Gartner Magic Quadrant for Digital Experience Services 2024: The Rundown

Deloitte and Accenture lead the way, but the competition is stiff

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Gartner Magic Quadrant for Digital Experience Services 2024: The Rundown
Loyalty ManagementLatest News

Published: January 28, 2025

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Floyd March

Deloitte leads a packed field in the 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Digital Experience Services.

In the top-right quadrant, it’s joined by Accenture, Dentsu, and Publicis Sapient.

Meanwhile, IBM and Capgemini are knocking on the leader quadrant’s door as a challenger and visionary, respectively.

However, there are many more participants, including the likes of HCLTech, Infosys, and Wipro, across a stacked Magic Quadrant of 16 service providers.

The Definition of Digital Experience Services

Whether a customer is buying a product online, navigating a mobile app, or receiving proactive alerts, they are on a digital experience (DX).

A DX services provider helps to design, test, implement, optimize, and manage those digital experiences.

However, they don’t only focus on customers. The providers in this Magic Quadrant consider digital experiences for employees and partners, too.

In doing so, they offer services such as experience design, solution implementation, and optimization. They may also offer creative, content, and marketing services.

Gartner Magic Quadrant Leaders

Leaders in the Magic Quadrant offer a strong track record across DX services while demonstrating an acute understanding of where the market is heading. This year’s leaders are:

  • Deloitte
  • Accenture
  • Dentsu
  • Publicis Sapient

Deloitte

Deloitte earns plaudits in the report for its “creative agency approach” to digital design, creating programs that include various perspectives, from strategists to creatives. An excellent case study here is of its work with Jackson Family Wines, where it helped develop a distinct digital identity for 40 of its unique brands. Other strengths include its “comprehensive end-to-end DX capabilities” and “seamless transformational delivery”.

Accenture

Accenture provides “end-to-end” DX services, crossing sales, service, marketing, and commerce. As such, they can offer adept services to support a company-wide digital experience transformation program, which may also span continents. Gartner recognizes this while also crediting the provider for its “specialized and local capabilities” and its “broad portfolio of client-deployable assets IP”.

Dentsu

Dentsu follows its “good innovation” philosophy, striving to help clients seize new value opportunities that support the broader organization and society. In doing so, it has become a “thought leader in delivering business outcomes”, according to Gartner. The analyst also commends Dentsut for its “comprehensive DX offerings” and “expansive portfolio of proprietary DX tools”.

Publicis Sapient

Publicis Sapient has pushed itself to the forefront of the DX services market over recent years, with its stock up 150+ percent since 2020. Key to that success is its “large-scale industry experience”, with the provider offering customizable solutions across various verticals, with Gartner spotlighting its retail, media, and public sector specialisms. The analyst also lauds Publicis Sapient’s “end-to-end, experience-led delivery” alongside its acquisition strategy.

Gartner Magic Quadrant Challengers

Challengers in the Magic Quadrant differentiate through execution, especially across their preferred segments of CX. However, their understanding of the market’s evolution seemingly trails those in the leader quadrant. This year’s challengers are:

  • HCLTech
  • IBM
  • Infosys

HCLTech

HCLTech stands out for its tech consulting and engineering expertise. Recently, this came to the fore in a milestone deal with Microsoft, where the tech giant trusted HCLTech to take over its Nuance Enterprise Professional Services business. Alongside this tech focus, Gartner acknowledged HCLTech’s “product-aligned operating model” and “robust ecosystem capabilities. Yet, the analyst cautioned toward its limited creative and marketing services.

IBM

IBM is one of the most recognizable names in enterprise tech, with a 100+ year history and around 245,000 employees. Those foundations have enabled the company to develop a “strong partner ecosystem”. Gartner recognizes this while also applauding its “agency and asset-led approach” and deep domain expertise”. Nevertheless, as with HCLTech, the analyst highlights marketing services as a primary caution.

Infosys

Unlike its fellow challengers, Inosys excels in its services for marketing teams. Indeed, Gartner praises the digital services provider for its “CMO-aligned suite of offerings” and “BPM services for marketing operations”. It also notes the provider’s acquisition nouse as a key strength. However, the analyst notes “inconsistent or siloed delivery” as a concern, which is ironically a consequence of its acquisition strategy that Gartner earlier lauded.

Gartner Magic Quadrant Visionaries

Visionaries in the Magic Quadrant present a compelling view of the digital services of tomorrow and a well-aligned go-forward strategy. However, they’re yet to demonstrate an execution streak that pairs with that vision. This year’s visionaries are:

  • Capgemini
  • EPAM
  • VML

Capgemini

Capgemini is one of Europe’s largest employers, with 340,000+ staff.  Many of these employees are part of the “end-to-end transformation advisory” that Gartner commends in its study. The analyst also notes Capgemini’s “growing capability in marketing operations” and “innovative commercial models” as core strengths. Nevertheless, the provider lags behind leaders primarily because of “inconsistencies in service orchestration.”

EPAM

EPAM supports just under 300 of the Forbes Global 2000 and is growing its agency capability to offer more content, creative, and marketing capabilities to its esteemed clientele. Gartner highlights this as a strength, alongside EPAM’s “good UI development engineering skills” and “AI-driven transformation for DX services”. However, its “reliance on central and eastern European resources” is a worry that – upon the Ukraine invasion – came under the microscope.

VML

VML offers a “solid marketing understanding” that it underpins with growing technical capabilities, as per Gartner. The analyst also cites strengths in its “full range of end-to-end digital growth services and delivery” and “strong Shopify and SAP expertise”. Nevertheless, its expertise could perhaps be better spread, with Gartner noting that VML has more full-time staff dedicated to Adobe than employees focused on all other ecosystems combined.

Gartner Magic Quadrant Niche Players

Niche Players in the Magic Quadrant have established a global presence and often excel in a specific digital experience service. However, they trail on their ability to execute across all use cases and in their vision. This year’s niche players are:

  • NTT DATA
  • Wipro
  • Cognizant
  • Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
  • LTIMindtree

NTT DATA

NTT DATA wins plaudits for its “breadth of technology orchestration” and “service-centric industries focus”. Yet, Gartner notes that the provider is better at delivering widescale DX programs as opposed to one-off projects.

Wipro

Wipro commits approximately 46,000 staff to the DX market. Gartner cites that dedication and the provider’s strong cross-platform technical skills as strengths. Nevertheless, it cautions to Wipro’s limited creative capabilities.

Cognizant

Cognizant Moment is the provider’s new DX practice, which receives acclaim for its “strong implementation expertise” and “commitment to business outcomes”. Nonetheless, Cognizant lags in its “limited brand strategy”, while Gartner questions its “advisory expertise”.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)

Tata has developed innovative solutions suites, like its comms platform that combines CCaaS and CPaaS. As such, it’s little surprise that Gartner commends its “strong B2B and indirect customer offering”. Yet, the analyst highlights its “lagging” agency capabilities as a concern.

LTIMindtree

LTIMindtree is adept at turning a clear DX vision into a reality. Gartner notes this and lauds its design focus and “product alignment with market trends”. However, the analyst cautions to LTIMindtree’s “limited geographic coverage” and emerging “ad and media practice”.

For more Gartner Magic Quadrant coverage, check out the following articles:

 

Digital TransformationEnterpriseMagic Quadrant

Brands mentioned in this article.

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