The Great DEX-pansion Of 2025

We (nonetheless) have an incomplete view of DEX.

For years, enterprises have approached digital worker expertise (DEX) initiatives in silos — IT is doing one factor, HR one other, and the enterprise one thing completely completely different — all of which has made it troublesome for organizations to efficiently drive DEX outcomes for workers. At Forrester, we hear the signs of a fractured strategy to DEX on a regular basis from purchasers.

“If solely HR knew how we might assist enhance DEX,” remarked one IT chief, whereas an HR chief stated, “IT thinks they personal DEX, however they aren’t chargeable for any worker outcomes like expertise attraction and retention.”

At Forrester, we’re seeing indicators that this can be altering. Organizations are beginning to carry numerous stakeholders to the desk to sort out DEX on the govt stage, specializing in bettering the day by day work of workers. There’s a further downside, although: Not solely are enterprise groups siloed in terms of DEX, so are their instruments — one software for monitoring finish consumer computing and the service desk, one other for company communications, and one more for digital adoption … and that’s simply the beginning.

So many instruments, so little visibility.

As we transfer into the tip of 2024, purchasers are persistently asking for his or her DEX instruments to do extra with a view to assist them:

• Illuminate blind spots in tech expertise.
• Perceive and drive adoption of recent applied sciences.
• Diagnose the consumer expertise of key enterprise purposes.
• Measure worker outcomes utilizing experience-level agreements.
• Enhance search and software entry.

That want for a constant expertise is tough to do when your group has so many instruments in its arsenal, none of that are built-in.

The excellent news? Distributors perceive the issue.

Distributors within the end-user expertise administration house have responded with a slew of improvements up to now yr, driving the start of a “DEX-pansion” by which distributors try to acquire a extra holistic and correct view of DEX. For instance:

• 1E acquired Exoprise in October 2024, considerably bolstering 1E’s software monitoring capabilities with in-depth actual consumer monitoring, complete artificial testing, and improved assist for unified-communications-as-a-service monitoring. The corporate additionally introduced a brand new partnership with Goliath, a digital desktop monitoring software targeted on digital well being report techniques reminiscent of Epic and Cerner. 1E additionally introduced a partnership with B2M Options to create a cellular endpoint expertise product, additional demonstrating 1E’s dedication to increasing its DEX visibility.
• Riverbed launched Aternity Cellular earlier this yr, increasing its imaginative and prescient to raised serve an typically forgotten phase of the workforce: frontline workers. Aternity Cellular options multivendor cellular gadget, software, networking, and sentiment monitoring capabilities, one of many solely devoted cellular DEX options available in the market right now and extra proof of DEX-pansion.
• Nexthink acquired AppLearn, a digital adoption platform vendor, in January 2024, increasing the corporate’s visibility into worker software utilization with built-in steering and studying. A high precedence amongst digital office leaders, driving digital adoption helps carry Nexthink even nearer to understanding DEX holistically.

Whereas expansions like these pose great alternatives for each distributors and clients, they’re additionally dangerous.

Clients ought to be certain that they:

• Overview the standard of integration between converging product units.
• Ask questions on altering pricing and packaging fashions.
• Put together for any gaps in assist as distributors search to up-level their experience in unfamiliar DEX territory.

My prediction? The DEX-pansion will start at full drive in 2025.

As the necessity for holistic DEX grows, organizational silos break down, and rates of interest fall, consolidation will more and more characterize the DEX market. Mergers, acquisitions, full-scale product releases, and net-new partnerships will dominate the 2025 DEX market, leading to essentially the most thrilling yr for DEX since 2020.

In case you’re interested by studying extra about my ideas on the way forward for this market, attain out to me on LinkedIn. Forrester purchasers can even submit an inquiry request at [email protected]. In case you’re a vendor that’s doing cool issues on this house, submit a briefing request.