Adobe Dynamic Tag Management (discontinued) vs. Coremetrics / IBM Digital Analytics (discontinued)

If you're on the Adobe stack at all, you absolutely need DTM. It will make your life infinitely easier. It's so simple to update your Adobe Analytics code and have version control, and when we implemented Adobe Target, it took literally less than 15 minutes for me to do. I also think it's significantly simpler than Google Tag Manager. I went through all manner of difficulty when implementing tags on that and have not had similar problems on DTM. If you're frequently placing pixels, it's a great tool that will speed their deployment. The only situation in which I think a tag manager is not appropriate is if you have a dev with too much time on their hands. Otherwise, get a TMS and get DTM.

Incentivized

IBM analytics has continued to improve upon the days of being the original core metrics. After using the updated version for quite some time, it has been great at providing the needed analytics to measure ROI and goal performance for our quarterly KPI's. It has resulted in a great increase in web engagements although we are a midsize company, smaller outfits may not need such an expensive option.

Incentivized

• It is a rules based tag management system that allows the application of tracking pixels much easier than hard coding.
• By placing 2 pieces of code on the top and bottom of each page of a website, we can create rules that track certain events and relay the information back to Adobe Media Optimizer and Google analytics.
• It has simplified the coding process so one doesn't have to generate tons of gory javascript to deploy on each individual page to get tracking.

• IBM CXA comprises an acquisition called Tealeaf. This tool has deep heritage and this is evident in its present-day capabilities.
• The Universal Behaviour Exchange or UBX puts the concept of personalisation at the forefront. The ability to combine physical (analog) and digital transactions to create the complete picture of a customer journey, is a stand out benefit.
• The solution does not have to involve the purchase of software. IBM CXA can be sold as a service bundled with analytics as a service. This not only lowers the cost of ownership, it gets around one of the principal issues. Strong staff with design and analytical capability to drive the solution and deliver tangible benefits.
• The seamless integration of Watson AI services to help with the heavy lifiting. Watson reinforces the analytical focus this solution has and can learn to recognise situations specific to a company.

Incentivized

• It is only available with Adobe Marketing Cloud so you can't buy it as an independent product.
• It is easier to use than Google Tag Manager, but not nearly as popular.
• Whereas Google Tag Manager is free, Dynamic Tag Management must be purchased as part of Adobe Marketing Cloud.

Incentivized

• The user interface is in Flash, which can be very frustrating and slow at times. Apparently, this is to be transitioned in a future release.
• Can only segment the last 93 days of data. Any historical segmentation beyond the 93 days must be run in Explore (which is credit based, and has its own limitations with the number of credits per month, based on the initial contract with IBM).
• Reports can only display 93 days of data at a given time for custom date ranges. There are pre-programmed date ranges setup with IBM during implementation (last week, last month, last quarter etc.), but are not flexible enough to answer more specific questions.
• Certain reports cannot have segments applied, making answering some simple questions a bit more tricky. For example, I can create a segment around mobile devices and apply it to the marketing channels report, but I can't create a marketing channel segment and apply it to the mobile reports.
• Built in API calls allows for nice report design and automation.

As it interfaces so well with AMO, we shall be utilizing the DTM for any future client additions.

IBM Digital Analytics is a great solution for our clients and I believe they offer the best solution for the retail space. We have access to IBM support via email or live chat and they can answer many of the reporting questions that come up. IBM is receptive to our feedback of the product so I am confident they will continue making improvements

It is easy to use at a basic level, however without JavaScript resource you will struggle.

Very easy to implement and use.

Never had any issues

As reports are templated, the system is pretty quick. Sometimes you have to wait a bit for a report to render. Or you might have to re-load the page. But there is no real issue here and the system is on par with other similar systems.

Although it is a newer product to Adobe, they seem to truly care about our challenges and are very proactive in making sure that we have the most knowledgeable support available in a timely manner.

Overall, the level of support is very good and I would say it is a strong asset of the solution. However, you can sometimes feel that there is a difference of level among the support team.

Online training is really great. One of the best assets that they have. Lots of great videos, pop quizzes at the end of each module. Fantastic. Other tools have similar features, but not as good.

It was quite seamless with the outstanding support from our Adobe account manager.

See previous comment: reading and understanding the encyclopedic implementation guide is a must.

Adobe DTM provides a more secure data analytics solution. It is customized and best used on large scale deployments of websites with pages 10,000+. The Adobe Analytics tool, once learned, is very easy to use and provides more robust, customized graphics and ability to export data to "securely" via FTP from the cloud to SQL database.

Incentivized

Much of the work we did in IBM Digital Analytics could have been answered through Google Analytics, a much simpler, agile and FREE solution set. Not mention, given the vast number of Google Analytics USERS, free and actionable support is simply a click away ... this compared to IBM Digital Analytics fractured and often absent support service.

This solution can support large amount of data and transaction. The way that user management features are built, it shows it is meant for large organizations.

• The key factor is that my devs are not tied up with petty things like adding JS or advertising pixels. Simple work like that can be handled by me while they work on feature development.
• Release cycle is much shorter when a dev is needed, say for a direct call rule that involves JS being written. We don't have to go through the normal release cycle and can do it on an ad hoc basis without all the rigmarole of a hot fix.

Incentivized

• We spend too much time trying to work around bugs on the new UI.
• We spend too much time trying to figure out how to make certain segments work because support and the knowledge center are lackluster.
• Our sales rep is very unresponsive and leaves us searching for a lot of answers on our own, including what other products we may benefit from that IBM offers.

Incentivized