In the MarTech feature “MarTechBot Explains It All”, we ask a marketing question to our own MarTechBot, which is trained on the MarTech website database and has access to the wider Internet.
Question: How might adopting an open semantic data standard like OSI change martech vendor selection and RFP processes for integration?
Answer from MarTechBot: The adoption of Open Semantic Interchange (OSI) introduces a fundamental shift in the way marketers will evaluate, compare and select martech vendors—especially in the RFP phase, where the complexity of integrating and interacting with data often makes or breaks the deal.
At its core, OSI is an open framework for describing marketing data—campaigns, events, audiences and behaviors—in a consistent, machine-readable format. It’s not a platform or protocol, but a shared semantic model intended to make martech systems easier to integrate without custom code or broken APIs. For B2B vendors accustomed to navigating multi-vendor stacks, data silos and long IT timelines, OSI offers the promise of modularity and compatibility: tools that work together “out of the box” because they speak the same data language.
What does that mean for the RFP process
Today’s RFPs are still shaped by legacy assumptions: data structures are proprietary, integration is done manually, and platform compatibility must be investigated at a deep technical level. Testing is based on questions like “Can Vendor X connect to our CRM?” or “How long will it take to map fields from Platform A to Platform B?” These questions are representative of a deeper issue—the complexity of vendor-specific data.
OSI challenges those assumptions. If the vendor’s data model is OSI compliant, then campaign metadata, engagement signals or proprietary objects can be transferred between systems using shared definitions. This makes collaboration the expected foundation, not the separator. In this area, RFPs are starting to appear. Instead of asking if a platform integrates with others, buyers will ask if it publishes and uses OSI-compliant schemas. Instead of tagging a bunch of fields across systems, marketers will expect native OSI support for shared concepts like “campaign,” “touchpoint” or “conversion.”
In other words, semantic compatibility becomes the new test of interaction.
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Shift from conjunctions to conjunctions
Vendors that have historically relied on large libraries of proprietary connectors—or on expensive service engagements to create custom integrations—may lose ground to new entrants who build on OSI’s foundation. This change encourages product teams to prioritize data transparency, scalability and compatibility.
For example, a marketing automation platform that extracts campaign performance data using OSI schemas can be easily connected to a CDP, analytics dashboard or AI model using the same standard. Marketers gain the flexibility to swap or layer tools as needs change, rather than being locked into integrated suites or rigid integrations.
This also makes the ecosystem more efficient. OSI can foster a more integrated martech environment where tools can be tested independently but work together without bespoke glue code. That reduces technical debt and increases stack sophistication—a key benefit as sales teams look to scale testing and automation.
Accountability and road alignment
Another change: RFPs will proactively evaluate the vendor’s road and management position. Does the vendor contribute to OSI? Do they translate their schema support? Do they commit to back-to-back collaborations? These questions reflect the growing expectation that vendors behave not just as service providers, but as quality partners.
Conversely, vendors who avoid OSI may be labeled as high risk. If their data formats are proprietary, if they lack access to valuable resources, or if they rely on vague data lines, marketers may see that as a sign of future integration pain or limited portability.
Effects of MOps: This isn’t just a change in procurement—it has a real impact on how marketing ops teams plan, build and manage workflow. OSI-compliant vendors lower the barrier to workflow automation across systems. Data entry is faster, audience targeting is more accurate, and reporting is more consistent across channels. In the long run, this may reduce dependence on IT and increase the independence of sales teams to test and iterate at speed.
Bottom line
Adoption of OSI may transform integration from a technical barrier to a strategic differentiator. As semantic compatibility becomes a key purchasing criterion, vendors will review how they write RFPs, evaluate vendor roadmaps and plan their stacks. The result could be a more open, collaborative martech environment—where the best tools will finally live up to the promise of more effective collaboration.
