Customer Data Platform (CDP)

A customer data platform ingests data from websites, mobile apps, email systems, point-of-sale terminals, support tools, and other sources, then resolves that data into unified customer profiles. Each profile aggregates behavioral events, transactional records, demographic attributes, and consent preferences into a single record tied to one individual.

CDPs differ from data warehouses in that they are designed for operational use by marketing and engagement teams, not just analytical queries. They differ from CRMs in scope: a CDP captures anonymous and known interactions across all channels, while a CRM typically manages identified contacts and sales pipelines.

Identity resolution is a core capability. The platform must connect interactions from different channels and devices to the same person, even when the identifiers differ, using deterministic matches like email or probabilistic techniques like device graphs.

For CIAM, a CDP is a downstream consumer of identity data. The CIAM platform authenticates the customer, captures consent, and provides the verified identity that the CDP uses as an anchor for profile unification.