Articles - Page 20

Brightspot Illuminates the Future of CMS with Human-Controlled, AI-Powered Storytelling 

matt-garrepy

<hr /> <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/critics/jonstewart">Jon Stewart</a> is president and co-founder of <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/zensource">ZenSource</a>, and CMS Critic contributor.  Both <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">Content Management Systems</a> (CMS) and Digital Experience Platforms (DXP) play pivotal roles in the education industry. They share many of the same features, however they serve different purposes in managing and delivering digital content. The complexity arises from the overlap of functionalities, compounded by the fact that many CMS vendors have evolved into DXPs, and DXP-first platforms now include a CMS. This makes it increasingly confusing for marketers and IT professionals to decode which to use and the benefits of each. Despite this, both CMS and DXP have an important and powerful place in MarTech and higher education. But there's no need to invest in costly and complex DXP-first platforms to achieve scale. By utilizing open-source <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/drupal">Drupal</a> with a composable approach to MarTech architecture, these two systems can be combined to deliver a comprehensive omnichannel marketing platform. This article aims to clarify the key differences and advantages of both tools, offering tips on building a fully open DXP.  <h3 id="the-difference-between-a-cms-and-a-dxp---">The difference between a CMS and a DXP   </h3>In short, while a CMS is primarily focused on content creation and management, a DXP extends its functionality to provide a holistic digital experience by incorporating various tools and capabilities to engage users across multiple touch points.  <h4 id="content-management-system-(cms)">Content Management System (CMS)</h4><ul><li>Focus: Primarily focuses on content creation, management, and publication. </li><li>Purpose: Designed for organizing and handling digital content such as text, images, videos, and documents. </li><li>Features: Provides tools for content creation, editing, version control, and workflow management. Typically used for websites and blogs. </li><li>User Experience: Centers around content editors and publishers who create and update content. </li></ul><h4 id="digital-experience-platform-(dxp)">Digital Experience Platform (DXP)</h4><ul><li>Focus: Encompasses a broader scope, going beyond content management to deliver a comprehensive digital experience. </li><li>Purpose: Aims to create seamless, personalized, and engaging digital experiences across various channels. </li><li>Features: Combines CMS capabilities with additional tools like customer data management, analytics, personalization, e-commerce, and more. </li><li>User Experience: Targets a wider audience, including marketers, developers, and IT professionals, to enhance overall digital experiences.    </li></ul>There doesn’t have to be a choice between a CMS and a DXP platform. Depending on the specific needs and goals of your organization and with proper planning and architectural design of your platform, a Drupal CMS can act as the base. Over time, additional features can be incorporated to create a full suite of DXP components. Shifting away from a monolithic approach to a single code base and process, IT professionals can opt for a decoupled system. This approach facilitates the gradual integration of features, ensuring smoother scalability, upgrades, and time-to-market advantages.            <h3 id="strategy-#1:-start-with-drupal-at-the-core">Strategy #1: Start with Drupal at the core</h3>Starting with Drupal at the core of the platform of your DXP offers significant benefits. Drupal is a powerful and flexible open-source CMS, particularly when used in higher education. It has gained exponential popularity for its versatility and extensibility. Drupal provides a highly flexible framework that allows developers to customize and tailor the platform to meet specific project requirements. Its modular architecture enables the creation of custom features and functionalities, making it suitable for a wide range of web applications that can be integrated over time such as behavioral analytics with personalization and marketing automation. It offers a user-friendly interface for content creators, allowing them to easily publish, edit, and organize content and the content modeling and structuring features make it efficient for managing diverse types of content.           Drupal is well-suited for projects of varying scale which is why it can be so powerful for scale across a multi-channel DXP content delivery model. Whether you are building a small website or a complex enterprise-level application, Drupal's scalability ensures that the platform can grow with your project's needs and publish content from one database to all your channels. It also offers strong support for APIs, facilitating integration with third-party services and applications which is crucial for creating interconnected systems that a DXP will rely on.The Drupal ecosystem includes a vast library of modules and extensions that extend the platform's functionality. This rich repository allows developers to leverage pre-built solutions, saving time and effort in development. Lastly, Drupal is committed to continuous innovation, regularly releasing updates and new features. This ensures that projects built on Drupal can take advantage of the latest technologies and trends in web development. Therefore, as the Drupal community actively expands its product roadmap, there are increasingly more modular components that help with creating core DXP features.           <h3 id="strategy-#2:-optimize-drupal-for-decentralized-authoring">Strategy #2: Optimize Drupal for decentralized authoring</h3>Optimizing Drupal for decentralized authoring while maintaining centralized brand consistency involves strategic planning, configuration, and the implementation of specific features. This will act as the authoring foundation for your enterprise-scale higher ed DXP, accommodating users with varying levels of access and roles as the platform extends. The key is to allow for users to grow within the system, striking the right balance between control, scalability of content and marketing activities, and the preservation of brand consistency. Starting this process involves establishing a well-defined content structure and modeling strategy, including a clear definition of content types, fields, and relationships to ensure consistency across various content creators and website sections. The design should be separated from the data structure, so that authors do not have to worry about breaking UI whether they’re creating content or setting up rules for marketing automation.        Leverage Drupal's role-based permissions capabilities to assign specific roles and permissions to different content authors. Ensure that decentralized authors have appropriate access levels based on their responsibilities while maintaining control over critical brand elements. Implement a content moderation workflow to control the content lifecycle. Define stages such as draft, review, and publish to enable centralized oversight and approval before content goes live. This ensures brand consistency and quality control.     Store brand assets (logos, images, style guides) in a centralized location within Drupal. Provide decentralized authors with easy access to these assets through a media library or asset repository to maintain brand consistency in visual elements. Develop custom content templates to guide content authors in creating consistent content. Templates can enforce standardized layouts, styles, and branding elements, ensuring a cohesive user experience across the site. Maintain consistency in categorization and tagging by using shared taxonomies and vocabularies. Centralize the management of categories to avoid content fragmentation and ensure that similar content is categorized uniformly. Using permissions, you can define which assets can be shared among users within the central Drupal instance. Lastly, provide training and ongoing support for content authors to ensure they understand and adhere to brand guidelines. Foster a collaborative environment where decentralized authors feel empowered to contribute while respecting brand consistency.                <h3 id="strategy-#3:-extend-drupal-over-apis-using-microservices-">Strategy #3: Extend Drupal over APIs using microservices </h3>Extending Drupal over APIs can transform the CMS into an open Digital Experience Platform (DXP) tailored for higher ed, providing flexibility, and delivering a seamless and personalized user experience across various channels. A major advantage of a microservices approach is the ability to scale individual services independently. By extending Drupal with microservices, you can ensure that specific components, such as authentication or search functionality, can scale horizontally based on demand, optimizing performance and resource utilization. This allows Drupal to offer personalized content recommendations, dynamic layouts, and targeted experiences based on individual user preferences and interactions. First, break down Drupal's monolithic structure into smaller, independently deployable services. Each microservice should represent a specific business capability, such as content management, user authentication, or personalization. This decomposition allows for agility and scalability, as each microservice can evolve independently. With APIs at the core, seamlessly integrate third-party services and applications into the DXP, enabling Drupal to act as a central hub orchestrating interactions and ensuring a cohesive user experience.Adopt an API-first design approach to expose microservice functionalities through well-defined APIs. Drupal, serving as the central content management microservice, provides APIs for content creation, retrieval, and modification, promoting smooth communication and data exchange with other microservices. Integrate user authentication services, recommendation engines, or analytics platforms as separate microservices, fostering a modular and extensible higher ed DXP.Implement DevOps practices for continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD), enabling independent development and faster release cycles, while also reducing the risk of system-wide failures during updates. Monitor and analyze the microservices architecture using centralized tools to gain insights into performance, reliability, and user interactions for quick issue identification and continuous improvement.Engage with the Drupal and broader higher education community, collaborating for knowledge sharing and adopting best practices. This approach ensures that the higher ed DXP remains open, extensible, and aligned with industry standards. Extending Drupal over APIs using a microservices approach enables the creation of a flexible, scalable, and personalized higher ed DXP, preserving Drupal's renowned content management capabilities.<h3 id="strategy-#4:-build-with-security-as-your-foundation">Strategy #4: Build with security as your foundation</h3>Securing your higher ed DXP is crucial in the evolving digital landscape, where cyber threats persist and grow more sophisticated. As your DXP scales, it becomes an attractive target for cyber attackers. Adopting a security-first approach ensures resilience, safeguards sensitive data, and mitigates risks.Drupal prioritizes security with a robust security model and dedicated team, following best practices and regular updates. Enhance DXP security with thorough threat modeling, incorporating secure design principles, and adopting a defense-in-depth strategy. Identify possible threats, vulnerabilities, and attack vectors specific to your solution. Understanding the potential risks allows you to proactively design security measures. Incorporate secure design principles from the outset. Embrace the principle of least privilege, implement proper data encryption, and follow the principle of defense in depth. Design your solution with security controls at multiple layers, making it more challenging for attackers to exploit vulnerabilities. Train developers in secure coding practices, conduct regular code reviews, and adhere to data protection regulations, industry standards, and legal requirements. Make sure your team stays informed about changes in compliance standards and update your security measures accordingly. Implement robust authentication and authorization mechanisms. Use strong and adaptive authentication methods, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), to verify user identities. Define and enforce granular access controls to ensure that users and systems have the minimum necessary privileges. Perform regular security audits and penetration testing to assess the effectiveness of your security controls. Identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses through simulated attacks, allowing you to remediate issues before they can be exploited in real-world scenarios.  Develop and regularly test disaster recovery and business continuity plans. In the event of a security incident or a system failure, having a well-defined plan ensures a swift response, minimizing downtime and data loss.            Encrypt sensitive data both in transit and at rest. Use industry-standard encryption algorithms to protect data from unauthorized access. Implement secure key management practices to safeguard encryption keys. Implement robust security monitoring tools to detect and respond to security incidents in real time. Set up alerts for suspicious activities and establish an incident response plan to quickly contain and mitigate security breaches. Since Drupal requires regular module updates for security patches, deploy a dedicated team to keep up with this process. Keep all software components, frameworks, and libraries up to date.For developers, marketers, and authors of your DXP, educate them on security best practices and raise awareness about social engineering tactics. Human error is a common cause of security breaches, and a well-informed workforce is a crucial line of defense.Engage with the broader security community, participate in information-sharing forums, and stay informed about emerging threats and vulnerabilities. Collaborating with the community enhances your organization's ability to stay ahead of evolving security challenges. By integrating security into the core of your solution, you create a robust and resilient fortress against potential threats. This proactive approach not only safeguards your higher ed organization but also establishes a foundation of trust in your solution's security posture.      <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.

Empowering Higher Ed: 4 Strategies to Transform your Drupal CMS into an Open Source DXP at Scale 

jonstewart

<hr /> As content goes global, the need for reliable and accurate translation is exploding. While a multitude of tools exist to automate the translation function – everything from <a target="_blank" href="https://translate.google.com/">Google Translate</a> to <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/weglot">Weglot</a> – they sometimes lack the foundation of an experienced services arm that reinforces the quality and nuance.This is where <a target="_blank" href="https://www.argotrans.com/">Argo Translation</a>, a Chicago-based language services company, is breaking the language barrier. The company recently announced the launch of its new <a target="_blank" href="https://www.argotrans.com/technology/cmsconnect">CMSConnect solution</a> for digital platforms, which marks another milestone in its strategy to build innovative technology solutions that enhance the translation experience.Argo Translation provides tailored professional translation services in more than 80 languages to a range of industries including legal, healthcare, manufacturing, and financial. It also provides guaranteed certified translation quality.CMSConnect is the firm's cross-platform multilingual suite. It seamlessly pipes in source content from numerous PIM, CMS, CRM, and DAM platforms and translates it into nearly any language. This enables companies to accelerate the delivery of digital content with less friction, providing a more streamlined approach to reaching international markets or a diverse workforce that speaks multiple languages. “We are very excited about the release of CMSConnect,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/argondizzo/">Peter Argondizzo</a>, Co-Founder of Argo Translation. "It allows us to deliver peace of mind through a care-free implementation that becomes part of our customer's process – not an additional process that takes time to train and requires additional resources for implementation."<h3 id="making-translation-easier-across-multiple-dx-platforms">Making translation easier across multiple DX platforms</h3>As its name indicates, CMSConnect delivers its translation capabilities to content management systems. But it's more than a CMS solution – and powers several PIM, DAM, and CRM systems.This currently includes a bench of industry-leading platforms, including <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/akeneo">Akeneo</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/inriver">InRiver</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/microsoft-sharepoint">SharePoint</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/sitecore">Sitecore</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/kentico">Kentico</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/umbraco">Umbraco</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/adobe-experience-manager">Adobe Experience Manager</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/hubspot">HubSpot</a>, SFDC, and <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/wordpress">WordPress</a>. In each case, CMSConnect makes the process easy by translating content into nearly any language using a platform's native features. One of the key benefits is reduced overhead. With CMSConnect's plug-and-play implementation, there's no reliance on developer resources to get up to speed quickly. The submission process is simple, requiring only a few clicks. CMSConnect also reduces the cost of translation by lowering the setup and maintenance costs.<h3 id="ideal-for-e-commerce,-product-management,-and-more">Ideal for e-Commerce, product management, and more</h3>Argo Translation's solution has a strong focus on e-commerce and product management professionals who have domain over an extensive product catalog. It's also a good fit for HR professionals who need to publish timely communications to non-native English-speaking employees via their employee website, or marketing professionals who need to connect with international audiences at the speed of their market.The CMSConnect option for Akeneo – a product information management (PIM) system – crystallizes the value of the platform, helping users manage accurate and complete information for their product catalogs and dealing with the complexities this can create when translating content into different languages.The Akeneo connector makes the whole process easier by translating numerous catalogs into different languages with ease. It eliminates the need for manual file transfer, management, and tracking of changes, in addition to removing any cutting and pasting of translations. CMSConnect also provides built-in security, integration, and features that fit within your existing processes.Learn more about CMSConnect at <a href="argotrans.com/technology/cmsconnect">argotrans.com/technology/cmsconnect </a>

Argo Translation's New CMSConnect Streamlines Digital Platform Translations

cms-critic-staff

<hr /> DAM is having a moment right now. And it's not just the publication of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.forrester.com/blogs/announcing-the-dam-wave-q1-2024/">Forrester's Q1 Wave Report for Digital Asset Management Systems</a>, which hit the streets today. That's certainly adding to the gravitas.No, “DAM” is overflowing for a number of reasons. For starters, brands are creating an epic deluge of content. It's undeniable, but it's also perfectly logical. We live in a world that thrives on digital detritus, and modern creative tools have made it easy to produce an unthinkable number of assets at lightning speed. But therein lies the problem: how do you manage it all? Add to that the very real phenomenon of generative AI, which is rippling across the functionality landscape with terrific force. As brands automate and scale the production of the assets they're producing – driven in part by personalized variants and test iterations – marketing departments are under increasing pressure to police the streets and maintain governance.As much as AI is part of the problem, it's also presenting itself as a solution. Such is the case with <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/acquia-dam-bolsters-search-share-and-analytics-capabilities">Acquia DAM</a> (formerly Widen), which has been piloting a new bench of AI capabilities – some of which were announced at Engage Boston, which I <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/from-accessibility-to-ai-and-beyond-five-key-takeaways-from-acquia-engage-boston">covered in detail here</a>. The company has been innovating on the edge with generative AI for quite some time, injecting its DAM with search and share features and a <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/acquia-dam-introduces-new-generative-ai-features-for-product-and-image-descriptions">product and image description generator</a> last year.Today, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.acquia.com/">Acquia</a> introduced a new set of integrations for its digital asset management solution, designed to expand its brand management capabilities. The company says the integrations with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.acquia.com/products/acquia-campaign-studio">Acquia Campaign Studio</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://stock.adobe.com/">Adobe Stock</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://translate.google.com/">Google Translate</a> will reduce the complexity of maintaining consistent brand experiences across digital channels – and help marketing and creative teams save time and squeeze more value from their content assets.As Acquia knows too well, brands aren't showing any signs of slowing their content hustle. In fact, it's quite the opposite: they need to differentiate with fresh and relevant content to power their marketing campaigns and drive more clicks and purchases. That includes harnessing an ever-growing landscape of visual product imagery, graphics, and more.I had a chance to connect with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.acquia.com/about-us/team/jake-athey">Jake Athey</a>, Vice President, Sales and Go-to-Market, DAM and PIM at Acquia. He's the muscle behind the ever-growing mountain of digital assets, helping to evangelize Acquia's solutions through the marketer's lens. As a DAM and PIM expert, he brings a deep understanding of the evolving landscape – a journey he began during his time at Widen.“Brand leaders today are looking to free up their teams to be more creative and to use digital content assets in new ways,” he said. “These new integrations help customers scale their use of digital content across digital channels and across regions to deliver a better brand experience in less time.”<h3 id="beef-up-marketing-automation-with-acquia-campaign-studio">Beef up marketing automation with Acquia Campaign Studio</h3>First and foremost, Acquia DAM is now integrated with Acquia Campaign Studio – the company’s full-scale marketing automation solution. The integration leverages Acquia’s instant search connector tool, so once a user is authenticated in the DAM connector within Campaign Studio, they can search, view, and select the asset of their choice within Campaign Studio’s email and landing page builders. Here's something really cool: by tapping this connection, any pictures in emails or landing page builders dynamically change when they're updated in Acquia DAM. This has a potentially huge benefit for marketing teams as it will not only save time but also reduce the chance of using off-brand or unapproved content. As you might imagine, this is super valuable for brands that have hundreds – or even thousands – of assets in various places to support decentralized users and brands (think franchises or distributors).<h3 id="access-images-with-ease-via-adobe-stock--">Access images with ease via Adobe Stock  </h3>The Adobe Stock integration offers what you might expect from a CMS or DXP stock image connector, reducing the friction of accessing images, video, or other digital assets in one place while piping in essential metadata. But Acquia DAM goes beyond the typical by providing a more enhanced UX with smoother workflows. Creative pros can choose which types of Adobe Stock assets to monitor and sync, and the integration handles file copying and categorization in Acquia DAM. “Our new Adobe Stock integration simplifies the creative workflow for our customers significantly by automating the syncing of newly licensed assets from Adobe Stock directly into Acquia DAM,” Jake said. “This means that as soon as a customer licenses a new asset on Adobe Stock, it’s automatically uploaded to DAM, along with important metadata like the asset’s ID, title, and keywords. Users can tailor this integration to their needs by choosing which types of assets they want to sync, such as photos, illustrations, and videos.”Jake also explained that the setup uses <a target="_blank" href="https://www.oauth.com/">OAuth Server-to-Server</a> credentials. Customers need only provide their Client ID and Client Secret specific to their Adobe Stock account to enable a secure connection. But once established, the rest should be cream cheese. It's worth noting that Acquia DAM also provides long-standing integrations with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/">Getty Images </a>and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/">Shutterstock</a>, both of which offer well-documented API recipes for integrations. The real magic is how a platform harnesses these capabilities and surfaces the value. “The Adobe Stock integration follows a similar automated approach to syncing assets,” Jake said. “Since this is a managed integration, there will be no need for a new user interface – everything is syncing in the background to make things easy for users.”<h3 id="interpret-more-accessibility-with-google-translate">Interpret more accessibility with Google Translate</h3>Language translation and localization is finally becoming table stakes for globally-aware brands (although it's a mystery why it's still missing on so many sites). Still, software UX is often overlooked. Acquia aims to mitigate that by adding Google Translate to its DAM, helping to ensure that branded content is accessible, searchable, and relevant to diverse users and groups. It's simple: customers can use Google Translate to automatically translate text from selected metadata fields. The DAM automatically repopulates these fields with translated content in up to 20 languages. For those of us who have integrated Google Translate at the web layer, we know there's been a palpable lack of control and customizability. I asked Jake how Acquia is enabling DAM users to “massage” translated content if the text requires any additional tweaks after a human review. There are certainly other tools that facilitate this, and it's a place where AI is also making a dent in the obstacles. “With Acquia’s flexible permissions and dynamic path notifications, customers can set up their desired governance and workflow processes, so they have an opportunity to check translations,” he said. “As with the use of generative AI, we believe incorporating human review into a translation workflow is a best practice. We also have an OpenAI Translate Native Integration on our product roadmap.”<h3 id="building-on-a-legacy-of-ai-innovation">Building on a legacy of AI innovation</h3>As previously noted, AI has long been a part of the Acquia roadmap. Last May, when I <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/acquia-taps-its-modular-open-source-legacy-to-drive-the-composable-future">spoke to Deanna Ballew</a>, SVP of Product at Acquia, she shared a bit about where the company's AI investment had started – and how the open source Drupal community was already innovating around ChatGPT connectors at the CMS level. I asked Jake about the recent AI announcements from Engage last November, and what we might expect on the horizon. He gave me a bit of what's in the rearview mirror, and a peek through the windshield. He started with Acquia DAM’s Workflow AI Assistant, which was launched in 2023, and supports the ability to more efficiently generate new creative and copy ideas and editing suggestions to streamline work-in-process cycles. It also helps to keep teams on brand, accelerating time to market with new brand assets.This was followed by the aforementioned AI-powered keywords and automated description, caption, and alt-text generation – which supports the ability to catalog, find, and use new assets more quickly. Automated alt-text generation also supports SEO and accessibility to optimize brand asset performance across digital channels.“Acquia DAM’s new search by color and color filters help users to quickly find and use available assets based on design color scheme and brand colors,” he shared. “The new integration with Adobe Stock and our existing integration with Shutterstock also tap into the generative AI capabilities of those platforms.”So what's next? Some pretty sophisticated stuff.“New AI capabilities to come include advancements to smart tags, facial recognition, focal point cropping, video transcription, and AI-based GPT video generation and editing,” Jake said. “With all of these and more, our intention is to enable marketers and creative pros to accelerate content velocity, while staying true to brand standards and supporting richer digital experiences for their own customers.”<h3 id="what's-ahead-in-2024-for-acquia-dam?">What's ahead in 2024 for Acquia DAM?</h3>As Jake pointed out, Acquia DAM supports a wide range of organizations across sizes and industries. Acquia proper continues to support Fortune 1000 organizations, including a majority who have – or are replacing – a DAM.  “With these innovations, Acquia is also focused heavily on serving the late-stage majority of first-time DAM buyers in the middle market, with an estimated 200,000 companies in North America, Western Europe, Australia, and Japan,” he confirmed. “Acquia is focused on brands and agencies alike, and serves marketing communications, creative/design, digital/web, product, and e-commerce functions.”In terms of target industries, the company is focusing on manufacturing and engineering, supply chain and logistics, financial services, food and beverage (including manufacturers, distributors, grocery stores, and restaurants), consumer goods, healthcare, education, and more. Obviously, this list can become more granular, but it provides a high-level snapshot of where they see opportunities for DAM to make a difference.As I previously discussed with Deanna Ballew, the theme of composability remains key to Acquia (and just about every platform in the industry). As a legacy DXP with a more traditionally monolithic posture, Acquia has been making strides to decouple its products in the right places, so customers can leverage the efficiencies of a composed DXP while purchasing a specific product within the portfolio. To that end, it's worth reinforcing that Acquia DAM may be used as a standalone solution or with content management systems such as Drupal or other products in the Acquia Digital Experience Platform (Acquia DXP).You can learn more about <a target="_blank" href="https://www.acquia.com/acquia-dam/features/ai">Acquia DAM’s native AI features</a> and the new set of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.acquia.com/products/marketing-cloud/dam/integrations">DAM integrations </a>on its website. <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.

Acquia DAM Adds New Integrations to Enhance Brand Management 

<hr /> <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/critics/ryan-breen">Ryan Breen</a> is CTO at Fastr, a digital experience composition platform built for e-commerce, and a CMS Critic Contributor. To differentiate, e-commerce businesses need to deliver the right content to the right audiences. But the “right content” and the “right audience” change every single day.That means you have to make data-optimized content changes at the same pace. That’s your minimum viable content velocity. But you’re stuck: meaningful content changes require developer intervention. AI, 2024's proposed solution to all velocity problems, only exacerbates this problem. It’s boosting the content creation pace across departments faster than speeding up developer release cycles.<h3 id="presentation-is-content">Presentation IS Content</h3>The traditional approach of minor tweaks – like adjusting copy or shuffling UI elements – barely scratches the surface. These changes are superficial, allowing for only cookie-cutter modifications. What we need goes deeper, demanding a radical shift in how content is presented. This is about more than aesthetics; it’s about structural transformation.Consider the scale of change required: the capability to serve entirely different layouts of your product detail page (PDP) to various audience segments. Take a case study where analytics reveal that users coming from search engines exhibit distinct shopping behaviors. They are more inclined to purchase related products than the specific SKU they initially viewed. The logical move? Experiment by altering the PDP layout for these users, placing related products prominently at the top, instead of their usual position below the fold.This approach isn’t about making a single change. It’s about the ability to test a multitude of visual treatments – 5, 10, even 20 variations – to pinpoint what truly engages your audience. And this testing isn’t static; it evolves daily, adapting in real time to the insights gathered.<h3 id="the-ai-productivity-paradox">The AI Productivity Paradox</h3>The advent of AI in business operations presents a profound challenge I call the “AI Productivity Paradox.” On the surface, AI technologies promise significant productivity gains across the board. Marketing and e-commerce teams are leveraging AI to generate a flood of innovative ideas, scaling their creative output to levels previously unimaginable. Imagine this: 20 individuals in e-commerce and marketing now produce 200 times as many viable, impactful ideas each day as they did last year, thanks to AI tools at their disposal.To put this into perspective, consider the equation: (A) the number of ideas generated by the team, times (B) number of target audience segments, compounded by (C) the multiple variants you need to test to get a strong signalIf A is now 200 and B and C are anything above 0, a development team is now staring down the barrel of a combinatorial explosion of demands. A neverending, ever-growing influx of content change initiatives that must be handled with no latency.At the same time, every other part of the business was already waiting on development for site updates. It’s not like development teams anywhere match a business's needs for velocity. Now, this explosion of creative output from e-commerce and marketing teams – amplified by AI – will blow open an ever-widening gap in productivity.This disparity is not just a logistical headache; it’s a strategic bottleneck that stifles innovation, slowing down the essential process of testing and learning. Without a shift towards more scalable, developer-independent systems for executing these ideas, the promise of AI-enhanced productivity is a bottleneck – not a breakthrough.<h3 id="speed-wins">Speed Wins</h3>In today’s e-commerce landscape, agility goes beyond making superficial tweaks with ease (and, sorry, your CTA text is superficial). Agility is about enabling immediate, profound shifts in how content engages and converts. Traditional approaches, marked by delays and developer bottlenecks, miss the rapid pace at which market trends evolve. All content must adapt as fluidly as consumer preferences and market dynamics do, unencumbered by the grindingly slow human latency of development time.And no: clunky, semantically void page builder components aren’t a solution. Their limited scope and bulky controls make them cookie-cutter templates with more steps. Today, we’re giving marketers components like a “carousel with 4 images.” Turning that into a labyrinth of dropdowns so they can spend hours composing a “carousel with 4 images” component into a “carousel with 4 images grouped vertically on desktop but not on mobile and with a translucency effect on hover on desktop” isn’t going to get us where we need to go.Instead, we envision a future where developers empower e-commerce, marketing, and AI tools with the capability to design every pixel of the Product Detail Page (PDP) and sculpt every underlying interaction. This isn’t about providing a bigger box of basic tools; it’s about handing over the keys to the entire workshop. In this new world, developers focus on creating sophisticated, flexible environments that offer total creative control – environments where non-technical teams can intuitively design, test, and refine every aspect of the e-commerce experience without compromise.By stepping away from the bottleneck and repositioning themselves as enablers, developers unlock the full potential of their colleagues in e-commerce and marketing. This shift is critical. It’s about equipping those closest to the customer with the means to apply their insights and ideas directly, in real time, without the mediation of cumbersome, limiting tools.This is how we get something more than pain and dashed hopes from our AI investments.This is how we overcome the AI Productivity Paradox. <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.

How to Free Your e-Commerce Business from the AI Productivity Paradox

ryan-breen

<hr /> <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/strapi">Strapi</a> has always been a tenacious force in the headless CMS field. The platform delivers a healthy dose of customizability to its users and can play on the REST and GraphQL sides of the API court – maximizing its extensibility for querying content. Overall, it's super flexible for developers, earning it a whopping 60,000 stars on GitHub. Not too shabby.Last year, Strapi reached over 4 million downloads, putting it at the top of the open source headless CMS rankings. At the same time, <a target="_blank" href="https://cloud.strapi.io/">Strapi Cloud</a> – the company's fully managed offering – exploded to over 500 customers. These include major global brands like Publicis Sapient.According to Strapi's community forum, Strapi Cloud was a direct response to users who loved the Strapi platform, but weren't interested in managing servers, dealing with scalability, or coping with other laborious tasks (for those of you who still deal in Chef scripts, you know what we're talking about). The company really endeavored to reduce the friction around the overall developer experience, making it easier for users to get value from Strapi without the complexities of server management.Now, to make things even easier, Strapi Cloud has introduced a new Developer Plan for individuals and small businesses. Designed with simplicity and accessibility in mind, the Strapi Developer Plan is specifically tailored to meet the evolving needs of developers in the early stages of their project lifecycle, offering out-of-the-box features and an exceptional developer experience. The new plan will join Strapi's bench of offerings, which also includes Community, Pro, Team, and Enterprise tiers. "We're excited to introduce the Developer Plan as part of our commitment to supporting the vibrant developer community," said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/pierre-burgy-strapi-%F0%9F%9A%80-88671673/">Pierre Burgy</a>, CEO of Strapi. "We recognize the importance of providing developers with tools that are not only powerful but also accessible and easy to use. With the Developer Plan, we aim to empower developers to turn their ideas into reality without the complexity and cost often associated with managing infrastructure."<h3 id="new-pricing-and-greater-transparency--">New pricing and greater transparency  </h3>Strapi's Developer Plan offers some key advantages, starting with the price tag. The new model offers a competitive monthly subscription fee of only $29, giving developers access to critical features while eliminating hidden costs. This reflects a commitment to make the pricing experience more predictable for users.The Developer Plan has also been designed with scalability in mind, enabling Strapi Cloud to literally grow with your project. For example, you can add up to two additional seats at $15 per month per seat, supporting greater collaboration while standing firm around affordability.When it comes to essential resources, Strapi Cloud is also doubling down on value. The Developer Plan starts with 15 GB of storage and 50 GB of bandwidth, allowing developers to expand as needed at cost-effective rates. The entire Developer Plan is also focused on transparency, providing clear – and fair – overage charges. This ensures developers only pay for what they need with no “gotchas.” In fact, the asset storage costs are fairly generous, with overage fees decreasing to just $0.5 per extra GB of storage for the Developer plan (and $0.6 per extra GB for Pro and Team plans).Who is the plan ideally suited for? According to Strapi, it's a great fit for Individual developers, freelancers, and small teams working on projects such as personal blogs, portfolio sites, small e-commerce platforms, or experimenting with new web technologies. <h3 id="elevated-features-to-enhance-the-developer-experience">Elevated features to enhance the developer experience</h3>In addition to the Developer Plan, Strapi Cloud has introduced several new features. This includes new regions, automated backups, and custom domains. With upcoming SOC2 certification, a new developer-friendly Command Line Interface (CLI), and advanced multi-environment support, Strapi Cloud is now capable of scaling from small projects – such as personal blogs and portfolio sites – to larger corporate sites and composable applications. Additionally, Strapi Cloud's outstanding uptime performance over the past year demonstrates a significant leap forward in its ability to deliver a robust, secure, and highly customizable platform. Strapi has also launched a new initiative that offers significant Strapi Cloud discounts to qualifying open source and non-profit projects. Visit the company's website to learn more about the steps to qualify for this program.  <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.

Strapi Cloud Introduces New Developer Plan with Additional Features

<hr /> <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/critics/nazy">Nazy Fouladirad</a> is President and COO of Tevora, a leading global cybersecurity consultancy, and a CMS Critic contributor. Most organizations today are increasingly dependent on more than just their internal teams and on-premise solutions to drive their businesses forward. The growing popularity of cloud platforms and "as-a-service" models across various industries has also led to a significant increase in organizations partnering with third-party providers.However, while collaborating with multiple external vendors and service providers can help organizations expand, it can also introduce new risks. Given the rise in cybercrime and strict regulatory standards today, the need to have a mature third-party risk management program is essential to ensure <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/how-to-secure-your-cms-in-5-steps">their data is secure</a>, especially when handled by those outside the company.<h2 id="recognizing-the-risks-of-third-party-vendors">Recognizing the Risks of Third-Party Vendors</h2>Establishing strong business partnerships is an important component of business growth. Whether hiring an outside marketing firm to drive brand awareness or working with a managed services provider to outsource IT and cybersecurity, the right partnerships help businesses operate more efficiently. However, it's important to be aware of certain risks associated with extending your operations outside your organization.When vendors require access to confidential business information to offer their services, the duty to protect that data starts moving beyond the company's immediate reach. Without due diligence, this can pose <a target="_blank" href="https://www.checkpoint.com/cyber-hub/cyber-security/what-is-cybersecurity/biggest-cyber-security-challenges-in-2023/">significant security challenges</a>, particularly if your partners aren't upholding the safety standards your business adheres to. While most service providers are obligated by data protection laws and regulations to protect sensitive client information, the reality is that not all companies are equally secure. Besides the financial risk associated with a major business disruption across connected services, businesses may also face significant fines and penalties if they fail to maintain regulated compliance standards that govern their specific industry.<h2 id="what-are-third-party-security-&amp;-compliance-audits?">What are Third-Party Security &amp; Compliance Audits?</h2>For organizations that need to have more transparency regarding potential security risks that may be present with a third party, security risk and compliance audits are essential. A third-party security and compliance audit or assessment is a methodical review process handled by outside risk management experts to thoroughly vet the security standards of any business partnership.Depending on the industry your organization operates in, there are a variety of different assessments or audits that can be used to identify any areas of concern.For example, a SOC 2 attestation, sometimes referred to as a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tevora.com/what-is-a-soc-audit/">SOC audit</a> or SOC certification (which is technically incorrect), is often used to benchmark internal control frameworks in the following Trust Criteria:<ul><li>Security</li><li>Privacy</li><li>Confidentiality</li><li>Availability</li><li>Process Integrity</li></ul>These attestation reports are the opinion of a CPA firm and identify an opinion of conformity against the selected Trust Criteria. It is important to note that not all SOC 2 reports test all five Trust Services Criteria, as it depends on scope. This is similar but holds a bit less rigor than an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tevora.com/blog/what-is-an-iso-audit/">ISO 27001 audit</a>, which checks that systems and processes align with the framework established by the International Organization for Standardization.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.fedramp.gov/">FedRAMP High Authorization</a>, used for assessing Cloud Service Providers performing critical and essential services for Government Agencies, has over 400 controls and is even more rigorous than the ISO 27001 certification.To streamline third-party vendor assessments, some may use SOC 2, ISO 27001, HITRUST, or FedRAMPas alternative evidence for vetting vendors rather than conducting one-off assessments.<h2 id="steps-to-executing-third-party-security-&amp;-compliance-audits">Steps to Executing Third-Party Security &amp; Compliance Audits</h2>Conducting a third-party compliance audit is often left to risk management specialists due to the complexity of the process. While every audit can be different depending on the depth and scale of the partnership, most external audits will follow a similar formula.Below are the typical steps used when executing third-party security and compliance audits:<h3 id="1.-identify-all-of-your-partnerships">1. Identify All of Your Partnerships</h3>Thoroughly evaluating the business's active partnerships is the first step before performing any type of third-party audit. Oftentimes, businesses may be primarily concerned with only one or two active partnerships they rely on regularly. However, having a completely transparent understanding of your complete risk profile requires identifying each and every vendor you engage with. This could be a supplier of physical goods, logistics companies that you currently contract, SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) providers, or a company where this is a direct change of company information.<h3 id="2.-tier-your-vendors">2. Tier Your Vendors</h3>Not all vendors are created equal. The most important vendors are those that you share the most sensitive data with, have access to your networks, host or build applications, have physical access to your facilities, or can interrupt your key business processes. These vendors are often referred to as Tier 1 vendors. Other vendors you may rely on but are not as critical can be considered Tier 2. Vendors that do not provide essential services – such as a coffee supply vendor or shipping provider – may be considered a Tier 3 vendor.  For Tier 3 vendors, just knowing that they are accounted for and have been identified as a Tier 3 vendor is all that is required. <h3 id="3.-build-a-plan-for-vendor-assessments-by-tier">3. Build a Plan for Vendor Assessments by Tier</h3>Working with a trained risk assessment professional, you should define the assessment, process, depth, and acceptable alternative evidence allowed for each tier of vendor.  By organizing your assessment process by Vendor Tier, you'll be able to narrow down the focus of your audits to the areas that are most critical for the services provided.Part of building a successful vendor assessment plan should start with the alignment of your company’s existing security framework to your Vendor assessment model (ISO 27000 series, NIST 800 series, HITRUST Certification, or FedRAMP/StateRAMP). Typically, more mature vendors will have their own security programs developed and backed by one of these frameworks. Having the ability to crosswalk between the frameworks can help show how your company’s security controls are implemented through outsourcing to these vendors. A tool commonly used within the Third Party Vendor Management space is the <a target="_blank" href="https://sharedassessments.org/sig/">Standardized Information Gathering (SIG) Questionnaire</a>, which helps map controls to various frameworks. The SIG Questionnaire has over 1000 controls, whereas the SIG Lite contains about 200 controls. Many Vendors will have a SIG or SIG Lite available for review during the third-party assessment process and this can be an effective way of getting standardized information from your vendors. <h3 id="4.-notify-your-vendors">4. Notify Your Vendors</h3>While certain portions of a third-party risk assessment can be managed without the direct involvement of your vendors and with the use of various monitoring tools, their participation is essential to complete an assessment. Many companies will make assessment requirements part of their new vendor onboarding process to ensure that all parties are aware of the potential for assessment before or during the length of the partnership. In any event, it's important to clearly lay out any requirements your business may have when it comes to completing assessments to ensure vendors are aware and willing to comply.<h3 id="5.-define-scope-of-engagement">5. Define Scope of Engagement</h3>Some assessments are much more comprehensive than others. In all situations, though, it's important to define the scope of engagement that will be required for each vendor. This is another area where understanding your risk categories will help, as it will assist in prioritizing engagement in the right areas and with the right teams. Doing so helps to avoid your vendors becoming overwhelmed with requests for information that could potentially cause strain on the relationship.<h3 id="6.-complete-the-review-and-identify-areas-of-improvement">6. Complete the Review and Identify Areas of Improvement</h3>After gathering the required information, your risk management team can produce a detailed review of potential areas of concern. Given the thoroughness of the data collected, some areas might need additional exploration to guarantee the review's accuracy and to ensure the insights provided are easy to understand and actionable.<h2 id="don't-let-your-third-party-risk-catch-you-off-guard">Don't Let Your Third-Party Risk Catch You Off Guard</h2>While your organization might prioritize and invest in proper security measures, not all vendors necessarily share that commitment. However, collaborating with skilled risk management experts can help confirm that all your partnerships value security and risk mitigation as much as you and your clients do. <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.

Make Sure Your Vendors and Partners aren’t a Security Risk with Third-Party Security & Compliance Audits

nazy

<hr /> Humans love to muse about the future. And why not? It’s veiled in mystery, replete with speculation, and full of plot twists. That makes it both exciting and terrifying. Like… a horror movie.Along those lines, a word in the composable lexicon conjures some of the same exhilaration and fear: future-proof. While fairly intuitive, it's all about anticipating what might happen and developing strategies to minimize the shocks and stresses of possible future events.It sounds great, but it also presents a bit of a quantum entanglement. How can tools or processes remain malleable enough to adapt to unpredictable changes? How do organizations accurately predict and avoid the pitfalls (and classic horror movie tropes)?This is where the past and the present can help untangle the uncertainty, and it's precisely why software platforms conduct research: to help guide a future-proof strategy and thwart any potential nightmares. To that end, <a target="_blank" href="https://hygraph.com/">Hygraph</a>, a headless CMS known for its content federation, recently published an insightful survey on the state of <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">content management</a> and what the future might look like. There are some terrific data points, and here's the big one: according to the report, 84% of organizations believe their existing CMS limits their ability to unlock the full value of their data and content. It further suggests that only 35% of current data and content is being used effectively. If this translates to a larger scale (the sample includes 400 engineering and product professionals in the US, UK, and Germany), the numbers represent a stagnant dissatisfaction with current CMS deployments. But these figures are just scratching the surface.I recently spoke to <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/content-management-for-a-new-reality-a-conversation-with-hygraph-ceo-michael-lukaszczyk">Michael Lukaszczyk</a>, co-founder and CEO of Hygraph, about the findings. It’s all part of what his company calls the “Future of Content” report, which pulls back the curtain on CMS challenges many businesses face when delivering modern digital experiences. The survey includes real-world input from tech leaders and prescribes a few strategies for overcoming some of the industry’s key obstacles.  While no one has the exact prescription for tomorrow, Hygraph’s report provides critical insights around trends and patterns, which might prove invaluable when selecting a CMS that’s future-proofed for what’s ahead – and maybe make things a little less scary.<h3 id="siloed-data-and-content-are-major-limitations">Siloed data and content are major limitations</h3>I asked Michael what he gleaned from the “Future of Content” research, specifically around the impact of value on organizations. Most of us in the content management field recognize a ubiquitous perception of the grass always being greener when users are asked about their satisfaction with a tool or stack. “We had 84% of people being dissatisfied with the current architecture and stack,” he codified.  “Well, it's been like this forever, and we want to change it. But a lot of companies and larger organizations struggle with the change management.”In that sense, the real challenge lies in the escape vector. Stakeholders might be keenly aware of the issues but are held back by the risks associated with implementation or migration. Along with this general malaise around unlocking value from their existing setup, Hygraph’s report also indicates that 92% of organizations say their content and data sources are siloed – with nearly 40% describing it as “very siloed.” As we’ve discussed in many previous articles, data from diverse sources and legacy systems have resulted in expensive and laborious integration code, which presents a drag on growth and innovation. This is where composable strategies and technologies are emerging as solutions – with many vendors, Hygraph among them, participating in the ecosystem as members of the <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/mach-alliance-publishes-first-annual-report-showcases-industry-impact-and-plans-for-2024">MACH Alliance</a>. <h3 id="custom-software-is-an-innovation-bottleneck">Custom software is an innovation bottleneck</h3>It’s always easy to blame the CMS. It is, after all, the elder statesman of the stack – and a relatively broad target due to its essential role across a myriad of systems and requirements. While any given CMS might perform a wide range of duties out of the box, it will inevitably fall short in some areas, forcing it to be stretched in different directions based on architectural dependencies. One of the biggest obstacles has been the need to tap multiple content and data sources. To that end, the “Future of Content” report revealed that 77% of respondents need to build and manage custom software to connect diverse content and data sources with their existing CMS. The survey respondents also concurred en masse that these integrations – which, as we know, can be very complex – create an innovation bottleneck with potentially severe consequences. <h3 id="cms-challenges-negatively-impact-productivity-and-revenue">CMS challenges negatively impact productivity and revenue</h3>With just a third of respondents stating that their CMS is effective at “underpinning new digital services,” there’s clearly a gap around readiness. But the report digs deeper into the details. According to the research, over three-quarters of respondents say that the difficulty of exposing and using existing data and content in their digital services has restricted their revenue opportunities. This is where the buck stops, shining a light on the most tangible result of a limited CMS. From a productivity perspective, 76% of respondents also say that technology constraints prevent them from empowering more content creators within their organization. At the CMS level, this is just as pronounced, with almost half of respondents saying that changes can only be made by a few users with essential skills. Michael noted that these limitations underscore the need for content federation, one of the key tenets of Hygraph’s position in the headless CMS market. He said this approach – alongside a headless CMS – could accelerate both innovation and revenue opportunities.“To compete in the content economy, organizations need to unlock value from content without bottlenecks or migration and duplication issues,” he said. “Content federation leverages all data sources across business infrastructure, and delivers it exactly where needed.”<h3 id="future-proofing-cms-for-a-world-of-content-rich-applications">Future-proofing CMS for a world of content-rich applications</h3>As Michael indicated, many of the existing challenges can be rolled up to having the right tool for the right use case, particularly as the market evolves to include more content-rich applications beyond websites. In his opinion, this shapes how users and organizations choose the platforms to build, manage, and ultimately future-proof their needs. “In the ‘Future of Content’ report, I observe two main trends [in the CMS market],” he explained. “The first is that headless CMSs are being reverted to become way more visual again. That is sort of the Storyblok and the Uniform stake, and this is to try and catch the demand of the business personas. It's really the static experiences that you build at the end of the day, like websites. But there's also the other direction, such as hybrid CMSs, that are more complex in data modeling and help you build really content-rich applications.” But how are content-rich applications evolving the charter? The example Michael gave is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.onepeloton.com/">Peloton</a>, which has two key properties in its digital ecosystem. The first is the corporate website, which is most likely owned by a marketer – someone who prefers a static build experience. But Peloton is chiefly experienced through its app, where users engage on stationary bikes and treadmills in video-based classes. These experiences also need a layer of content management.“Over the past couple of years, there’s been an increasing demand for this, and we see more and more companies with requirements for content management in their applications,” Michael said. “One of my predictions is that this will become more important. And if you want to build a more complex, content-rich application, then you wouldn't build the workout application of a Peloton with a website builder using a visual component. It's an application.”<h3 id="leveraging-the-benefits-of-content-federation">Leveraging the benefits of content federation</h3>Hygraph’s evangelizing of content federation cuts through clearly and continues to be one of its unique market differentiators. Its federated content platform represents what it calls the “next generation of content management,” evolving beyond a headless CMS to help power a many-to-many relationship between different content sources and devices. With Hygraph, you can effectively federate data from various sources, streamline content processes, and eliminate the need for a separate experience composition solution or custom middleware. This is also made possible through Hygraph's robust <a target="_blank" href="https://graphql.com/">GraphQL</a> content APIs.In an increasingly dense field of headless players, Michael and his team have trumpeted the benefits of content federation via real-world use cases, specifically around the ever-present challenge of migrating legacy content and data – and tapping composable capabilities to realize the potential.“Our recommendation is not to do a one-off migration, but rather replacing pieces out of the stack and modernizing step by step what you can,” he said. “If you use content federation with Hygraph, you can plug in a few of the systems that exist within your stack while the rest live in this monolithic scope. But they can live side by side – and then, as time goes on, you pull more and more pieces out of the old world into the new. So if you use tooling or have this layer that allows you to be the middleware – which is content federation – and it's a much safer migration path.”<h3 id="why-this-report-matters">Why this report matters</h3>It's a sure bet that any vendor-sponsored research will position its own platform as the go-to solution. This is, after all, a function of marketing at some level. But Hygraph’s report provides clear and relevant metrics in the right places while weaving in guidance from technology leaders. It’s worth noting that the survey was commissioned by Hygraph but conducted independently by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.colemanparkes.com/">Coleman Parkes Research</a> in the summer of 2023.Along with the raw numbers, the “Future of Content” report also provides guidance around eliminating bottlenecks, adopting best practices, and future-proofing your content strategy to achieve optimal performance. These additional benefits highlight the report’s emphasis on education across every facet of an organization, from technical to business – which Michael sees as critical for building consensus around the modernization investment.“I think it takes a lot of education for tech leads and architects,” he expressed. “They need to get the message that the technical depth in the stack is holding them back from achieving the business results they want. But if you talk to people who are more on the business side of things about technical depth, they don't see an internal rework as necessarily positive – they see it as pricey. It takes six months to rework all this, [so] they don't push those projects forward. But the report shows that there's also education needed for owners of those architectures, so they understand that modernization will pay off. It takes some time but it will pay off – big time.”And that sounds like a future worth fighting for. To download the full report, visit <a target="_blank" href="https://hygraph.com/resources/future-of-content">https://hygraph.com/resources/future-of-content</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.

Is your CMS holding you back? Hygraph’s survey reveals insights about the future of content

<hr /> One of the key advantages of the <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/mach-alliance-publishes-first-annual-report-showcases-industry-impact-and-plans-for-2024">MACH Alliance’s</a> best-of-breed open ecosystem is the propensity for like-minded composable systems to join forces – and together, bring unified solutions to market.The latest heroic team-up: <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/agility">Agility CMS</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/netlify">Netlify</a>. The duo just introduced an enhanced integration that harnesses the robust features of Agility’s headless CMS with <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.netlify.com/connect/overview/">Netlify Connect</a> – a data unification layer designed to give teams greater freedom and control when creating websites, online stores, and applications with data from any new or existing content source. According to Agility’s press release, this collaboration sets out to redefine how enterprises manage their content and modernize their web architecture, bridging the gap between legacy content and modern <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">Content Management Systems (CMS)</a>. "Bringing Agility CMS and Netlify Connect together is a game-changer for enterprises looking to embrace the future of content management and modern web architecture," said <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/playing-to-win-in-the-headless-cms-game-interview-with-joel-varty-cto-at-agility">Joel Varty</a>, CTO at Agility CMS. “This approach not only streamlines content integration but also ensures that organizations can easily adapt and evolve their digital strategies with a phased approach that leads to fast ROI.”The general availability of the Agility CMS Connector with the Netlify platform is a significant step forward for both MACH vendors, giving enterprises a more agile and future-proof approach to content management and web architecture.<h3 id="netting-an-integration-with-netlify">Netting an integration with Netlify</h3>Agility, a cloud-based, API-first headless CMS, has been blazing trails with its built-in layout management capabilities. By giving users a clear visual “blueprint,” they have greater control and confidence over their content placement. At the same time, Netlify Connect has gained traction as a go-to solution for integrating content from multiple sources into a single data unification layer – one that’s easily accessible through a <a target="_blank" href="https://graphql.com/">GraphQL API</a> (another fixture that’s become increasingly popular). Netlify Connect is particularly ideal for enterprises that have data spread across multiple data sources, enabling updates to sync websites and web apps automatically with the latest content. Connect’s scalable, no-code approach to content integration also makes it an attractive play. This is where the impact can be felt with a robust headless CMS that’s designed as the next step in a stack’s composable modernization. And while Netlify Connect supports multiple data sources on the CMS level, it’s worth noting that this new integration represents the first Partner Developed Connector with Netlify – a real feather in Agility’s cap, and a clear commitment to its shared innovation with its development platform partner. “This integration is remarkably similar to the integration we previously developed for <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/gatsby">Gatsby</a>,” said Varty. “It’s built on top of our Sync SDK, and provides incredibly fast access to your content, now with the framework of your choice. We’re expecting folks will appreciate the unified data access experience.”As Varty further pointed out, Netlify Connect is one way to solve the “many data sources” conundrum in a way that assures fast access to data, given that Netlify caches it in their layer. “Depending on your solution, this can help solve a lot of problems, especially if you have private connectors accessing data that’s previously been locked away somewhere without a decent API, or maybe your API just doesn’t perform well under load. Netlify Connect can really help there.”<h3 id="what’s-next-for-agility-and-netlify">What’s next for Agility and Netlify</h3>Part of the secret sauce for Agility and Netlify is having a shared vision. Both companies empower enterprises on their journey to manage and migrate from legacy monolithic systems to composable, cloud-native solutions – but doing so in a systematic, phased approach. The benefit is clear: enterprises want to remain in control, and being forced to immediately adopt a completely new ecosystem is counterproductive.Along with Connect, Agility is looking ahead to additional opportunities with Netlify. This includes aligning with <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.netlify.com/create/overview/">Netlify Create</a>, a visual experience platform for building and operating enterprise websites with a decoupled architecture.“Netlify has expanded its product ecosystem with both Connect and Create,” Varty shared. “I think Connect is the most compelling piece of the puzzle for organizations that want to unify how they bring content and data to their web properties, so I’m hoping the Agility integration – which is open source – can serve as an example for others on best practices here. As for Create, we’re working with Netlify closely on an Agility solution that brings the best of both platforms to the forefront.”I asked Varty about the reaction from Agility’s partners and customers, and if any feedback had emerged during the beta phase of the connector’s development. It’s clear that it’s still early days, but he’s bullish about the potential – and Agility is gearing up to support its channels with the right resources, including additional web frameworks that are amplifying site performance.“We’re actually working on updates to our reference solutions for <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/nextjs">Next.js</a> to provide examples for our partners to get started with this, as well as new starters for <a target="_blank" href="https://remix.run/">Remix</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://astro.build/">Astro</a>,” he explained. “There’s been a ton of requests for those updated starters, so we’re expecting lots of folks will either migrate existing solutions there, or use these references packages on new solutions and rebuilds."<h3 id="why-it-matters">Why it matters</h3>As many vendors look for terra firma in a rapidly evolving marketplace, alliances are being forged up and down the stack to deliver greater value. For headless CMSs facing an increasingly competitive and commoditized ecosystem of offerings, intangibles like MACH Alliance certification are helping to up the ante and create differentiation.Still, the biggest challenge is the buyer. While the addressable US market looks more promising in 2024, enterprises are focusing on optimization – vis-à-vis speed and performance – to enhance the customer experience and improve outcomes. They’re also impeded by a growing cache of data and content sources from a myriad of places, including legacy systems, that must be harmonized. Agility’s headless features and novel layout capabilities are a boon to teams, but the Netlify Connect integration gives them an edge in addressing the “many data sources” conundrum that Varty referenced, helping to further optimize and accelerate access to data. This also gives organizations greater choice and flexibility as they expand their digital strategies.  <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.

Agility CMS and Netlify Connect Launch New Unified Content Integration Solution

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<hr /> As 2024 begins to take shape, digital optimization is becoming paramount for organizations as they focus on the ever-elusive goal of growth. With increasing competition across digital properties, brands seek new ways to understand customer behavior and create personalized experiences that allow them to attract, engage, and retain customers.The tools are getting better – and <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/amplitude-introduces-snowflake-native-amplitude-app-with-new-snowpark-container-services">Amplitude</a> continues to lead with innovation. The company recently announced the expansion of its Digital Analytics Platform to include Session Replay, new experimentation capabilities, and simplified event tagging. With Session Replay, Amplitude now combines qualitative and quantitative data to help companies understand the “why” behind user behavior. The platform will also offer new Experiment capabilities to help teams build personalized websites and campaigns. Additionally, a visual tag editor will effectively lower the barrier to entry for companies getting started with data collection and instrumentation. “Understanding customer behavior is the key to building successful products and enabling businesses to thrive," said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/francoisajenstat/">Francois Ajenstat</a>, Amplitude’s Chief Product Officer. "With these new capabilities, we’re bringing the next generation of digital analytics to market, combining qualitative and quantitative insights and simplifying how companies get started with Amplitude. With a single platform that is easy to use and easy to scale, every company can deliver better customer experiences that drive growth.”Alongside redesigned pricing options to meet the needs of organizations of all sizes, these new capabilities will help companies see everything their customers do, understand what drives growth, and build better products – all in one place.<h3 id="multiple-platform-enhancements">Multiple platform enhancements</h3>The new features of Amplitude’s platform include:<h4 id="session-replay">Session Replay</h4>With Session Replay, companies can visualize the user journey through the product, showing what customers like and where they get stuck. Integrated with Amplitude Analytics, organizations can access qualitative and quantitative insights to fix issues, drive greater conversion, and, ultimately, improve the customer experience. Session Replay is generally available today.<h4 id="experiment-for-web">Experiment for web</h4>Deliver personalized experiences with Amplitude's new web experimentation capabilities. Easily test multiple landing pages to optimize web and campaign performance. Paired with Amplitude Analytics, teams can gain a holistic understanding of what impacts customer behavior and how to deliver experiences that drive growth. Experiment for web will be generally available in the first half of 2024.<h4 id="visual-tag-editor">Visual tag editor</h4>Visual tag editor automates the data collection and instrumentation process to help teams intuitively track website or app activity. Visual tag editor will be generally available in the first half of 2024. With plans for organizations of all sizes, companies can get all the tools they need at once or start small and scale as their business grows. Plans include Free, Plus, Growth, and Enterprise, and can be explored on the Amplitude website. <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 Expands Platform Capabilities with Session Replay and Simplified Pricing

<hr /> <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/critics/tom-cranstoun">Tom Cranstoun</a> is the principal consultant at Digital Domain Technologies Limited and a CMS Critic contributor. Reflecting on the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff24/program">Boye &amp; Co CMS Kickoff 2024</a> down in St. Pete Beach, it's clear we're at a tipping point with AI in the CMS space. The event was a melting pot of CMS enthusiasts and experts, all there to predict and shape how we handle CMS. The setup was perfect for learning, networking, and bouncing ideas off one another, with sessions covering a wide range of topics.We had some standout talks, like <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/critics/deane">Deane Barker's</a> Q&amp;A and <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/can-you-trust-your-ai-data-new-standards-emerge-to-help-ensure-transparency">Kristina Podnar's</a> insights into Generative AI. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/beckybrown1/">Becky Brown</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidcrasmussen/">David Rasmussen</a> hit home the importance of change management for content teams. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/miketwills/">Mike Wills'</a> take on flexible content models for multichannel strategies was enlightening, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffeaton/">Jeff Eaton</a> shed light on how CMS page builders affect team dynamics.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianbrowning/">Brian Browning </a>showed us practical AI applications that are changing digital experiences. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-tucek/">Debbie Tucek</a> pushed us to think of content as a product, while <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickywiki/">Ricky Frohnerath</a>'s masterclass on high-performance content teams was a game-changer. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickrudd/">Nick Rudd'</a>s perspective on AI in real-time content generation was eye-opening, and sessions by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/marlim/">Marli Mesibov</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianmckeiver/">Brian McKeiver</a> on the CMS buy vs. build dilemma and digital commerce were thought-provoking.<h3 id="the-twist-in-my-expectations">The twist in my expectations</h3>I noted that the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff24/program">agenda of the CMS Kickoff 2024</a> offered only a slight focus on AI. The speakers often mentioned it during their talks; it’s very “of the moment” in our industry.I, like you, have been to many seminars, presentations, and conferences around AI and what it will do for you and your content. I was pleasantly surprised this was not about AI creating the content – it was about AI reading the content. It turned my expectations upside down, fired up my brain, and I could not stop taking notes.The whole CMS Kickoff conference was not just about AI. I have many takeaways that I am working on. But the most important is this: the AI revolution will change our industry and everyone else’s. Still, despite its great promise and clear benefits, it soon becomes clear that using AI to create content is not ideal. In fact, AI-generated content has many problems, including:<ul><li>Enforcing the use of internal style guides.</li><li>Maintaining a brand tone of voice.</li><li>Avoiding gender or race biases.</li><li>Avoiding cultural nuances.</li><li>Knowing which sources were used in the training of the AI (too few sources means limited vocabulary – conversely, too many sources suggest the corporation loses control. Does the AI manage to use local idiomatic expressions? For instance, a “sidewalk” is a “pavement” in the UK).</li><li>AI sometimes gives up asking the prompter to continue. </li><li>AI is becoming regulated, and legal ramifications will soon become commonplace, changing in each jurisdiction.</li></ul>And this is just the beginning. <h3 id="rethinking-ai’s-role-in-content-management">Rethinking AI’s role in content management</h3>Throughout the event, the speakers made me rethink AI's role in content management. Given the translation, bias, regulation challenges, and lack of trust in AI, one needs to employ reviewers and editors to correct the content – because AI is better suited for consuming content. Let’s think that the current state of AI creating content is a beta experiment, best left to the tech guys. After all, we have a business to think of.Nick Rudd led an exciting discussion explaining how AI should be thought of. He began by asking how an eight-year-old purchases toys. He described it as simple and direct, without the baggage of brand loyalty or complex decision-making. Kids are smart. They know what they want.Ignoring the elephant in the room, “TikTok” (an entirely different article), the eight-year-old goes to Google/Bing/Whatever and types in:“I WANT A TOY PLESIOSAURS” <figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:80%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/02/tom-cranstoun-screen-1.png" /></figure> What didn’t the eight-year-old do?<ul><li>They didn’t go to Amazon.</li><li>They didn’t refine the search.</li><li>They didn’t look at brands.</li><li>They didn’t read customer reviews.</li><li>They didn’t sort by price or popularity or whatever.</li><li>They didn't read the price (well… mostly).</li><li>They didn’t create an account.</li><li>They didn’t click on dropdowns.</li><li>They ignored video and animations.</li><li>They didn’t read the copy.</li></ul>What happens when AI reads content? It behaves like an eight-year-old: <ul><li>It will ignore retailers.</li><li>It will probably not refine the search.</li><li>It will ignore brands.</li><li>It might skim customer reviews.</li><li>It might sort by price.</li><li>It won’t create an account.</li><li>It won’t follow your dropdowns.</li><li>It won’t give you an email address (you no longer know who your customers are).</li><li>It will ignore the videos and animations.</li><li>It will ignore the “see our shop links”.</li><li>It will skim-read the copy if it can find it among the ads.</li></ul><h3 id="how-will-“ai-simplicity”-affect-your-business?">How will “AI simplicity” affect your business?</h3>The idea of simplicity will challenge how AI interacts with our current web designs and content structures. The next step in AI monetization is that the AI offers to purchase the toy – keeping any discounts, commissions, and recommendation fees bypassing the retailer. This will impact KPIs as AI activity increases and human interaction decreases. What happened to <a target="_blank" href="https://stackoverflow.com/">StackOverflow</a> recently will begin to affect us all. The online Q&amp;A platform for developers is releasing 28% of its staff to save costs, which is not necessarily related to AI. But look at the point where ChatGPT entered the picture: <figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:73.55%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/02/tom-cranstoun-screen-2.png" /></figure> <h3 id="what-about-a-site's-kpis?">What about a site's KPIs?</h3>As AI interaction increases, our reliance on traditional KPIs must fall.Every website today uses analytics to drive statistics, such as:<ul><li>The number of total visits.</li><li>The number of unique visitors.</li><li>The number of new vs returning visitors.</li><li>Geographical location of visitors.</li><li>Net promoter score.</li><li>Pages viewed per session.</li><li>Dwell time.</li><li>Bounce rate.</li><li>Conversions, including A/B testing.</li><li>Organic search visitors.</li><li>The number of social share impressions.</li><li>Feedback and reviews.</li><li>Cart abandonment.</li></ul><h3 id="design-by-engineers:-a-trap">Design by engineers: a trap</h3>The conference also highlighted a common pitfall: websites designed by engineers focus on looks over function, which does not work well for AI. We need a more structured approach to content modeling for better clarity and organization.Today’s HTML markup makes sense to the browser: <figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:85.84%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/02/tom-cranstoun-screen-4.png" /></figure>  However, opening the “View Page Source” shows a different take: <figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:85.9%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/02/tom-cranstoun-screen-3.png" /></figure> Buried in the HTML are the brand name, the price (more than one is shown in the HTML), and the description. Note that discounts and age suitability are placed in the text. A human reading this would have difficulty, never mind an AI.Engineers create text and image boxes in your CMS; they let you fill and serve them.They might call them hero’s carousels, cards, etc. They are dressed up text and image boxes with interactions.This is the Design by Engineer Trap.<h3 id="what-needs-to-be-added-to-our-sites?">What needs to be added to our sites?</h3>Content Modeling and schema presentation!A lot has gone wrong. The IT people who made this website are very clever engineers; I could not do this.The engineers took the site owners' desires and made pretty pictures with text and prices, highlighting discounts. They made it reasonably fast and effective and made the site owner one of the world's wealthiest men.Look at other sites’ HTML. How do they handle pricing? Awful!Each site dresses up text in presentations. No semantic meaning is given to the objects described. There is no content modeling. It looks like Al will need an LLM for each brand!!  This is not going to work in the Al world.Something major must happen…<h3 id="content-modeling-the-traditional-cms-way">Content modeling the traditional CMS way</h3>You probably already know it: the model gets built into the CMS.This is a trap.Designers fixate on the presentation when envisioning a website – and build a style guide with fonts, colors, components, and interactions. They create heroes, cards, lists, articles, carousels, accordions, tabs, text, and much, much, more.<h3 id="what-next?">What next?</h3>The content team is asked to create: <ul><li>Testimonials. Someone decides that testimonials should be in the cards component.</li><li>Special offers. Someone decides that testimonials should be in the lists component.</li><li>A “coming soon” message. Someone decides that testimonials should be in the image with a link component.</li><li>Bulk discount messages. Someone decides that Bulk Discount should be in the text component.</li></ul>Content modeling by developers!<h3 id="so,-what-do-we-need-to-do-about-this?">So, what do we need to do about this?</h3>We need technical improvements, enthusiastic use of content models, and application of schema without putting cognizant overload on the content team – which is a big ask. I assure you it will be worth it.Let’s look at the HTML example we showed earlier, this time with schema applied: <figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:86.1%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/02/tom-cranstoun-screen-5.png" /></figure> Now a machine can see the price, the description, the brand, the discount, and the age applicability. It knows it is for a product, not an ad on the site. <h3 id="call-to-action">Call to action</h3>We are in marketing, so we must end with a call to action. So here it is:Our websites need to target 4 device types: Mobile, Tablet, Desktop, and Machine in the future. Our CMS strategy needs a solid content model that applies consistently across all platforms. This is key for targeted ads, personalized content, and campaign management. However, the current developer-driven content modeling approach must be revised and rethought. We must wrap our content semantically and stick to structured data schemas. <a target="_blank" href="https://schema.org/">Schema.org</a> is the place to start; that is the technical part. We as an industry need to evangelize and build a joint effort from designers, developers, and content creators to ensure content is built within the model and aligns with the established schema. As such, teams need to add an “AI Evangelist” to the roles.The AI Evangelist will be a pivotal figure in our organizations, driving the transformative adoption and implementation of AI technologies. This role bridges technical prowess, strategic insight, and the ability to vividly communicate AI's benefits to diverse audiences. The AI Evangelist will forge partnerships across design, development, content, and testing teams to craft a unified AI vision.Key Responsibilities of an AI Evangelist:<ul><li>Champion AI technology adoption, showcasing tangible enhancements to digital strategies and user experiences.</li><li>Spearhead AI-centric models and strategies, focusing on predictive analytics, personalized content, and AI-powered search optimization.</li><li>Facilitate AI integration into workflows with cross-functional teams, ensuring smooth transitions and peak efficiency.</li><li>Lead educational initiatives like workshops and training to build an AI-savvy culture.</li><li>Monitor and assess cutting-edge AI trends for strategic adoption.</li><li>Cultivate a network with AI vendors and thought leaders to bolster expertise.</li><li>Advise leadership on AI integration, securing necessary resources and investments.</li><li>Examine new opportunities to decrease time-to-market and increase engagement.</li></ul>Qualifications:<ul><li>Proficient in digital marketing, SEO, development, and UX design.</li><li>Exceptional communicator, adept at demystifying complex tech for varied audiences.</li><li>Proven leader and collaborator in team-driven environments.</li><li>A zeal for learning and staying at the forefront of AI advancements.</li></ul>Desired Skills:<ul><li>Background in digital analytics and personalized content strategies.</li><li>Knowledge of CMS and digital content creation.</li><li>Experience with app-based content platforms and audience engagement tactics.</li><li>Strategic thinker, ready to foster innovation and change.</li></ul><h3 id="closing">Closing</h3>CMS Kickoff 2024 was pivotal to me. As an industry, we must reconsider our content strategies in the face of AI's evolution. As we gear up for AI's continued integration into our digital spaces, adopting a structured, semantic approach to <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">content management</a> is more crucial than ever in building cross-team strategies.  These reflections aren't set in stone but are a “call to arms” for the industry. Together, we must prepare for a significant shift in how we design, manage, and deliver content in an AI-first world. <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.

The AI Tipping Point: A Consultant's Takeaways from CMS Kickoff 2024

tom-cranstoun

<hr /> There's no question that speed can be the deciding factor when it comes to e-commerce and digital retail. There's more to it than that, but the buck generally stops when the clock hops.Precious seconds count, so it's no wonder why brands are seeking new ways to accelerate and optimize their e-commerce properties. That's why platforms like <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/fastr">Fastr</a> exist: to raise the bar for online shopping experiences and deliver more sales. As a frontend service, Fastr seamlessly combines a rich set of design tools with intuitive orchestration capabilities, giving marketers, merchandisers, and creatives more control over their e-commerce sites – as well as the freedom to experiment at scale. We've spoken previously to <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/fastr-accelerates-ecommerce-optimization-with-adaptive-ai">Ryan Breen</a>, the company's Chief Technology Officer, about Fastr's investment in a built-in, brand-aware AI assistant. This tool – along with other novel features – are helping teams to rapidly create, deploy, and optimize dynamic shopping experiences without the challenging reliance on developers. All of this innovation is strengthening the SaaS company's position in the super-charged e-commerce landscape.Over the last year, Fastr has evolved on several fronts. The company's new identity emerged from the <a target="_blank" href="https://publicatorcommunity.zmags.com/hc/en-us">Zmags</a> corporate umbrella (it was previously a product under the moniker of “Fastr Frontend”). Zmags is known for its Publicator digital catalog solution and Creator Studio software. The company also acquired <a target="_blank" href="https://www.beapartof.com/">Be A Part Of</a> – an award-winning agency – last year. Now, Fastr is hitting the gas pedal on growth, which includes the appointment of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmurdock/">John Murdock</a> as its new Chief Executive Officer. As the company's press release points out, the move reflects Fastr's commitment to innovation and growth as it focuses on global brands and retailers seeking to “revolutionize their e-commerce presence.”“As I step into the role of CEO at Fastr, I am filled with optimism for the future of our company and the e-commerce landscape as a whole," said Murdock. "Together with our dedicated team, we will not only embrace the opportunities presented by the evolving market landscape but also strive to shape its trajectory. I am excited about the incredible journey ahead and the chance to work collaboratively to unlock new possibilities for Fastr and our valued community of partners and clients." <h3 id="proven-technology-pedigree-and-success">Proven technology pedigree and success</h3>Murdock brings 30 years of technology sales and operations experience to his new role. Before joining Fastr, he served as CEO at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.centage.com/">Centage</a>, an FP&amp;A software platform provider. He also spent 7 years at Juniper Networks, holding a myriad of sales director roles. According to the press release, Murdock's expertise lies in scaling organizations through strategic process shifts and building high-performing teams to drive customer success and organizational efficiency. With Fastr, he is squarely focused on profitable growth.  “Fastr has already established itself as a trusted partner for companies navigating the ever-evolving digital landscape,” said Murdock. “I’m thrilled to be leading a team that has earned the admiration of industry leaders, and excited to take Fastr into the future where it will be the go-to provider for all companies seeking cutting-edge e-commerce solutions.” Breen also emphasized the significance of Murdock joining the organization at this critical juncture for the business.“John’s leadership comes at a time when we are redoubling our efforts to fortify our technology for the enterprise, incorporating cutting-edge advancements like artificial intelligence, and introducing new functionalities and service packages that will elevate Fastr's value proposition," he stated. "His arrival marks a milestone in our journey towards greater maturity as an organization, and we look forward to the incredible advancements and innovations that will define this chapter of Fastr’s story.” <h3 id="leveraging-product-innovation-to-drive-growth">Leveraging product innovation to drive growth</h3>Along with advancements in AI and other features, Fastr recently achieved SOC-2, Type 2 compliance, which the company sees as a boon to its growth prospects. Continuing with this trend of milestones, Murdock promises a big year of product enhancements for Fastr’s enterprise solutions. This includes:<ul><li>Fastr Frontend: designed for digital experience composition and experimentation</li><li>Publicator: built for premium digital catalog creation</li><li>MINIBC: offering subscription and payment management for <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/bigcommerce">BigCommerce</a>-powered stores</li></ul>Fastr is aiming to make a big market impact in the coming months, starting with its participation at <a target="_blank" href="https://etailwest.wbresearch.com/">eTail West</a> from February 26th to 29th. The company will also attend other key industry events, including <a target="_blank" href="https://shoptalk.com/us">ShopTalk</a> and the <a target="_blank" href="https://commercenext.com/">CommerceNext Ecommerce Growth Show</a> later this year. These engagements reflect Fastr's goal of staying at the forefront of industry trends and building lasting partnerships.  <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.

Fastr Appoints New CEO John Murdock, Accelerates Plans for Growth and Innovation

<hr /><h4 id="snapshot">Snapshot</h4><ul><li>Drupal, Joomla, TYPO3, and WordPress have formed the new Open Website Alliance</li><li>The organization coalesced after the group penned an open letter to the EU regarding the Cybersecurity Resilience Act</li><li>This marks the first leadership-led coordination to establish a shared structure around common values</li><li>Goals focus on supporting the advancement of FOSS and leading with a “choose open source first” message</li><li>Future plans include greater collaboration and the development of open source standards and best practices</li></ul> The term alliance receives a fair amount of love in technology circles. It makes perfect sense: software companies and organizations have long relied on partnerships to build awareness and grow channel relationships, and having friends can make it easier to scale. One might call such agreements “pacts” or “treaties,” especially if the partnership is between two competitors – or my favorite permutation, cuspetitors. But alliance evokes something distinctly positive. A spirit of assembling strengths, building consensus, elevating numbers, and rallying around a common vision or goal.Of course, as a well-documented Star Wars fan (read any of my previous pieces, I guarantee there's a nod in most), I can’t help but associate alliance with the idea of rebelling against something, of bringing unlikely bedfellows together to stand against an existential threat… like an Empire. Sometimes, it's a bit of David versus Goliath – Luke versus Vader – and there’s an implied scrappiness to that. One that’s indelible to the ethos of the cause.In the case of the new Open Website Alliance, an interesting confluence of ideologies is at play. The newly formed cabal betwixt 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 href="TYPO3">TYPO3</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/wordpress">WordPress</a> – is very clear in its charter to advance open source interests. But there’s more, and it has to do with the very real challenges that exist for these platforms in an uncertain future of regulatory governance.To get an inside view of the freshly-minted alliance, I spoke to <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 with TYPO3 services based in Norway. Mathias also has TYPO3 in his DNA; he is a previous consultant for the organization, a key part of the TYPO3 association, and a leading voice for the Open Website Alliance. I’d say a trusty blaster is good in any fight. But Star Wars references aside, an alliance is a solid place to start when building a movement. And if any part of the CMS market is focused on “freeing the system,” it’s the open source community. <h3 id="building-on-a-coordinated-response-to-the-eu’s-cyber-resilience-act">Building on a coordinated response to the EU’s Cyber Resilience Act</h3>Perhaps it’s apropos that <a target="_blank" href="https://typo3.org/project/press/press-releases/open-website-alliance/english">TYPO3’s press release</a> announcing the Open Website Alliance was issued from Switzerland. The idea of “neutral ground” further reinforces the compact that connects these otherwise competitive CMSs – which collectively power 50% of all online websites today.As the press release points out, the Open Website Alliance was founded to promote choice across the open source software marketplace and facilitate collaboration between free and open source (FOSS) web content management projects – thus furthering the core values of openness, trust, and quality. But where did this air of collaboration begin? As Mathias pointed out, the Alliance owes its genesis to a coordinated response from the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.drupal.org/association">Drupal Association</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.opensourcematters.org/">Open Source Matters (Joomla)</a>, the <a target="_blank" href="https://typo3.org/project/association">TYPO3 Association</a>, and the <a target="_blank" href="https://wordpress.org/">WordPress Project</a>. The organizations pooled their collective resources to pen an <a target="_blank" href="https://typo3.org/project/press/press-releases/open-letter-to-eu-legislators/english">open letter to the European Union</a> regarding its concerns about the EU’s proposed <a target="_blank" href="https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/cyber-resilience-act">Cyber Resilience Act</a>. “The Open Website Alliance started out with this letter to the EU,” Mathias said. “We weren't an alliance six months ago, but that was really when Drupal, Joomla, TYPO3, and WordPress got together at a leadership level to do something together. Because we shared a concern – and we had shared values. Of course, there's been collaborations between our communities previously, but this was really the first time that we met on a leadership level – board members and executives, meeting together on one call.<hr /><h4 style="text-align:center" id="“i-think-if-you-want-an-open-web,-you-also-want-to-work-differently-with-your-partners-or-friends-in-open-source.”">“I think if you want an open web, you also want to work differently with your partners or friends in open source.”</h4><hr />At question was the Act’s ban on what it classified as ”unfinished software” and a bevy of muddled definitions surrounding “commercial activity.” In the original text, there's an implicit obligation for software to address all known exploitable vulnerabilities, and maintain a secure default configuration. The latter is particularly problematic, as there’s no way of knowing where and how open source software will be used in projects.  With FOSS products unaccounted for in the original language, open source systems could be liable for safety and security in an untenable manner. These regulations – while viewed as important for maintaining security standards – could potentially hamper European innovation and, as TYPO3 pointed out, drive activity toward U.S. tech giants.“With the Cyber Resilience Act, we discovered there was a real danger for operating as a nonprofit, free and open source content management system – and within the EU, that might actually become very, very hard,” Mathias reflected. “And what hadn't been mentioned yet were two things: first, content management systems within the EU actually represent a little more than half of all websites. Many small to medium-sized businesses use our systems – also larger ones – but that means it would have a great financial impact. The other thing that we saw was that being free and open source means we have certain values, things that we believe in, like openness and free speech. These values very much aligned with the core values of the European Union, so we thought it was an important message to give. It isn't just about business, it's also about the values behind what we do.”The open letter to the EU was issued in July of 2023. In early December, the language of the Cyber Resilience Act was agreed upon, paving the way for its adoption this year – and obligations being phased in through late 2025 and into 2027. As the Act continues to unfold, the Open Website Alliance aims to stand in solidarity against any measures that might impact their collective viability – and together, help shape solutions for all open source communities. <h3 id="collaborating-at-a-leadership-level">Collaborating at a leadership level</h3>In addition to the general community participation, the Alliance is guiding its breadth of members on a leadership level. This means the respective organizations can more easily coordinate on strategy and actions, creating a unified platform that powers new and existing cross-community collaboration projects.Leadership of the organization is also based on collaboration. While by-laws and other institutional practices have not yet fully gestated, the presidency will rotate among the members, and all decisions will be consensus-based. That said, it is by no means an established authority with centralized control or governance. Given that, I asked Mathias how he might describe its makeup and structure. “The Open Website Alliance is a very simple construction,” he relayed. “It doesn't have a formal legal body, so it’s more of a collaboration space – a community of communities, as we say. So it’s up to each member to do what the Alliance encourages.” While still nascent, Mathias did share that some of the operational components of the Alliance are already taking form. As someone who has been involved with numerous associations like this – including the well-established <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/mach-alliance-publishes-first-annual-report-showcases-industry-impact-and-plans-for-2024">MACH Alliance</a>, which shares common traits with this new organization – I’ve seen how the right operational bedrock is key to building success.<h3 id="expanding-to-include-other-open-source-cmss">Expanding to include other open source CMSs</h3>I asked Mathias about the roadmap beyond the quintet of founders. While the four open source software communities represent a significant part of the market, many other technologies have embraced FOSS. As part of its charter, he said that the Open Website Alliance is also encouraging other FOSS CMS platforms to apply for membership.“We have seen interest from other free and open source projects or content management systems that would like to join the Alliance,” Mathias reported. “So it's open for anyone who has an <a target="_blank" href="https://opensource.org/">OSI (Open Source Initiative)</a> and a verifiable free and open source license. But in addition to that, the charter also specifies that members have to agree to the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.drupal.org/association/open-web-manifesto">Open Web Manifesto</a>, which I know that Drupal and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/buytaert/">Dries Buytaert</a> (CTO and founder of Drupal and Acquia) have been promoting previously.”It's true: the vision of a free and modular web has long been part of the open source zeitgeist, due in no small part to the contributions of Dries Buytaert and the Drupal community. As Mathias said, the Alliance has taken the core Drupal manifesto and generalized it – a bit – to render it less specific to a single platform, and more reflective of the Alliance makeup.“I think if you want an open web, you also want to work differently with your partners or friends in the open source.”<h3 id="standing-together-for-open-source">Standing together for open source</h3>The <a target="_blank" href="https://typo3.org/fileadmin/t3o_common_storage/documents/press_releases/2024-02_Open_Website_Alliance/Open_Website_Alliance_Charter.pdf">purpose statement</a> the Alliance has developed provides the most basic tenets of its goals. It states, “members commit to jointly encourage prospective website owners and developers to always choose open source software over proprietary systems, and to educate why this decision is the first and most important one in a website project. Through this advocacy, we are expanding opportunities for all open source CMS projects.”As previously noted, the collaboration also seeks to benefit the public perception of open source projects – that they lean on the reliability of open source software, and are supported by the “quality and safety of open source communities.” This community aspect is key, as it speaks to the potential for members to share and discuss best practices in an open source vein. But there’s more. Accounting for the distributed and collaborative nature of open-source software – even beyond content management – the Alliance strives to support the growing reality of upstream dependencies. I asked Mathias to elaborate on this, and he focused on the evolving need for standards.“We see upstream dependencies that are increasingly dependent on much of the same technology, but in different ways,” he said. “That will be interesting as soon as we get in Alliance members that don't use PHP, but I think it's also at an idea level. If you look at what the European Union is doing today, they are putting requirements on people who work with open source, just as they do with closed source – and that means we have to develop standards. We have to develop common ways so that we're not all standing by ourselves when there's suddenly a [new] requirement for data interchange, which is a part of the new data regulation."By being proactive, Mathias believes the open source communities of interest can now plan more effectively and coordinate how they work. Through consensus, they can agree on suitable standards to help govern things like security and maintenance, which involve increasingly more upstream dependencies. “It means that we have to care just as much about each other as we care about the systems that we use.”<h3 id="what’s-next?">What’s next?</h3>As someone who has built and managed projects in both Drupal and WordPress, I’m deeply familiar with the advantages and disadvantages. Regardless of their inherent differences – or how proprietary systems might challenge them – I’ve always viewed their “open sourceness” as an innate strength. Perhaps the most valuable asset for each is its fiercely loyal community, which represents the real power and potential for the Open Source Alliance to realize change at an industry and regulatory level. When I make the obvious comparison to other industry alliances, I can’t help but think of lofty goals woven around voluminous mission statements. But open source is a different beast, beating its own drum and operating at times like a distributed hive mind. The users and contributors are vast and diverse, and the wheels of change often grind more slowly in these corners. At the same time, they're also tacitly independent – part of its democratic appeal, in truth – and that could stymie the adoption of rules and practices.I asked Mathias a logical question: what’s ahead? What do the next 12 months look like? His answer was refreshing – because it was simple and honest:“We don't have that written down,” he said, “but there are things we are talking about at a leadership level. Having an Alliance means that it's much easier for us to say, well, we want to do something together to improve how we standardize security, and then that can be disseminated from a leadership level down into the community. Another is a very simple thing, and that is attending each other's conferences. I've been attending a few other CMS conferences, and there is so much we can learn just from how our communities are organized. So community best practices are a very important thing to improve quality. We have good quality, but we can always improve on that.”For Mathias, education is also a big part of the equation. From his perspective, shifting the narrative is paramount, and leading with an “open source first” mentality is key to helping businesses, agencies, and users make better decisions. “I had the idea that what we need to do is educate the bits,” he said. “Tell people first what open source is instead of haggling about which system is best versus proprietary. So we agreed to collaborate on promoting open source as sort of a ‘white label’ thing that incorporates a lot of benefits that are common [to] all our systems, and that's where choosing open source first came in. We encourage decision-makers who are looking for content management systems to make that choice first. And once they're there, they have a lot more choice.”Mathias reinforced that collaboration underscores everything, and how the founding systems and communities are going beyond sharing best practices and working to understand each other better. “We think it's a benefit for all open source that we know each other, and that we can help every client choose the best open source CMS or find the best agency that has the experience that they need.”Alliances often present themselves as business opportunities. But sometimes, they emerge at a moment of great change or crisis, when hope is running low and great threats stand in the way of progress. When considering the more altruistic motives of open source – of the free and open web – it’s clear that this new alliance is focused on more than just the financial implications of impending regulation. In this case, open source is more like an open force for good – and one to be reckoned with.  <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.

Drupal, Joomla, TYPO3, and WordPress Join Forces in New Open Website Alliance

<hr /><a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/critics/laura">Laura Stringer</a> is founder and principal at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ninthfourth.com/">Ninth Fourth</a>, a product management consulting firm for B2B and SaaS companies, and a CMS Critic contributor. Localization is one of those things a lot of product and marketing leaders ask for. And with good reason: it’s critical for any interface or content product targeting people in multiple geographies. While English is the most common language on the internet, it accounts for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/262946/most-common-languages-on-the-internet/">just over half of all website content</a>. And in today's connected world, global visitors expect to read information in their own language. Not meeting this expectation can negatively impact your brand's perception.Not only that, but MicKinsey reports that “<a target="_blank" href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/risk-and-resilience/our-insights/localization-of-data-privacy-regulations-creates-competitive-opportunities">75 percent of all countries</a> have implemented some level of data localization rules,” making this simply a fact of life for any product with global reach.Localization is simply providing users and website visitors with content that's relevant to them, no matter where they are – and it can take a few forms. On the simple end, you can manually create a screen for each geography. When it comes to websites, some companies take this further, maintaining an entire website dedicated to each place. I see this primarily with global companies wanting to reach an international audience while providing a local presence… or at least the feel of a local presence. On the more complex end, you can pull in localized content depending on the visitor’s geography. Most <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">content management systems</a> offer a way to create containers that display different content based on variables such as location. For more advanced localization, you may need a database-connected solution.Localization can drive up costs and workload pretty steeply. So it’s important to think about some key things up front. Understand what’s vital, what’s not, and make sure you have the resources lined up to capitalize on the actual build. Here are some things you should consider when implementing localization.<h3 id="1.-what-does-“local”-mean,-anyway?">1. What does “local” mean, anyway?</h3>This seems like such a silly question that I’ve had people get annoyed when I ask it. But it’s valid – and an incredibly important thing to lock down. Start with the basics: does localization go to the country level? Region? State? Neighborhood? Is it based on the radius from the user’s location?Many companies have sales offices or franchise locations. Those locations have territories that they’re contractually allowed to serve. If a website visitor is in Sales Territory A, but your website displays content from a location serving Territory B, you could have angry franchises – or even a lawsuit – on your hands. Avoid those headaches by defining very exactly what “local” means.<h3 id="2.-what-content-or-functionality-needs-to-be-localized?">2. What content or functionality needs to be localized?</h3>It’s easy to say “we need to localize this product.” But it takes some thought and planning to decide which parts of the product actually need to change based on location.Items like language, local office address, and phone number format are a no-brainer. Other low-hanging fruit: any time-based information needs to account for time zones, and you’ll need to convert measurements to the metric system for many countries. You may have local promotions or events to display as well. Depending on your industry, it may make sense to incorporate content based on local news or weather; there are services available to help feed in that data.Then there are cultural considerations. This is where U.S.-based folks tend to drop the ball, simply because it tends not to be top-of-mind. I’ve seen photos of lush rainforests and waterfalls all over something intended for a country that’s mostly desert. Colors that in one country signify sturdiness and boldness, but in another can symbolize death. You get the point: pay attention to your audience. And there’s no shame in asking. Your organization may have staff around the world, and they’ll be happy to review designs and content to determine how it will work for their country or region.If this all sounds like homework… it is! It also makes the difference between a product that claims to be localized, and something that actually feels to users as though it belongs to them.<h3 id="3.-design-the-right-spaces">3. Design the right spaces</h3>Ok, so you’ve had all your copy translated into multiple languages. And now…. it doesn’t fit!Turns out, English is a pretty pithy language. It has so many linguistic shortcuts that we can say most things in fewer letters than most other languages. And since we usually start with English (in most cases), we’re writing copy that's optimized for English. This means that all translated copy almost always consumes more space on the page – sometimes, a lot more. Get ahead of this problem by passing your designer some copy in the target languages so they can allocate sufficient space and provide flexible containers for expanding content. There are plenty of languages using non-Western character sets, so make sure the technical implementation accommodates that if necessary. Account for languages that are read right-to-left. This is all a challenge, but it can be met if you think about it during the design phase.<h3 id="4.-where’s-the-local-content-coming-from?">4. Where’s the local content coming from?</h3>Obviously, all the planning and design in the world won’t put actual content on a screen – it just gives you somewhere to put it. Someone needs to create or source that content. That’s true of any product, but localization multiplies the content and, thus, the level of effort. The biggest challenge to localization is often getting the content. A software solution can automate translation, and AI-powered translation is only getting better. If you have the right technical resources on your team, a solution like <a target="_blank" href="https://crowdin.com/ai-localization">Crowdin’s AI offering</a> can handle the bulk of the work for you. Results aren’t always perfect, however, especially when it comes to cultural context. If you’re going for a truly local feel, or if the content is highly technical, you’ll still need a human to get involved. And for actual local information, rather than simple translations of U.S.-based English content, you’ll need to go find it (although <a target="_blank" href="https://poeditor.com/blog/ai-localization/#:~:text=AI%20can%20assist%20in%20the%20extraction%20and%20analysis%20of%20content%20from%20various%20sources%2C%20such%20as%20social%20media%2C%20customer%20reviews%2C%20and%20forums%2C%20to%20gain%20insights%20into%20customer%20preferences%20and%20cultural%20nuances.%20This%20information%20can%20be%20valuable%20for%20creating%20targeted%20and%20culturally%20relevant%20localized%20content.">AI is picking up steam there</a> as well).The best local content comes from…. wait for it…. local people. They’re an invaluable resource in gathering content from all over the country and all over the world. Global organizations can sometimes task local employees with this work; just be aware that it won’t be their primary job and they may not be able to prioritize it.Make sure you know who is providing what content, and talk to them before committing to any localization project or design approval. If your company isn’t ready for that level of investment, ameliorate some of the publishing pain by designing and organizing content to minimize the need for local content.<h3 id="5.-where-will-the-local-content-keep-coming-from?">5. Where will the local content KEEP coming from?</h3>Content should never be “set it and forget it.” You need to ensure the content keeps flowing over the long term. And in many organizations, field staff are spread very thin, and they may not be able to keep up.To ensure quality well into the future, make sure you can answer “yes” to these questions:<ul><li>Do you have a commitment from at least one person in each geography that they will regularly update their local content?</li><li>Do you have buy-in from local leadership teams so those content editors can keep up with the work? </li><li>When there’s turnover, will the leadership teams replace the editors and ensure a smooth transition?</li></ul>If just a few locations are holding out, which is normal, you can usually fill in the gaps with generic content that works across geographies. This approach allows for localization where it’s feasible, while eliminating voids where truly local content is not possible. You may also identify an automated solution to fill in some of the gaps. Tools like Weglot let you set up translation workflows that automatically translate new content as it’s added. While Weglot automates many of the steps, it also allows you and your local team to edit the AI-based translations to address any nuance. The best tools will also localize currency, number formats, and a host of other details that need to be considered for that truly local feel.More good news is that modern content management systems such as Optimizely and Adobe Experience Manager support multiple versions of content in various languages, making it easier than ever to manage this work.If, after these factors, you’re still left with a lot of holes, it may be time to rethink your localization strategy. With these actions – defining geographies, deciding what spaces need local content, designing to accommodate that content, identifying content sources, and ensuring regular updates – you’ll avoid some of the most common snags in website localization. <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.

Localization: 5 Things to Consider When Planning Local Content

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