The Heart of Your AI-Powered Martech Stack
▼ Summary
– The martech ecosystem has grown to over 15,000 solutions in 2025, making it larger and more complex than ever.
– Over 60% of marketing leaders are using more tools than two years ago, with integration challenges and data silos being top barriers to effectiveness.
– More than 56% of organizations now integrate with a cloud-based data warehouse or lake to create a unified data layer, which is key for breaking down silos and enabling AI insights.
– The build vs. buy debate is intensifying, with nearly a quarter of organizations planning to build internal solutions while relying on core platforms for infrastructure.
– A panel at the MarTech Conference on September 17, 2025, will explore how to build a future-ready martech stack centered on data activation and AI orchestration.
In today’s marketing environment, data and artificial intelligence have become central to every strategic decision. The focus has shifted from whether a martech stack is necessary to identifying which component should serve as its core. The choices made now will determine an organization’s readiness for an AI-powered future.
The martech ecosystem continues to expand in both size and complexity. Recent figures show over 15,000 distinct solutions available, a 9% increase from the previous year. A majority of marketing leaders report using more tools than they did just two years ago, and nearly a quarter intend to develop internal solutions within the next 12 to 24 months.
However, this growth brings significant challenges. Integration remains the top obstacle for two-thirds of marketers, while data silos are identified as a major barrier by another quarter. This fragmentation highlights the growing importance of a central application within the stack.
More than half of all organizations now connect their martech tools to a cloud-based data warehouse or data lake, creating a unified data layer. Industry experts emphasize that these universal data layers are essential for breaking down silos, standardizing customer information, and enabling deeper personalization through AI.
Despite this trend, the path forward is still unclear. The classic “build vs. buy” dilemma continues as companies weigh the benefits of custom solutions against the reliability of established platforms. A significant number of organizations are opting to build their own tools while still relying on core systems like CRM and marketing automation.
These critical questions will be explored in a live panel discussion at the upcoming MarTech Conference on September 17, 2025. Participants will examine what a future-ready martech stack looks like, how to define the role of a central application, and practical ways to overcome integration and data silo challenges.
MarTech contributor Milton Hwang of Mission MarTech LLC will moderate the panel, which includes Florian Delval of Snowflake, Natalie Jackson of CBIZ, and Angela Vega of Expedia Group. This session is designed for marketing and operations professionals seeking actionable insights on building a stack that not only manages data but activates it, orchestrates customer experiences, and leverages AI effectively.
Registration for this free online event is open to all who want to gain clarity on constructing a next-generation martech infrastructure.
(Source: MarTech)
