Today we're breaking down the concept of a "DXP," or Digital Experience Platform, in a digital world where technology keeps moving fast. It sounds ambitious, but is it really indispensable for every company? The need for a DXP arises when an organization has to integrate complex systems, needs advanced personalization, has to distribute content across multiple channels, and its current CMS falls short. So before deciding whether your organization is ready for a DXP, let's break down what this platform actually involves, and then assess whether it's the right fit for your business.
What is a DXP?
At its core, a DXP is a comprehensive solution that unifies the management of all your digital experiences. This spans everything from websites and applications to personalization and data handling, all within a coherent ecosystem.
To picture it better, imagine a clinic that manages a large volume of content (patient guides, health blogs, testimonials, service information, prevention campaigns) whose patients interact through its website, mobile app, email, and even a chatbot. On top of that, the clinic wants to offer personalized information to patients with chronic conditions versus those seeking preventive care, needs to consolidate patient behavior data for strategic decisions, and, of course, needs to maintain flawless brand consistency across every channel. A DXP would let this clinic manage its content, adapt experiences, and keep everything interconnected without resorting to manual integrations across multiple tools.
DXP: standout solutions on the market
Here are some of the most recognized DXP platforms that enable a connected user experience.
Adobe Experience Platform is geared toward large corporations with sizable budgets, looking for a robust, comprehensive solution, though its cost and complexity are high.
Sitecore is ideal for sectors like finance and healthcare that demand personalization and strict regulatory compliance. It offers powerful content and marketing automation capabilities, though its learning curve is steep.
Salesforce Experience Cloud is designed for companies already using Salesforce that want to connect their digital experiences with their CRM data. It is highly useful if the organization is already embedded in that ecosystem.
Liferay DXP is well suited for governments, large enterprises, and organizations with internal portals. It is open source, with solid portal and access control capabilities, though less appealing for marketing teams.
Acquia DXP (built on Drupal) is a great fit for organizations with abundant content looking for flexibility, scalability, and an open architecture. Based on Drupal's open source code, it is customizable and API-compatible, though it requires development expertise.
Drupal as the heart of your DXP
Now that the concept of a DXP is clearer, it's natural to wonder whether Drupal can serve as the foundation for it. The answer is yes. Although Drupal was born as a CMS, its flexibility, modularity, and "API-first" philosophy make it an ideal pillar for a Digital Experience Platform.
How? Picture a large university with multiple faculties, hundreds of content editors, student portals, and marketing campaigns spanning the web, email, and mobile devices. This is how Drupal becomes a DXP in action:
Multisite strategy. Each department can operate its own Drupal instance, sharing components, templates, and governance.
Centralized content management. Drupal acts as a shared content management layer across all sites, ensuring consistency in brand and structure.
Multichannel delivery. Content gets reused across web, mobile apps, social media, and internal tools, thanks to Drupal's "API-first" architecture.
Personalization and segmentation. Some university subsites can use behavioral data from prospective students, professors, or donors to personalize the experience.
Integrations. Drupal integrates easily with CRMs, event systems, internal databases, and analytics platforms.
This way, you can use Drupal as the core and build a modular DXP around it, without being locked into a single vendor, instead of acquiring a monolithic, closed DXP.
Final thoughts: is a DXP really indispensable for your business?
As mentioned, not every company needs a full DXP, or at least not from an early stage. An open DXP like Acquia that lets you scale progressively can be enough for many businesses. If your current needs don't include real-time personalization or multichannel content distribution, starting with Drupal and Acquia Cloud could be the right fit.
However, if any of the following situations describe your reality, it might be time to consider a DXP, whether complete or modular.
Inconsistent customer experience. Customers perceive a disconnect between their interactions (web, email, app), as if they came from different business entities.
Lack of genuine personalization. Despite talking about personalized experiences, the reality is generic content delivery and underutilized customer segments.
Fragmented infrastructure. Content, CRM, email, and analytics scattered across disparate systems make unified campaign management difficult.
Technology that limits growth. Your company's rapid growth is being held back by digital infrastructure that has become obsolete or insufficient.
Many organizations are currently choosing to build their own modular DXP architectures. This is achieved by combining a powerful DXP like Acquia DXP, which has Drupal at its heart, with tools for personalization, analytics, marketing, and other functionality, giving them the flexibility to keep what works and replace what doesn't.
So, is it time for a DXP for your business? Maybe. Maybe not. But if these signals are starting to resonate, at esinergia we can help you build modular, scalable, cost-effective DXPs using Drupal as the core, giving you the flexibility, performance, and control you need.
If your organization wants to review whether it's ready to take the step toward a DXP, let's sit down to evaluate it.