Digital adoption platform

Short description: Type of enterprise software

A digital adoption platform (DAP), also known as digital adoption solution,[1] is an automated software tool layered on top of an enterprise application or digital product.[2] A DAP is used to guide users in the flow of work with in-app assistance and just-in-time support, ultimately driving adoption.

## Contents

* 1 Components
* 2 History
* 3 Use cases
* 3.1 Employee onboarding
* 3.2 User onboarding
* 4 Challenges
* 4.1 Segmentation
* 5 See also
* 6 References
* 7 External links

## Components

A digital adoption platform is a software layer that operates between users and a digital application to guide and support application use. A DAP provides automated in-app user guidance with the help of interactive walkthroughs, step-by-step overlays, self-help menus, and contextual information as the user navigates through the application. DAP captures user engagement and workflow information on the backend, which can then be accessed by the organization using analytics.[3]

## History

The origins of digital adoption platforms (DAPs) can be traced back to the early 1990s with Electronic Performance Support Systems (EPSS), designed to provide context-sensitive, on-the-job assistance and reduce reliance on traditional training. EPSS systems were mostly focused on ERP and banking applications due to their due to their implementation complexity and the fact that most interfaces were not web-based.

Unlike EPSS, modern DAPs offer seamless in-app overlays and interactivity leveraging the widespread use of HTML based SAAS interfaces. The sector gained momentum in the early 2010s with WalkMe (founded 2012 in Israel), which introduced no-code guidance, tooltips, and behavioral analytics across web applications. In the mid-2010s, a second wave emerged with platforms like Pendo, Whatfix, and Lemon Learning, offering multilingual support, easier deployment, and more focused on usage.[4][5] In 2013, Toonimo, a DAP, was launched to guide users through websites.

Today, digital adoption platforms infuse AI into their products, providing contextual guidance that adapts based on user input, role, or behavior.[6]

## Use cases

### Employee onboarding

DAP helps new employees learn how to use the application on the job while they complete tasks using real-time, in-app guidance.[7] DAP can also be considered when an application is newly introduced, upgraded, or consolidated. Customized and contextual automated support provided by a DAP reduces manual support and offline training dependency.[8][9][10]

The organization can obtain insights into the effectiveness and efficiency of its application ecosystem, enabling it to understand and fix the shortcomings in its workflows.[11] Businesses can identify application components resulting in sub-optimal employee experience and low productivity and then make the necessary reconfiguration or decide on further employee training. Usage of DAP has reportedly increased user retention and engagement rate, product adoption, and return on investment on internal applications.[1][12]

### User onboarding

DAP helps new users of a digital product to achieve their Aha moment and help them get their job done (see Jobs to be done framework), using active guiding methods (such as Guided Product Walkthrough, User Onboarding Checklist) or passive guided methods (such as Hotspot Beacons).

The Return on investment is on increased Customer retention. On mobile applications, customer retention rate goes down to around 3% after 30 days post-installation.[13][14] Nearly 25% users will abandon a mobile application after using it just once.[15] This is an issue because there is a direct link between profitability of a company and the user churn rate.[16]

## Challenges

### Segmentation

Different employees of an organization may have different levels of experience in using enterprise software. The DAP, therefore, needs to deliver targeted and segmented guidance to ensure that the user experience does not get impacted by excessive or inadequate guidance information.[17]

## See also

* Digital transformation
* User activity monitoring
* Robotic process automation
* Electronic performance support systems
* Web log analysis software

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hilbert, Melissa (21 May 2019). "Increase Sales Productivity With Digital Adoption Solutions" (in en). Gartner. https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/3917086.
2. ↑ "Gartner". https://www.gartner.com/reviews/market/digital-adoption-platforms.
3. ↑ "Overlay technologies – opportunities and limits | insights. magazine" (in en). insights.tt-s.com. https://insights.tt-s.com/en/overlay-technologies-opportunities-and-limits.
4. ↑ "Lemon Learning : La solution intégrée aux outils dont vous rêviez pour adopter la Digital Workplace" (in fr). https://www.archimag.com/digital-workplace/2021/01/28/guides-interactifs-logiciel-digital-workplace.
5. ↑ Sawers, Paul (2021-11-11). "Digital adoption platform Pendo gets $110M secondary investment" (in en-US). https://venturebeat.com/apps/digital-adoption-platform-pendo-gets-110m/.
6. ↑ Srinivasan, Vasupradha (2025-04-29). "Agentic AI Strengthens Digital Adoption Platform Offerings" (in en-US). https://www.forrester.com/blogs/agentic-ai-strengthens-digital-adoption-platform-dap-offerings/.
7. ↑ Sundarason, Raj (2021). The DAP Strategy: A New Way of Working to De-Risk & Accelerate Your Digital Transformation. Dap Publishing Pte Limited (published October 27, 2021). ISBN 9789811816499.
8. ↑ "Adding a digital adoption platform for enterprise software users: What you need to know" (in en). MSDynamicsWorld.com. https://msdynamicsworld.com/story/adding-digital-adoption-platform-enterprise-software-users-what-you-need-know.
9. ↑ "Digital Adoption Platform is essential to the new way of working" (in en). Hindustan Times. https://tech.hindustantimes.com/tech/news/digital-adoption-platform-is-essential-to-the-new-way-of-working-71628387527546.html.
10. ↑ Alex, Moira (8 January 2021). "How digital adoption solutions will improve employee usage, engagement, and productivity in 2021". TechRepublic. https://www.techrepublic.com/article/how-digital-adoption-solutions-das-will-improve-employee-usage-engagement-and-productivity-in-2021/.
11. ↑ "Five must-known learnings from The Digital Adoption Drive report". UNLEASH. 11 August 2022. https://www.unleash.ai/digital-adoption/five-must-known-learnings-from-the-digital-adoption-drive-report/.
12. ↑ "How Digital Adoption Platform Helps in Digital Transformation". Express Computer. 19 March 2021. https://www.expresscomputer.in/tech-pulse/how-digital-adoption-platform-helps-in-digital-transformation/73966/.
13. ↑ "5 Tips on Reducing the Customer Churn Rate with an Effective Onboarding Process". 2024-12-19. https://blog.usetiful.com/2020/12/5-tips-on-reducing-customer-churn-rate.html.
14. ↑ Ceci, Laura (January 2024). "Retention rate on day 30 of mobile app installs worldwide in 3rd quarter 2023, by category". https://www.statista.com/statistics/259329/ios-and-android-app-user-retention-rate/.
15. ↑ Chapin, Bree. "First Impressions: A Guide to Onboarding UX". https://www.toptal.com/designers/product-design/guide-to-onboarding-ux.
16. ↑ Aurélie_1, Lemmens_2, Lemmens_1, Gupta_2. "Managing Churn to Maximize Profits". https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication Files/14-020_2d6c9da0-94d3-4dd5-9952-d81feb432f61.pdf.
17. ↑ Lepofsky, Alan (12 May 2017). Digital Adoption Platforms. Constellation Research. https://www.constellationr.com/research/digital-adoption-platforms. Retrieved 17 April 2022.

## External links

* Glossary of digital adoption terms
* Digital Adoption for Business Transformation

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