MarTech Today: Akamai buys Janrain, benchmarking marketing salaries and more

Here’s our daily recap of what happened in marketing technology, as reported on MarTech Today, Marketing Land and other places across the web.

From MarTech Today:

• Akamai buys identity provider Janrain
  Jan 7, 2019 by Barry Levine
  With Gigya now owned by SAP, marketers will deal with the two main, formerly independent identity providers as part of complementary ecosystems.
• The MarTech agenda is live. See what’s in store & join us in San Jose!
  Jan 7, 2019 by Scott Brinker
  Seasoned marketers are right to be wary of too many industry predictions, but I’m quite certain of three things for the year ahead: Marketing technology and operations management will be integral to marketing in 2019. Martech tools, talents, tactics, and the overall marketing world will continue to change. Marketers eager to master this discipline, learn […]
• Help us anonymously benchmark marketing operations and technology salaries
  Jan 7, 2019 by Scott Brinker
  Please give us just 3 minutes from your day to participate in our 2019 Marketing Technology & Operations Salary Survey.

From Marketing Land:

• As CES opens, Amazon, Google tout digital assistant stats that highlight respective market strengths
  Jan 7, 2019 by Greg Sterling
  Amazon claims more than 100 million Alexa devices sold; Google says Assistant will soon reach 1 billion devices.

From Around The Web:

• Amazon is getting more serious about Alexa in the car with Telenav deal, TechCrunch
• Amazon sets up virtual furniture showroom online, Retail Dive
• Beware Big Tech’s Data Privacy Doublespeak | Fortune, fortune.com
• Blockchain’s Impact on Digital Marketing, www.business.com
• Cashierless checkout startup Standard Cognition buys Explorer.ai | Mobile Marketing Magazine, mobilemarketingmagazine.com
• Data Gravity and What It Means for Enterprise Data Analytics and AI Architectures | CIO, www.cio.com
• How To Use Big Data To Strengthen Your Business Development Strategies, www.forbes.com
• The programmatic marketer’s 2019 checklist – Digiday, digiday.com
• What Is XR, and How Do I Get It? | WIRED, www.wired.com

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech Today. Staff authors are listed here.

About The Author

Barry Levine

Barry Levine covers marketing technology for Third Door Media. Previously, he covered this space as a Senior Writer for VentureBeat, and he has written about these and other tech subjects for such publications as CMSWire and NewsFactor. He founded and led the web site/unit at PBS station Thirteen/WNET; worked as an online Senior Producer/writer for Viacom; created a successful interactive game, PLAY IT BY EAR: The First CD Game; founded and led an independent film showcase, CENTER SCREEN, based at Harvard and M.I.T.; and served over five years as a consultant to the M.I.T. Media Lab. You can find him at LinkedIn, and on Twitter at xBarryLevine.