There’s a dirty little secret in enterprise digital transformation.
It’s this:
Most companies are only using 50% (at best) of what their digital experience platform can do.
The analytics suite goes untouched.
The personalisation engine stays dormant.
The testing tools are underused.
The CMS is… fine, but no one’s thrilled.
And yet millions have been spent on “best-in-class” DXPs.
So what’s going on?
It’s Not the Tech. It’s the Adoption Gap.
Over the past 28 years, I’ve led a digital consultancy working with major financial services firms and regulated industries. We’re deeply experienced with Optimizely, especially Sitecore-to-Optimizely migrations.
Here’s what we see time and again:
• Great tools bought for great reasons…
• …then underused because the human systems behind them haven’t evolved.
This is what I call the DXP Adoption Gap:
The space between what the tech can do and what the team actually uses.
The Three Core Causes
1. Too Much, Too Soon
Vendors sell vision. Buyers buy potential.
But implementation often dumps everything on teams at once. The result? Overwhelm. Paralysis. Shelfware.
2. No Internal Champion
A DXP needs more than an implementation lead. It needs an internal owner. Someone with a vision, KPIs, support from the top - and the mandate to drive adoption cross-functionally.
3. Disconnected Teams
Marketing, product, IT, content, compliance - they all use the platform differently. But if their goals aren’t aligned, the tools won’t be either. We often find teams working around the platform rather than with it.
What We Do Differently (And What We Recommend)
We’ve learned the hard way what actually drives full-platform adoption:
✅ Start small. Grow smart.
We design initial rollouts with deliberate constraints. One use case. One audience. Prove value. Build trust. Expand.
✅ Coach the people, not just the tech.
Our job doesn’t stop at configuration. We train, co-create, and embed adoption support - especially around tools like Opal AI, where the potential is huge but unfamiliar.
✅ Create a feedback loop.
If the content team isn’t using A/B testing, find out why.
If personalisation isn’t happening, dig into what’s blocking it.
Usage data plus human insight is the path to unlocking value.
✅ Platform health = culture health.
The best DXP adoption happens when the culture supports experimentation, cross-team collaboration, and outcome-focused thinking.
That’s where we focus as much energy as the tech itself.
The Bottom Line?
💸 Most DXPs are over-sold and under-utilised.
🧠 Most teams have more power in their platform than they realise.
🚀 But with the right approach, adoption isn’t a cost - it’s a multiplier.
You don’t need to “use every feature.”
But you do need to use the right ones, well.
And that starts with understanding people as deeply as you understand platforms.
Want to make your DXP investment work harder? Start by making it work better - for your people.
Need better ROI from your DXP?
