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<hr /> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalind_Franklin">Rosalind Franklin</a> was a pioneering British chemist and X-ray crystallographer whose work was crucial to understanding the molecular structures of DNA, RNA, viruses, coal, and graphite. However, she is best known for her pivotal role in the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA – even though her contributions were not fully recognized during her lifetime. As she once famously observed, “Science and everyday life cannot and should not be separated.” Given her astounding role in uncovering the component structure of life, it's apropos that <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.cmscritic.com/adobe-experience-cloud-adds-new-headless-cms-capabilities-updates-to-commerce-integration/">Adobe</a> – the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://business.adobe.com/blog/the-latest/adobe-named-a-leader-in-2023-gartner-magic-quadrant-for-digital-experience-platforms#:~:text=The%20Latest-,Adobe%20named%20a%20Leader%20in%202023%20Gartner%C2%AE,%E2%84%A2%20for%20Digital%20Experience%20Platforms&amp;text=Gartner%20published%20the%20latest%20Magic,has%20been%20named%20a%20Leader.">Gartner MQ Leader</a> for DXPs – decided to refer to a new feature in its <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.adobe.com/?clickref=1101lwIXbvhb&amp;mv=affiliate&amp;mv2=pz&amp;as_camptype=277929&amp;as_channel=affiliate&amp;as_source=partnerize&amp;as_campaign=chelen">AEM</a> suite called <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://experienceleague.adobe.com/docs/experience-manager-cloud-service/content/forms/forms-overview/latest-innovations.html?lang=en">Next-Gen Composability</a> as "<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.hlx.live/home">The Project Franklin</a>" initiative.A bit of background on the skunkworks: Franklin was introduced in January as a lightweight CMS architecture designed to launch new sites faster and accelerate page performance. It also provided a more intuitive way to create and publish content using simple tools like <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.google.com/docs/about/">Google Docs</a> or <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/word">Microsoft Word</a> for authoring. The news was officially announced last month at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://business.adobe.com/summit/adobe-summit.html">Adobe Summit 2023</a>, but Adobe is already experiencing success with a pilot customer (keep reading for more details). <h2 id="what-is-next-gen-composability?">What is Next-Gen Composability?</h2>Content management jargon can take on many forms, with enough variations to make any head spin. With Next-Gen Composability, Adobe is attempting to make things simple. Really simple.When implementing Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) in the past, developers and marketers would be tasked with learning new publishing tools, workflows, and more – often requiring several different learned processes across multiple channels. With Next-Gen Composability, AEM can now leverage commonly used tools like Microsoft Office 365 or Google Workspace and implement content built from those tools directly into the experience manager.Producing and editing content in channels that marketers are already familiar with can reduce the back and forth that plagues many enterprise CMSes. With these hurdles now removed from the equation, building websites and producing content should become faster and more reliable – and further reduce dependence on technical support teams. It should also reduce the overall friction with implementing AEM. <h2 id="lightning-fast-pages-with-high-google-lighthouse-scores">Lightning-fast pages with high Google Lighthouse scores</h2>The cloud-native infrastructure behind Next-Gen Composability is designed for speed. The tools built into the program require each web page to render a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://developer.chrome.com/docs/lighthouse/overview/">Google Lighthouse</a> score of 100 on live pages – made possible by fast caching and an edge delivery engine.Along with enhanced page performance, content can be built quickly with Next-Gen composability because teams can use tools they already know – and all with a few clicks. For content creators, this should eliminate many obstacles throughout the publishing workflow, giving them greater speed and agility. <h2 id="supercharged-forms">Supercharged forms</h2>Forms continue to be one of a website's most important engagement tools. They're also a huge pain for content creators.According to Adobe's website, with Next Gen Composability, users across an enterprise can create forms using their preferred tools, such as Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets – without extensive training on new UI workflows.What’s more, Next Gen Composability is designed to load forms with unmatched speed, achieving a near-perfect Google Lighthouse score on live pages, practically guaranteeing top performance and user experience.<h2 id="tried,-tested,-and-approved">Tried, Tested, and Approved</h2>The first to implement Next-Gen Composability within AEM was Adobe partner <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.netcentric.biz/insights/2023/04/next-gen-composability-reimagines-content-management">Cognizant Netcentric</a>. They used the new feature to produce <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.netcentric.biz/">cognizantnetcentric.com</a> – drafting their content in Google Workspace.In a blog article reflecting the project’s success, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrin-weissenborn/">Katrin Weissenborn</a>, a commercial marketing manager at Cognizant Netcentric, commented on the ease of use and overall satisfaction with Next-Gen Composability:“Next-Gen Composability has completely transformed the way we work, our web publishing has never been that fast and easy before. Whenever I spot something on the website that I want to change, I just do it myself in record time, no need to brief content editors. As soon as the change is live, I just tag my content editing colleagues directly in the content repository so the change will also be done in other languages to ensure a consistent user experience throughout.”<h2 id="about-adobe">About Adobe</h2>Adobe is changing the world through digital experiences. For more information, visit <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.adobe.com&amp;esheet=52479752&amp;newsitemid=20210819005739&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=www.adobe.com&amp;index=3&amp;md5=16bfbb09ccdd811085bcdfd56783339b">www.adobe.com</a>.

Adobe Experience Manager Evolves Franklin, Launches Next-Gen Composability Feature

cms-critic-staff

<hr /> If there’s a bright spot in content operations, it’s speed. And with the latest version of <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/brightspot">Brightspot’s</a> content management platform, the company is promising some serious acceleration for users. Announced last week, Brightspot's new CMS update includes expansive tech stack integrations and new AI features that aim to speed up creation time by prioritizing content workflows. According to Brightspot, this is its most innovative launch to date, transforming the way organizations can create content – and, perhaps more importantly, how content creation impacts organizations. The new version circumvents the daily grind of achieving quality and efficiency, replacing ineffective processes with intuitive workflows, integrated tech stacks, and at-the-ready information to empower faster creation. The result: less friction and a more natural workflow.<h3 id="complete-control-to-create-content-experiences">Complete control to create content experiences</h3>Brightspot’s <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">content management system</a> is designed to serve the needs of both non-technical users and developers alike, enabling individuals and teams to create and scale digital experiences with minimal effort. Its modular content system and comprehensive authoring tools allow for more seamless workflows – and the ability to create and publish content in minutes.While many content management systems still rely on extensive development, Brightspot is bucking the trend, offering complete control to create content experiences and easing the burden of organizing, managing, and supporting specific workflow needs.With its expanding suite of capabilities, the platform is able to help users boost the quality of their content while reducing the time it takes to make it. “Our customers today face demand for high-quality content, but production timelines simply haven't kept pace. That's why we've taken our content management platform through a significant evolution,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/raleighmcclayton/">Raleigh McClayton</a>, CEO of Brightspot. “These latest innovations empower teams with intuitive features and accelerate their ability to produce exceptional content, giving valuable time back to companies.”A big part of that evolution is Brightspot’s AI-powered creation and insights, which are enriching productivity gains. Additionally, the platform boasts integrations with over 7,000 of the most common business applications, improving the extensibility, efficiency, and efficacy of content teams.“The next version enables even more Enterprise-grade flexibility, customizability, security, compatibility and performance – now with AI enhancements that drive greater efficiency,” McClayton explained. “It's a game-changer in enhancing both efficiency and value, allowing our customers to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving market."<h3 id="enhancing-ai-capabilities-and-breaking-down-tech-silos">Enhancing AI capabilities and breaking down tech silos</h3>There are a few “bright spots” in the new version that promise to accelerate productivity and deliver greater value for Brightspot’s customers.The first is smarter, faster, and safer content creation with AI. Brightspot’s artificial intelligence features mitigate challenges with search and tedious content generation with greater automation, allowing customers to quickly and safely create content with advanced governance tools and customizable permissions. Content-level AI tracking and analytics help reinforce the control aspect of utilizing AI features. Brightspot also supports the creation of custom AI solutions, allowing developers to extend the platform’s AI capabilities based on their specific needs.Brightspot has also made strides in breaking down silos between teams and tech. From automatic task creation in Asana to ticket generation in Jira, whenever an action is triggered in the CMS, Brightspot provides connected workflows across the most widely used business apps to create an orchestrated mechanism – and get work done. This applies to both technical and non-technical users, allowing them to increase compatibility across their respective tech stacks.A big part of the productivity promise is the continued reinforcement of an intuitive work environment. Brightspot has endeavored to build and account for every type of user, designing its solutions with simplicity at the core. The platform features an easy-to-navigate interface that simplifies the process of creating and executing workflows, and a clear emphasis on accessibility for non-technical users to manage and automate tasks.Brightspot’s flexible framework is all about extensibility. That means users can build bespoke functions that have no dependency on a customer's development or coding capabilities. A great example is how users can integrate AI or connect their tech stacks in unique ways that reflect their organizational processes, allowing them to achieve productivity across functions.<a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/brightspot">Click here</a> to learn more about Brightspot. <hr /> <img style="width:29.58%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-kickoff-2025-logo.png" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-2025"><a href=" https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff25">CMS Kickoff 2025</a></h4>January 14-15, 2025 – Tampa Bay Area, FloridaJoin us next January in the Tampa Bay area of Florida for the third annual CMS Kickoff – the industry's premier global event. Similar to a traditional kickoff, we reflect on recent trends and share stories from the frontlines. Additionally, we will delve into the current happenings and shed light on the future. Prepare for an unparalleled in-person CMS conference experience that will equip you to move things forward. This is an exclusive event – space is limited, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff25/tickets">so secure your tickets today.</a>

Brightspot Shines with New Version of CMS, Doubling Productivity with Expanded Integrations and AI Features 

<hr /> Being open source is as much a technology posture as it is a philosophical mindset. For CMSs that are truly cut from the cloth, being open and transparent about practices, communities, and other aspects of business is part of the ethos. As we all grapple with the realities of climate change and the urgency for decarbonization, it's important to remember that the internet is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gases, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200305-why-your-internet-habits-are-not-as-clean-as-you-think">accounting for 3.7% of global emissions</a>. That's roughly the equivalent of all air traffic in the world. Yikes. How can we possibly land this plane? What's more alarming is that this figure is expected to double by 2025 as our thirst for data skyrockets.For all its faults, the Internet has been miraculous for mankind. No one is suggesting we do away with it (although I might know a few people on Facebook who claim we're better off without it, but still post these notions using, er, the internet). You're probably asking, “What can I do about it?” when we rely so heavily on digital tools to do our jobs and stay connected to the world. It might seem like a pipedream for any one person to make a dent in this problem, but even small adjustments to our habits can make a difference. For businesses with websites, the opportunity is even greater – especially if the tools and platforms they utilize provide efficient and sustainable solutions that directly address these issues. As an open-source content management system, <a target="_blank" href="https://umbraco.com/">Umbraco</a> has fully embraced this thinking and made wholesale commitments with its technology, culture, and vision to combat these challenges. Transparency is key to delivering on these commitments, and the company is reinforcing that with intention by publishing an annual report that assesses its impact on people and the planet. This week, it released its second edition.The <a target="_blank" href="https://umbraco.com/about-us/impact-report/">Umbraco Impact Report 2023</a> details how the company is working with its community, clients, and partners to improve sustainability, enhance diversity and inclusion, encourage AI stewardship, and support current and future developers.“We have always focused on making the Umbraco CMS intuitive for web editors and straightforward for developers to integrate, extend, and customize," said <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/umbraco-cms-acquired-by-software-investor-monterro-interview-with-ceo-kim-sneum-madsen">Kim Sneum-Madsen</a>, Umbraco CEO. "Because of this, Umbraco is now the largest open-source .Net CMS in the world, and we recognize our responsibility to help our community to make websites more energy-efficient and sustainable.”How much of an impact can Umbraco make? Consider that over the past two decades, more than a million websites have been built using its CMS. That's impressive, and a testament to the company's perseverance. It's also a large footprint of sites and users who can all benefit from more sustainable solutions. Over that same period, Umbraco’s global open-source community has also grown to more than 250,000 software contributors, with 1,500 digital agency partners building solutions on the platform (also big numbers). With that density of reach and adoption, Umbraco is uniquely positioned to lead positive change not only in the content management industry, but beyond it. So the real question is: can a CMS vendor help save the world? Maybe. It all starts with a commitment to being the change – and taking action. <h3 id="embracing-sustainability-">Embracing sustainability </h3>Carbon. It's the 500-tonne gorilla in the room, and the primary ingredient in the climate-warming stew (there are others to be sure). As people, governments, and businesses look for ways to reduce their carbon impact, an array of tools and strategies have emerged for measuring and accounting for the effects. The U.S. EPA's <a target="_blank" href="https://www3.epa.gov/carbon-footprint-calculator/">carbon footprint calculator</a> brings it home at a household level, but the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.websitecarbon.com/">Website Carbon Calculator</a> is a great baseline for revealing how your own website (or others) contributes to the conundrum.Umbraco began calculating its carbon footprint in 2022. Last year, it applied the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wri.org/research/greenhouse-gas-protocol-0">Greenhouse Gas Corporate Standard</a> to improve accuracy when calculating what is referred to as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/energy-explained/what-are-scope-1-2-3-carbon-emissions">Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions</a>. What does this mean? If you're not a carbon-counting expert, Scope 1 is basically any direct emissions that are owned or controlled by a company. Scope 2 and 3 are indirect emissions – in other words, a consequence of the activities of a company but occurring from sources that are not owned or controlled by it.According to its research, hosting <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/umbraco">Umbraco Cloud</a> and its <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/umbraco-launches-heartcore-the-most-intuitive-headless-content-management-system-cms-to-manage-large-volumes-of-content-across-any-smart-platform">headless Heartcore </a>product are the largest sources of carbon emissions. To address this, the company is working closely with <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/microsoft-azure">Microsoft Azure</a> to ensure the most efficient and sustainable implementation and drive down the numbers. While the growth of the cloud might seem antithetical to the sustainability cause, the consolidation and shared use of hardware is actually helping to reduce energy usage and cut carbon output. As it turns out, the large cloud providers are leading the pack on the move to net zero emissions – with some attaining it in the next few years. Great strides have also been made in expanding the lifespan of servers to as much as 6 six years, further reducing waste.<a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/aws">Amazon</a>, AWS' parent, is already reaching key goals for its global decarbonization and water replenishment (turns out the internet is mighty thirsty). It has been spearheading an ambitious climate pledge, and in 2022, <a target="_blank" href="https://sustainability.aboutamazon.com/products-services/the-cloud?energyType=true">over 90% of the electricity consumed</a> by Amazon was attributable to renewable energy sources. By working with cloud providers on delivery and hosting optimization, CMS platforms like Umbraco could accelerate their own plans to meet aggressive sustainability goals. This is definitely a step in the right direction. <h3 id="tapping-agency-partners-to-become-more-“carbon-conscious”">Tapping agency partners to become more “carbon conscious”</h3>While Umbraco's technology is the foundation, its users, contributors, and partners are essential to its success. With numerous system integrators and digital agencies building with its CMS, this was a perfect audience for enrolling greater support around its green initiatives. In March of last year, Umbraco formed a community Sustainability Team, comprised of technology and business leaders from six digital agencies. The goal was ambitious: create a collaborative movement to help educate clients and the community, develop tools, draft best practice guides, and share practical ways of creating low-carbon websites. According to Madsen, that's exactly what they've been doing – not just because it's the right thing to do, but because prospects are increasingly asking for carbon-conscious partners and solutions. “Our digital agency partners are increasingly seeing carbon-conscious web development included within client briefs as organizations prepare to comply with new legislation requiring disclosure of sustainable strategies across the value chain," he said. "We are committed to implementing sustainable products and business practices and supporting our partners, clients and community in their efforts to reduce CO2. We plan to deepen our engagement with <a target="_blank" href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">United Nations ESG goals</a> in 2024.”<h3 id="making-an-impact-with-people-at-work-and-across-the-planet">Making an impact with people at work and across the planet</h3>One of the first places companies can start addressing their carbon footprint is with employees. There are well-documented strategies for doing that, like adopting eco-friendly habits such as reducing paper usage, carpooling, or minimizing waste. Twelve months ago, Umbraco introduced its own Carbon Neutral Workforce initiative, which involves offsetting each employee’s carbon footprint with a target to reduce emissions by 10% per employee. Change is hard for people, and while 10% may not seem like much, multiply that by hundreds – and it becomes far more profound. In addition to its own workforce, Umbraco has been making sustainability strides around the world. Working with <a target="_blank" href="https://ecologi.com/">Ecologi</a> – an all-in-one climate platform and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bcorporation.net/">certified B Corp</a> – Umbraco also funded carbon avoidance projects in Indonesia and Eritrea.One fun story to top it off: during <a target="_blank" href="https://hacktoberfest.com/">Hacktoberfest 2023</a>, an annual open source event, Umbraco had a tree planted for every community CMS contribution. By the end, there were 13,281 seedlings added to the ground, offsetting 197 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.<h3 id="focusing-on-community-enrichment">Focusing on community enrichment</h3>Speaking of Hacktoberfest, Umbraco’s highly engaged, open source community is a vital asset to its growth and relevance. The company reported that its members continued to play an active role in code contributions throughout 2023, and were participants in addressing diversity, accessibility, and sustainability challenges. Seven new community-driven initiatives were sponsored last year following the launch of the Umbraco Champions Program, which enables members to submit ideas to benefit the community. Umbraco regularly meets with its open source community and publicly recognizes the top contributors with “Most Valuable Person (MVP)” status. To that end, 17 new MVPs were awarded in 2023 and 66 were renewed. During 2023, the number of Umbraco community events expanded to include new meetups in the U.S., India, Turkey, and Norway, in addition to the regular calendar of events in the UK and Denmark. In total, 1,750 members took part in 111 community events over the past year. A litmus test for CMS's growing interest was its annual <a target="_blank" href="https://codegarden.umbraco.com/">Umbraco Codegarden</a> business summit and developer conference in Odense, which attracted 1,700 attendees in person and online – a 17% increase from 2022’s attendance. <h3 id="setting-a-higher-bar-for-diversity-and-inclusion">Setting a higher bar for diversity and inclusion</h3>One of the beautiful things about open source software is that anyone can use and contribute to it. In many ways, it is a great equalizer – enabling everyone regardless of gender, ethnicity, learning differences, or socio-economic status to bring their voice to a community of users. Open source also promotes inclusivity by empowering people who are under-represented in the IT industry.Umbraco has been encouraging this diversity within its company and community by participating in a number of initiatives. This includes Umbraco’s Coding Class, which educates local schoolchildren and encourages the next generation of coders by providing opportunities to present their ideas and gain feedback. Up-and-coming developers are also being sponsored to attend its Codegarden event, and Umbraco is offering free training and certification to computer science students at universities in the U.S., U.K., Sweden, and Denmark.From a social perspective, Umbraco is also hosting a series of Cloud Club meetups aimed at students and professionals to help deepen their understanding of IT. Umbraco is also sponsoring <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hackyourfuture.net/">Hack Your Future</a>, a not-for-profit organization that teaches refugees to code and make the leap into the tech world. On the employee side, Umbraco has been doubling down on diversity. Last year, the company welcomed 41 new staff members, including sixteen women. Its workforce now includes 27 nationalities – including a new team in Vietnam – with ages ranging from under 25 to over 60. It's worth noting that 22% of Umbraco’s C-suite are female. To help further address the IT industry’s gender gap, Umbraco has been running a female mentorship program at a local university. <h3 id="why-it-matters">Why it matters</h3>DEI positioning can often feel like marketing fluff. Without transparency and action, the commitment to doing good for people and planet can fall short – particularly if there are no clear goals or expectations. It's well and good to start a recycling program in your office, but most businesses can do more. And frankly, it's good business to do it. As more organizations specify ESG (Environmental, Sustainability, and Governance) and DEI requirements in their RFPs, companies with solid messaging and a clear track record of accomplishments will have an advantage in the minds of buyers. Think of it as brand building by bettering the world. Many people aren't aware of the significant impact the internet has on our environment. When you consider its parity with all global air traffic, it takes on an urgent and undeniable weight. It might sound dire, but the good news is that small changes in our habits can actually make a difference – if we take action. That's what Umbraco is doing, and not just for itself. By highlighting its efforts in an annual report, they are helping to set a standard for the CMS industry. As technologies that are contributing to the continued growth of the internet and its emissions, we have a responsibility to lead on this issue. And as an open source company, this further codifies Umbraco's commitment to be transparent about its efforts.I must give credit where credit is due: most leading enterprise CMS and DXP companies are publicly promoting their ESG and DEI commitments. <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/acquia">Acquia</a>, for example, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.acquia.com/esg">planted nearly 15,000 trees</a> and removed 1,260 tonnes of carbon as part of their program. <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/optimizely">Optimizely</a> offers pages and reports as well, although in a bit more matter-of-fact language. I researched quite a few, and was pleased to see that most brands are aspiring to do good on these initiatives.What's refreshing about Umbraco's news is that it detailed real action, particularly around its hiring practices and social programs. By providing actual numbers and not just goals, it separated the substance from the marketing. But this has always been intrinsic to its DNA. As a CMS that fully embraces openness, it's not a stretch to imagine that empathy and compassion are core to its heart.I mean, it has a headless solution called “Heartcore.” That might say everything you need to know about this company.  <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-conferences">Upcoming conferences</h3> <img style="width:29.67%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-connect-2024-logo.png" alt="CMS Connect 24 logo" /><h4 id="cms-connect-24"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect24">CMS Connect 24</a></h4>August 6-7, 2024 – Montreal, CanadaWe are delighted to present our first annual summer edition of our prestigious international conference dedicated to the global content management community. Join us this August in Montreal, Canada, for a vendor-neutral conference focused on CMS. Tired of impersonal and overwhelming gatherings? Picture this event as a unique blend of masterclasses, insightful talks, interactive discussions, impactful learning sessions, and authentic networking opportunities. <img style="width:29.58%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-kickoff-2025-logo.png" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-25"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff25/tickets">CMS Kickoff 25</a></h4>January 14-15, 2025 – Tampa Bay Area, FloridaJoin us next January in the Tampa Bay area of Florida for the third annual CMS Kickoff – the industry's premier global event. Similar to a traditional kickoff, we reflect on recent trends and share stories from the frontlines. Additionally, we will delve into the current happenings and shed light on the future. Prepare for an unparalleled in-person CMS conference experience that will equip you to move things forward. This is an exclusive event – space is limited, so secure your tickets today.

Umbraco Publishes Annual Impact Report, Reinforcing Commitments to Sustainability and Community

matt-garrepy

<hr /> Las Vegas in late November always means cool desert air, seasonally appropriate lighting, and a whole lotta tech folk. Right now, the casinos are flush with attendees from <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/top-announcements-of-aws-reinvent-2023/">AWS re:Invent</a>, the cloud computing giant's annual global conference – and odds are they're all betting on AI.It shouldn't be that surprising. Even though AWS dragged its feet by releasing its <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/bedrock/">Amazon Bedrock</a> GenAI well behind its competitors, the company has made recent strides, upping the ante with <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/microsoft-sharepoint">Microsoft</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/google-cloud-joins-mach-alliance-as-enabler-member">Google</a> in the race for AI dominance. This includes a much-heralded investment in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.anthropic.com/index/anthropic-amazon">Anthropic</a> as a foundational model offering.The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.npr.org/2023/11/20/1197958395/the-messy-human-drama-behind-openai">fresh drama with OpenAI</a> might also be delivering an early Christmas gift as companies explore alternative models for their growing AI initiatives – and look to trusted brands like Amazon to supply those services.AI has been a huge focus of re:Invent thus far, with AWS announcing its new <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/amazon-q-brings-generative-ai-powered-assistance-to-it-pros-and-developers-preview/">Amazon Q GenAI chatbot</a>. But along with the company's impressive cadre of machine learning services, it is also showcasing partner technologies with new offerings – including business applications like <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">content management.</a> Today, as part of its AWS Partner Network Competency program, <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/solodev">Solodev</a> – a cloud services company – announced that it had achieved the new AWS Advertising and Marketing Technology Competency in the Digital Customer Experience category. Solodev and other technologies were highlighted during re:Invent as competency launch partners. According to the company's press release, the achievement recognizes Solodev's expertise in providing customers with professional services and software solutions. These capabilities let advertisers and marketers power workloads with advanced enterprise content management (CMS) technology, accelerating the creation of digital experiences for both web and omnichannel applications. “Solodev is proud to achieve the AWS Advertising and Marketing Technology Competency in the Digital Customer Experience category,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/techcto/">Shawn Moore</a>, Chief Technology Officer at Solodev. “Our customers have always benefited from our deep investment in AWS as the most trusted cloud infrastructure. Now, we’re building the future of digital experiences by offering serverless capabilities, omnichannel for IoT, and even generative AI to help advertisers and marketers personalize content, run experiments, optimize sites and apps, and convert more customers.”<h3>Powering digital experiences in the cloud</h3>As advertisers and marketers look to leverage the cloud to innovate and realize digital transformation, they increasingly need purpose-built solutions. AWS Advertising and Marketing Technology Competency Partners provide these customers – including advertising agencies, marketers, publishers, advertising and marketing technology providers, and analytics service providers – with AWS-validated solutions and services, helping accelerate their transformation. While brands and integrators look for ways to host, manage, scale, and secure their customer websites and mobile applications, having a content management system that is built on AWS at a foundational level is essential to meeting modern demands. While many CMS tools exist in the market, few are built for the full potential of the AWS cloud and its service architecture.A cloud-first CMS built exclusively on AWS, Solodev provides its users with access to scalable, cutting-edge capabilities like serverless, e-commerce, Internet of Things (IoT), and AI. Solodev also provides its advertising and marketing customers – including agencies and brands – with a sandbox to create highly engaging web and mobile experiences across a wide range of industries and use cases.<h3>CMS features designed for advertising and marketing</h3>Solodev delivers end-to-end control with a rich combination of features. This includes low code/no code functionality for advertisers, marketers, and content creators to run productive content operations. At the same time, developers have full access to code for building custom experiences. As a hybrid <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/top-free-headless-cms-platforms">headless</a> platform, Solodev also provides an ecosystem for managing legacy and omnichannel strategies in a single platform, along with a marketplace of integrations that covers ad tech, advanced AWS services, and AI-powered personalization.While the features of the CMS are robust, so too are the DevOps capabilities. From the <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/marketplace/seller-profile?id=8e11c912-6253-41b8-b065-bf32bd27911b">AWS Marketplace</a>, any organization can spin up and deploy Solodev in their own single-tenant AWS account. License options include Professional, Enterprise, or even a container version with <a target="_blank" href="https://kubernetes.io/">Kubernetes</a>.<h3>Harnessing advanced features, from serverless to AI</h3>While its CMS products are part of its feature set, Solodev positions itself as a “cloud services company” – and for good reason. Coupled with innovation around a broader stack of its own cloud applications, Solodev provides professional consulting services for advertising and marketing customers, helping them build and support infrastructure and DevOps for their cloud services. This includes serverless strategies powered by <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/fargate/">AWS Fargate</a> for high-availability applications that demand significant scalability. Agencies and brands can also leverage Solodev AI to host and train their own models in the cloud and add powerful solutions to personalize experiences, recommend products and services, and harness generative AI at scale. <h3>Differentiating through the AWS competency program</h3>AWS enables scalable, flexible, and cost-effective solutions from hundreds of partners, from startups to global enterprises. To support the seamless integration and deployment of these solutions, the <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/partners/programs/competencies/">AWS Competency Program</a> was designed to help customers identify validated AWS Partner solutions and services for specific industry use cases.According to the press release, the <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/advertising-marketing/partners/">AWS Advertising and Marketing Technology Competency</a> highlights Solodev’s technical proficiency, specific domain knowledge, and proven customer success running cloud solutions on AWS for the advertising and marketing industry. To achieve any competency in its program, AWS Partners must undergo rigorous technical validation by AWS solution architects and have verified customer references. You can explore the various AWS Partner solutions and services offered in its AWS Data Exchange, via the AWS Marketplace, or by browsing the APN Partner Network – which includes Solodev.

Solodev Achieves New AWS Advertising and Marketing Technology Competency at AWS re:Invent 

<hr /> If there's a bright spot in the CMS world, we have an idea where it's coming from. Earlier today, <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/87074530-61f0-11ee-bdb2-5ba82a5c1cef?preview=true">Brightspot</a>, a leading provider of <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">content management</a> solutions, announced a new version of its flagship product.With the launch of Brightspot CMS 4.7, businesses will be able to create, manage, and optimize content more quickly than ever using Brightspot’s “connect and create” integrations. These include a bevy of industry-leading connectors for <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/shopify">Shopify</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/microsoft-sharepoint">SharePoint</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/onedrive/online-cloud-storage">Microsoft OneDrive</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Drive">Google Drive</a>. The upgrade also introduces a host of new and noteworthy features, such as enhanced search and collaboration tools, a new site health framework, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.infoworld.com/article/3689973/what-is-generative-ai-artificial-intelligence-that-creates.html">generative AI</a> capabilities powered by <a target="_blank" href="https://openai.com/">OpenAI.</a>“Brightspot aims to stand out as a content management system that empowers customers to easily shape their digital experiences and deliver great experiences to their users,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidgang/">David Gang</a>, Co-Founder and Chief Customer Officer of Brightspot. “We are thrilled to launch version 4.7 of Brightspot, and to make Brightspot’s unparalleled CMS technology available to businesses looking to get on the fast track to effective content creation, optimization, and distribution." <h3>Capitalizing on continued market growth and demand</h3>Brightspot has carved a solid niche in the enterprise CMS market as a customer-focused partner. This makes sense, as the product was originally developed as part of Perfect Sense, a professional services agency founded in 2008. In August 2020, the firm fully embraced the Brightspot mantle, rebranding around the name of its core product. Now, with over 200 employees, the legacy of customer experience continues to be a key to its success. Brightspot's CMS offers extensive workflow, search, website development, and editing/publishing capabilities. The technology is designed to empower customers with simple or complex use cases to build amazing digital experiences with enterprise-grade capabilities. The new 4.7 release reflects a legacy of customer-focused features that are designed with users in mind. “Our latest innovations put flexibility and ease of use at the center of our platform,” said Gang, "and are part of our goals to continue to be leaders in redefining content management for an increasing number of use cases for our product and services.”In December 2021, Brightspot <a target="_blank" href="https://www.brightspot.com/about-us/news/brightspot-tailwind-capital-partnership">partnered with Tailwind Capital</a> to accelerate the next phase of its growth strategy. This included the continued expansion of its developer community and partner network to expand the reach and accessibility of its CMS.<h3>Lighting the way for content creators with a new design system</h3>One of the key updates in the 4.7 release is Brightspot’s enhanced design system. The new experience provides an easy, flexible tableau for modifying, extending, and fully customizing a pre-built presentation layer. This allows digital experiences to perfectly fit a company's brand while making them easy to change over time. The design system offers users multiple options for no-code, low-code, or fully custom front-end templates to make branded digital experiences possible – regardless of development resourcing or timeline requirements. It also boasts ready-to-use pages, modules and component templates, behaviors, interactions, and comprehensive styling options. For all content types in Brightspot CMS, there's also a complementary front-end version within the design system.<h3>Leveraging AI to auto-tag and structure content</h3>Brightspot CMS 4.7 builds on a highly extensible content management platform, enabling businesses to seamlessly integrate with their existing infrastructure based on their specific needs. The new integrations with Shopify, Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, and SharePoint enable customers to enrich their existing infrastructure investments with Brightspot. Additionally, users can access externally created content while working within the platform, fostering a more streamlined and efficient content creation process. Additionally, AI-driven auto-tagging and taxonomy capabilities reduce the manual burden of content categorization, ensuring that content is appropriately tagged and organized for enhanced discoverability and user experiences.<h3>Creating content faster with generative AI</h3>One of the centerpieces of 4.7 is the new OpenAI-assisted content capabilities, enabling users to craft high-quality content more rapidly and efficiently than ever before. The new feature leverages artificial intelligence to assist content creators, helping them generate engaging and relevant content ideas, drafts, and even complete articles with just a few simple prompts. With the introduction of generative AI, Brightspot is assisting content creators to overcome the challenges of writer's block and empower businesses with a new era of creative freedom and productivity. All of the new AI tools are offered as optional features in the new 4.7 release that can be enabled by customers.<h3>Managing content with robust search and collaboration tools</h3>Brightspot’s search functionality is a powerful way for customers to manage an abundance of content within the platform. With its enhanced search features, users can quickly identify the content they’re looking for via a preview of their asset – directly from the search panel.With the addition of “watcher tools,” users can also set up personalized content monitoring, ensuring they stay updated on specific content components as they move through the workflow.<h3>Easily optimize site performance with alerts and guides</h3>Brightspot CMS 4.7’s latest features help users optimize their website’s performance with an improved alert system, which promptly notifies administrators of potential issues that might impact SEO. This includes broken links, missing metadata, or content inconsistencies – empowering them to address these concerns proactively. Moreover, the inclusion of in-system guides offers field- and widget-level assistance for various features, allowing users to navigate the platform with ease and confidence.<h3>When is the new version available?</h3>Brightspot CMS 4.7 is now shipping to all current and new customers. To learn more about the latest features, visit <a target="_blank" href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.brightspot.com%2Fbrightspot-cms%2Fbrightspot-4-7&amp;esheet=53568134&amp;newsitemid=20231003760002&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.brightspot.com%2Fbrightspot-cms%2Fbrightspot-4-7&amp;index=1&amp;md5=1a64757ba8f332f09ce7f1ad51cedb4c">https://www.brightspot.com/brightspot-cms/brightspot-4-7</a>

Brightspot Launches Next-Generation CMS, Promises Seamless Content Creation and AI Features

Like most businesses, colleges and universities rely on digital experiences to reach and serve their audiences. While many were forced to transform during Covid-19 to support remote learning requirements, they have often trailed the commercial market – following more of a public sector arc when embracing new (and often expensive) technologies. 
That's why they require deep specialization from their digital partners, and this is where <a href="https://www.zengenti.com/" target="_blank">Zengenti</a> excels. The software and consulting firm behind the <a href="https://www.contensis.com/" target="_blank">Contensis</a> CMS recently announced a partnership with <a href="https://www.hw.ac.uk/" target="_blank">Heriot-Watt University</a>, growing its enrollment of higher education customers to more than 20.
Contensis, an <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/lets-celebrate-the-winners-of-the-2022-cms-critic-peoples-choice-awards/">award-winning</a> composable CMS, has carved out a niche within the higher ed marketplace with its flexible platform offerings – which is further buoyed by Zengenti's focused expertise in the higher ed sector. According to the company's press release, Heriot-Watt plans to use the new CMS to enhance the digital experience for prospective students, alumni, and partners.
<h2>A CMS built for a world-class university</h2>
If you're unfamiliar, Heriot-Watt is considered one of Scotland’s most international universities, with more than 27,000 registered students, five campuses, and over 100 learning partners worldwide.
The school's previous on-premise CMS powered a website serving thousands of users, including students from over 150 unique countries. By moving to Contensis, the legacy system will be replaced with a modern API-first and cloud-hosted CMS, enabling the school with greater flexibility and scalability to manage its digital experience.
“We’re excited to be working with Zengenti as our partner for this major transformation project,” said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmajaneleech/" target="_blank">Emma Leech</a>, Global Marketing Director at Heriot-Watt. “Their market understanding, wide-ranging expertise and track record of delivery will be pivotal in allowing us to rethink our global digital presence.”
<h2>A lesson for serving the higher education market</h2>
On its website, Contensis emphasizes the importance of content modeling, editing, and governance tools for helping content teams and developers – specifically those working in modern universities. Not only does Contensis deliver on these features, but its API-first approach makes connecting and managing content easier across websites, apps, and omnichannel experiences.
In addition to Heriot-Watt, Zengenti supports a multitude of notable higher ed customers in the UK, including <a href="https://www.kcl.ac.uk/" target="_blank">King’s College London</a>, <a href="https://www.lse.ac.uk/" target="_blank">The London School of Economics and Political Science</a>, and the <a href="https://uwaterloo.ca/" target="_blank">University of Waterloo</a>.
“We’re delighted to be working with the Heriot-Watt University team,” said <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/contensis-cms-writes-new-script-for-composable-and-headless-interview-with-ceo-rich-chivers/">Richard Chivers</a>, CEO of Zengenti. “This is an exciting and evolving period for the education industry, as leaders in the space continue to look for innovative new ways in which they can adapt to learning practices, hybrid working models and meeting the needs of its digital-savvy students who expect a seamless journey online.”
Chivers also mentioned a new Contensis feature called <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/contensis-launches-blocks-new-container-first-website-builder-qa-with-richard-chivers/">Blocks,</a> which was released earlier this year and covered by CMS Critic. 
“For developers, working with Blocks and React enables more of the team to work remotely in Contensis with a lower risk of change failure,” Chivers said. “For content editors and marketing teams, roles and permissions allow more changes to be pushed out, and its roll-back function can undo changes if needed.”
To learn more about Contensis CMS and its work with leading higher education institutions, visit <a href="https://www.contensis.com/" target="_blank">https://www.contensis.com/</a>.
<h2>About Contensis</h2>
UK-based Zengenti is the creator of Contensis, a headless Content Management System (CMS) with an integrated deployment platform. Contensis provides a single place to create, maintain and deliver content. Its content modeling, authoring, and governance features help teams create and keep top of well-structured content. Open APIs make integrating with leading platforms and products easy to deliver immersive digital experiences for audiences. Contensis powers websites for world-leading organizations across various industries, such as higher education, local government, and the private sector.

Zengenti Expands Focus on Higher Education, Brings Contensis CMS to Heriot-Watt University

mk-patterson

Heriot-Watt University and Zengenti logo icon again a wall of books

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