Independent AEP & Customer Data Architect

Design.
Implement.
Own.

I help enterprise teams design, implement and take ownership of Adobe Experience Platform and the customer data architecture around it. Architecture and hands-on implementation experience on your side of the table, from the first use case through implementation and into the years your own team runs it.

Most of my work is on Adobe Experience Platform, Real-Time CDP and CJA. Whether a programme is being designed, migrated or pulled back on track, the architecture questions are the same.

9+ years Adobe EMEA Client-side, vendor-neutral New builds, migrations and recovery AEP · RT-CDP · CJA · Web SDK
Discuss your implementation View case studies
Former Adobe Consulting EMEA Freelance / contract Netherlands, Belgium and Europe hybrid or on site LinkedIn ↗
9+ Years Adobe Experience Cloud (EMEA)
75% Platform overhead reduction (enterprise retail)
12+ Enterprise clients across finance, retail, telco & automotive
5 Adobe certifications including AEP & CJA
What I do

Three ways I work on Adobe Experience Platform programmes

A new implementation, a migration, or a programme that needs an independent look. Every engagement ends with your team holding more of it than when I arrived.

01

Implementation architecture

Use-case discovery, target architecture and the design decisions underneath it: XDM data model, identity strategy, Real-Time Customer Profile, batch and streaming ingestion, Web SDK and Edge collection, consent and governance, activation and enterprise integration. Migration paths included, from Adobe Analytics to CJA or from a legacy CDP to Real-Time CDP. I hold design authority on those decisions where you want it: written architecture, an implementation roadmap, and quality gates the build has to pass.

Not everything belongs in AEP. What lives where follows from the use case, latency, identity, data minimisation and governance, not from the licence you happen to own.

Outcome: a documented architecture your own team can build on
02

Independent review & recovery

Clarity. Recovery. Governance.

A vendor-neutral read on a programme that is running, stalling, or about to start: architecture and implementation review, identity and data model issues, unclear ownership, unnecessary complexity, partner design review. Written findings, then the decisions that follow from them.

Where delivery has stopped, I stay long enough to unblock decisions, reset governance and get the programme moving again.

Outcome: written findings + decision options in 2–5 days
03

Capability transfer & governance

Coaching your engineers and architects, paired implementation and architecture walkthroughs while the work is happening. On top of that, structured enablement: workshops and a curriculum written for your own architecture instead of generic Adobe documentation, with the material to go with it. Implementation standards, playbooks, decision cadence, and named ownership of the data model, consent rules and activation logic.

Your team should be able to run the platform day to day without calling me. That is a different thing from me disappearing: as they take that over, my role moves toward architecture, design authority and advice at a distance.

Outcome: your team runs it day to day, I stay available for the architecture

Already working with Adobe Professional Services or an implementation partner? Then my role is the one on your side of the table: reviewing and challenging the design, and keeping the decisions and the knowledge with your own people. I have no licences to sell and no delivery team to fill.

Background

Nine years inside complex enterprise programmes in EMEA

For nearly a decade I worked within Adobe Consulting EMEA as a senior consultant and architect for analytics, customer data and activation, across telecom, finance, media, retail, and regulated industries. Since then I do the same work independently, from the client side.

  • → Architected and led enterprise AEP programmes: Real-Time CDP, Customer Journey Analytics, Web SDK collection and Destination SDK implementations
  • → Programmes at tier-one European banks, a global automotive group, international retail and travel operators, and a regulated online gaming business. Named references shared in conversation.
  • → Specialised in escalated programmes where the data model, identity strategy or governance had broken down
  • → Trained over 200 professionals across Audience Manager and Adobe Experience Platform

Platform scope

Adobe Experience Platform · Real-Time CDP · Customer Journey Analytics · XDM data modelling · Identity Service, namespaces and identity graph · Real-Time Customer Profile · Web SDK, Mobile SDK and Edge Network · batch and streaming ingestion · Destination SDK · APIs and enterprise integration · audience strategy and activation · consent, privacy and data governance · data quality

Adobe Journey Optimizer is an adjacent part of that architecture. I design and review how journeys connect to Real-Time CDP, audiences and activation, and can oversee AJO delivery alongside a dedicated implementation specialist where deeper build expertise is required. The same holds for enterprise data warehouses and event streaming platforms: I design and review those interfaces without presenting myself as their engineer.

230M → 60M
Daily server calls reduced
Enterprise retail programme. Restored client trust within weeks of engagement.
Trust restored
Stalled RTCDP programme
Conducted full review, resolved each use case. Opened path to license renewal and new consulting scope.
Zero to delivery
Compliant activation pipeline
Built custom Destination SDK connector for regulated online business. Consent-aware, end-to-end validated.
Do you recognise this?

If any of this sounds familiar

These come up in enterprise customer data and MarTech programmes whatever the platform, on a new build as much as on one that has stalled. Most of them are resolvable, and a short review usually creates clarity within days.

AEP programme is "live" but activation and reporting don't behave as expected

Identity stitching or consent flows break downstream measurement and audiences

Multiple vendors deliver in parallel without architectural alignment

Governance exists on paper but decisions stall and accountability is unclear

Executives need clear options after significant platform investment without visible results

You've had two or more steering committee meetings without a clear decision

You are starting or re-scoping an AEP or RT-CDP implementation and want an architect on your side of the table

Your engineers are strong, but nobody owns the XDM model, identity strategy and activation design end to end

If any of this sounds familiar, get in touch
The method

Short cycles. Written outputs. Clear ownership.

I reduce complexity until the decision is obvious, on a new build and on a programme that has drifted.

1

Discover

Use cases, current state, constraints. What the business needs from the platform, what is already in place, and what identity, consent and data quality actually allow. Written, vendor-neutral, no recommendations yet.

2

Design

Target architecture and the trade-offs behind it: what belongs in AEP, what stays where it is, how identity, ingestion and activation fit together. Options and sequencing your stakeholders can sign off.

3

Transfer

Implementation guidance while it gets built, quality gates, documentation, and the handover itself. I work next to your engineers and your partners, and stay for as long as an independent architect on your side still adds something.

Engagement options

Start small. Get clarity first.

Scale support only if it adds value, whether you are designing a platform, migrating one, or pulling a stalled programme back on track. If your situation doesn't fit neatly, share the context and I'll propose the simplest next step.

30–45 minutes

Short call

A focused conversation about your situation. Within 24–48 hours after the call I'll let you know whether there's a fit and what a sensible next step looks like.

Schedule a short call
2–5 days

Architecture review

Popular

A vendor-neutral review with concise written findings and decision options. On a design before you build it, on someone else's implementation, or on a programme that has stopped moving. You leave knowing what to do next.

From € 15,000 · fixed scope, fixed duration
Request an architecture review
Weekly cadence

Architect on the programme

Client-side architecture and technical leadership while delivery runs: discovery and design decisions, alignment across your engineers and implementation partners, quality gates and governance. On a new implementation, a migration, or a programme that first has to be pulled back on track. Usually a few days a week over months rather than weeks, with the intensity changing as your team takes on more.

Request support
1–3 days

Team enablement

Workshops and paired implementation for the people who run the platform: architects, engineers and the marketers who use it. On its own, or alongside an implementation. Curriculum and material written for your own architecture rather than a demo environment: data model, identity, collection, activation, governance, and the failure modes specific to your setup.

Request a training outline

Training & enablement

Every programme is built to order. There is no fixed catalogue: the curriculum follows from the question you actually have, and your own architecture, use cases and data are the material rather than a demo environment.

The question is usually specific. Getting a development team through an SDK implementation is a different programme from teaching marketers what an audience in Real-Time CDP actually does, or walking architects through an XDM model before a migration. A short intake settles the subject and the length, and you see the outline before anything is booked.

Subjects come from the work:

  • ·Adobe Analytics to Customer Journey Analytics: migration architecture, data model, parallel run and cutover
  • ·Data collection: Web SDK, server-side collection, Mobile SDK, Edge Network, and how to validate and debug what you send
  • ·AEP and Real-Time CDP: XDM schemas and datasets, Real-Time Customer Profile, audience design and activation
  • ·First-party identity: namespaces, the identity graph, consent, and what all three do to your audiences
  • ·Personalisation: Adobe Target and Offer Decisioning, and where they sit in the wider architecture
  • ·For developers: Adobe APIs, I/O Runtime, Destination SDK and custom integrations
Discuss a team workshop
Case studies

Quiet proof. High-stakes delivery.

A selection of representative work. Specific client details shared under NDA where needed.

CJA Migration Enterprise organisation (EU)

Adobe Analytics → Customer Journey Analytics migration leadership

A governance-led migration. Stakeholders settled the measurement approach and the data model first, and the programme moved from debate to delivery.

Outcome

Programme moved from months of debate to implementation-ready backlog in weeks. Measurement baseline validated. Identity and consent implications resolved.

  • →Decision cadence + target measurement model
  • →Baseline validation + identity/consent implications
  • →Implementation-ready backlog + quality gates
Read case study
Recovery Multi-vendor enterprise programme

Programme recovery & multi-vendor governance reset

Stabilised a high-risk programme by restoring decision clarity and governance. Delivery went from firefighting to predictable progress.

Outcome

Decision velocity restored within 2 weeks. Clear escalation paths and quality gates in place. Programme continued independently after handover.

  • →Rapid diagnosis across delivery + architecture risk
  • →Governance reset: sign-offs, escalation paths, quality gates
  • →Playbooks so progress continued without dependency
Read case study
AEP Regulated online business (EU)

Destination SDK integration for compliant activation & suppression

Built a custom Destination SDK connector for auditable activation and suppression. Compliance risk came down and delivery kept its pace.

Outcome

Compliance risk under control, activation pipeline live, and governance checkpoints that keep configuration from drifting.

  • →Clear data contracts + operational monitoring
  • →Consent-aware delivery validated end-to-end
  • →Governance checkpoints to prevent drift
Read case study
Discuss your implementation or programme View all case studies
References

What the people involved say

Bas conducted a full review and successfully resolved each use case. This restored client trust in our solutions and significantly improved the adoption of Adobe Target. This increase in client satisfaction served as a gate opener for further license negotiations.

— Senior Manager, Marketing Technology · Enterprise client

Bas proved to be able to efficiently combine deep technical knowledge of Adobe Target with a keen understanding of client needs, providing tailored solutions that enhance digital optimization strategies. His ability to translate complex Adobe functionalities into actionable insights has been instrumental in driving measurable results.

— Technical Account Manager · Adobe EMEA
About Bas

Structure first, then build

I'm Bas Bartholomeus. Nine years at Adobe Consulting EMEA as a senior consultant in analytics, CDP and activation architecture, across telecom, finance, media, retail and regulated industries. Since early 2026 I do that work independently, on the client side.

The architecture work comes out of implementation. Before Adobe I worked in media measurement and audience analytics for publishers, advertisers and agencies, close to the SDKs and the data collection itself. I have built, validated and debugged the things I now design, which is what lets me tell an architecture that will hold from one that only looks good in a diagram.

I'm client-side by design: no quota to fill and no product to sell. I'd rather not be the person your platform depends on day to day. Staying on as your independent architect is a different thing, and usually the more useful one. I work alongside your engineers, your enterprise architects, Adobe, and whichever implementation partner is on the programme.

Read the full background →

I also design and build furniture and integrated systems in my own workshop. Same rule in both places: understand the structure before you build anything, and stay accountable for the result long after delivery. Wood is less forgiving than software, which is a useful discipline to keep. Studio work →

Certifications

Adobe Certified Expert badge
Adobe Certified Expert
Customer Journey Analytics Developer
Verify on Adobe →
 Adobe Content Supply Chain Champion badge
Adobe Content Supply Chain Champion
Recognition for platform leadership and enterprise delivery
View on LinkedIn →
 Adobe Qualified badge
Adobe Qualified
Adobe Experience Platform
Verify on Credly →
2018 Adobe Accredited Digital Marketer Adobe
2015 Certified Digital Analytix Expert comScore
Writing

Field notes on Adobe Experience Platform

Notes from the work: data models and identity, activation, governance, and the question of what belongs in AEP in the first place.

End-to-end testing of Adobe Experience Platform Destination SDK
Adobe Experience Platform · Destination SDK · API testing · webhook integration · real-time data activation

End-to-end testing of Adobe Experience Platform Destination SDK

Master end-to-end testing of Adobe Experience Platform Destination SDK with practical insights, common pitfalls, and a free testing tool to validate your entire activation chain.

Read article →
Adobe Experience Platform Destination SDK helps marketers boost their reach
AEP · Activation

Adobe Experience Platform Destination SDK helps marketers boost their reach

A practical perspective on Destination SDK and how teams can extend activation capabilities responsibly — including governance patterns for compliant activation in regulated industries.

Read on business.adobe.com ↗
In progress
CJA · Migration

CJA Derived Fields: designing for trust, not just functionality

How to design, validate and operationalise derived fields without breaking reporting trust downstream. The governance guardrails that keep them reliable as the data model evolves.

Coming soon — get notified below ↓
View all articles
Advisory intake

Describe your situation

Whether you are scoping an implementation, planning a migration, or looking for an independent read on something already running, describe it in a few lines. I take on a limited number of engagements at a time and respond personally within 24 hours with a clear next step. No account manager, no sales process.

✉
Email
info@bbartholomeus.com
☎
Phone
+31 6 4569 4465
in
LinkedIn
linkedin.com/in/bas-bartholomeus

Typical reasons people get in touch:

  • You need an architect on the client side for an AEP or RT-CDP implementation
  • A migration is coming up, Adobe Analytics to CJA or a legacy CDP to RT-CDP, and the sequencing isn't clear
  • Your internal engineers are strong, but the platform design has no single owner
  • You've had two or more steering meetings without a clear decision
  • Vendors are pointing at each other when something breaks
  • Activation or reporting has "worked" for months but never quite right

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