Leverage all of your customer data with a Composable CDP

What is a Composable CDP?

A Composable CDP is an unbundled solution that collects, models, and activates customer data from your existing data infrastructure.

Rather than operating as a separate entity outside of your existing data infrastructure, a Composable Customer Data Platform integrates directly with your existing data warehouse. This flexible, modular architecture provides all the functionalities of a traditional CDP, but with each component fully customizable to meet your specific requirements. You can enjoy the full benefits of a traditional CDP while maintaining independence from being locked into the ecosystem of any single vendor. A Composable CDP provides complete control over collection, modeling, and storage and offers the flexibility to create and activate audiences using the entirety of your first-party customer data.

Traditional CDPs live separate from your broader data warehouse, and their components are tightly coupled. A Composable CDP has a similar purpose but a very different architecture. While there are several Composable CDP myths floating around, to be composable, a CDP must meet the four following requirements:

• A Composable CDP must run on your own infrastructure. The platform must not store a separate copy of your data.
• A Composable CDP must be schema-agnostic. You have complete control over how your data is structured and stored.
• A Composable CDP must be modular and interoperable. That platform must integrate with your existing technology, processes, and workflows. If you already have a solution/process in place for event collection, you should not have to switch to another vendor’s offering.
• A Composable CDP must provide unbundled pricing. You should only pay for the features and capabilities you need–not the entire shelf-ware of the platform.

What are the Differences Between Composable CDPs and Traditional CDPs

The biggest difference between a traditional CDP and a Composable CDP is flexibility. With a traditional CDP, you’re purchasing a platform with specific capabilities designed to run parallel to your existing data infrastructure. With a Composable CDP, you can pick and choose the components you need and integrate them directly on top of your existing infrastructure.

This may seem more complicated; however, traditional CDP implementations are never straightforward and can often take 6-12 months to implement. No matter what is promised, there is no such thing as an “easy” implementation of off-the-shelf technology at scale. You’ll need technical expertise whether you're deploying a traditional CDP or a Composable CDP, but with a Composable CDP, the implementation is much faster and more efficient because you can leverage all the existing data assets and tackle implementation one use-case at a time.

“The platform gives us all the capabilities of a traditional CDP, but we have the flexibility to use any and all of our data assets. We don’t have redundancy in our data stack: data is only stored in Snowflake and doesn’t need to be copied into Hightouch.”

Claire Look

VP of Data at The Zebra

Should You Buy a Composable CDP or a Traditional CDP?

When deciding whether to invest in a Composable CDP or a Traditional CDP, it's important to consider the unique needs of your business. Although a packaged Traditional CDP might appear simpler, Composable CDPs offer superior benefits without being limited by a rigid, bundled architecture.

As first-party data becomes increasingly critical across all industries, the need for flexibility to handle complex data scenarios is growing. Composable CDPs excel in providing this flexibility. If your company has a minimal data footprint and limited data resources, a Traditional CDP could be suitable, especially for basic personalization tasks. However, for businesses already investing in or planning to develop a data infrastructure, a Composable CDP is the more advantageous choice. This type of CDP adapts more readily to your evolving data needs and infrastructure, making it a far more future-proof option.