The Forrester Wave: Content material Platforms, Q1 2025 is now dwell! We checked out 12 key distributors and evaluated them on 24 standards. 4 leaders emerged, adopted by 5 sturdy Performers and three contenders. To be taught extra about these distributors and the way they serve their goal markets, see the complete report.
Get Prepared For A Extra Clever Method To Content material Administration
The enterprise content material administration market has undergone a major transformation and at the moment is exemplified by AI-enabled cloud content material platforms. Generic doc administration doesn’t reduce it. Technical leaders and the enterprise roles they help need versatile, extensible platforms on which to design and deploy a variety of content-rich apps. Content material platforms are a foundational element of an total digital office, integrating with key productiveness suites and important enterprise functions.
A Quick Tempo Of Innovation Marked This Yr’s Analysis
Our Wave methodology ensures that we do a deep dive into the evaluated content material platforms, in depth written questionnaire responses from distributors, sitting by way of demos and briefings, and speaking on to their prospects. I discovered that:
The tempo of innovation over the past two years has been unprecedented — pushed by AI. Generative AI (genAI), is remodeling how we create, devour, and govern content material. Distributors are making substantial investments in genAI, with capabilities evolving rapidly as giant language fashions and agentic AI proceed to develop. This speedy iteration signifies that companies can anticipate steady enchancment, together with evolving pricing fashions to place extra AI capabilities into customers’ fingers.
Automation alternatives abound. From easy doc approvals to complicated processes that combine with different enterprise functions, the vary of automation capabilities is increasing. Clever information extraction helps gas high-volume, document-centric workflows and automates metadata identification and tagging. Doc era capabilities, more and more assisted by AI and integrations, continues to be an space of funding for distributors.
Packaged apps and answer templates can quick observe adoption and productiveness. Many distributors have mature vertical methods and have packaged apps designed particularly for industry-specific use circumstances. Search for pre-defined templates or answer accelerators to tailor your deployment to satisfy particular enterprise wants — usually with minimal customized growth.
Key Issues for Patrons
Not all distributors are perfect for each content material administration use case. When constructing a brief record for content material platforms, understand that:
Vertical experience issues and never everyone has it. Take a look at the distributors that perceive the nuances of your {industry} and that put money into the options, skilled providers, and companion ecosystem to satisfy your necessities. Distributors specializing in key verticals will put money into assembly industry-specific compliance obligations, get hold of certifications, and assist purchasers meet their regulatory necessities.
Pricing fashions are simplifying — however turning into opaque. Whereas a handful of distributors on this analysis do publish the pricing for his or her most typical subscription bundles, most don’t. Most distributors worth their cloud content material platforms on per-user/per-month fashions with a alternative of some subscription tiers, comparable to fundamental, intermediate, or superior capabilities. Distributors that also supply self-hosted or on-premises deployment choices might have extra pricing and licensing fashions tied to API calls, storage volumes, or different usage- or application-based parameters. Know your use circumstances and your necessities whenever you attain out to distributors that don’t publish pricing/licensing fashions.
Context issues when making an attempt to get worth out of genAI. Carry AI to your content material fairly than bringing your content material to AI. Utilizing the embedded genAI capabilities out of your content material platform vendor can present an unfair benefit. Most evaluated distributors are utilizing a retrieval augmented era structure that shields your company content material from public AI fashions, and in addition respects current entry controls and permission buildings. Exposing a genAI assistant in a folder, a workspace, or search consequence interface can floor the AI within the that particular context – i.e., a buyer case, a undertaking folder, or record of incoming claims – to return particular solutions and related quotation hyperlinks to supply paperwork.
All in favour of studying extra? I’ll be internet hosting a webinar on Thursday, March 6 to go over the important thing findings from this Wave. Be part of us by registering right here!
Forrester purchasers are inspired to arrange a steering session or inquiry to speak about our key findings and be taught extra about this market.
