The martech, adtech and salestech industries are evolving rapidly.
With AI-driven personalization, real-time analytics and customer engagement at the forefront, companies building these solutions are rethinking their technology stacks to stay competitive. Recently, I had the privilege of participating in a virtual roundtable with industry leaders developing the next generation of martech, adtech and salestech products. The discussion provided valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities for those building platforms that power marketing and sales strategies worldwide.
Under Chatham House rules, our conversation explored key themes shaping the industry today. Here are some of the standout insights from the discussion — and where we see opportunities for companies developing the tools that modern enterprises integrate into their marketing stacks.
The challenge of real-time customer engagement
One of the recurring challenges discussed was ensuring timely, relevant and personalized experiences for end users. Companies that build martech and salestech solutions are investing heavily in AI and automation, but the real question remains: how do you apply AI in a way that drives measurable business impact?
Several participants shared their journeys of integrating AI-powered features into their platforms. Many companies struggle to move from proof of concept (POC) to scalable AI applications that deliver measurable results. A key takeaway? AI solutions must be designed with a clear, validated use case — not just for the sake of innovation.
One participant put it succinctly: “We were in love with our own ideas, but we needed to validate them with our customers before investing in deployment.” The sentiment resonated with many others in the room. AI is only as powerful as the quality of the data it processes — and companies developing these solutions often face hurdles in creating a single source of truth for that data.
Breaking down silos: The data unification imperative
A major theme was the persistent issue of fragmented data. Many organizations still operate in silos, making it difficult for their customers to generate real-time insights that drive seamless customer experiences. Martech and salestech providers must ensure their platforms offer real-time, unified data access to enable intelligent decision making at scale.
At SingleStore, we’ve seen first-hand how businesses can overcome these challenges. By consolidating disparate data sources into a single, real-time data platform, companies building these products can provide AI-driven engagement strategies that adapt instantly to customer behavior. This is particularly important as AI models continue to evolve, requiring up-to-the-moment data to remain effective.
Real-time AI: A competitive differentiator for martech + adtech vendors
Several participants highlighted that real-time analytics is no longer a luxury — it’s an expectation. Companies that build leading martech, adtech and salestech solutions are those that empower their customers with real-time insights and automation.
One executive shared their experience with real-time AI in programmatic advertising. Their challenge? The complexity of processing vast amounts of data with minimal latency. They emphasized that AI-driven ad targeting is only as effective as the speed at which insights can be processed and acted upon.
This is where SingleStore excels. Traditional databases struggle with the scale and speed required for AI-powered martech and salestech applications. SingleStore’s ability to handle real-time ingestion, vector processing and AI-driven analytics enables businesses to act instantly on customer data — rather than reacting hours or days later.
What’s next: Recommendations for martech, adtech + salestech product leaders
Based on our discussion, here are some key recommendations for companies developing the next generation of marketing and sales technologies:
- Invest in a unified data strategy. Ensure your platform’s data architecture is built for real-time access and analytics. Your customers expect immediate insights that drive business value.
- Think beyond automation, and focus on intelligence. AI is not just about automation; it’s about augmenting decision-making. Prioritize AI initiatives that provide real-time insights and adaptive learning.
- Adopt a phased approach to AI implementation. Test, iterate and validate AI models with real-world use cases before rolling out at scale. Focus on measurable impact rather than deploying AI for the sake of it.
- Ensure AI systems are real-time capable. Traditional databases are often a bottleneck. Investing in a modern, real-time data platform like SingleStore can unlock the full potential of AI-driven engagement.
- Prioritize AI governance + compliance. AI-powered engagement needs to be transparent, compliant and responsible. Ensure that AI-driven decisions align with ethical considerations and regulatory requirements.
Final thoughts
The martech, adtech and salestech industries are at a crossroads. The companies building these solutions are shaping the future of customer engagement, and those that can effectively harness real-time data and AI will lead the next era of innovation.
As we move forward, the ability to unify data, deploy real-time analytics and make AI-driven decisions will define the winners in this space. SingleStore is committed to enabling the builders of martech and salestech solutions to operate at the speed of their customers. With a real-time, scalable data platform, businesses can transform how their clients engage customers, optimize marketing spend and drive revenue growth.
As we continue this conversation, I’d love to hear from industry leaders and innovators: How are you leveraging real-time AI to build better martech and salestech solutions? Let’s discuss.
