Dash Research recently profiled 150 representative companies in the CX space, focusing on companies that provide technologies for customer data & analytics, personalization & optimization, customer insights and feedback, customer relationship management (CRM), contact center, and employee experience (EX). A review of these companies’ initial public offering (IPO) activity shows that IPO launches were scarce during the 2019 to 2020 time period. However, 2021 is showing signs of being a big year for CX IPOs.
When Medallia went public in 2019, it was a vote of confidence in not only the CX industry, but the entire “experience” market. With offerings covering CX, EX, business-to-business (B2B), and product experience, as well as its more recent ambulatory patient experience suite, Medallia provides an example of a more fully loaded CX solution. While primarily known for its feedback and insights platform, Medallia also offers products for CX profiling, as well as journey optimization and behavioral segmentation. Now, 2 years later, the company may be reeling back its IPO via the proposed acquisition by Thoma Bravo, covered in a separate Dash Network article (link). EX company Limeade also debuted an IPO at the end of 2019, becoming a publicly traded company on the Australian Securities Exchange.
With the COVID-19 pandemic in full force in 2020, IPO activity was quiet in the CX segment. Concentrix, a business services firm that offers technologies for voice of the customer (VoC), analytics, and call center solutions, was an IPO highlight. It is a different picture so far this year, with two well-known and major CX players, Sprinklr and Qualtrics, launching IPOs. Sprinklr provides a platform for all customer-facing functions with four product suites (Modern Care, Modern Research, Modern Marketing & Advertising, and Modern Sales & Engagement) and one unified customer experience management (CXM) platform. Qualtrics was acquired by SAP in 2018 and, subsequently, filed for an IPO in 2020. Qualtrics became a public company in early 2021, with SAP remaining the majority holder. The Qualtrics XM Platform spans customer, employee, product, and brand areas, offering solutions for feedback, analysis, and employee engagement.
There are also some potential CX IPOs on the horizon. Braze submitted an S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in June 2021. Braze offers a customer engagement (CE) platform that includes data & analytics, as well as tools for segmentation, journey building, personalization, and optimization technologies. Rumors have swirled around Freshworks, a provider of CRM and customer journey mapping (CJM) solutions, and the consistently profitable data analytics company SAS Institute, which recently announced its plan to go public by 2024. Long known as a data analytics giant, its software can be leveraged in the CX space to manage the customer journey using engagement, analytics, and automation technologies. Dash Research will continue following IPO activity in the CX market, expanding the view past the Dash Research 150 group of companies.
Author Information
As a detail-oriented researcher, Sherril is expert at discovering, gathering and compiling industry and market data to create clear, actionable market and competitive intelligence. With deep experience in market analysis and segmentation she is a consummate collaborator with strong communication skills adept at supporting and forming relationships with cross-functional teams in all levels of organizations.
She brings more than 20 years of experience in technology research and marketing; prior to her current role, she was a Research Analyst at Omdia, authoring market and ecosystem reports on Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and User Interface technologies. Sherril was previously Manager of Market Research at Intrado Life and Safety, providing competitive analysis and intelligence, business development support, and analyst relations.
Sherril holds a Master of Business Administration in Marketing from University of Colorado, Boulder and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Rutgers University.
