Articles - Page 18

Agentic AI for Agencies in 2026

bmckeiver

<hr /> The mantle of “CMO” is a bit of an albatross. Much like the ancient mariner, anyone fuddling in this C-level role might find the journey replete with danger.  To be sure, it’s an important job, shouldering the massive responsibility of driving revenue and swimming in the deep end of a vast data pool. It also has the distinct reputation of being the C-level position with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.marketingweek.com/cmo-tenure-falls/">the shortest tenure</a>.There are numerous reasons for this, one of which is burnout. It’s not for the faint of heart, as Chief Marketing Officers are often saddled with breathtaking responsibilities and expectations – the kind where sleep might be an elusive dream. While the CMO was once considered a less important position in the pantheon of corporate leadership, it has certainly earned an essential role. <a href="it’s%20not%20for%20the%20faint%20of%20heart,%20often%20saddled%20with%20breathtaking%20responsibilities%20where%20sleep%20might%20often%20be%20a%20luxury.">According to one study</a>, significantly more CEOs are ranking their marketing departments as “best in class,” a perception driven by CMOs who deliver on business imperatives. As enterprise leaders rely more on visibility powered by analytics and data, CMOs are also taking on a new role as Chief Data Officers. This is thrusting their value into the stratosphere – and their pay packages to boot. The hiring or transition of any C-level leader is a bonafide big deal. But there’s a strong signal being sent when a CMO is enrolled, particularly one with a high-caliber skillset and proven pedigree. It’s a throat-clearing moment that prepares the market for visible change, particularly around how a brand positions itself in an increasingly dense field of competition.  That’s what Storyblok’s hiring of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/markwheeler/">Mark Wheeler</a> represented this week: a full-speed-ahead, no-holds-barred investment in growing its market share. If the CMS’s <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/storyblok-is-writing-its-next-chapter-with-an-80m-series-c-heres-why-it-matters">recent $80 million Series C</a> represents a beachhead for planning its strategy, Mark is the general arriving on the scene to take the castle. Can he do it? Ah, only time will tell. There are certainly major headwinds: cooling economic conditions, tighter IT budgets, and upstream and downstream competitors that continue to befuddle buyers with a confusing morass of messages. Oh… and that pesky U.S. presidential election. Talk about instability. Still, if Mark’s history is any indicator, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominikangerer/">CEO Dominik Angerer</a> should have plenty to look forward to. In my recent discussion with Dominik, we talked at length about Storyblok’s next chapter, which includes ambitious plans to grow its U.S. market footprint. This was underscored by a shift towards a “modern content management system” as a positioning foundation. By doubling down on this clarity, the company could have a key advantage in staking its market differentiation – something a CMO will need to harness, and only a seasoned and successful one can unleash with the right strategies to cut through the noise. Given Mark’s history, proximity to the CMS industry, and immersion in the category of content, he might be the right person for the job. “Having experienced leaders who can help us navigate the opportunities and challenges of our next phase of growth is critical to our success,” Dominik said. “Mark knows the CMS industry inside out and has already been on the part of the journey we’re about to embark on. His experience will help us properly educate the market on the transformative impact Storyblok has throughout the entire content lifecycle.”<h3 id="leaning-on-proven-success-at-adobe-and-sitecore">Leaning on proven success at Adobe and Sitecore</h3>It seems that (almost) all roads lead in or out of <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/sitecore">Sitecore</a>. That speaks to the platform’s longevity and omnipresence, and its undeniable impact on the shape and course of the CMS industry at large.A big part of Mark’s origin story was forged at Sitecore, beginning as VP of Marketing and establishing a reputation as a leading B2B tech marketer in Europe. He later assumed dominion over EMEA and APAC, ultimately running the worldwide field and partner marketing out of London and San Francisco.This encompassed four years, all at a time of significant change across the CMS landscape. Prior to his Sitecore heritage, Mark also ran EMEA marketing at <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dell_EMC">EMC (Dell),</a> accelerating growth across mid-market, enterprise, government, and via the service provider community with the EMC portfolio of products. Before that, Mark spent seven years at the goliath that is <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/adobe-experience-manager">Adobe</a> in a marketing director role. During his tenure, he achieved some innovative outcomes like establishing an in-house demand gen team and leading a channel transformation strategy that significantly impacted sales bookings.Most recently, Mark was VP of Marketing at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nutanix.com/">Nutanix</a>, a cloud infrastructure software provider. That was followed by his first CMO stint at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.leanix.net/">LeanIX</a>, which was <a target="_blank" href="https://www.leanix.net/en/company/press/leanix-is-now-part-of-sap">acquired by SAP</a> during his tenure. That led to a transitional CMO role under the SAP banner, and ultimately to a break before taking the CMO job at Storyblok.Without question, Mark has a stellar resume – one that would make any tech company anxious to lock down this talent. It’s worth noting that he has also been recognized as a <a target="_blank" href="https://hottopics.ht/awards/cmo-100">Global B2B CMO 100</a> Award Winner in 2021, 2023, and 2024. Add this to his long tenures at both Adobe and Sitecore, and he is well-positioned to drive the marketing and business objectives at Storyblok.<h3 id="the-continued-struggle-to-serve-both-developers-and-marketers">The continued struggle to serve both developers and marketers</h3>Go ahead. Do a drive-by of every major DXP or CMS website, and you’ll see this line somewhere: “Finally, a platform that unites both developers and marketers…”It’s one thing to say it, and quite another to deliver on it. And in an era where <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">headless CMS</a> platforms are still working to mend the fences with content editors and marketing professionals, a lot of these statements still feel hollow. And it’s not for a lack of trying: many platforms are making headway on appealing to marketing folk with a bit of “visual editing fairy dust," and the results are beginning to speak for themselves. If only it was a simple as solving a technology problem. As Mark noted in the company’s press release, the CMS industry has come a long way, baby – but that struggle between devs and marketers is still palpable. Collaborating from concept to completion remains elusive in many systems and organizations (it’s not all on the tech), and Mark has a clear line of sight on where the breaks can be bridged and futureproofed for things like AI. “The market requires solutions that dismantle silos, optimize workflows, and accelerate the content lifecycle, making it more adaptable and ready for the era of generative AI,” he said. “Storyblok is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this by offering a platform that empowers businesses to create, manage, and deliver content at unprecedented speed and scale. By focusing on these advantages, we can drive substantial revenue growth and market share.”It won’t be easy. We’ve been struggling with this for many years, and while other challenges like interoperability have been trimmed with APIs, the human challenges of working together on experiences seem like the ever-present last mile to success. This seems to be a core focus for Mark as he takes the reins. “I'm ready to amplify these strengths by demonstrating how Storyblok empowers teams to achieve extraordinary things,” he further noted. “By truly understanding the challenges faced by content creators and developers, we can position Storyblok as the go-to platform for building exceptional digital experiences.”<h3 id="why-it-matters">Why it matters</h3>As I mentioned a few paragraphs back, the hiring of a CMO is a bellwether moment. It’s a sea change that can prime the engines for a company’s brand, and I think we can expect to see some clear signals right out of the gate.This is a pivotal moment for Storyblok. When I saw their demo competition at the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff25/">Boye &amp; Company CMS Kickoff</a> in 2023, I was blown away by the quality of the product UI and its intuitive simplicity – something they have continued to build on. It has also remained tacitly composable in its posture, allowing for more expansive growth within MACH-architected stacks (the company has been a MACH Alliance member since 2021).Despite everything it’s doing right – including a staggering Series C windfall led by U.S. investors – Storyblok’s greatest challenge might be around choice. With significant competition across the market, including DXPs that are now selling their product in a more composable fashion, the CMS needs to double down on what makes it unique. Some of that is wrapped up in AI and automation, as well as novel new features like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.storyblok.com/docs/guide/in-depth/ideation-room">its Ideation Room.</a> For my money, it's what they've always done well: understanding the customer and expressing that through their product experience. It's a big reason why Dominik Angerer claims he's never lost a customer to churn. Focusing on these attributes is where marketing can be a force multiplier. The other red flag is the persistent and lingering confusion on the headless battlefield. While it all feels less like a “race to the middle” and more like a widespread evolution (heck, we even have a “Universal CMS” entering the fray), I think it’s smart that Storyblok is reinforcing its core sediment as a modern content management system. The market desperately needs sage guidance, and cutting back on the over-engineered experiences and marketing lexicon is the best way to see the forest through the trees and deliver some much-needed clarity to buyers.As Mark Wheeler takes the wheel (sorry, it had to be done), driving that clarity will make all the difference.  <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 target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff25/tickets">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, so secure your tickets today.

Storyblok just hired a CMO with Adobe and Sitecore pedigree. Here’s what it signals for the future

matt-garrepy

<hr /> If there’s a song lyric that captures the ethos of Switzerland, this one comes to mind from <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozl3L9fhKtE">Fleetwood Mac</a>: “You can go your own way…”This classic was spinning on turntables and jukeboxes in the mid-1970s, but the Swiss have been rockin’ to the beat of their own drum for over 500 years – back when the country first established its venerated stance on neutrality. With a rich history of non-conformist geopolitical leanings, it’s not surprising that Switzerland is embracing open source software (OSS) with greater purpose and intention, while much of the West remains hesitant – particularly in government circles. Just how serious are the Swiss about OSS? Last year, the country passed what it calls the <a target="_blank" href="https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/collection/open-source-observatory-osor/news/new-open-source-law-switzerland">Federal Law on the Use of Electronic Means for the Fulfillment of Government Tasks</a> (EMBAG for short), a law requiring public sector entities to provide their software as open source. This applies to any code or applications they’ve developed (or had developed by a third party) provided it doesn’t compromise any rights or create security issues. While many of the tenets are still being implemented, the Swiss government and its contractors must release their software code under an OSS license, promising an entirely new level of transparency around government practices. A year after the law’s final adoption, EMBAG continues to challenge existing perceptions of OSS across the EU, and might just be the model for the future. That may sound wildly ambitious to some – foolhardy to others – but it also makes perfect sense. Like the Swiss, OSS is steeped in a deep legacy of democratic and social idealism, embodying the spirit of freedom and community.But in a world where trust can be easily exploited, is it a good idea for government agencies to be so open about their software?I recently caught up with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathias-bolt-lesniak/">Mathias Bolt Lesniak</a>, an open source evangelist at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.toujou.com/">toujou</a> (a SaaS website building platform based in Norway) and Project Ambassador at the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/typo3-association/">TYPO3 Association</a>. We’ve spoken previously about his involvement with the <a target="_blank" href="https://typo3.org/project/press/press-releases/open-website-alliance/english">Open Web Alliance</a>, a cabal of the world’s leading open source CMSs – <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/drupal">Drupal</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/joomla">Joomla</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/TYPO3">TYPO3</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/wordpress">WordPress</a> – which assembled in the wake of the <a target="_blank" href="https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/cyber-resilience-act">EU’s Cyber Resilience Act</a>. The Alliance perceived this emerging policy as a threat to free and open source software like <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">content management systems</a>, assigning responsibility for safety and security considerations regardless of how their CMS software is being utilized or customized. Their efforts culminated in an open letter to the EU about a myriad of issues – including the financial implications – and reinforced the benefits of open source. As an expert in OSS (or “FOSS” when it's free), Mathias had some thoughts on the evolution of Switzerland’s law and what it signals about the future. While other countries in the EU are also investing in the promise of open source, governments abroad are less bullish about the prospects. WordPress, the open source CMS goliath, continues to <a target="_blank" href="https://wordpress.org/about/features/">power over 43% of all websites</a> on the planet. Despite this staggering reach, there’s much work to be done to advance OSS principles in all corners of the globe, particularly in the public sector. But EMBAG just moved the ball further down the field – and if the Swiss don't miss, it could change the game. <h3 id="the-long-road-to-open-source">The long road to open source</h3>The adoption of EMBAG was certainly a legal milestone, and more than a decade in the making. Over that period, the Swiss government was embroiled in lengthy political and legal battles. There were numerous questions about existing agreements and the weight of international law. But in the end, the Swiss government achieved cooperation, applying radical changes to its e-government practices – specifically as it relates to the free reuse of its open source code.Unlike other legislation efforts, EMBAG also breaks new ground by mandating the release of broader government data. While this precludes personal or highly secure information, its Open Government Data (OGD) model goes beyond transparency – easing the friction around reusing data for other applications and encouraging greater innovation and collaboration between government agencies. <h3 id="an-alignment-of-democratic-ideals">An alignment of democratic ideals</h3>I asked Mathias about the promises and pitfalls of EMBAG, and where the potential of success – or failure – might exist. He had some strong observations on the role of governance in the equation, and how that could influence the overall trajectory. “My primary reaction, of course, is that this is great,” he said “I'm really looking forward to seeing the results of it, because this is a project that can go really well, or it can go not so well. I think it depends on the governance aspect of how it's actually implemented. Switzerland, of course, is one of these places that has a really strong democratic tradition – and democracy is what I usually point to when I talk about the positive things open source can bring into countries. It's a kind of ‘learning ground’ for democratic practices. And Switzerland, of course, has had this amazing, direct democracy for hundreds of years.”As Mathias codified, one might say that the Swiss were “culturally prepared” for a shift towards OSS, making it an ideal stage for employing such a groundbreaking piece of legislation. Other countries like France have professed a predilection towards open source, but none have gone this far with their public sector standards.  <hr /> <h4 style="text-align:center" id="“democracy-is-what-i-usually-point-to-when-i-talk-about-the-positive-things-open-source-can-bring-into-countries.”">“Democracy is what I usually point to when I talk about the positive things open source can bring into countries.”</h4> <hr /> The cards might be stacked against any country willing to dive this deep with open source. According to Mathias, there are several things that might help ensure positive outcomes as Switzerland looks to successfully execute this policy.“One of the things I'm looking forward to hopefully seeing is the Swiss building expertise around open source systems, as well as their small to medium supplier market,” he observed. “Open source has this ability, because it gives people the possibility to learn and use it outside of the originally intended use case.” Mathias also sees a runway for expanding the reuse of government software by other entities within Switzerland as well as outside the country. To his point, the Swiss have long cultivated a reputation for superior products and technologies (watches come to mind). As he sees it, there may be a heightened demand for Swiss OSS that far exceeds its current charter – perhaps even a “Swiss standard” for government software. To that end, Mathias sees the adoption of EMBAG as a clear signal that Switzerland recognizes the true potential of open source, widening the aperture well beyond its peers in the EU and abroad. <h3 id="the-struggle-with-security">The struggle with security</h3>Despite the palpable pros, open source has wrestled with the central challenge of trust. And it makes sense: you open your code to the world, and the question of security naturally follows. Accountability is also a major point of friction, as any issues with code or functionality often belong to a community, which can present barriers to solving critical problems.To be fair, all software is vulnerable – and we’re seeing just how vulnerable on a daily basis. Hacks and threats are becoming commonplace, and large open source systems like WordPress provide a much larger surface area for exploits. That said, proprietary software is target-rich and bountiful for likes of ransomware. Just take a quick peek at <a target="_blank" href="https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/acknowledgement">Microsoft’s security update guide</a> and you’ll get a long and troubling list of vulnerabilities that have cropped up over time.No software should ever be deemed completely secure. But relative to proprietary platforms, open source can hold its own – and in some instances, might even be considered a safer bet. One example: because OSS isn’t controlled by a single vendor, anyone can monitor, locate, and remediate vulnerabilities. This can be a force multiplier for security and governance.At the end of the day, does this build enough trust for public sector agencies to open their code? Do the rewards outweigh the risks?“I think it definitely builds trust,” Mathias said. “Any country that adopts open source so fully is really a sign that its government understands all of the good stuff that you can do with it.”<h3 id="why-is-the-u.s.-less-bullish-on-open-source?">Why is the U.S. less bullish on open source?</h3>The European market teetered on the brink of recession throughout 2023. There were certainly a few bright spots, but by in large, the entire continent struggled as the U.S. boomed, losing pace in the race for AI and suffering setbacks in areas like electric vehicles. According to a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/economy/europe-regulates-its-way-to-last-place-2a03c21d">Wall Street Journal article</a> published in January, there is one field where the EU still leads the world – and that’s regulation. This has been a benefit in areas like controlling carbon emissions and advancing data privacy. But its penchant for draconian rulemaking has also stymied its economic agility when competing with China and the U.S.Of course, it’s not all about competition. There is this thing called humanity, and countries like Switzerland seem interested in policies that protect citizens and serve the public interest while promoting digital sovereignty and stoking innovation. Many would claim that doing good and driving economic growth aren’t mutually exclusive, but some EU companies are proving the opposite. <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/umbraco-publishes-annual-impact-report-reinforcing-commitments-to-sustainability-and-community">A great example in the CMS world is Umbraco</a>, which is investing deeply in sustainability and DEI strategies while activating growth (it also happens to be an open source platform).We’ve already established that open source can overcome questions about its security and stability – and based on <a target="_blank" href="https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/open-source-software-the-nine-trillion-resource-companies-take-for-granted">research from Frank Nagle</a> at the Harvard Business School, 96% of commercial programs include some form of OSS in their mix – making it absolutely critical to the global economy. Now, the Swiss are advocating open source for government at the highest level.So why has it been slow to catch on in the U.S. public sector?Well, for starters, there’s certainly support for it. Just a few years ago, the <a target="_blank" href="https://thenewstack.io/how-the-u-s-air-force-deployed-kubernetes-and-istio-on-an-f-16-in-45-days">U.S. Air Force began deploying applications</a> on F-16s utilizing a hybrid cloud strategy via Kubernetes – an open source system for pushing, scaling, and managing containerized apps. The U.S. federal government also requires agencies to release a percentage of its custom code as OSS. That said, there are no mandates like the one Switzerland has introduced – and very little incentive for public sector agencies to invest heavily in open source. I asked Mathias about this marked difference between the U.S. and Europe, and what the underlying factors might be.“I think there's a difference in tradition,” he said. “The U.S. and Europe have different ways of funding for open source projects, to be very black and white. Europe has much more of a government-centric funding model, where the public sector supports projects. The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sovereigntechfund.de/">German Sovereign Tech Fund</a>, for example, is a government construct for capitalizing open source projects. And in the U.S., it seems that it's much more reliant on private capital. I think both of those can work as funding solutions, but governments are going to be motivated by public service to a much larger degree than private funding.”That said, the EU's well might be running dry on public funding for OSS. In July, the European Commission <a target="_blank" href="https://fossforce.com/2024/07/is-the-european-commission-dropping-support-for-important-open-source-funding/">neglected to include</a> any Next Generation Internet (NGI) programs in its budget for 2025. NGI has been fiercely committed to building a trustworthy internet by funding over a thousand open source projects through its NGI Zero Commons Fund. If this disappears, many OSS projects may come to a halt.<h3 id="opening-up-the-open-source-promise-">Opening up the open source promise </h3>While EMBAG is providing a template for other EU nations – and the world – it’s still early days. There are aspects of the policy that still need shaking out. But as Mathias observed, the news is sparking great interest around open source and its potential for continued growth.There are clear benefits for the Swiss as they embark on this journey. Aside from the foundation of greater openness and transparency, OSS eliminates inhibitors like vendor lock-in and other compromises that come with selecting proprietary software. More importantly, it drives efficiency by enabling the reuse of code and improving productivity through collaboration. As Mathias sees it, open source can provide governments with greater choice and control –  the essential ingredients for accelerating time to mission and supporting the needs of citizens and communities. Being able to share and reuse OSS code can help activate the potential. “Selecting open source doesn't have to mean you select a single model or one open source piece of software to rule them all,” he explained. “You can also create and fund a collaboration between different projects so that they can reuse the same kind of code. And I think that's an opportunity that is much more relevant when the government is participating. We share information openly, and that’s something that can benefit existing platforms and the development of new platforms for things like government ID.”Mathias is also predicting unexpected ways that open source might deliver greater impact and value.“Governments have an opportunity to support some of areas that are often forgotten, or that receive little focus from open source developers, and one of those is UX,” he said. “For example, many open source systems have been built by developers who build them in a ‘developer way.’ The first thing they think about is functionality and not UX, and governments have the possibility to fund that missing layer of making open source so usable that everyone will adopt it. If that happens, we might see open source platforms that are being compared beyond their feature sets.”We’ve had numerous discussions in the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/">Boye &amp; Company CMS Experts Group</a> about Gartner’s persistent “overlooking” of open source platforms on its MQ reports. We know revenue is an obstacle (among other requirements), but there’s also a latent undercurrent of negative perception around OSS when it comes to enterprise software decisions.As the Swiss swing for the fences and once again “go their own way,” perhaps more OSS solutions will attain a new level of respect in the minds of market watchers. Of course, that shift will require a deeper understanding of the true nature of open source:It’s less about code – and more about culture.  <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---sold-out"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect24">CMS Connect 24</a> - SOLD OUT</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.

The Swiss Don’t Miss on Open Source: How Switzerland's EMBAG Law is Evolving the OSS Landscape

<hr /> In today’s competitive business environment, delivering dynamic experiences across multiple digital channels is becoming increasingly important. In the past, a traditional monolithic CMS was the go-to solution for managing website content in bulk, offering a comprehensive approach with integrated frontend and backend functionalities.However, as the importance of web channels for media distribution grew, developers within larger enterprises recognized the limitations of monolithic solutions in managing complex, structured content or delivering unique frontend capabilities. This led to the rise of custom, internal CMS solutions. Performance and extensive customization were possible but at huge engineering costs and time pressure to plan, develop, and uphold these systems.Since 2007, the rise in smart devices has welcomed a new era of content consumption across diverse channels. The move significantly burdened both monolithic CMS technology and content teams.The need for a multi-channel content strategy and a modern tech stack made the limitations of traditional CMS more apparent. Even today,<a target="_blank" href="https://hygraph.com/resources/future-of-content"> 8 in 10 tech leaders</a> think their current CMS holds them back with inefficient developer or editorial experiences.<h3 id="elevating-tech-teams-with-cms-modernization">Elevating tech teams with CMS modernization</h3>The heavy burden developers face with maintaining custom CMS platforms not only leads to burnout – <a target="_blank" href="https://blog.jetbrains.com/team/2023/11/20/the-state-of-developer-ecosystem-2023/">experienced by nearly 73% of developers</a> at some point in their careers – but also acts as a significant restriction. Consequently, organizations are increasingly looking to modernize their CMS to alleviate these pressures.An in-house CMS requires ongoing maintenance, like keeping an orchestra in tune and ensuring all musicians play harmoniously. It’s also less scalable as it’s often built by a small group of people, so they are the only ones who can access and make changes to the system. Subsequently, it’s hard to manage as the project scales, and the small group of developers who built the solution will be stuck maintaining the code base. Modern headless CMS platforms can greatly enhance the capabilities and efficiency of tech teams, freeing them from the constraints of maintenance around custom platforms and empowering them to focus on driving innovation. There are many other benefits to consider, too: <h4 id="1.-increased-developer-velocity">1. Increased developer velocity</h4>Accumulated technical debt from maintaining custom middleware can reduce developer velocity, slow release cycles, and hinder an organization's ability to maintain a continuous release schedule. <h4 id="2.-improved-app-performance">2. Improved app performance</h4>Performance is a key indicator of your project's success. It's also closely connected to your business since you lose revenue when your performance is poor. A CMS failure can be detected by business metrics such as lost revenues, which are influenced by poor performance indicators such as slow page load speed and low core web vitals. <h4 id="3.-stay-current-with-the-latest-tech">3. Stay current with the latest tech</h4>The technology landscape is ever-evolving. Naturally, some of the latest technologies work better than outdated ones. The advantage of a headless CMS is that you can choose any technology you like and easily switch the front end without changing your CMS. <h4 id="4.-future-proof-technology-strategy">4. Future-proof technology strategy</h4>A tech leader should choose IT vendors that can adapt quickly to an unknown future. A headless architecture with content federation puts data in one place so teams can scale the digital experience. Developers get all the flexibility of headless without having to build, host, secure, and ensure the performance of custom middleware.   <h4 id="5.-talent-acquisition">5. Talent acquisition</h4>Legacy systems are hard to understand, making developers less productive and less attractive when recruiting new team members. It’s much easier to handle things in-house if everything needed to work with the CMS can be easily found in any tech stack. <h4 id="6.-heightened-security">6. Heightened security</h4>Unlike a traditional CMS, a modern headless CMS decouples the backend content repository layer from the frontend presentation layer. This separation allows for greater security because the content management layer is isolated and can be protected independently.<h3 id="why-headless-is-the-way-forward">Why headless is the way forward</h3>Adopting a headless CMS with content federation can offer flexibility, scalability, and streamlined content distribution across multiple channels. Furthermore, by separating the frontend and backend, this approach lays the foundation for organizations to meet their technical and content requirements swiftly, allowing technology teams to develop with any technology for any platform.At a time when content is king, your CMS needs to be a gateway to digital transformation rather than a barrier. <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---sold-out"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect24">CMS Connect 24</a> - SOLD OUT</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.

 Roadmap to Digital Experience Success: Six Ways to Future-Proof Your CMS While Elevating Your Tech Teams

michael-lukaszczyk

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Optimizely Introduces New SaaS CMS with Visual Builder for Marketers

<hr /> Skip the intro and directly access my <a target="_blank" href="https://bit.ly/Responsible-AI-Guidelines-For-Content-Teams">downloadable Responsible AI Principle worksheet</a> for your team now.<h3 id="an-introduction-to-responsible-ai-for-digital-marketing-teams">An Introduction to Responsible AI for Digital Marketing Teams</h3>In today's digital age, artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly become a cornerstone of marketing strategies and tactics, driving innovation and efficiency across various tasks that marketers must complete. However, as AI technology becomes increasingly integrated into digital marketing teams, the need for ethical guidelines and responsible usage is also becoming increasingly crucial.I’m just going to say it: As powerful as AI is, in my opinion, content creation and digital teams are rushing headstrong into using tools like <a target="_blank" href="https://chat.openai.com/">ChatGPT</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://copilot.microsoft.com/">Copilot</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://gemini.google.com/">Gemini</a> without considering how to use them responsibly. I think there is a need to have a prudent approach and set of guidelines in place to ensure these tools are integrated correctly into their content operations. Does your digital marketing team have an AI Policy in use? Mine didn’t. In fact, I’d wager that most teams haven’t even prioritized having such a policy. I believe it’s time to start thinking about implementing one. Below is some context and background that may help. I’ve also listed some of the main factors you should consider when developing guidelines for your team's responsible use of AI.<h3 id="the-rise-of-ai-in-digital-marketing">The Rise of AI in Digital Marketing</h3>AI has revolutionized the marketing landscape, offering tools that can write content, translate from one language to another, automate content delivery, and optimize campaign performance. These advancements have enabled digital marketing teams to achieve high levels of efficiency, leading to more effective writing and improved ROI. CMS platforms and tools such as <a target="_blank" href="http://kontent.ai">Kontent.ai</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sitecore.com/">Sitecore</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kentico.com">Kentico</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.contentful.com/">Contentful</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.optimizely.com/">Optimizely</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.storyblok.com/">Storyblok</a>, etc., are all rushing as fast as possible to add more value with AI-enabled features in their products. I’ve seen it firsthand in many of them. All of these platforms want to be seen as the market leader in the space through AI innovation.In fact, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.futurepedia.io/ai-tools/marketing">Futurepedia</a>, a tool that tracks new AI tools as they come on the market, has over 211 AI tools listed in the Digital Marketing category.  <figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:83.28%"><img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXftvTU4IabsW3KwL1ga2eWKlnhaDjSgAxG64tQEQ8O_vHarNdLMXPU70heYHuek2Loa9bVU5ln_WmC8Da2JE_QKs8avuqLGXZ6I8l1tmTE_rb0GS-8OhSoqZRQPubq6c1S2cUvye4yoQJMEY3uM996fRQLd?key=CLw_KJ6KxDiqOvRg30VM1w" /></figure> Heck, by the time I publish this article, there will probably be 212 or more listed. The pace of change and innovation is impressive. However, with great power comes great responsibility. The reliance on AI-driven tools necessitates a framework that ensures these technologies are used correctly, both from a vendor perspective and a digital team perspective.How do we place some governance on all this change? The answer is to be prudent in the approach to AI by leveraging Responsible AI as a core theme.<h3 id="what-is-responsible-ai?">What Is Responsible AI?</h3>Responsible AI refers to the development and use of artificial intelligence in ways that prioritize ethical, fair, and safe outcomes. Major tech companies like Google, Meta, IBM, and Microsoft emphasize that organizations should follow a set of key principles when leveraging AI. The principles listed below are the most common ones I see. They combine to be a set of guiding principles when using AI.<h3 id="six-key-principles-when-leveraging-ai">Six Key Principles When Leveraging AI</h3><ol><li>Fairness: AI systems should treat all people fairly.</li><li>Reliability and safety: AI systems should perform reliably and safely.</li><li>Privacy and security: AI systems should be secure and respect privacy.</li><li>Inclusiveness: AI systems should empower everyone and engage people.</li><li>Transparency: AI systems should be understandable.</li><li>Accountability: People should be accountable for AI systems.</li></ol>I actually completely agree with the way that Microsoft and others have laid this out. All of those large tech giants have complex resource sites or large PDFs that spell out even more detail around the idea of Responsible AI. The challenge is that these resources are extensive. As an example, the <a target="_blank" href="https://ai.meta.com/static-resource/responsible-use-guide/">Meta Responsible AI guide</a> is over 25 pages. Motivating myself to read all of that or browse multiple pages on the Microsoft Responsible AI site is hard enough. I can’t see my team or my client’s team going through all of that information. That’s why I really like focusing on the main six principles above.I believe that having a responsible approach to using or producing any AI tool in an organization is critical. It is also something that is needed in digital marketing/content teams as well. That’s why I started down this path. I wanted to put a policy in place at my own agency, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bizstream.com">BizStream</a>. <h3 id="why-an-ai-policy-is-essential">Why an AI Policy is Essential</h3>Adopting AI in digital marketing isn't just about leveraging new technologies for improved outcomes; it's also about acknowledging and mitigating the potential risks associated with AI's autonomy and influence. Issues such as data privacy, bias, and the chances of hallucinations (errors by a generative AI tool) pose significant challenges. Without a comprehensive AI policy, organizations risk breaching ethical standards, violating customer trust, and potentially facing legal consequences.In fact, to me, the clearest example of where generative AI can go wrong is the published information around <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2024/02/18/air-canada-airline-chatbot-ruling/">Air Canada’s chatbot failure</a>. An earlier ruling this year ended in favor of the end customer, and now Air Canada is on the hook for AI that was not used responsibly.An AI policy serves as a guiding beacon for digital marketing teams, ensuring that every AI-driven initiative is aligned with ethical principles and corporate values. It helps establish clear boundaries and standards for AI usage and addresses concerns like fairness, transparency, and accountability.<h3 id="the-role-of-principles-in-ai-deployment">The Role of Principles in AI Deployment</h3>Drawing inspiration from established frameworks like Microsoft’s six principles for responsible AI—fairness, reliability and safety, privacy and security, inclusiveness, transparency, and accountability—digital marketing teams can develop a robust policy that governs AI use. These principles are not just theoretical ideals; they can be necessities that shape how AI tools are selected, deployed, and managed within a team.As digital marketing continues to evolve with AI advancements, having a well-defined, responsible AI policy should reduce friction with AI usage. It can ensure that while organizations pursue technological innovation, they remain steadfast in their commitment to ethical practices, full transparency, and working within societal norms.<h3 id="my-responsible-ai-principles-worksheet">My Responsible AI Principles Worksheet</h3>Bringing us back to my situation specifically, as 2024 has progressed, I witnessed more and more AI tools being used by my team. On the one hand, this was great because we were seeing the benefits firsthand of faster content creation on our website, email, and social media channels. On the other hand, I was getting a little concerned about two things. First, as more tools were added to our digital marketing stack, my SaaS tool spend was climbing quickly, and second, I questioned if all of these tools being used safely and responsibly.In an effort to ensure my own team at BizStream is adequately trained on the benefits and risks associated with using AI in a marketing context, I created the following tool for us internally. The idea is that I wanted to ensure each of my team members working with these types of tools had a set of guardrails or guiding principles. I used the key Responsible AI principles (Fairness, Reliability, and safety, Privacy, and security, etc. etc.) as the main set of information. From there, I pivoted a table across those principles to include the category or type of activity that we perform in our digital marketing efforts. Then, I added a description to explain further what kind of considerations to take around that type of activity that align to a principle. It started to look like this: <figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:88.25%"><img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXcyan4Kp5V4ui62GBclk3PRP2zf896t_SA2ud9i9Vpo_1v8qPrOQWfOp9xqD3WxN5ckXvPxyMRKoZXo45T-gZ4IY7D5nxcx73So7V4Ke7Bcqg63hunm9UIdd7i0AKnJKRkW2_kd8D0TMDctuawkQD6vaJ0c?key=CLw_KJ6KxDiqOvRg30VM1w" /></figure> After the first draft, my marketing specialist asked me some questions about this, so I added some guiding questions in the last column to help kick-start the brainstorming process. The current incarnation ended up looking like the screenshot below: <figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:83.97%"><img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfbgC_IIHSM1GTgfHUuYOxyKFikNuvB0mTdJu7oMB-maSSu0PxyYEKSKqJKnAsyS94qwbCMs_0wXMkIwpNfpD7wAei-G3vA7zYCH1yfadhC_eCth-Qa2Eiyk3OZI2MxajJ9EdHKKf2iiOIC-44Dc2pjylVL?key=CLw_KJ6KxDiqOvRg30VM1w" /></figure> You can <a target="_blank" href="https://bit.ly/Responsible-AI-Guidelines-For-Content-Teams">download the editable version of my Responsible AI Principles &amp; Guidelines for Content Teams</a> for free. My goal for this tool is to ensure that Responsible AI practices are considered when selecting third-party vendors, tools, platform features, and subscription services. I also aim for it to add governance to both our adoptions and those of our clients.Additionally, as we onboard new marketing team members or interns, I believe they will come up to speed faster with how we operate as a team. We are working to improve this process, but only time will tell.<h3 id="periodic-reviews-of-your-ai-policy-on-a-schedule">Periodic Reviews of your AI policy on a Schedule</h3>One other note. Don’t be fooled into thinking that an AI policy or single document is a ‘set and forget’ thing. The AI and especially generative AI world is constantly changing, as are the laws and regulations around it. You must treat your AI policy as a living, breathing document. Schedule time to review it regularly, considering the changes that are coming in at a rapid pace.<h3 id="feedback-wanted">Feedback Wanted</h3>As with any new idea, I’d love to gather feedback on it and improve it. If you download the worksheet and have thoughts on it, please let me know via <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianmckeiver/">LinkedIn</a> or email.<h3 id="conclusion">Conclusion</h3>Using AI in digital marketing and content creation comes with many benefits and responsibilities. By following clear guidelines and responsible principles, we can use AI ethically and efficiently. I recommend that all digital marketing teams strive to implement a responsible AI policy. Note: The above information has been written to provide general guidance only. It does not equate to legal advice. Varying legal requirements exist in different locations, and laws and regulations governing AI, privacy, and cybersecurity do not exist in a consistent manner.Note: Generative AI was used to edit this document for grammar and spelling. <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---sold-out"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect24">CMS Connect 24</a> - SOLD OUT</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.

Responsible AI Principles for Digital Marketing and Content Teams 

<hr /> When I spoke to the incomparable <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinapodnar/">Kristina Podnar</a> last November, she was – in a word – ecstatic.And rightly so: the <a target="_blank" href="https://dataandtrustalliance.org/work/data-provenance-standards">Data Provenance Standards</a>, an initiative she helped guide into existence as Senior Policy Director at the <a target="_blank" href="https://dataandtrustalliance.org/">Data &amp; Trust Alliance (D&amp;TA)</a>, was finally emerging from the chrysalis and taking flight.The D&amp;TA has become a leading voice in the chorus for trustworthy data and AI. Founded in 2020 by market mavens <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ken-chenault/">Ken Chenault</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_J._Palmisano">Sam Palmisano</a>, the organization has been keenly focused on guiding the responsible use of data and intelligent systems.If you’re not familiar with the Data Provenance Standards, I encourage you to read my <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/can-you-trust-your-ai-data-new-standards-emerge-to-help-ensure-transparency">previous interview with Kristina</a>, who is an oracle on all things Digital Policy.As we discussed in our conversation, having clear data provenance – understanding the origin, lineage, and rights associated with data – is vital to establishing trust in the details and decisions coming from data-enabled systems. This includes AI applications, which are exploding in popularity and expanding across numerous industry use cases. The Data Provenance Standards were co-created by 19 member organizations of the Data &amp; Trust Alliance, along with multiple third-party industry partners and ecosystem experts. Contributing players include American Express, Humana, IBM, Mastercard, Pfizer, and Walmart (to name a few) – obviously some of the biggest and most notable brands in the world. Now, after testing and validation with more than 50 organizations both inside and outside the Data &amp; Trust Alliance, the organization <a target="_blank" href="https://dataandtrustalliance.org/work/data-provenance-standards">just released version 1.0.0</a> of its Data Provenance Standards. The announcement was detailed in a blog post by the brilliant <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/saira-jesani/">Saira Jesani</a>, Executive Director of D&amp;TA – who I’ve also spoken to previously about this ambitious initiative. <figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:63.94%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/07/saira-kristina-headshots-2.jpg" alt="Headshots of Saira Jesani, Executive Director, and Kristina Podnar, Senior Policy Director" /></figure>As Saira noted in her overview, the entire journey started because the D&amp;TA members and the broader business community were yearning for, as she called it, “better rules for the road around data quality.” Exacerbated by the race to adopt AI, she went on to frame how data has become the most sustainable source of competitive advantage. This revelation ultimately led to the creation of the Data Provenance Standards, and now to the vital feedback loop that will continue to improve the framework.<h3 id="what-are-the-data-provenance-standards?">What are the Data Provenance Standards?</h3>When first proposed back in November of 2023, Kristina was quick to point out that the new Data Provenance Standards were not a form of policy, but benchmarks accompanied by rich metadata. Functionally, this metadata would serve as a set of trustworthy considerations when validating the integrity of datasets. At launch, eight proposed standards were included, each with a unique provenance metadata ID and a label for tracking the history and origin of each data set. It’s worth noting that the standards apply at the dataset level, acting as an overall “fingerprint” for divining details like the data’s lineage, source, legal rights, and more.<hr /><h4 style="text-align:center" id="-"> </h4><h4 style="text-align:center" id="“these-practical-standards,-co-created-by-senior-practitioners-across-the-industry,-are-designed-to-help-evaluate-whether-ai-workflows-align-with-ever-changing-regulations-while-also-helping-generate-increased-business-value.”">“These practical standards, co-created by senior practitioners across the industry, are designed to help evaluate whether AI workflows align with ever-changing regulations while also helping generate increased business value.”</h4><h4 style="text-align:center" id="-"> </h4><h4 style="text-align:center" id="rob-thomas">ROB THOMAS</h4><h4 style="text-align:center" id="senior-vice-president,-ibm-software-and-chief-commercial-officer">Senior Vice President, IBM Software and Chief Commercial Officer</h4> <hr /> According to Saira, the standards were designed to facilitate business adoption via two key focus areas. The first is to demonstrate tangible business value by helping organizations assess which datasets are of higher quality. This includes delivering the transparency required for efficient, accurate, and reliable use of data – as well as mitigating the risks from legal, copyright, and regulatory compliance issues.  The second is making the implementation of the standards more streamlined and attainable, thereby encouraging adoption. This is achieved by homing in on the most essential metadata needed to reveal and understand a dataset’s origin, method of creation, and whether it can be legally used.Since last November, we’ve seen significant changes across the regulatory landscape regarding data and AI, chiefly marked by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20230601STO93804/eu-ai-act-first-regulation-on-artificial-intelligence">Europe’s sweeping EU AI Act</a>. As Saira noted, while this is happening at a macro level, we still don’t have standard definitions for its critical elements. To call this a conundrum would be selling it short, to say nothing of the challenges surrounding the quality and integrity of datasets – which are essential for AI model training to deliver accurate and trustworthy results.   “Model evaluation is difficult, with little transparency around the data that trains and feeds those models,” she stated. “The consequences – from copyright infringement to privacy to authenticity – could affect both the technology’s business value and its acceptance by society, limiting organizations’ ability to determine what is to be trusted.”There’s a lot at stake, and that’s why the creation of the Data Provenance Standards is an evolutionary process – one in which the D&amp;TA is steadfast in its commitment to engaging with stakeholders, reviewing feedback, and modifying its approach to improve outcomes and further encourage adoption. <h3 id="what’s-new-in-v1.0.0?">What’s new in v1.0.0?</h3>Since the Data Provenance Standards were first proposed, Saira and Kristina have been working diligently with the D&amp;TA’s ecosystem of data, AI, ethics, and legal experts to enhance business adoption, gauge feedback, and continuously test and validate the standards. This has led to version 1.0.0, which includes multiple refinements.First and foremost, the original eight categories have been simplified down to three standards, streamlining the adoption and facilitation. The accompanying metadata has also been revised, focusing on detail that “shows, not tells” – and giving data, AI, and legal teams stronger evidence to help inform critical decisions.There’s also been a concerted effort to make D&amp;TA queries more specific about <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ftc.gov/policy/advocacy-research/tech-at-ftc/2024/02/keeping-your-privacy-enhancing-technology-pet-promises">Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs)</a> to attain more accurate information. PETs are a broad set of tools and practices that enable organizations to build products and functionality while protecting the privacy of users’ data. Demonstrating how PETs fit into the equation further acknowledges D&amp;TA’s commitment to transparency. Along those same lines, v1.0.0 also sports refinements around surfacing consent language – in particular, the content shown to a user when collecting their personal data to assess risks associated with consumer data usage.Here’s one of the biggest outcomes thus far: Thanks to persistent testing and validation over several months, D&amp;TA has assembled a number of case studies, including <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ibm.com/downloads/cas/KY5VLRP9">one that has been released by IBM</a>. This example illustrates how the Data Provenance Standards increased overall data quality and reduced clearance review time for datasets used to train AI models. <h3 id="what’s-next-–-and-why-it-matters">What’s next – and why it matters</h3>The Data &amp; Trust Alliance is shepherding a flock of forward-thinking organizations that recognize the challenges – and opportunities – associated with data quality and integrity. Market-leading brands represent a cabal of early adopters around the Data Provenance Standards, but their participation is also an incentive for their broad ecosystems to join the fold, if for no other reason than to do business with the Pfizers and Walmarts of the world.Leading by example is perhaps an obvious force multiplier, but as Saira observed in her post, the D&amp;TA’s goal is to increase transparency across the broader business scope – and encourage all organizations to take advantage of this free tool and realize the benefits of adoption.Accelerating and expanding that adoption is next on the docket. While numerous data suppliers and producers of all sizes participated in the feedback cycle of the Data Provenance Standards, the organization is focused on fully enlisting them as partners in adoption and easing the process with toolset providers. The D&amp;TA’s innovative work is manifesting quantifiable benefits. Since the launch of the proposed Data Provenance Standards, the business value has become more palpable – particularly around the impact to productivity. As it stands, data scientists <a target="_blank" href="https://www.anaconda.com/resources/whitepapers/state-of-data-science-report-2022">spend</a> nearly 40% of their time on data preparation and cleansing tasks, which is a huge drag on productivity. On top of that, 61% of CEOs <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ibm.com/thought-leadership/institute-business-value/en-us/c-suite-study/ceo">cite</a> the lack of clarity into data lineage and provenance as the central risks preventing adoption of AI across their businesses.Refinement is certainly a predictable expectation when launching a new concept like this. But already, the proof is in the provenance pudding – and the IBM case study is a poignant example of how these standards translate into real business value. Reducing friction and minimizing the barriers to testing AI models can accelerate time to market, all resulting from greater trust and confidence around datasets that have leveraged these standards.In my previous conversations with Kristina (including a chat at the <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/a-cms-consultants-takeaways-from-cms-kickoff-2024">Boye &amp; Company CMS Kickoff</a> event in January), we discussed the potential impact of the standards on the content, ad tech, and marketing industries. All of these layers rely heavily on data, but AI has also infected every CMS and martech platform on the planet, both directly and indirectly. This cross-section is pivotal, as brands will increasingly rely on more trustworthy data to support their AI initiatives. The <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">content management ecosystem</a> is at the foundation of how these technologies and campaigns will be managed. As such, the impact of the Data Provenance Standards could bring greater control and confidence to this sector of the market landscape. In an economy where data is the most valuable currency – and every business across industries is now (or soon will be) a data enterprise – trust is paramount. As organizations race to leverage the potential of AI, good data is absolutely essential. This takes on a heightened imperative when we consider the kinds of initiatives that AI is supporting, like cancer or diabetes research. This is precisely why the Data Provenance Standards are emerging as a key foundation for ensuring the future of data, AI, and – most importantly – people.   <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.

Data & Trust Alliance Releases v1.0.0 of Data Provenance Standards, Enhancing Data Quality for AI

<hr /> <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/ci-hub">CI HUB</a> has been a persistent explorer of in-app connections. The company’s software enables users to access and manage content from various key sources, including DAM (Digital Asset Management), PIM (Product Information Management), cloud storage, stock sources, and even work management systems. Connectors like this have become critical to productivity as brands wrestle with an increasingly complex and disjointed landscape of data sources. This is a big reason why <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/ci-hub-announces-major-investment-plans-to-scale-content-integration-solutions">CI HUB announced</a> a major investment from Scale Capital in March of this year, with plans to further advance its ecosystem of connector capabilities. Currently, it provides two core offerings: CI HUB Connector Professional and Connector Corporate.A big focus for CI HUB has been the burgeoning <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/adobe-experience-manager">Adobe Creative Cloud</a>, but they’ve also been blazing trails with other large-scale enterprise systems, including <a target="_blank" href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365">Microsoft Office 365</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/salesforce">Salesforce’s Marketing Cloud</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/google-cloud-platform">Google Workspace</a>. CI HUB also offers solutions for content, experience, and prototyping platforms like <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/wordpress">WordPress</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/microsoft-sharepoint">SharePoint</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/figma">Figma</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/sketch">Sketch</a>. One of the biggest deterrents to DAM and PIM utilization is complexity. With distributed teams having to leverage multiple platforms with different access credentials – and unwieldy systems stymieing the ability to locate assets – content creators can become frustrated and productivity can be significantly impacted. This can result in users getting “creative" with outside tools and unauthorized assets, which can impact brand consistency and integrity. In some cases, it can even open up Pandora's Box around things like stock image licensing and copyright infringement.CI HUB is once again easing the DAM burden with its new <a target="_blank" href="https://ci-hub.com/download/drive/">CI HUB Drive</a>, which enables users to access assets stored in DAMs, PIMs, and other systems directly from their desktops via MacOS or Windows machines. By bringing these systems into a local environment, CI HUB reduces the friction of finding and utilizing key assets, syncs components fluidly, and accelerates productivity and time to market. This translates into greater value around a DAM or PIM investment. “Most companies don’t get the most from their DAMs because employees find it difficult or inconvenient to log in and access what they need,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreasmichalski/">Andreas Michalski</a>, CI HUB Founder and CEO. “But with CI HUB Drive, DAM assets and data are available right on their desktop. By integrating CI HUB Drive into the most commonly used tools, MacOS Finder and Windows Explorer, there is zero training needed. This will significantly improve the adoption rate and company-wide use of DAM assets and data, making them a go-to hub for content, rather than simply an asset repository.” <h3 id="enhancing-the-value-of-dams,-pims,-and-other-sources">Enhancing the value of DAMs, PIMs, and other sources</h3>CI HUB Drive is capable of connecting multiple data sources simultaneously, providing a single desktop connector interface for DAMs, PIMs, MAMs, and stock image providers – as well as common cloud storage services such as SharePoint, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.dropbox.com/home">Dropbox</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/google-cloud-platform">Google Drive</a>, and many more. Here's how it works: CI HUB Drive virtually mounts an asset management system in a MacOS Finder or Microsoft Explorer. This enables users to seamlessly locate, use, and synchronize files without ever having to leave their desktops.  <figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:86.86%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/07/ci-hub-drive-product-image-3.png" alt="" /></figure>CI HUB Drive on MacOS The beautiful thing about CI HUB Drive is its familiarity. From a visual perspective, the file structure is simple, clear, and highly navigable – which reduces the surface area of complexity for users. And with a multitude of connections available (anything from Adobe AEM to Bynder to more exotic systems), users have much more control over their asset domain. In MacOS, for example, being able to preview a stock image in a desktop window makes the entire experience second nature. It's intuitive and requires no training whatsoever. <figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:85.13%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/07/ci_hub_drive.png" alt="" /></figure>Viewing a stock image file in MacOS via CI HUB Drive The app also enables real-time multi-threaded file synchronization, meaning that edits made to assets locally on the desktop will be updated on demand in the original DAM or drive where they are stored. CI HUB Drive also replicates any permission-based access to folders within the DAM system, ensuring that users can access the correct files based on existing roles and rights within the connected system. “Everyone within a company is a potential content creator, and employees are accessing files from multiple sources every day,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerd-glaser-89b22a9b/">Gerd Glaser</a>, CI HUB CSO. “However, each system has a different log-in, interface and search function. Using CI HUB Drive eliminates the time-consuming processes of accessing and transferring assets between drives, tools and work management platforms. Now, users can access the company assets they need as easily as a personal drive folder linked to their desktop.” The new CI HUB Drive complements the existing CI HUB Connector plugin, which already enables users to seamlessly access their digital asset libraries within the most popular work apps such as Microsoft 365, Adobe Creative Cloud, Figma, SharePoint, Google Workspace, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, and dozens more. <h3 id="why-it-matters">Why it matters</h3>As brands and organizations struggle with the expanding ecosystem of assets – and the apps that house them – CI HUB Drive provides ease, fluidity, and familiarity that maximizes the value of a DAM or asset system. By reducing complexity and streamlining access, users can successfully locate what they need at a local level faster and more efficiently. Having a native UI in MacOS or Windows makes the entire journey of locating assets much easier. The process becomes more intuitive, eliminating much of the friction around the grunt work associated with simply browsing, picking, and finding stuff in the morass. Having a solid DAM makes it even easier, but bringing the assets closer to home makes the entire process feel more natural. One of the key benefits of CI HUB Drive is its first-class respect for permissions. This ensures that any mounted desktop access inherits the same roles for users and groups from the source DAM or PIM, so organizations can maintain governance across their teams – wherever they might be accessing resources. Additionally, the real-time multi-threaded syncing is a slick function, making it even easier to maintain consistency when users make edits at a local level. All in all, CI HUB Drive is a solid addition to the company’s portfolio of products. To sign up for access, you can <a target="_blank" href="https://ci-hub.com/products#drive">visit the company's website</a> for details.  <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.

New CI HUB Drive Enables Desktop Access to DAMs, PIMs, and More

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Yo Ho! Gartner’s New Magic Quadrant for Search and Product Discovery is a Compass for CX

<hr /> The digital experience landscape wouldn’t exist without <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/adobe-acquia-optimizely-top-latest-forrester-wave-for-content-management-systems">Adobe</a> – and more precisely, its <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/adobe-experience-manager">Adobe Experience Manager</a> (AEM) platform. AEM has long held the crown in the kingdom of DXPs (<a target="_blank" href="https://business.adobe.com/resources/reports/gartner-mq-digital-experience-platforms-2024.html">just as Gartner</a>), and leading global enterprises depend on its scale of features to power the most complex and demanding digital strategies.While ubiquitous, the Adobe name also conjures that oft-demonized word: monolith. It is an epic ecosystem of interconnected, often Frankensteined solutions that can feel overwhelming and unwieldy – and its AEM platform is no exception. Amidst the publishing and marketing automation suites snuggling under the Adobe umbrella, AEM has always enjoyed an elite (if not pricey) reputation, making it the domain of serious enterprises. However, it can also be incredibly challenging and time-consuming, requiring curated expertise from certified practitioners. All of this can impact the velocity of getting digital projects to market. And in an era where real-time responsiveness is key, any delay can translate into lost revenue or even market share. Given these pain points, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vshift.com/">VShift</a> – a customer engagement and digital experience agency and <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/jp-morgan-joins-mach-alliance-reinforcing-growth-of-composability-in-the-digital-financial-services">MACH Alliance</a> member – has developed a new <a target="_blank" href="http://vshift.com/ideas/vshift-introduces-the-aem-digital-experience-accelerator">AEM Digital Experience Accelerator</a>. The proprietary program is targeted at AEM users, helping them deliver more engaging digital experiences with Adobe and do it all faster, easier, and more cost-effectively.“In our experience with complex organizations, we kept hearing the same pain points – cost, time-to-market, internal friction,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/al-collins-255a371/">Al Collins</a>, Founder &amp; CEO of VShift. “We developed the VShift AEM Digital Experience Accelerator to make our clients’ experience with AEM better and help them get the most out of their Adobe investments. Our new program offers a streamlined process, an easier way of launching customer experiences, and an increased capacity to innovate at a fraction of the time and costs usually involved.” The accelerator program was announced at last week’s <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/clarks-kraft-heinz-take-top-honors-in-mach-impact-awards-at-mach-three">MACH THREE Conference</a> in New York City, this year's venue for the world’s leading composable technology conference. As a MACH-certified agency, VShift has cultivated deep expertise with enterprise-scale organizations in highly regulated industries like financial services, insurance, and healthcare – focusing its solutions through a composable lens. The company also has a proven track record of crafting and delivering digital platforms for companies like Freddie Mac and Prudential.<h3 id="accelerating-the-value-of-aem-with-composability">Accelerating the value of AEM with composability</h3>Accelerators are aptly named, but there are numerous benefits beyond speed. Such is the case with VShift’s AEM Digital Experience Accelerator. First and foremost, it expedites digital product or website development-to-launch programs – and according to VShift, this can effectively reduce the timeline to weeks. It can also be customized to an organization’s specific needs, helping them meet their explicit business goals.With increased velocity and less internal friction between content owners and tech teams, brands can move faster. The accelerator also provides great flexibility for changes, allowing teams to swap out components or switch directions in a snap (composable thinking at work). <figure class="media"><div data-oembed-url="https://youtu.be/F-1e6DPT7CE"><div style="position:relative;padding-bottom:100%;height:0;padding-bottom:56.2493%"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F-1e6DPT7CE" style="position:absolute;width:100%;height:100%;top:0;left:0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></div></figure> That “swapability” is what helps make VShift’s Digital Experience Accelerator a MACH-worthy solution. It also reflects those attributes by minimizing vendor lock-in and decreasing the oppressive need for specialized AEM-certified resources to execute. This is a persistent drag for many organizations when it comes to managing their AEM footprint and properly staffing for new projects and digital initiatives.  All these benefits add up to enhanced productivity and cost-effectiveness, enabling organizations to maximize their AEM investments and cut costs by supporting customer experiences with more affordable, composable solutions. Marketing and content teams can also realize huge benefits by harnessing more control while navigating within their organization’s security policies. <h3 id="a-complete-market-ready-solution-for-aem-success">A complete market-ready solution for AEM success</h3>VShift’s accelerator is now available as a complete package that includes a ready-to-deploy cloud-hosted environment with orchestration and integration tools. Users will have the ability to rapidly design and prototype their projects via <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/figma">Figma</a> and AEM’s headless platform and connectors. For any organization developing a website, app, or digital product, customizability is a key part of the experience. To that end, VShift’s accelerator promises a customizable prebuilt core UI component library. There’s also an AI-enhanced starter kit for a content model, complete with tags and an automated builder/loader for speeding up the content modeling and deployment process. From a connective integration perspective, VShift delivers some slick capabilities via its accelerator. This includes its own “universal” <a target="_blank" href="https://graphql.org/">GraphQL-based</a> connector. They also provide a web app structure that includes a baseline for pages and functionality. On the visual editing front, VShift provides composable choices. Organizations can leverage AEM’s <a target="_blank" href="https://experienceleague.adobe.com/en/docs/experience-manager-cloud-service/content/implementing/developing/universal-editor/introduction">Universal Editor </a>or use a non-Adobe visual editor to handle digital composition in a composable framework. VShift also offers value-added composable modules and services like authentication-as-a-service or search-as-a-service.To realize the full value and potential, VShift’s accelerator is accompanied by intuitive guides and documentation, as well as an expert team with deep AEM experience and composable tech.“We spend about two to three months customizing the VShift AEM Digital Experience Accelerator to a company’s needs," Collins added. "Then we turn over the reins, leaving our clients with thorough reference documentation and allowing content creators and tech teams to launch engaging customer experiences faster, easier, and cost-effectively.” <h3 id="why-it-matters">Why it matters</h3>Accelerators have become a vital panacea for monolithic software. This new breed of pre-built frameworks provides a mature foundation and progressive architectures for building complex websites and applications faster and more efficiently. While the landscape varies, accelerators are proving invaluable as enterprises and agencies look to maximize value from platforms like AEM in an increasingly composable world. Despite its monolithic posture, Adobe continues to be an industry-leading staple across a multitude of market segments. Even with its less-than-rosy <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/cut-paste-delete-why-adobes-canceled-merger-with-figma-is-good-for-innovation">attempt to acquire Figma</a> and rule over the entire digital experience journey, the tech mammoth remains ever-relevant and persistently innovative. In fact, its skunkworks around <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/adobe-experience-manager-evolves-franklin-launches-next-gen-composability-feature">AEM Franklin</a> (also known as Project Helix or Composability) is showing real promise by enabling AEM pages using <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/google-cloud-platform">Google Drive</a> or <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/microsoft-azure">Microsoft Office</a> via <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/microsoft-sharepoint">Sharepoint</a>. Instead of components, Franklin uses “blocks” like text, images, and buttons to generate new pages quickly and even create reusable templates. Cool stuff. As a MACH-certified DX agency, VShift is reinforcing the value of Adobe for its customers and the market at large. Its new AEM Digital Experience Accelerator is bridging the best of all worlds by providing a pathway to greater composability and flexibility. The big benefits are clear: faster time to market and lower costs. But it’s also addressing the challenge of legacy software, and helping organizations continue to mine value from their AEM investments. We’ve written at length about the constant challenge of defining “composable” in a market of conflicting ideologies. In my recent coverage of the <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/clarks-kraft-heinz-take-top-honors-in-mach-impact-awards-at-mach-three">MACH THREE Impact Awards</a> – of which I participated as a judge for the second year – I go into deeper detail on this reality and how the MACH Alliance continues to maintain tacit guardrails for the industry. Regardless of how any headless CMS or enterprise DXP projects its unique flavor of “composable,” the only measure that matters is how it impacts the customer. VShift’s accelerator – and other offerings like it – focus on the most challenging layers of a digital stack, where legacy systems are still mandated or represent a significant investment. It strives to address key pain points and deliver a complete solution with a clear set of composable principles baked in. Maybe that's the “shift” in VShift. To learn more about its accelerator, <a target="_blank" href="http://vshift.com/ideas/vshift-introduces-the-aem-digital-experience-accelerator">click here. </a> <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.

VShift Introduces AEM Digital Experience Accelerator to Help Launch Faster on Adobe

<hr /> Data is, without question, the most valuable currency to any business. That said, digital analytics have taken on a pronounced role in making data actionable and impactful to an enterprise – particularly when it comes to its products and experiences.<a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/amplitude">Amplitude</a> has long established itself as a leading platform in the digital analytics space, due in no small part to its scope and range. It enables organizations to build better products by tracking and translating user behavior, allowing stakeholders to gain deeper insights into critical facets like engagement, retention, and revenue. One thing that sets Amplitude apart is its elegant, event-based analytics capabilities, which transmit in-product interactions and behaviors in real time. This is especially valuable for organizations mapping the user journey across digital experiences powered by CMS or marketing automation tools. To that end, Amplitude recently launched a set of new and expanded integrations that will make it easier for businesses to understand customer activity and leverage analytics to maximize the potential and performance of their experiences. Among the new tools is a <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/contentful">Contentful</a> plug-in for marketers that provides no-code testing features, as well as an enhanced <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/hubspot">HubSpot</a> integration designed to improve email campaign results and analysis. There’s also a new <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/wordpress">WordPress</a> plug-in that ingests website data into Amplitude with just one click – powering faster, data-driven website decisions. The company also announced the availability of a new <a target="_blank" href="https://amplitude.com/docs/partners/integration-portal">Integration Portal</a>, designed to speed up and simplify integration development. Now, technology partners will have access to a range of tools and resources – including documentation, code samples, and best practices – to enable their teams throughout the integration process.“We want to provide our customers with the most flexible platform on the market. This means meeting them where they are so they can get the most out of their existing investments,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/francoisajenstat/">Francois Ajenstat</a>, Chief Product Officer at Amplitude. “Our expanded partner ecosystem gives customers even more choice to integrate and extend Amplitude to meet their unique needs. Our new integration portal provides the resources teams need to easily and seamlessly build on top of our platform.”<h3 id="enhancing-data-based-decisions-with-contentful">Enhancing data-based decisions with Contentful</h3>With personalization becoming a key objective for marketing teams, having nimble tools that allow for rapid, iterative testing and analysis is paramount. The new <a target="_blank" href="https://amplitude.com/blog/experiment-contentful-integration">Contentful integration</a> is a great example of how a headless CMS and content platform can leverage Amplitude’s analytics to enhance the personalization of digital content – and ultimately improve customer experiences. One major benefit of a composable platform like Contentful is the capacity to build world-class omnichannel strategies. Juicing this with customer data gives marketing and growth teams access to all their content so they can easily build variants for their A/B tests. This also makes it simple to organize and reuse content, which means they have a nearly inexhaustible supply of options for each test variant. <figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:83.25%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/06/amplitude-contentful-1.png" alt="" /></figure>Creating a new experiment in Amplitude for a homepage hero banner in Contentful Using Amplitude, a company’s web, growth, and marketing teams can run no-code tests using <a target="_blank" href="https://streaklinks.com/B__ewgkSEs1pVgGBMAmfaPnh/https%3A%2F%2Famplitude.com%2Famplitude-experiment">Amplitude Experiment</a> and Contentful. With Amplitude Experiment, teams get the guidance they need to set up tests accurately. Meanwhile, Contentful can build out new messaging and page layouts with just a few simple clicks.  <figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:81.96%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/06/amplitude-contentful-2.png" alt="" /></figure>Analytics results from a new Contentful hero banner test in Amplitude Amplitude's rich analytics provide a much deeper review of an experiment's performance. Unlocking no-code experimentation also empowers teams can drive growth and ROI faster by executing more tests – and directly impacting their acquisition, monetization, and retention results."A growing number of our customers want to build personalized experiences. But to pull this off, they need to be able to quickly A/B test different headlines, CTAs, page layouts, and more,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/krrau/">Karthik Rau</a>, CEO at Contentful. “Our integration with Amplitude makes this process so much easier. Without any help from engineering, our customers can set up an experiment in Amplitude using content they already have in Contentful. Once the test is complete, they can roll out the right experience to the right group of users. It not only helps teams move faster, it empowers them to make more informed, data-based decisions." <h3 id="an-expanding-ecosystem-of-integrations">An expanding ecosystem of integrations</h3>Amplitude has been doubling down on its integration strategy and enriching its breadth of offerings. With more than 130 integrations currently available, including the recently announced <a target="_blank" href="https://streaklinks.com/B__ewhR3t-oOryrAPwbtjQ1x/https%3A%2F%2Famplitude.com%2Fpress%2Fsnowflake-native-amplitude-GA">warehouse-native offering with Snowflake</a>, Amplitude provides customers with a wide range of choices for getting data into – and insights out of – its platform. Along with the Contentful features, Amplitude also launched an enhanced, two-way integration for HubSpot. The plug-in allows companies to bring user cohort data from Amplitude into HubSpot to easily tailor email campaigns or bring HubSpot data into Amplitude for deeper analysis of campaign performance.  From an open source perspective, Amplitude now offers a <a target="_blank" href="https://streaklinks.com/B__ewgsiYg3R8Qy_owjA9zC9/http%3A%2F%2Famplitude.com%2Fblog%2Fwordpress-plugin">new free plug-in</a> for WordPress – the world’s most popular <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">content management system</a> that powers over 400 million websites. With the new integration, customers can bring website data from any WordPress page into Amplitude in just one click, allowing marketing teams to quickly gain insights into user behavior to boost engagement and increase conversion rates.Additionally, Amplitude now offers integrations for:<ul><li><a target="_blank" href="https://movableink.com/">Movable Ink</a>: Using artificial intelligence, Movable Ink develops creative content for every customer touchpoint. With the new integration, users can send data from Amplitude to Moveable Ink and automatically generate custom marketing content tailored to each user's preferences.</li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.humanic.ai/">Humanic.ai</a>: A marketing automation platform that utilizes AI to unlock growth for product-led companies, Humanic.ai leverages data from Amplitude to give teams the ability to deliver hyper-personalized content that drives higher activation and adoption.</li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.unitq.com/">unitQ</a>: Using the AI solutions in unitQ, companies can better understand and take action on user feedback, enabling teams to uncover behavioral insights alongside customer feedback channels to improve onboarding, A/B testing, feature road mapping, and more.</li></ul><h3 id="why-it-matters">Why it matters</h3>Data's true potential is realized when it's made actionable. Deeper insights are essential to every modern data strategy, and leveraging a secure, trusted resource for meaningful and relevant analytics is a mandate for any modern enterprise.Amplitude continues to prove itself a leader and an innovator in the analytics space. Expanding its scope of available integrations and its capabilities for building custom integrations via its new portal makes it more extensible than ever. Given the other analytics tools on the market, few deliver this kind of control, flexibility, and customization.From a CMS perspective, Amplitude’s new plug-ins for Contentful and WordPress provide an indispensable asset for delivering more personalized content at scale. It further supports the enterprise charter to optimize processes, improve conversions, and enhance the value of one-to-one experiences.Also, by providing both Contentful and WordPress options (and presumably more in the future), Amplitude is delivering greater choice for organizations leveraging best-of-breed enterprise or open source CMS platforms.The more you know, the more you grow. It might sound cliché, but that's the promise of good analytics. <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.

Amplitude Launches New Analytics Integrations for Contentful, HubSpot, WordPress and More

<hr /> Turning 20 is a milestone for everyone. It’s your second decade, a rite of passage into adulthood. You’re not exactly a “kid” anymore, but you’re still at the beginning of your story – and ready to write the biggest chapters of your life with (hopefully) a little experience under your belt.The same is true for businesses. Reaching 20 years means you’ve navigated a multitude of challenges on the ride up – from an evolving competitive landscape to shifting economic conditions – and persevered. It’s even more of a monumental achievement in the tech sector, where everything moves at warp speed and change is a persistent reality. That’s what makes this an extra-celebratory moment for <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/kentico">Kentico</a>, a market-leading content management system and digital experience platform. The company just marked its 20th year in the market, growing from humble beginnings to become a respected, well-established global player in the CMS ecosystem.At these moments, it’s cathartic to consult the rearview mirror to gauge what’s ahead. The road to success for the Brno, Czech-based “hometown hero” has been long and hard-fought, but clearly worth the effort. Now, Kentico's future looks more promising than ever as it focuses on its innovative product and a unique set of capabilities for managing multichannel content.<h3 id="a-20-year-journey-to-build-a-market-leading-cms---">A 20-year journey to build a market-leading CMS   </h3>Like most technology businesses, Kentico started with an idea. In this case, it was founder <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kentico.com/CMSModules/Newsletters/CMSPages/Redirect.ashx?linkguid=7d2e12cb-7416-4b73-89e1-2b5915e001cd&amp;email=matt%40cmscritic.com&amp;hash=be0d1d8f19e0858f5111492f222eca952b1f9d98aaaeebe1c4c04b9dec830ced">Petr Palas’ bachelor thesis project</a>, which featured a simple CMS framework. Just six years later, it went from a university drawing board to a well-recognized company with offices around the world.In that timespan, it also scaled by an impressive 1,781%, placing it fourth on <a target="_blank" href="https://brand.kentico.com/Who-are-we/Historical-milestones">Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50</a>. The years that followed saw numerous milestones for the company, including the launch of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kentico.com/platforms/xperience-by-kentico">Xperience by Kentico</a> – its new flagship product with a committed roadmap. Kentico revealed the news at its <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/kentico-connection-2023-nashville-focuses-on-innovation-partnerships-ai-and-the-future-of-dxp">Connection 2023 event</a>, showcasing its unique and innovative hybrid headless DXP. Last year, the company was also recognized on the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kentico.com/discover/newsroom/kentico-recognized-for-the-seventh-time-in-the-gartner-magic-quadrant-for-dxp-report">Gartner Magic Quadrant</a> for DXPs for the seventh time. And already in 2024, Kentico has continued its streak of groundbreaking accomplishments, powering over 90,000 websites and counting – with continued growth on the horizon. Here’s a great video timeline that covers many of its accomplishments:<figure class="media"><div data-oembed-url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq3T9duz8j4&amp;list=PL9RdJplq_ukZeB9RYcXls0YzTWI8yjD-9&amp;index=1"><div style="position:relative;padding-bottom:100%;height:0;padding-bottom:56.2493%"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iq3T9duz8j4" style="position:absolute;width:100%;height:100%;top:0;left:0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></div></figure><h3 id="celebrating-success-and-dedication-across-a-global-community--">Celebrating success and dedication across a global community  </h3>A big part of Kentico’s success has been its people – a global team that’s now more than 250 strong. To celebrate its 20-year milestone, CEO Dominik Pinter <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kentico.com/CMSModules/Newsletters/CMSPages/Redirect.ashx?linkguid=2ecc6459-06f9-46d1-a0da-47a2e3511bfc&amp;email=matt%40cmscritic.com&amp;hash=be0d1d8f19e0858f5111492f222eca952b1f9d98aaaeebe1c4c04b9dec830ced">gathered with employees to reflect</a> on the company's journey amidst global and tech industry transformations.  When it comes to its team and the broader community, Kentico’s secret sauce has been a tacit team spirit – one of its core company values. By focusing on personal and career development, the company has cultivated a diverse, committed, and tenacious culture. As a result, many employees have stuck around <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kentico.com/CMSModules/Newsletters/CMSPages/Redirect.ashx?linkguid=aaa0a905-ff3a-49e4-b455-b898693b44c4&amp;email=matt%40cmscritic.com&amp;hash=be0d1d8f19e0858f5111492f222eca952b1f9d98aaaeebe1c4c04b9dec830ced">since the very beginning</a> – a testament to Kentico’s progressive posture as a people-first company. <figure class="media"><div data-oembed-url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rKf4dwDi78&amp;list=PL9RdJplq_ukZeB9RYcXls0YzTWI8yjD-9&amp;index=3"><div style="position:relative;padding-bottom:100%;height:0;padding-bottom:56.2493%"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_rKf4dwDi78" style="position:absolute;width:100%;height:100%;top:0;left:0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></div></figure>Kentico’s success also reflects its blossoming community of fierce creators and advocates. With 500 digital agencies in its network and eleven MVPs – a collection of marketers and developers passionate about Kentico – the company is expanding guidance to partners and customers while continuously leveraging feedback to improve its products and services. <h2 id="leading-kentico’s-future-with-a-bold-vision">Leading Kentico’s future with a bold vision</h2>Before rising to the illustrious rank of CEO, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominik-xperience-pinter/">Dominik Pinter</a> was a long-standing employee at Kentico. His journey began in 2007 as a part-time QA tester while still a student, and over the years, transitioned through different roles – from technical leader to product manager. After a four-year hiatus, Pinter returned to Kentico as Vice President of Product Management. He officially took over as CEO in 2022 after founder Petr Palas stepped away to become chairman. During his tenure, he has seen the company transform from a niche vendor to a product-focused market leader. “As a human grows up, it’s very similar to Kentico,” he said. “At the beginning, we were really just a small kid doing some little websites and stuff like that. Then we grew and grew into a digital experience platform solution.”As a deeply experienced member of the Kentico team, Pinter gained tremendous insight into the company's customer, product, and operational functions. This equipped him with an ideal mix of long-term perspectives and resources to guide the next successful chapter in the company’s story. <h3 id="why-it-matters">Why it matters</h3>At CMS Critic, we’ve spent years watching growth take root at Kentico. Reaching the 20-year threshold is reason enough for any company to pop the champagne cork and cheer the accolades. But seeing further opportunity and prosperity ahead – especially after such humble beginnings in the growing tech hub of Brno – is even more rewarding. It’s clear that they are deeply committed to their hometown in a way that other companies could learn from.Kentico has been a consistent voice in the CMS chorus, helping to shape its trajectory. The company has long been a fixture on the landscape, representing a deep trust and reliability that customers need – particularly at a time when security and compliance have become dubious expectations with unproven technologies. Many of today’s headless CMS platforms have only been in the market for a few years. While several have been successful and achieved sizeable funding, there’s something to be said about amassing the business and market wisdom that comes with legacy platforms. This is where brands like Kentico can provide greater value through their well-established user communities, certifications, regulatory benchmarks, and other intangible assets. Of course, experience can be a double-edged sword in tech, where hot new technologies can disrupt the status quo and steal market share. Herein lies the challenge for any “older” CMS or DXP player: battling the perception of no longer being a “startup” culture, and overcoming the challenge of relevance – particularly in a more composable-minded world. However, Kentico has been maintaining its market poise by focusing on innovation across its products. In this way, it's been acting like a startup within a proven and profitable business. By earning preference and loyalty with creative agencies and enriching its channels, Kentico is also continuing to mine value and create differentiation in an increasingly competitive and confusing market.Finally, Kentico’s fearless leader, Dominik Pinter, is as much a CEO as he is a bridge – connecting a heritage of strong CMS principles with a future of innovative potential. He’s not a financial outsider solely focused on spreadsheets, but a practitioner of the Kentico product – bringing a perspective that is more aligned with customer experience and expectations. Pinter is also a relatively young leader (still under 40). He’s hungry, energized, and passionate, but also brings the right mix of learning and decisive action to the table. A great combination of traits for a chief executive.  Congratulations on your 20th, Kentico. Blow out every candle and wish for big possibilities. We can’t wait to see what you have in store for the next two decades – and how you will continue to impact the world of CMS. <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.

Kentico Marks 20 Years of CMS Innovation and Leadership

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<hr /> As a digital analyst – and, at heart, a guy who just likes to write stories about cool people and tech – I try to bring an outside perspective to everything.Sometimes, I’m just beyond the perimeter. Others, I’m inside it. More on that in a minute.Let me start today with one of our favorite words: composable. I’ve long held that it is, indeed, a “thing.” I think most of you will agree with me. Trends come and go, but this one is as much about technology as it is about philosophy – and broader in its reach than the stiff walls of industry categories. Even now, debate continues around how we define the composability of a product or a company, with conflicting POVs emanating from various camps based on a number of factors. Why can't we all just get along? As the feud wages on, the <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/mach-alliance-expands-certification-scope-to-include-offerings-within-larger-vendors">MACH Alliance</a> has been a leading voice in shaping the answer to this and other questions. Since 2020, it has endeavored to quantify the dimensions in a tangible way, establishing core tenets that reinforce key attributes and educate the market. How does the Alliance define composable? In a nutshell, it's a modular development approach that allows organizations to create custom applications by combining smaller, independent components. These components can then be customized, replaced, and plugged in independently to meet specific needs. In other words, you “compose” your stack.The charter of the MACH Alliance has always been clear: make it easier for buyers to understand the benefits of composable so they can evaluate solutions confidently, and even procure technologies that meet rigid MACH (Microservices, API-first, Cloud SaaS, Headless) standards. These standards provide the guardrails for certifying a solution as truly composable, which is where some of the debate stems from. By this definition, all MACH solutions are composable, but not all composable solutions are MACH compliant.Like composable, MACH is also a “thing." And that’s made clear by its continued rise in adoption (solid <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/mach-alliance-publishes-first-annual-report-showcases-industry-impact-and-plans-for-2024">research validates this</a>). At last year’s <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/mach-two-conference-wrap-six-takeaways-from-the-composable-event-of-the-year">MACH TWO event</a>, we saw how European markets and global brands were turning MACH’s pioneering principles into real projects and successful outcomes. Because of its early adoption across EU markets, some people assume this whole movement started in Europe. Not exactly.Now, at this year’s <a target="_blank" href="https://machalliance.org/events/mach-three">MACH THREE event</a> – which wrapped in New York City last Tuesday – we’re seeing the movement's zeitgeist take root in North America. This is a big deal for the MACH Alliance, another signpost reflecting its continued rise and influence. The organization, which advocates for open, best-of-breed technology ecosystems, has attracted more than 100 members to its ranks. This includes a signature bench of Enablers like <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/aws-joins-mach-alliance-as-enabler-member-reflects-growth-of-cloud-native-solutions">AWS</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/google-cloud-platform">Google</a>, and industry Supporters that feature <a target="_blank" href="https://machalliance.org/newsroom/mach-alliance-announces-paypal-is-the-first-company-to-join-new-supporter-membership-category">PayPal</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://machalliance.org/members/j-p-morgan">J.P. Morgan</a>. Heavy hitters, to be sure. At CMS Critic, we’ve been following the organization’s successes and challenges since Day One, and always taken a keen interest in its trajectory. We’ve covered its accomplishments and accolades, but also the challenges and <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/mach-alliance-openly-invites-companies-claiming-mach-to-apply-for-certification">occasional controversy</a> that the movement has stirred – particularly among competitors. <h3 id="full-transparency">Full transparency</h3>I am a member of the Alliance’s Executive Advisory Board, where I listen and counsel with objective industry insight. I view things first through the CMS lens, but I've cultivated a deeper knowledge of the wider market and how composable and MACH are being leveraged to future-proof enterprise stacks.For the second year, I was asked to judge the prestigious <a target="_blank" href="https://machalliance.org/mach-impact-awards">MACH Impact Awards</a>, a staple of the annual conference’s agenda – and a reflection of the actual work being performed in the market. The MACH Impact Awards recognize organizations that have demonstrated tremendous value through digital transformation projects by successfully implementing a MACH approach. What qualifies me for this honor? Over the last two decades, I’ve built digital experiences with numerous tools and platforms – too many to count. There have been incredible highs and wildly successful launches, but I’ve also struggled, maybe even cried a few times (not ashamed to admit that). Along the way, I've also watched the seedlings of composability bubble up effervescently as stacks became more decoupled and dependent on APIs. In my second year judging the Impact Awards, I’ll say this: it’s getting easier and harder. Easier in the sense that more organizations clearly understand the fundamentals and are adopting the mindset in a more intentional way. Harder in that the use cases are more dense, complex, and difficult to choose as winners in a juried contest. I can’t get into the sausage-making behind the scenes. But I’ll simply say this: it was a joy to read, rank, and collaborate with fellow judges on our panel, all of whom are accomplished industry experts. We were all committed to assessing every entry with a fair, critical, unbiased eye – giving each use case a thorough evaluation. With that said, here are the results of that work.<h3 id="mach-matters-more-than-ever">MACH matters more than ever</h3>There were some astoundingly rich, detailed, ambitious, and downright intimidating entries in the third annual Impact Awards. Before I Iist the victors, there are a few key insights derived from 2024's cohort of applications.First, it’s worth noting that this year’s Impact Awards experienced a 20% increase in entries. That’s a clear signal that interest and awareness is growing – but also that organizations, vendors, and SIs are understanding the fierce requirements needed to satisfy a successful MACH program. In terms of scope, the MACH Alliance handed out ten MACH Impact Awards, recognizing projects from focused industries, project teams, and individuals. There was some notable expansion into the categories of travel, tourism and hospitality, and consumer product goods manufacturing. The MACH Alliance also added a Best New Breaking Ground Project award for companies paving the way in a new sector.There were two new “Grand Prix” awards featured in this year’s contest. This included Best Digital Experience and Best Overall Change, where the category award winners vied for a “best-of-the-best” honor as chosen by the judges.  “We are seeing companies implement MACH projects across a growing range of industries and geographic markets like never before, which speaks to the importance of operating a flexible, modern, and composable technology infrastructure,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-hall-4b14a945/">Holly Hall</a>, managing director, MACH Alliance. “Our <a target="_blank" href="https://machalliance.org/content-hub/mach-global-research-2024">2024 global research</a> discovered that 9 in 10 IT decision-makers say composable technology will be instrumental to the success of their organization in the next five years.”<h3 id="“we-are-the-champions”-(cue-the-music)">“We are the champions” (cue the music)</h3>No shocker if you read the headline, but Kraft Heinz and Clarks earned the pretigious Grand Prix honors. These were incredible projects, and certainly worthy of the accolades. Official winners of the 2024 MACH Impact Awards include:<ul><li>Best B2B Project: Hynds Group</li><li>Best Retail Project: Clarks</li><li>Best Health &amp; Wellness Project: Vision Healthcare</li><li>Best Travel, Tourism, &amp; Hospitality Project: Wendy’s</li><li>Best Manufacturing (consumer goods) Project: Kraft Heinz</li><li>Breaking New Ground Project: Micheldever</li><li>Team of the Year Award: Varner</li><li>Contributor of the Year Award: Justin Thomas, head of digital experience, Kraft Heinz</li><li>Grand Prix – Best Overall Change: Clarks</li><li>Grand Prix – Best Digital Experience: Kraft Heinz</li></ul>One special exception: during the event, recognition was given to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.danielsmusic.org/">Daniel’s Music Foundation</a>, a New York-based nonprofit that provides accessible music programs to people living with a disability. As the organization proclaims on its website, it’s changing lives through the power of music – a unique and worthy cause with local and global implications. This spotlight is another example of the MACH Alliance’s mission to make positive changes in our world, particularly in the realm of diversity, equality, and inclusion. If you’re interested in perusing the full list of nominees and winners, visit the <a target="_blank" href="https://machalliance.org/mach-impact-awards#Finalists">MACH Impact Awards page</a>. <h3 id="why-it-matters">Why it matters</h3>I think I’ve hit the high points in the opening salvo, but there are two main reasons why these Impact Awards are a milestone.First, it signifies the tangible growth of MACH and composable – and it’s not just hype or hyperbole. By featuring real use cases and successful outcomes, the Alliance is pinpointing just how successful its investments in community and education have been. With significantly more entries in this year’s contest, it’s clear that interest continues to rise.Second, MACH is making strides in the U.S. market, where it has been slowly taking root. The addressable market is large and relatively untapped, and its efforts over the last year to build a beachhead and drive awareness has been successful. This was part of the calculus in selecting New York City as the host location for the MACH THREE event – a hub for tech, finance, and just about every other industry under Gotham’s sun. Also, having U.S.-based brands like Kraft Heinz achieve standout recognition is further evidence that opportunities are evolving Westward.The contention around composable is a real phenomenon, and the division has been palpable. As monolithic platforms make inroads towards a more composable posture, headless CMSes and MACH-certified tools have also been evolving their own offerings to better compete in a grueling marketplace of options. I could probably write a book about the chaos that has ensued – both sides feeling a bit marginalized, both racing towards the middle in their own ways. But in the end, what really matters is the customer, and that’s what I love about these Awards. They elevate the voices of brands and builders, allowing their individual and collective success to tell their stories. And for the third year in a row, the MACH Alliance has made those stories a jewel in the crown of its premier event.  Awards programs are a fun and spirited way to celebrate achievement and excellence among our peers. The Impact Awards have delivered that in spades and continue to exemplify the promise and potential of MACH. Congratulations to the winners.  <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.

Clarks, Kraft Heinz Take Top Honors in MACH Impact Awards at MACH THREE

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