Decoding the Experience Market
Prabhu Kaliaperumal
A creative thinker, problem-solver, and builder at heart. Rooted in authenticity and driven by purpose, I bring clarity to complexity, crafting solutions that connect people, ideas, and possibilities.
A few years ago, if you had asked me what “experience” meant in the IT industry, I would have given you a straightforward answer: it’s about how users interact with technology. A smooth UI, a fast-loading app, or a seamless video call—those were the markers of “experience,” right? Simple.
But then, something changed. Suddenly, “experience” became a buzzword that exploded across the industry. Everywhere I turned, I saw terms like Customer Experience (CX), Employee Experience (EX), Digital Experience Platforms (DXPs), Digital Employee Experience (DEX), Application Experience, Network Experience, Total Experience (TX), and more. It felt like every technology company had rebranded itself as a seller of “experience.” The more I heard, the more confused I became.
How could one word mean so many different things?
As I dug deeper, I realized the experience industry had become incredibly diverse and fragmented. Every company seemed to have its own definition, approach, and metrics for measuring experience. This complexity made understanding the market not just difficult but overwhelming.
To make sense of it all, I needed to take a step back. A simpler, clearer way to classify and group these “experience” players in a meaningful manner was essential.
The Complexity of Experience Segments
The experience industry isn’t just broad—it’s deeply fragmented. Companies align themselves with various "experience" labels, creating significant overlap and confusion. To make sense of it, I found that companies could be classified using different frameworks depending on the lens applied:
While these frameworks provide structure, they also highlight the overlapping nature of the experience segments. Companies often straddle multiple categories, making it difficult to pinpoint their exact role in the market. This overlapping complexity emphasized the need for a simpler classification system.
Why this Matters?
Understanding the structure of the experience industry is not just an academic exercise—it’s a strategic necessity. In a market where "experience" has become the cornerstone of customer and employee satisfaction, businesses need clarity to:
Selfishly speaking, I often find myself put on the spot when a customer or partner throws out the name of an "experience-associated" company and probes, "Are they your competitors?" This recurring situation highlights the need for a clear and concise understanding of where these players fit within the ecosystem.
Without a clear framework, businesses risk getting lost in the noise, investing in tools that fail to deliver meaningful value.
A Retrospection: Why Experience?
At its core, the purpose of the experience industry must be to add tangible value to the real audience—the actual users. Whether the users are employees or customers depends on the context of the environment, but the goal remains consistent: to deliver a meaningful, impactful, and desired experience.
This realization led me to a fundamental question: What is the purpose of this "experience" that companies are striving to create? The answer became clear—it’s either about providing users with a great experience or ensuring that what they experience meets their expectations and needs.
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That clarity gave rise to an even simpler way of looking at this market: Are these companies delivering a great experience, or are they managing and ensuring that the experience is great and desirable?
This question became the lens through which I could finally simplify and classify the complex world of the experience market.
The Two Core Categories of Experience Players
Once I applied this simple question, the market started making a lot more sense. Companies naturally fell into one of two distinct categories:
1. Delivering Experience Players
These companies create the actual touchpoints that customers and employees interact with daily. They design products, platforms, and environments that shape user experience directly.
Examples: Zoom (collaboration), Apple (devices), Salesforce (CRM), Adobe (DXPs).
2. Managing Experience Players
These companies operate behind the scenes, ensuring that experience remains seamless, reliable, and optimized. They provide monitoring, automation, analytics, and self-healing technologies.
Examples: Nexthink (DEX ), ThousandEyes (network monitoring), Dynatrace (APM), Datadog (cloud performance)
This classification was a game-changer. Instead of getting lost in countless overlapping categories, I could now instantly identify whether a company was in the business of delivering experience or managing it.
Mapping the Experience Ecosystem
Here’s a simplified snapshot of how key players align within this ecosystem:
Looking Ahead
By reframing the experience industry through delivering vs. managing experience, I could break through the confusion and develop clearer strategies for understanding and leveraging experience-driven solutions.
Which category do you think your organization fits into—delivering or managing experience? Start evaluating your current strategy through this lens and see how it aligns with your business goals.