The way companies manage customer data is evolving – and quickly. In an era where personalization, privacy and real-time decision making are no longer optional, companies need a smarter approach to data. That's why Twilio presents the 2025 edition of the Customer Data Platform report, its latest in-depth study of how companies are leveraging customer data platforms (CDPS) to unlock new opportunities.
This year's report, based on insights from thousands of Twilio customers, reveals the top trends that shape the future of customer engagement. From the rise of technology systems combined with the growing synergy between data warehouses and CDPs, the findings make one thing clear: companies that take advantage of their data effectively will define the next era of customer experience.
“From the simplest to the most complex interactions, whether in the search for engagement, personalization, scalability or better use of technology, we always have the same starting point, from which everything originates: the data. Basically, the entire tree of actions, strategies and technologies is born from this single seed, which alerts us to the quality, quantity and refinement of this data”, says Vivian Jones, vice president LATAM at Twilio.
Below are four of the most important insights from this year's report:
- Interoperability is the key to Martech's success – Companies are abandoning rigid and monolithic platforms in favor of combinable technology systems – integrated ecosystems where the best tools in the category work together perfectly. This flexibility promotes innovation and allows companies to quickly adapt to new needs;
- Data warehouses and CDPs are better together – Last year, Twilio customers synchronized nearly 10 trillion data rows with cloud data warehouses such as Snowflake and BigQuery. While warehouses provide scalable data storage, their true power is released when integrated into a CDP, allowing companies to combine historical data with real-time insights for more personalized customer experiences;
- Analysis remains a power – Analytical tools are the most connected category on the Twilio platform, reflecting their critical role in understanding customer behavior. Companies that integrate analytics with a CDP are making smarter, more real-time decisions that drive deeper engagement.
- The growth of AI predictive – Last year, Twilio launched Predictive Traits, allowing companies to anticipate customer behavior using machine learning. The adoption of this feature increased by 57% this year, signaling a predictive AI shift from a leading edge to an essential booster for a smarter and more personalized customer engagement.
Top 2025 customer data destinations
The report also explores which tools companies are prioritizing in their customer data strategies. The most connected categories on the Twilio platform include:
- Analytics (Google Analytics, Amplitude, MixPanel) – 89%;
- Data Warehouses (Snowflake, BigQuery) – 52%;
- Advertising (meta ads, LinkedIn, Google Ads) – 50%;
- raw data storage (Amazon S3) – 40%;
- E-mail Marketing (Customer.io, Mailchimp) – 35%;
- Heat Maps and Session Recording (Hotjar, FullStory) – 33%;
- Customer Success Platforms (Zendesk, Gainsight) – 25%;
- CRM Systems (Intercom, HubSpot, Salesforce) – 14%.
These categories highlight how companies are orchestrating customer data across multiple platforms to create continuous, data-based experiences.
why is this important
The explosion of Martech tools over the past decade has created a paradox: although there is a boost towards consolidation, the reality is that companies are using more tools than ever to satisfy specific and critical needs. Integration has become the connective tissue that holds these technologies together, allowing companies to leverage specialized tools while maintaining a continuous flow of data.
Martech is a vast and growing industry, with thousands of participants, and some level of consolidation is always on the air. Now, a recent series of mergers and acquisitions have left everyone attentive. it Uniphore acquired ActionIQ, a ContentStack acquired Lytics and Rokt revealed his merger with Mparticle – All deals were announced at a half-week period, all focused on acquiring a customer data platform.
These measures signal a growing recognition that customer data is at the heart of modern marketing technology. But consolidation alone does not solve the complexity that companies face in managing their technology systems.
What these recent acquisitions have actually done was just to create new one-off solutions, linking the CDP to a specific application or channel, which is limiting by definition.
Instead, a customer data platform should be part of an open architecture, seamlessly integrating communication channels, data sources and AI capabilities, with the flexibility to add custom solutions. The report makes it clear that this is how companies create unified and integrated customer experiences in each contact point.
the recent Twilio's membership of the Mach Alliance It underscores its commitment to allowing for combinable, open and future-prepared architectures. The Mach (Microservices, API-First, Cloud-Native and Headless) framework represents the best category standard for building modular technology systems. By joining the Alliance, Twilio signals its alignment with the principles of flexibility and interoperability – values that are critical as companies seek to adapt to the evolving scenario of customer data.
However, not all integrations are created equal. Many large software packages promise interoperability but fall short due to fragmented data models and limited documentation, making companies rely on expensive custom integrations. On the other hand, the Twilio platform was designed with the opening in its essence, ensuring that companies can connect tools without friction and unlock the full potential of their data.
To learn more, read the full report here.
