and 48 of their customers for The Forrester Wave™: Digital Platform Engineering Services, Q2 2016, available to Forrester clients. The Forrester Wave is an objective methodology to evaluate competing services. The analysis that determines vendors’ placement is based on data gathered from customer interviews and surveys, briefings from vendors, and analyst expertise. For more information on the DPES market, look for my upcoming brief “Software Skills Are Top Of Mind For Digital Platform Engineering Customers” in May 2016 and a webinar on the Forrester Wave report early this summer.

The Forrester Wave™: Digital Platform Engineering Services, Q2 2016

Nate Fleming’s bio and planned research