Articles - Page 27

Not All Heroes Wear Capes. Here's Why CMS Is Your 'Unsung Hero' in 2025

janus-boye

Roadmaps have long been regarded as the "vision blueprints" for a software's lifecycle. Companies share them with their users in an effort to build anticipation while demonstrating their commitment to innovation.
For every roadmap, customer interaction is essential. Product managers and marketers rely on users to provide critical feedback – good and bad – to help remediate issues, shape new features, and enhance future versions. Some enterprise software platforms even utilize voting systems to prioritize the development of certain features, thus elevating community engagement to a more interactive level. 
When it comes to roadmaps, having an "ear to the ground" seems like a high priority for <a href="https://www.dotcms.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dotCMS</a>, an open source content management system. The company just launched its new <a href="https://www.dotcms.com/roadmap" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Interactive Roadmap</a> to encourage user influence and increase transparency around the development of its products and features. 
According to its press release, the roadmap will allow both customers and the CMS community to submit product ideas, comment on ideas submitted by other users, and even prioritize the importance of an idea by tagging it at different levels ("nice-to-have," "important," or "critical").
<h2>Three goals for a more interactive product roadmap</h2>
In the press release, dotCMS outlined three goals for its Interactive Roadmap. The first is to welcome product feedback and ideas from customers as well as the broader CMS community. dotCMS will use this input to help shape and prioritize future product development.
The second stated goal is all about communication. With its roadmap, the company aims to cultivate a more engaging relationship with its customers, prospective customers, users, and fans by providing the latest news on its product and feature development. It also suggested that while not all feature plans are substantial enough to be listed, key items will be continually added.
The third and final goal is to promote transparency around its product development roadmap itself. Though already an open source platform, it seems that dotCMS is doubling down on its community roots – reinforcing its responsibility to its users by highlighting its development plans and priorities.
<h2>Redefining the roadmap experience for open source CMS</h2>
While roadmaps are far from novel, dotCMS is rethinking the role of its own roadmap to the development process. Given how quickly CMS (or any software) needs to change and adapt – particularly as more <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-free-headless-cms-platforms/#:~:text=As%20the%20name%20implies%2C%20a,it%20to%20be%20displayed%20across">headless</a> and <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/the-future-is-composable-a-conversation-with-new-mach-alliance-president-casper-rasmussen/">composable</a> features take center stage – a roadmap can represent strategic value as a living, breathing conduit to the user. In the end, it's all about gathering relevant customer data and using it to improve performance, enhance loyalty, and even accelerate outcomes.
"As our client base grows and the pace of our product development accelerates, we want to inform our clients of our product development roadmap and give our community the chance to directly voice their needs," said Jack Diego, dotCMS Product Manager. "That's why we're excited to publish our product release highlights and our roadmap in the same online space and collect valuable feedback at the same time."
When it comes to providing a transparent development process, dotCMS already has a leg up as an open source platform. Its codebase is freely available on <a href="https://github.com/dotCMS" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GitHub</a>, giving its users and community a clear line of sight to the software's capabilities. In many ways, it's the ultimate expression of trust and accountability that a software vendor can provide. 
"With this, dotCMS welcomes the opportunity to strengthen client relationships," said Diego. "Both by highlighting our near-term accomplishments and by giving greater visibility into our long-term product vision."
If you're interested in perusing the dotCMS roadmap, you can find it at <a href="https://www.dotcms.com/roadmap" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.dotcms.com/roadmap.</a>
<h2>About dotCMS</h2>
Built on leading Java technology, dotCMS is an open-source, hybrid-headless content management system that gives developers the flexibility of a headless CMS while equipping marketers with no-code visual content authoring. Founded in 2003, dotCMS is a privately held US company with a global network of certified development partners and an active open source community. dotCMS has generated millions of downloads and more than 100,000 implementations and integration projects worldwide. Notable customers include: Telus, Standard &amp; Poors, Hospital Corporation of America, Royal Bank of Canada, Comcast, Thomson Reuters, Dairy Queen, City Furniture, Varo Bank, Lennox International, Firstmac, and Newell Brands.

dotCMS Launches Interactive Roadmap to Engage with Customers and Community on Product Development

cms-critic-staff

Image of dotCMS logo against a dark purple background.

In physics, the word "amplitude" is defined as the maximum extent of a vibration or oscillation measured from the position of equilibrium.
OK. Unless you're a math nut, that might sound a little heady. But factor out the quantum mechanics and "amplitude" is really just a means of analyzing the range of quality for a process or phenomenon. 
In that sense, it's as relatable to measuring points on a wave as it is to tracking digital interactions. 
When <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamgreco/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adam Greco</a> joined <a href="https://amplitude.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Amplitude</a> as a Product Evangelist in 2020, he saw a wave of displacement across the digital analytics industry – a seismic shift from a marketing to a product mindset, all in pursuit of broader customer analytics. He describes this moment as a new "digital divide" that centers around a much larger question: where exactly should digital analytics live in an organization?
I had a chance to chat with Adam just before Amplitude – a leading analytics and digital optimization platform – announced that it was named a "Strong Performer" in the Q2 <a href="https://amplitude.com/press/customer-analytics-report-q2-22" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Forrester Wave report</a> for Customer Analytics Technologies. The timing was apropos as the company has wind in its sails. 
Adam might well be a quantum physicist in the field of digital analytics. For over two decades, he's advised hundreds of organizations on the practice of analytics and authored over 300 blogs and one "definitive" book on Adobe Analytics. He is often a featured speaker at industry events and has served on the board of the Digital Analytics Association. 
"I've been through more than anyone on planet." That's how Adam described his 25 years in the Adobe Analytics world – which included the early days of <a href="https://molzana.com/blog/adobe-analytics-a-decade-after-acquiring-omniture/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Omniture</a>. As Adobe's undisputed reign over the digital experience space expanded, he consulted around the AEM product and continued to roadmap the critical role of analytics.  
What's interesting about Adam is how he grounds a complex narrative with simplicity. In a <a href="https://amplitude.com/blog/adam-greco-joins-amplitude?utm_source=linkedin_organic&amp;utm_medium=Social&amp;utm_campaign=adam-greco" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blog post</a> from late last year, he conjured Ted Lasso as a muse for his analytics journey, adding humorous anecdotes to help shape his story. In that sense, he's as much a physicist as a coach, which made for a great conversation around the convergence of digital analytics – and how Amplitude is helping to drive what's next. 
<h2>The Evolution of CDP and the Value of Data</h2>
Industry veterans always bring the gift of wisdom to technology organizations. Not to "age" Adam, but his two decades of work across the analytics landscape has provided him with unrivaled knowledge. To that end, he has some strong views on the role of customer data – and how organizations have had a traditionally siloed approach to managing and analyzing it. 
"We're really bringing disparate technologies together," he said. "CDP, analytics, personalization – all converging to build better customer experiences. As we moved from web to mobile to marketing, CDP, in particular, has been 'ungirding' all of this."
As Adam pointed out, many customers are using CDP just to collect data and then send it to analytics platforms. Part of his goal is to help move more organizations directly into Amplitude so they're not paying twice for their data – what he affectionately calls the "CDP Tax."
"CDPs should be more insights and analytics-driven, capable of looking at problems in experiences," Adam said. "Every vendor will need a CDP of some kind because they want to collect data from every touchpoint: mobile apps, OTT, web, etc. Pulling it all together and creating action is key."
What's clear to Adam is the critical role of analytics in the advancing data morass. He predicts that in five years, CDP will be unified with analytics and personalization, providing more of the actionable insight that organizations demand.
<h2>Expanding the Role of Customer Analytics</h2>
While still relatively fresh to his role at Amplitude, Adam's history and perspective have been key to shaping what's next for the field of analytics. He noted that companies are more interested than ever in using data to improve digital product experiences and understand customer behavior – and that product analytics, as a category, have been enabling product teams to be nimbler and more responsive.
According to Adam, Amplitude has had a head start in the analytics game because of its customer focus. He says that one of the biggest complaints is that organizations are having to use five or six different vendors to get what they need – from using <a href="https://analytics.google.com/analytics/web/provision/#/provision" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Google Analytics</a> on their website, Amplitude for the mobile apps, and <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/optimizely-partners-with-google-cloud-to-take-experimentation-to-the-next-level/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Optimizely</a> for testing. 
"That's a lot of tech," he said. "How do you build an audience with so much data going back and forth?"
<h2>Analytics in the Age of the App</h2>
Another factor that's weighing on Adam is the complexity of digital experiences and how apps are becoming the norm. The example he gave to me was of dropping your child off at college and realizing that they need three different apps to navigate schedules, calendars, transportation, and more. No websites – just apps. This shift can be generally positive for the user experience, but it's also creating challenges for tracking data.
"Google Analytics just isn't cutting it anymore," Adam said. "We're beyond websites. And websites aren't static anymore." He sees how even smart TVs, IoT, and other endpoints are displacing websites and how the younger generation seems to prefer apps over websites. He believes this trend may challenge legacy marketing products that track sessions and attribution. This includes the dependency on legacy vanity metrics like total users, downloads, and website visits – which are no longer enough to provide insights into the complete customer journey. 
Conflating all of this is the expectation that technologies will "just work." Companies are demanding advanced, out-of-the-box customer analytics and democratized access to data insights. As digital analytics markets converge, Amplitude is delivering a real-time, all-in-one analytics solution that equips companies with critical customer insights around all experience layers, including apps. 
<h2>Privacy and Legislation</h2>
One big thing Adam emphasized was the "earthquake" of change in customer data privacy. While <a href="https://gdpr-info.eu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GDPR</a> and <a href="https://oag.ca.gov/privacy/ccpa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CCPA</a> have been codified, he said the legislation landscape is rapidly evolving, and business policies are shifting in lockstep. Case in point: Google, which continues to throw wrenches in the works.
"With Universal Analytics sunsetting and being replaced by <a href="https://www.solodev.com/blog/digital-marketing/how-to-make-the-leap-from-universal-analytics-to-google-analytics-4.stml" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Google Analytics 4</a>, [Google] realized they were in the wrong field," he said. "Companies are upset." This is creating an opportunity for Amplitude as the market winds shift and organizations look to address new policies and requirements as it relates to their analytics data.
<h2>The Shift from Marketing Teams to Product Teams</h2>
Part of what's driving Amplitude's strategy is the notable shift of marketing professionals to the product side of organizations. As CMOs come to grips with expanding endpoints of user interactions, Adam said that marketing leaders are realizing they need more emphasis on product analytics than ever before. With Amplitude, these professionals are now getting a suite of marketing analytics and data management tools in one place, reflecting the convergence around measuring and delivering customer value at scale. 
As product teams become nimbler, arming them with more insight is essential. Amplitude's efforts to close the "data-to-insights-to-action" loop has been a core attribute, enabling users to test with continuous experience optimization. Amplitude's <a href="https://amplitude.com/digital-optimization-system" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Optimization System</a> is what enables these capabilities, providing both technical and non-technical product teams to tap behavioral insights to improve CX with greater speed and efficacy. 
<h2>A Thriving Community of Analytics Fans</h2>
Community is essential to the success of any company, particularly in technology. When a user event or conference materializes, it's a throat-clearing signal that a brand has achieved visibility and loyalty within its markets of interest. To that end, I asked Adam about the recent <a href="https://amplitude.com/amplify" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Amplify Conference</a> that was held in Las Vegas this past May. 
"We were all a little nervous given the pandemic," he said. "We had about 1,500 people in person and many more online, but I could see that people were just excited to be with other people again."
Adam said that Amplify is a little different from other conferences in that it leans on expertise from across the analytics field. Even if attendees don't use Amplitude, he feels that the real value is creating access to analytics leaders and providing more relevant, "snackable" content through a wide range of sessions. 
Outside the conference, Adam said that the Amplitude community has always been connected through their love for the platform. "We're the coolest company for product people that no has heard of before. People who use us are passionate [about our platform]. We've even launched programs like Amplitude Academy that don't just focus on products, but highlight how our users are successful."
<h2>What's Next?</h2>
Adam's channeling of Ted Lasso seems apropos, as he's very adept at his "coaching role" as an evangelist. He's excited about the direction of the company and his continued efforts to learn, reflect, and share his knowledge as an analytics expert – and a fierce customer advocate. 
"I'm listening to a lot of sales calls and meeting with customers, trying to find common problems," he said. That sounds a lot like Coach Lasso: a leader that's truly empathizing with his players and working to understand the root problems. 
As for Amplitude, the company appears on a roll as it drives the shift to even broader customer analytics. According to the aforementioned <a href="https://amplitude.com/press/customer-analytics-report-q2-22" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Forrester Wave</a>, "Amplitude was born a digital product analytics vendor, but in a world where digital interactions make up the lion's share of customer interactions, the vendor has embraced the pivot into customer analytics." 
As Ted Lasso once said, "you could fill two internets with what I don't know about football." The same might be said for many marketers and digital leaders as they face the growing complexity of customer data. But with Adam evangelizing Amplitude's innovation, they might have the right team to help businesses win the analytics game.

Winning the Analytics Game: An Interview with Adam Greco, Product Evangelist at Amplitude

matt-garrepy

It's been a long, hot summer. Everywhere. So it goes without saying that September is a welcome sign of cooler months ahead.
Speaking of cool, we followed some notable news throughout the month of August. We started with Storyblok's <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/storyblok-launches-new-cms-experience-to-shape-the-future-of-digital-storytelling/">launch of a new CMS experience</a> that aims to reshape the future of digital storytelling. We also dug into the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/salesforce-unveils-composable-storefront-a-digital-commerce-solution-to-help-retailers-go-headless-fast/">Salesforce Composable Storefront</a>, a new digital commerce solution designed to help retailers go headless faster than ever – and another signal that the composable movement is continuing to build steam. 
Finally, we had an <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/the-future-is-composable-a-conversation-with-new-mach-alliance-president-casper-rasmussen/">exclusive interview</a> with Casper Rasmussen, the new president of the MACH Alliance. He sat down with Matt Garrepy, one of our contributors, to chat about the future of composable, the role of headless, and what's next for the MACH Alliance and its 60+ members. 
As with all things "autumn," change is in the air. Economic forecasts remain uncertain, and many organizations are looking to 2023 with trepidation. While the M&amp;A cycle may have been a little quieter over the summer months, we're still tracking innovation and growth across the CMS and DXP market sectors – and we'll be featuring a number of exclusive interviews with industry leaders over the coming months.
Let's bid summer adieu with a few newsworthy nuggets to read with your pumpkin-spiced latte:
<h2>WordPress Homepage Gets a Fresh New Design</h2>
OK, so maybe this isn't a groundbreaking piece of news. But a redesign of a website is always an opportunity for a brand or company to "clear its throat" before it has something to say. 
That might be the case for <a href="https://wordpress.org/" target="_blank">WordPress</a>, which has certainly done its share of innovating over the past few years – especially with the introduction of <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/gutenberg-2-years-later-is-wordpress-better-off/">Gutenberg</a>. Now, the open source juggernaut will be greeting us with a <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2022/07/08/project-kickoff-wordpress-org-homepage-and-download-page-redesign/" target="_blank">fresh, new jazzy design</a> on its WordPress.org website. 
<img style="max-width:1000px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2022/08/wordpress-new-design.webp" alt="WordPress new design" />
The <a href="https://wordpress.org/" target="_blank">new homepage</a> brings more attention to WordPress's benefits and experience while highlighting the community and resources to get started on the platform. Meanwhile, the <a href="https://wordpress.org/download/" target="_blank">new download page</a> greets visitors with a keen layout that simplifies the flow and presents both the download and hosting options right at the top.
Overall, a pretty sharp design solution. And no surprise: it's powered by WordPress. 
<h2>Optimizely Presents Opticon 2022: Applying the Science of Growth to Digital Experience Creation</h2>
<img style="max-width:1000px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2022/08/opticon22_savethedate_ads_teaser_1200x628.png" alt="Opticon 2022 Teaser" />
Looking for the optimal conference to attend this fall?
Optimizely, a leading digital experience platform (DXP) provider, announced its first in-person annual user conference, <a href="https://www.optimizely.com/opticon/" target="_blank">Opticon 2022</a>. The event will take place October 3-5 in scenic San Diego (if you're in town, make sure you hit the <a href="https://sandiegozoowildlifealliance.org/" target="_blank">Zoo</a> - it's spectacular). Opticon will showcase how customers and partners are continuously "optimizing" their digital experiences across all channels to drive customer intimacy and business growth.
According to Optimizely, the stakes have never been higher when it comes to competing for customer attention. Businesses need sound strategies to navigate evolving market complexities, advance digital journeys, and elevate future-forward solutions to inspire teams and supercharge growth – resulting in strong, lasting customer relationships. Attendees at Opticon 2022 will hear from marketers, digital leaders, and developers who are achieving these outcomes by leaning into powerful experimentation and frictionless creativity to drive better brand experiences and accelerate revenue growth.
"To be competitive today, marketers need to do more than 'business as usual.' In a rapidly changing world, complexity is the enemy of digital marketing and great digital experiences," said Alex Atzberger, CEO at Optimizely. "To meet your customers every day and adapt, you need data and knowledge about your audience, what resonates with them, when they want to engage, and how they want to be marketed to. Great digital experiences, backed by experimentation and data-driven insights, are what enable continuous possibilities and lead to long-term growth. At Opticon 2022, we're excited to bring leading innovators, marketers, and entrepreneurs to the stage to showcase how applying a scientific method allows you to stay ahead of the curve, amidst an ever-evolving state of customer expectations."
If that content doesn't sound enticing enough, Optimizely is going for the slam-dunk with its celebrity keynote by Earvin "Magic" Johnson, who will share his experiences on what it takes to succeed in a digital-first, customer-centric business landscape. As an NBA legend and advocate for Black entrepreneurship, Johnson will explore how his lifelong commitment to dreaming big has pushed his off-court endeavors to new heights — and how leaders in digital, marketing, and growth can meet this pivotal moment with similar courage to unlock boundless innovation.
To learn more about the keynote session, or to register, visit: <a href="https://www.optimizely.com/opticon/#registration" target="_blank">Opticon 2022</a>.
<h2>Acquia Announces New Digital Asset Management (DAM) Integration with Drupal</h2>
<img style="max-width:1000px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/11/acquia_composable.jpg" alt="Acquia logo against a composite background of Tetris-like pieces fitting together, reinforcing the concept of composable DXP" />
<a href="https://www.acquia.com/" target="_blank">Acquia</a>, a leading DXP platform, has <a href="https://www.acquia.com/newsroom/press-releases/acquia-announces-new-digital-asset-management-dam-integration-drupal" target="_blank">announced</a> a new Drupal integration with the company's digital asset management (DAM) solution, <a href="https://www.acquia.com/products/marketing-cloud/dam" target="_blank">Acquia DAM</a> (previously Widen DAM). The solution is aimed at speeding time-to-market for content. 
Using the open source integration, content authors can now leverage Acquia DAM embed codes and manage versioning through the Media Library in Drupal – which has been extended to help users easily find their digital assets via search, metadata, and categories. Acquia DAM makes it simpler to organize and control assets, as well as achieve brand consistency through a centralized, cloud-based library. 
"Content is at the heart of any standout digital experience," said Dries Buytaert, Co-Founder and CTO of Acquia. "With a variety of asset types stored across disparate systems, many content authors struggle to maintain brand consistency as they build digital properties and create campaigns. The new Acquia DAM integration with Drupal makes it easier and faster to leverage brand-approved content, so content authors can focus on launching content rather than hunting down digital assets."
<h2>DigitalOcean to Acquire Cloudways</h2>
<img style="max-width:1000px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2022/08/digitalocean-cloudways-acquisition.jpg" alt="DititalOcean Cloudways logos" />
DigitalOcean is riding a wave of success, and this latest move is a testament to its growth. 
Billing itself as the cloud for developers, startups, and SMBs, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/headless-cms-strapi-now-available-on-the-digitalocean-marketplace/">DigitalOcean</a> has carved a strong and loyal niche in the market – particularly as large public cloud providers have continued to dominate the space. Now, with an agreement to acquire <a href="https://www.cloudways.com/en/" target="_blank">Cloudways</a>, a leading managed cloud hosting and software as a service (SaaS) provider for SMBs, its ocean is about to expand. 
According to the company, DigitalOcean's acquisition promises to simplify workflows for small to medium-sized businesses that are looking for easier ways to create and scale their digital businesses. Cloudways will provide simple onboarding and day-to-day management that is purpose-built for certain SMBs looking to outsource their on-ramp to the internet, helping them offload the complexities of cloud infrastructure so they can spend more time running and scaling their businesses. 
The acquisition of Cloudways expands DigitalOcean’s serviceable market within global SMBs and increases options for digital agencies, eCommerce sites, bloggers, freelance developers, and builders hosting on WordPress, PHP and Magento. WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) – and according to <a href="https://twitter.com/w3techs?lang=en" target="_blank">W3Techs</a>, it powers 43% of all websites on the internet.
Entrepreneurs and SMBs already choose Cloudways to optimize the performance, value, support, reliability and flexibility of their infrastructure and application management. As a result, they can save time and money while they grow their businesses. Cloudways provides a differentiated offering with an open and flexible platform, an incredible price-to-performance ratio, and superior customer experience.
DigitalOcean and Cloudways have been close partners since 2014. Cloudways currently relies on DigitalOcean infrastructure to power approximately 50% of its customers. Cloudways serves an international and growing customer base with an industry-leading NPS score of 71. Together, DigitalOcean and Cloudways will serve over 124,000 customers paying over $50 per month, representing approximately 84% of the pro forma company’s total revenue.
“SMBs represent more than 50% of global gross domestic product (GDP) and spend $70 billion on cloud infrastructure today. With this acquisition, we are making it easier to launch, build and scale a business on DigitalOcean,” said Yancey Spruill, CEO at DigitalOcean. “Cloudways and DigitalOcean share values around simplicity, community, openness and support that are vital attributes to how we differentiate in the marketplace. Together, we will be focused on providing a simple, easy, intuitive, and trusted platform to better serve SMBs so they can build their businesses and pursue their dreams of entrepreneurship.”
In addition to expanding DigitalOcean’s technology and tooling, the acquisition of Cloudways will also increase DigitalOcean’s global employee base by 30% — adding expertise in key growth areas that will continue to drive productivity and performance across the platform.

CMS Monthly Recap: WordPress Homepage Gets a New Design, Optimizely Announces Opticon 2022, Acquia Introduces DAM Integration, and More

paris-tuzun

Above image of a car driving through an autumn forest, with foliage in a wide spectrum of colors.

MACH my words: Salesforce knows no bounds. 
Even as composable architectures become more of a fixture across enterprise stacks, Mark Benioff's monolith is promoting a seemingly decoupled offering.
<a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/reviews/salesforce-cms-review-evolving-a-crm-powerhouse-into-a-dxp-challenger/">Salesforce</a> is the latest mega platform to embrace MACH mania, announcing its new <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/products/commerce-cloud/headless-commerce/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Composable Storefront</a> – a fully-customizable, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-headless-commerce-platforms/">headless</a> digital storefront that lets online retailers make site changes with the speed and flexibility needed to increase sales, conversions, and basket size while helping to drive down costs.
With the announcement, Salesforce also introduced pre-built packages made ​​specifically for headless implementations and offered several use cases with commerce partners. This includes best-in-class integrations, pricing, and implementation accelerators from across the Salesforce ecosystem, all anchored by the Salesforce <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/products/commerce-cloud/overview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Commerce Cloud</a>.
<h2>Expanding headless commerce capabilities</h2>
More than ever, retailers need adaptable and flexible commerce sites that can keep up with rapidly evolving customer preferences. Salesforce knows this. We all do. 
<a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-headless-commerce-platforms/">Headless commerce</a> has been a key gamechanger for making omnichannel a reality for retailers. It effectively separates the front end and back end of an e-commerce solution, enabling brands to quickly and affordably customize digital storefronts without disrupting the shopping experience. 
According to the latest <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/resources/research-reports/state-of-commerce/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Salesforce State of Commerce Report</a>, retailers are investing in headless commerce in a big way to drive growth. 77% of commerce-focused organizations that have implemented headless architectures say that it gives them increased agility by allowing them to make changes to their storefront quickly, and 80% of businesses that don’t currently have headless commerce plan to implement it in the next two years. 
“With customers expecting both engaging and seamless e-commerce experiences, headless architecture can help online retailers build and implement site changes with speed and agility,” said Scot Gillespie, GM of Commerce Cloud. “Salesforce’s Composable Storefront is a secure, trusted platform that empowers users to leverage headless while accelerating time to market and reducing costs.”
<h2>Driving e-commerce growth with composable</h2>
With Salesforce Composable Storefront, Commerce Cloud customers can implement a headless commerce strategy without exposing themselves to a significant overhead or complex development issues. 
According to Salesforce, businesses can "supercharge" storefront performance and engagement with a fast, app-like site experience using its <a href="https://vuestorefront.io/pwa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">progressive web app (PWA)</a> technology, which decreases page load time and minimizes disruption for online shoppers. 
Composable Storefront can also speed time to value and reduce the total cost of ownership for headless commerce architecture with pre-packaged integrations, pricing, and accelerators in partnership with Commerce Cloud’s trusted ecosystem, which includes <a href="https://www.algolia.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Algolia</a>, <a href="https://amplience.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Amplience</a>, <a href="https://www.builder.io/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">builder.io</a>, <a href="https://www.contentful.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contentful</a>, <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Contentstack</a>, <a href="https://constructor.io/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Constructor.io</a>, <a href="https://www.coveo.com/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Coveo</a>, <a href="https://www.magnolia-cms.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Magnolia</a>, <a href="https://osf.digital/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">OSF Digital</a>, <a href="https://www.publicissapient.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Publicis Sapient</a>, <a href="https://tryzens.com/composable-storefront/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tryzens</a>, and <a href="https://www.64labs.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">64Labs</a>.
Using these packages, merchants can easily build composable and engaging experiences with advanced search and content — helping reduce time spent on sourcing vendors, negotiating prices, and building custom integrations. They can also take control of the brand experience and drive differentiation by seamlessly incorporating functionality like AR, chatbots, and social media features to create rich shopping experiences. 
One of the other benefits of Composable Storefront is the ability to ship new features and updates daily with 60-second deployments. This helps eliminate risk, giving developers the freedom to iterate and add new features at any time — even during peak shopping periods. 
<h2>Changing the industry perspective and focusing on customers</h2>
Composable and headless are certainly all the rage. And for good reason: as more channels enter the mix, consumers are seeking the easiest paths to shop and purchase online – and brands want to be there at every step. Delivering an exceptional digital experience is key to converting interest into sales, and having a robust, integrated, and easy to manage platform to power ContentOps is essential to scaling the needs of a modern digital commerce program. 
While composable solutions may be complex to deploy and manage (<a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/the-future-is-composable-a-conversation-with-new-mach-alliance-president-casper-rasmussen/">ask the MACH Alliance</a>), headless is becoming more of requirement for traditional digital experience platforms (DXPs) and agile CMSes. With Salesforce entering the game, it's a signal that some enterprises that are reliant on the platform can help simplify their growth into omnichannel strategies and leverage the capabilities of the Salesforce ecosystem, which includes Algolia, Amplience, builder.io.
Much of the demand for headless is being driven by industry trends and consumer behavior. According to the Salesforce <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/resources/research-reports/state-of-commerce/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">State of Commerce Report</a>, the top three sectors most likely to adopt headless in the coming years are health and beauty, food and beverage, and communications and media – all of which rely on multi-channel strategies. '
<h2>Tuning into the voice of the customer</h2>
In its announcement, Salesforce offered these quotes from customers that are leveraging the Composable Storefront solution: 
“It’s important to Newell that every one of our brands has the flexibility to tell their story and seamlessly connect with customers without interruption,” said Doug Robinson, Director of Solution Architecture for Newell. “Working with the Composable Storefront allows us to focus on the consumer, providing a best-in-class experience.”
“Salesforce will help to transform the customer experience as we seek new world-class systems that will be cloud-first,” said Simon Gregg, Senior Vice President of E-commerce for grocery retailer <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/news/press-releases/2022/06/09/salesforce-asda-grocery-news/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Asda</a>. “Salesforce’s technology is perfectly aligned to deliver our vision of a true and exciting omnichannel experience that will set us apart in the UK retail sector.”
<div class="main-content">
<h2 id="about-salesforce">About Salesforce</h2>
<a href="https://www.salesforce.com/">Salesforce</a> is the global leader in Customer Relationship Management (CRM), bringing companies closer to their customers in the digital age. Founded in 1999, Salesforce enables companies of every size and industry to take advantage of powerful technologies—cloud, mobile, social, internet of things, artificial intelligence, voice, and blockchain—to create a 360-degree view of their customers.
</div>

Salesforce Unveils Composable Storefront, a Digital Commerce Solution to Help Retailers Go Headless Fast

Talking with <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/casper-aagaard-rasmussen/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Casper Rasmussen</a> is, in a word, cool. 
I don't just mean cool like he's some newfound celebrity, hanging out behind a velvet rope at the "Coolest Tech in Town Club" (<a href="https://www.forrester.com/blogs/buy-an-integrated-platform-not-a-box-of-rocks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a nod to Forrester's Joe Cicman</a>). And it doesn't hurt that he's based in a hip city like Copenhagen, helping to lead a global digital agency during a period of seismic change. 
All points in his favor. 
But what really makes Casper so cool is the adept, confident, and effortless way he shares his vision of a composable future – one that's already taken root and starting to flourish.
I caught up with Casper about his recent induction as the new president of the <a href="https://machalliance.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MACH Alliance</a>, where he's become the defacto figurehead for the composable movement. He has big shoes to fill as <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/mach-alliance-releases-study-on-adoption-of-mach-technologies-by-tech-leaders-qa-with-sonja-keerl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sonja Keerl</a> – formerly head of Product Marketing at <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/contentstack-raises-57-5-million-in-series-b-round-qa-with-ceo-neha-sampat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Contentstack</a> – hands over the reins. During her tenure, the Alliance has achieved some impressive milestones and become a lightning rod of attention across the market.  
This role seems perfectly aligned with Casper's work at <a href="https://www.valtech.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwgO2XBhCaARIsANrW2X0eJ-wgo2ou2p9pUgqpZhkwJUHLsM9TYhdZldANJ4lZvDUG3bGWhqMaAvA-EALw_wcB" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Valtech</a>, a global systems integrator, where he's shaping the company's composable strategy as SVP of Technology. Valtech was also one of the <a href="https://www.boye-co.com/blog/2021/10/11/whats-the-mach-alliance-all-about#:~:text=Founded%20by%20commercetools%2C%20Contentstack%2C%20EPAM,a%20painting%20of%20a%20pipe." target="_blank" rel="noopener">founding members of the Alliance</a>, so it's fair to say that Casper has been tending to this baby since birth.   
This was not our first conversation, mind you. A few years ago, we chatted over beers in Boston during a Boye &amp; Company CMS Experts meeting. Back then, we were all waxing philosophically about the explosive trend of headless and the ever-present gauntlet of personalization. 
One pandemic later, and those conversations have evolved: Covid-19 catapulted us through <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/how-covid-19-has-pushed-companies-over-the-technology-tipping-point-and-transformed-business-forever" target="_blank" rel="noopener">years of digital transformation in a matter of months</a>, with e-Commerce leading the explosion. Market winds shifted, and DXP monoliths hungrily consumed CDPs and other technologies to build more expansive offerings. 
At the same time, a "contrarian chorus" around composable started to scale. And scale it has – thanks to the relentless contribution of leaders like Casper. As the new president, he has ambitious plans for the MACH Alliance and how it will continue to shape the composable landscape. 
"Composable is way beyond commerce," he said, commenting on the need to grow its budding potential. In the same breath, he talked about the importance of the MACH community to socializing and evangelizing the mission of the Alliance. "[We have] a big fan base, but we can't fully engage yet. We can do much more with the community through education and networking – and extend more as one."
Spoken like a true leader of a movement.
<h2>The Rise of the MACH Alliance</h2>
Composable. The word has inarguably become a firebrand in the digital experience lexicon, supplanting "headless" as the toast of the town. While the interconnectedness of these concepts is undeniable, composability is expanding the surface area of MACH (Microservices, APIs, Cloud-native, Headless) and driving a wave of debates around the virtual water cooler. 
But this is where the MACH Alliance had endeavored to make its impact: by helping the market understand the value of composable and building a trusted bench of evangelists and ambassadors to help carry the water. And, of course, supporting enterprises to make better decisions when selecting composable, MACH-ready solutions. 
Founded in 2020, the MACH Alliance aims to "future proof enterprise technology and propel current and future digital experiences." They're like the Guardians of the MACH Galaxy, fighting to maintain universal standards and protecting the value of MACH through education, thought leadership, and the adoption of rigorous policies. 
Comic book heroics aside, the MACH Alliance is really a grass-roots community of best-of-breed enterprise technology vendors, system integrators, and <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/aws-joins-mach-alliance-as-enabler-member-reflects-growth-of-cloud-native-solutions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">key infrastructure "enablers" like AWS</a>. It's these participating members – now over 60 strong – that validate the Alliance mission and amplify its growth and reach. 
A further testament to its success, the Alliance just held its first international conference, <a href="https://machalliance.org/mach-one" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MACH One</a>, in London this past June. The event offered a range of content and use cases trumpeting the potential of composable solutions. I asked Casper what he thought of the experience and what it was like to see the movement materialize in person.
"When we went to MACH One, being in person confirmed that everyone had embraced the Alliance," he said. "There was no commercial agenda. The presentations and purpose – the sharing and caring – we were extremely proud to facilitate the networking and conversations that happened."
The rapid growth of the MACH Alliance is a clear reflection of the market's shift towards composable, which is precisely where Casper plays. There's no question that interest is building. 
But just how big is that interest? 
<h2>Measuring the Growth of MACH and Composable</h2>
I asked Casper about a recent study commissioned by the MACH Alliance called "<a href="https://machalliance.org/insights/our-2022-research-shows-mach-adoption-is-high-on-the-agenda-for-tech-leaders" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Enterprise MACHified 2022</a>," which seems to codify that MACH adoption is high on the list for tech leaders. 
"It's business contextual," he said, clarifying that MACH is not just a technology-first strategy but a reflection of business values as well. This is creating more attention at a leadership level. 
I asked if there were specific industries that were appreciating faster adoption of MACH. He said his hunch is that retail, CPG, and automotive were seeing the most movement. This is because they share common traits of being multi-channel with higher propensities for digital customer interaction. 
He also pointed out that these industries continue to have more traditional channels like apps and websites, but that's changing – and as a result, they require more channel agnosticism. This is where composable is proving its value as an accelerator for brands adopting omnichannel strategies. 
While the study shed some light on the human component as it relates to IT departments, Casper revealed that one of the biggest challenges to embracing MACH is the talent gap. 
"Organizations have a dilemma because they need to have the right talent on their team," he said. "In this market research and at the MACH One Conference, this was called out as a point of resistance or hesitancy because of the new skills required to build composable solutions. [The MACH Alliance] can help facilitate this shift."
<h2>Investing in Education</h2>
With people being a key part of the challenge, Casper believes that education will become a central focus for the Alliance. "A lot of companies and organizations are facing obstacles with skills like DevOps," he said. "Transforming monolithic enterprises with MACH requires a different type of approach using modern frameworks and tools." 
As such, a big part of Casper's vision is to develop training, coursework, and other educational materials to help shore up the skills gap. But it doesn't end there: he also sees the need to enhance the knowledge base around business practices, from understanding procurement to making the ROI case. This might be delivered through more formal academic experiences such as webinars that focus on frameworks, headless, and cloud services. 
Along with the educational investment, I asked about any plans for developing individual MACH Alliance certifications or badging. He said they are discussing the idea and exploring what would be required from a skills perspective. 
<h2>Maintaining MACH Standards</h2>
With its rise in popularity, "MACH" and "composable" have become the domain of marketing. Even the most monolithic of monoliths are espousing their decoupled attributes across a multitude of media. Most recently, <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/salesforce-headless-commerce-composable-storefront/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Salesforce added to the chatter</a>, unveiling its new composable storefront for headless commerce. 
According to the MACH Alliance, there's a term for this: <a href="https://machalliance.org/insights/5-reasons-not-to-join-the-mach-alliance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MACH Washing</a>. It cuts deep, and rightly so, according to the Alliance website. From the organization's perspective, there's claiming to be MACH – and then there's the MACH Alliance, where members are required to meet fierce requirements for certifying and maintaining their status. 
This adherence to strict governance is two-fold. First, it helps reinforce the core benefits of MACH for the entire industry, providing a source of truth that remains clear and consistent. And second, it delivers peace of mind to buyers who are looking for truly composable solutions amidst a climate of confusing messages. 
I asked Casper about the challenges that exist with "separating the wheat from the chaff" and maintaining MACH baselines within the ranks of the Alliance. He noted that the organization's pure-play MACH requirements will continue to be firm – and potentially firmer. 
"On the marketing side, the picture is blurring," he said. "Composability is being thrown all over the place. [The MACH Alliance has] a responsibility for evaluating criteria to confirm that these organizations adhere to MACH standards – ultimately unlocking the value promises we protect." He went on to say that the evaluation program will continue to fall to the Alliance's admissions board: an unbiased panel of industry professionals that manage the application process and ensure ongoing compliance. 
It's worth noting that the Alliance has previously revoked memberships based on acquisitions or other compelling issues that have altered the posture of a MACH-certified vendor or SI. Tough? Sure. But necessary to safeguard the value of its MACH standards. 
<h2>To MACH or Monolith – Is That the Question?</h2>
While the Alliance has sparked greater interest across the composable movement, monoliths still dominate the market. There are obvious reasons for this, from cost to complexity. But as Casper pointed out, composable is "exiting the infancy stage" for organizations that are embracing omnichannel and eyeing the cost and impact of replatforming.  
It's fair to assume that monolithic platforms will continue to "MACH Wash" their wares and perhaps become more componentized over time. As Casper frequently mentioned, having demonstrable use cases that illustrate the real impact of composable is critical to developing trust – particularly for enterprise organizations that still don't know what MACH is. (One of the best examples is a <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/the-mach-alliance-podcast/id1566020098?l=en&amp;i=1000526006568" target="_blank" rel="noopener">podcast featuring the Lego Corporation</a>, and totally worth a listen).
As I was writing this piece, I came across a LinkedIn post from <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellygoetsch/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kelly Goetsch</a>, the Chief Strategy Officer at <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/commercetools-acquires-frontastic-adds-composable-frontend-capabilities-to-headless-commerce/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commercetools</a> and a MACH Alliance founder. He summed up his perspective on the MACH-versus-monolith debate quite elegantly:
"I love MACH, but regularly tell people' MACH is not for you and then promptly refer them to Shopify. MACH isn't for everybody – whether due to a lack of a proper use case or an inability to successfully implement and care for it. Blind, unexamined adherence to any technology or principle is cult-ish. Every choice has tradeoffs."
As companies wrestle with those tradeoffs, the MACH Alliance is providing a voice of guidance. Even in a highly competitive landscape, it has managed to build community inroads, uniting platform vendors and SIs around a shared vision – and sharing that vision with the market. Whether MACH or monolith is right for an enterprise, the Alliance is helping to make those decisions easier and more concise while showcasing the benefits of a composable strategy. 
<h2>Shaping the Composable Future</h2>
When I asked what the future holds, Casper had a lot to share about the evolving technology landscape. We talked a bit about the rise of <a href="https://conscia.ai/experience-orchestration/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">experience orchestration</a> and its validation by Gartner – and how platform vendors like <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/uniform-raises-28m-in-series-a-funding-round-for-composable-dxp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Uniform</a> and <a href="https://conscia.ai/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Conscia</a> are once again changing the space.
Technology aside, he shared an undeniable excitement about the human fabric of the community. "We've expanded our board to nine seats, and we have magnificent, brilliant people that have great experiences around waves and movements like <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-jamstack-static-site-generators-for-2021/">Jamstack</a>," he said, gushing at the prospect of <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-hall-4b14a945/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Holly Hall</a> and ambassadors like <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sana-remekie/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sana Remekie</a> further enhancing the mission.  
If one theme was evident throughout our conversation, it was the critical importance of education and community to the composable movement. To that end, Casper is using his voice to shape the investment in knowledge on every level, from technology to business practices. 
"Customers entering the space need education to lower the barrier," he said. "Not just academic – but real world." 
If the future is composable, it's because Casper is taking us there. 
And yes. It's going to be cool.

The Future is Composable: A Conversation with New MACH Alliance President Casper Rasmussen

<a href="https://www.storyblok.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Storyblok</a>, a <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/tag/headless/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">headless</a> content management system (CMS) that empowers both developers and content teams to create better content experiences across all digital channels, announced the launch of its all-new CMS. <a href="https://www.storyblok.com/mp/v2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Storyblok V2</a> includes a fresh user interface complete with an all-new design experience, collaboration tools, and an enhanced digital asset manager designed to improve content workflows.
"We've been fortunate to have a front-row view inside the content operations of some of the world's leading businesses," said Alexander Feiglstorfer, Co-Founder and CTO of Storyblok. "We built V2 because companies need flexibility and smarter workflows to adapt and scale to support the ever-increasing complexity of omnichannel digital experiences. After testing it in beta with our 82k+ users over the past year and listening to their feedback, we're finally ready to show even more companies what content management should be like in the 21st century."
<h2>What is New in V2?</h2>
 Storyblok's V2 brings an all-new visual editor with a new UI and navigation buttons to make content creation easier.
V2 includes updates such as a renewed digital asset manager, a new in-engine image editor that removes the hassle of using different tools to edit images, and an improved Blocks Library. 
With V2, you can find your blocks straight from the visual editor. That means you can edit and create components directly in this area. They've also streamlined how you work with your teams with the new Discussions feature, which helps you collaborate directly within the CMS.
<h2>Delivering Scalable Digital Experiences with a Composable CMS</h2>
Storyblok's <a href="https://www.storyblok.com/lp/state-of-content-management" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The State of Content Management 2022</a> report revealed that 47.96% of businesses use 2 to 3 CMSs, and 47.08% said 2 to 3 different teams use those CMSs. Storyblok's robust headless CMS architecture enables developers to build anything, publish everywhere, and integrate with any technology stack. Content teams are empowered to create independently with a visual editing experience, Google Docs-style collaboration suite, composable components, presets, and powerful publishing workflows. 
V2 also introduces support for a US data center, providing Storyblok users with additional hosting options across the US and Europe. All of this results in a scalable digital experience for audiences that delivers fast performance, optimized omnichannel storytelling, and robust personalization and localization.
"We live in a world of connected channels and interfaces and expect modern digital experiences for every digital interaction. But most CMSs in use today were built at a time when there were only desktop web browsing experiences," said Dominik Angerer, Co-Founder, and CEO of Storyblok. "Many businesses fail at managing content across departments and are not capable of providing high performance, personalized experiences at scale. It's time for businesses to fix these challenges. Storyblok V2 is the content engine for any digital experience and helps businesses tell their stories on any channel."
A Forrester report called The Forrester Wave™: Agile Content Management Systems (CMSes), Q1 2021 said: "As organizations produce more experiences that leverage a common back end, the value of those services and assets increases relative to the cost to create them. Brands grapple with the challenge of delivering content to new endpoints (e.g., web, mobile, smart displays, voice assistants, and marketplaces), so it's important to manage content and experiences centrally to drive reuse. This makes updating and analyzing — and optimizing — experiences more efficient as well."
<h2>About Storyblok</h2>
Storyblok, the content management system (CMS) category leader for 2022, empowers both developers and content teams to create better content experiences across any digital channel. Storyblok enhances audience experiences with best-in-breed performance, optimized omnichannel storytelling, and robust personalization. Enable content teams to create and manage content intuitively and independently with drag and drop visual editing, custom collaboration workflows, and a world-class digital asset manager. Empower developers to build anything, integrate with everything, and publish everywhere with Storyblok's headless CMS architecture. Leading brands such as Adidas, T-Mobile, Harvard Business School, Renault, and Marc O'Polo use Storyblok to shape their digital storytelling.

Storyblok Launches New CMS Experience to Shape the Future of Digital Storytelling

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It's July, and the world feels like it's melting. Literally. 
As entire continents experience <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/06/21/heat-wave-records-europe-north-america-summer" target="_blank">record-breaking summer temperatures</a> in the Northern Hemisphere, we're doing what we can to stay cool – and bring you cooler stories from across the CMS and DXP landscape.
This month was hot for a lot of reasons, including <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/wix-to-host-first-ever-developers-conference-wix-devcon-2022/">Wix's DevCon 2022</a> – the company's first-ever developer's conference – and of course, the annual epic that is <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/reflections-on-wordcamp-europe-2022/">WordPress WordCamp Europe</a>. Cool stuff indeed.
On the ever-present investment side of the ledger, we covered <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/kontent-ai-raises-40-million-to-bring-the-power-of-ai-to-content-management/">Kentico's spinoff of Kontent.ai</a> – and the new company's stellar raise of $40 million. Kontent plans to use the funds to further juice its platform with AI innovation, which has been a key focus area since its inception. We also covered <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/storyblok-launches-1-5m-partner-fund-to-help-agencies-shape-the-future-of-digital-storytelling/">Storyblok's launch</a> of a $1.5 million partner fund to help agencies shape the future of digital storytelling and GraphCMS' announcement that it is <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/graphcms-rebrands-to-hygraph-launches-new-federated-content-platform/">rebranding to Hygraph</a> and what this means for its future growth. 
Just under the wire for July, Magnolia sent a thunderous boom across the CMS market with news that <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/genui-acquires-majority-stake-in-magnolia-and-invests-in-future-growth/">GENUI is acquiring a majority stake</a> in its company, with plans to inject significant growth capital. While details were thin, GENUI has forged quite a reputation over the years as a growth engine for technologies, so we'll be watching as things unfold. 
There are a few other stories from July that you might have missed – so turn down the air conditioning and settle in more for more cool stuff. 
<h2>dotCMS Launches Enterprise Cloud Hosting for Single Page Applications</h2>
<img style="max-width:1000px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2022/07/dotcms-interface.webp" alt="dotCMS interface" />
<a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/?s=dotcms" target="_blank">dotCMS</a>, an enterprise <a href="https://www.dotcms.com/blog/post/migrating-headless-cms-hybrid-headless-cms" target="_blank">hybrid-headless CMS</a>, has <a href="https://www.dotcms.com/company/news/dotcms-launches-enterprise-cloud-hosting-for-single-page-applications" target="_blank">announced</a> that <a href="https://www.dotcms.com/videos/enterprise-spa-hosting" target="_blank">the enterprise cloud SPA hosting</a> feature will be available as part of its standard <a href="https://www.dotcms.com/product/dotcms-cloud" target="_blank">dotCMS Cloud</a> offering.
For businesses running multi-channel content-driven sites, one challenge when spinning up a new single-page application (SPA) is where to host it. By leveraging dotCMS' Enterprise SPA hosting, based on AWS Amplify and backed by the global <a href="https://www.dotcms.com/company/news/dotcms-announces-dotcdn" target="_blank">dotCDN</a>, enterprises can speed up development and content delivery for global marketing campaigns without being forced to contract with a third-party vendor.
dotCMS' cloud offering includes features such as:
<ul>
<li>24/7 critical care</li>
<li>Annual core dotCMS upgrades</li>
<li>Up to 99.98% uptime</li>
<li>No API-rate limiting or throttling</li>
<li>Automated security fixes</li>
<li>Native Web Application Firewall (WAF)</li>
<li>Native dotCDN Content Delivery Network to mitigate DDoS attacks</li>
<li>Secure access with Oauth or SAML-based authentication and with IP Whitelisting</li>
</ul>
"We are providing organizations with a way to quickly deliver their content applications to customers around the world," said CTO of dotCMS, Will Ezell. "This latest offering exemplifies our commitment to security and scalability."
With enterprise SPA hosting, development teams can focus on innovation and building engaging applications to support the business outcomes instead of managing the underlying infrastructure. Enterprises can leverage the new service to save hundreds of thousands of dollars annually that they would otherwise spend on administrative and hosting costs.
<h2>Acquia Partners with Workato to Power Enterprise Connectivity to Acquia CDP, Adds Data Subject Deletion Request Features</h2>
<a href="https://www.acquia.com/" target="_blank">Acquia</a>, a leading digital experience company, has made several important updates to its CDP this month. 
First, they <a href="https://www.acquia.com/newsroom/press-releases/acquia-partners-workato-power-enterprise-connectivity-acquia-cdp" target="_blank">announced</a> a partnership with the integration and workflow automation platform <a href="https://www.workato.com/" target="_blank">Workato</a> to power enterprise connectivity to Acquia Customer Data Platform (CDP). They also added new data subject deletion request features that will help their customers comply with the GDPR regulations and privacy laws. Using a new self-service interface, organizations can rapidly process "Right to Erasure" (otherwise known as "Right to be Forgotten") requests associated with regulations such as GDPR, CCPA, and more from their customers. 
Partnership with Workato 
Acquia's partnership with Workato will allow organizations to integrate Acquia CDP with hundreds of external cloud services via secure, enterprise-grade APIs through out-of-box connectors. As the company noted: "The connectivity powered by Workato will help customers achieve even faster time-to-value by reducing the time it takes to get their data from their preferred cloud services into and out of Acquia CDP."
Workato is a leading enterprise automation platform that enables businesses, and IT teams to integrate their apps and automate their business workflows. It has been <a href="https://discover.workato.com/gartner-ipaas-mq/p/1" target="_blank">selected as a Leader in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Integration Platform as a Service</a> for 4th year in a row.
"We're pleased to partner with Workato to add hundreds of integrations between Acquia CDP and marketing, analytics, and commerce applications," said Mark Picone, SVP and General Manager, Marketing Cloud, at Acquia. "The connectivity powered by Workato will help customers achieve even faster time-to-value by reducing the time it takes to get their data from their preferred cloud services into and out of Acquia CDP."
As a part of the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/acquia-launches-new-open-digital-experience-platform/" target="_blank">Acquia Marketing Cloud platform</a>, Acquia CDP enables marketers to aggregate and activate data from technologies of their choice into a unified, 360-degree customer profile. From there, marketers can use Acquia CDP to orchestrate personalized, AI-powered campaigns across the entire omnichannel customer journey.
"We're seeing a continued trend around the growing needs for SaaS connectivity, and our partnership with Acquia will allow their communities of partners and customers to keep up with the accelerated demand," said Bhaskar Roy, CMO at Workato. "Not only will they be able to build and leverage robust connectors to their preferred applications, but they will also be able to connect to these applications and automate workflows across them. We're excited to be partnering with Acquia, who has become a leading force in the future of digital experiences by embracing the power of automation."
David Wallace, Research Director, Customer Intelligence and Analytics at IDC, commented: "Digital-first brands must focus on quality, speed-to-value, and agility to deliver the personalized experiences expected by their customers. Customer data platforms help brands achieve their goals not only with productized integrations and APIs but also enterprise-grade, pre-built connectors across an array of digital channels for the flexibility for multiple use cases. Acquia, through its partnership with Workato and inherent low-code tooling enables this increased flexibility."
New Regulatory Compliance Features
Soon after the partnership with Workato, Acquia also <a href="https://www.acquia.com/newsroom/press-releases/acquia-adds-data-subject-deletion-request-features-acquia-cdp" target="_blank">announced</a> they added new regulatory compliance features that help organizations using <a href="https://www.acquia.com/products/marketing-cloud/customer-data-platform" target="_blank">Acquia Customer Data Platform (CDP)</a> to comply with data subject requests and privacy laws in general. 
"This feature for legal and compliance workflows is the latest in a series of self-service updates we're making to Acquia CDP," said Janessa Worrell, Director of Product Management at Acquia. "Our goal is to make it simple for organizations using Acquia CDP to process deletion requests from their own customers, ensuring that these requests are handled quickly. Customers can expect more self-service features in the coming months, removing friction and making common Acquia CDP workflows simpler to execute."
Other recent self-service updates include secure credentials management for Acquia CDP out-of-the-box connectors. Organizations can now generate and manage their own credentials for pre-built connectors to external services such as Facebook or Google.
<h2>WordCamp US 2022 Tickets Sold Out, All Sessions to be Livestreamed</h2>
Two months after the most popular WordPress event, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/reflections-on-wordcamp-europe-2022/" target="_blank">WordCamp Europe</a>, has ended, WordCamp US will be hosting its two-day event in San Diego, California, from September 9 through September 11. Like WordCamp Europe, this will be the first in-person event since 2019. 
With the COVID-19 still looming and to allow for adequate social distancing, this year's WordCamp US event is designed as a smaller event - limited to 650 attendees - compared to the previous years. Since it is the first in-person event in two years, the demand was extremely high, and the <a href="https://us.wordcamp.org/2022/tickets/" target="_blank">tickets</a> are already sold out but don't worry. You can watch all the WCUS 2022 sessions <a href="https://us.wordcamp.org/2022/livestream/" target="_blank">online </a>without having to purchase any tickets.
WCUS has also begun<a href="https://us.wordcamp.org/2022/speakers/" target="_blank"> announcing its speakers</a>. This year they are making an increased effort to give more opportunities to underrepresented speakers. 
The opening remarks will begin at 9:00 am on Friday and Saturday, and the sessions will run from 9:15 am to 5:30 pm. The last day of the event will be the "Contributor Day" on Sunday.
You can follow the updates via the <a href="https://paper.dropbox.com/?q=%23WCUS" target="_blank">#WCUS</a> hashtag on Twitter.
<h2>Sitecore Experience Manager Cloud (XM Cloud) Now Available</h2>
<img style="max-width:1000px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2022/07/xmcloud-ui.jpg" alt="SiteCore XM Cloud user interface " />
<a href="https://www.sitecore.com/" target="_blank">Sitecore</a>, a global leader in end-to-end digital experience software, <a href="https://www.sitecore.com/company/news-events/press-releases/2022/07/sitecore-experience-manager-cloud-now-available" target="_blank">announced</a> that it has released its <a href="https://www.sitecore.com/products/xm-cloud" target="_blank">Sitecore Experience Manager (XM) Cloud</a>. This latest product release will provide brands with unrivaled speed to market in implementing customer experiences, simplifying design and deployment, eliminating upgrades, and dramatically decreasing ownership costs. With XM Cloud, marketers can instantly create, manage and deliver engaging omnichannel experiences with an industry-leading enterprise-ready CMS.
According to a <a href="https://www.sitecore.com/company/news-events/press-releases/2022/05/us-brand-authenticity-report" target="_blank">recent survey by Sitecore</a>, online interactions play an outsized role in driving engagement between brands and customers. The digital experience, while valued by consumers, creates a scalability issue for marketers to meet demand. <a href="https://www.sitecore.com/products/xm-cloud" target="_blank">Sitecore XM Cloud</a> provides a comprehensive SaaS CMS for the Enterprise solution for brands by overcoming global scaling problems, including variable traffic, supporting multi-brand architectures, and site security.
For business users, <a href="https://www.sitecore.com/products/xm-cloud" target="_blank">XM Cloud</a> offers the ability to build pixel-perfect digital experiences via a WYSIWYG authoring experience that can access content anywhere, with embedded testing, personalization, and integrated visitor analytics. For developers, <a href="https://www.sitecore.com/products/xm-cloud" target="_blank">XM Cloud</a> can be used with headless development techniques, working with modern frontend frameworks and supporting all deployment scenarios.
"Consumer behavior has changed rapidly over the past two years. Audiences have become very digitally savvy and have an expectation from brands to deliver highly personalized customer experiences," said Dave O'Flanagan, chief product officer, Sitecore. "This puts marketers in the unenviable position of trying to meet this expectation, but with tools and solutions that don't deliver, and in some cases hamstring, the needed agility to meet demand. Sitecore XM Cloud provides marketers with a truly end-to-end, SaaS-based solution that not only helps brands meet consumer expectations but also delivers a best-of-class omnichannel customer experience."
Through <a href="https://www.sitecore.com/products/xm-cloud" target="_blank">Sitecore XM Cloud</a>, the company's entire <a href="https://www.sitecore.com/products/sitecore-experience-platform" target="_blank">Digital Experience Platform</a> can now be delivered through a modern cloud architecture, providing brands and marketers with:
<ul>
<li>Continued innovation – new features and capabilities will be automatically delivered and integrated</li>
<li>Elastic scaling – "set-and-forget" traffic volume demands</li>
<li>Composability – all of Sitecore's platform solutions can now be purchased independently and will fit in a best-of-breed marketing technology stack</li>
<li>On-the-Fly Engagement – rapidly create experiences to meet constantly evolving market needs</li>
<li>Multi-channel content management - create content once and reuse across any channel and experience</li>
<li>Simplicity for marketers – business-focused tools and intuitive content authoring workflows</li>
<li>Agility for developers – customized builds with modern frameworks</li>
</ul>

CMS Monthly Recap: dotCMS Launches Enterprise Cloud Hosting, Acquia Partners with Workato, Sitecore Releases Experience Manager Cloud, and More

Image of beach with CMS Critic Monthly Recap logo over water

<a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/magnolia-announces-new-6-2-release-with-first-ever-headless-digital-experience-hub-2/">Magnolia</a>, a leading software vendor in the global digital experience and content management markets, just announced that investment firm <a href="https://www.genui.de/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GENUI</a> will acquire a majority stake in Magnolia and inject significant growth capital into the company.
Magnolia is an emerging vendor pioneering the vision of “composable” Digital Experience Platforms (DXPs). DXPs sit on top of content management systems (CMS) and enable brands to orchestrate compelling digital experiences across multichannel customer journeys and devices. The global market for DXPs is forecast to reach 23 billion US dollars by 2028, with an average annual growth rate of above twelve percent from 2021 to 2028.
Magnolia already serves clients in more than 100 countries through nine regional offices – and counts many global brands such as The New York Times, Sanofi, Sainsbury’s, Ping An, and Bechtle as its trusted customers. With the additional funding, the company will continue the expansion of its global sales and marketing footprint including its technology and channel partner ecosystems, accelerate product innovation and increase global market awareness.
<h2>Driving growth with a composable DXP</h2>
Traditionally, DXPs have been purchased as a complete suite of marketing software from one vendor. These have proven to be slow, expensive, and restrictive. Magnolia aims to change that by continuing to invest in its composable DXP.
“Magnolia is uniquely positioned to allow customers to integrate their key applications and platforms - from legacy to modern APIs - and compose a powerful digital experience architecture enabling the overall ease-of-use and agility now expected of modern cloud solutions,” said Magnolia CEO Tim Brown. “With GENUI's support, we will now be able to fully leverage our recognition as a 'Visionary' in the 2022 Gartner Magic Quadrant for DXP to help an increasing number of marketers, authors, and developers deliver fantastic multichannel digital experiences."
"By significantly strengthening the capital base, we are putting Magnolia in a position to even better exploit its market potential and sustainably increase its growth," said Boris Klenk of GENUI. 
Upon completion of the transaction, the entrepreneur Amit Shah, an established expert in the digital experience industry, will become Chairman of the advisory board of Magnolia. “We are seeing a shift away from monolithic application solutions toward modular approaches. This is an exceptional strategic opportunity for Magnolia, which offers a future-proof composable digital experience platform for the enterprise," said Shah.
Exiting investor Elvaston Capital Management GmbH secured a majority stake in Magnolia in 2017, which GENUI is now acquiring. "We have accompanied Magnolia during an extremely positive and high-growth phase in recent years," says Dr. Oliver Thum, Managing Partner at Elvaston. "We are pleased that the company will now take the next steps with GENUI."
The purchase price and other details of the transaction were not disclosed. GENUI was advised on this transaction by CMS (Legal) and Baer &amp; Karrer (Structuring), while Morrison Foerster (Legal Germany) and Walder Wyss (Legal Switzerland) acted as advisors to Elvaston.
<h2>About Magnolia</h2>
Founded in 1997 with a vision to create the first truly open content management system, <a href="https://www.magnolia-cms.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Magnolia</a> is a world-leading digital experience company. Brands who want to move fast and stay flexible choose Magnolia because the company blends the power of an enterprise DXP solution with headless agility. Magnolia operates globally with offices on five continents and more than 200 Magnolia-certified partners around the world.
<h2>About Elvaston</h2>
<a href="https://www.elvaston.com/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elvaston</a> is an investment company specializing in small-to-medium-sized enterprise software companies in Europe. Elvaston accompanies profitable companies in various segments of enterprise software and focuses on organic growth as well as buy &amp; build strategies.
<h2>About GENUI</h2>
<a href="https://www.genui.de/en/home-en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GENUI</a> is a company founded by renowned entrepreneurs and investment professionals who believe in “Good Entrepreneurship”. GENUI exclusively makes long-term commitments to companies with the goal of creating sustainable growth and social value. Companies are given professional governance by getting access to entrepreneurs with industry-relevant expertise and their corresponding networks.

GENUI acquires majority stake in Magnolia and invests in future growth

Image of Magnolia and Genui logos against a green background

GraphCMS – the first GraphQL-native <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-free-headless-cms-platforms/" target="_blank">headless CMS</a> – has just <a href="https://hygraph.com/blog/graphcms-is-now-hygraph" target="_blank">rebranded itself</a> under the new moniker of "Hygraph." 
Why Hygraph?
The company says the word is rooted in an amalgamation of "hypertext" and "graph" data structures, which aligns well with Hygraph's vision of a future – one where the majority of information humans and machines will process is highly complex, structured, and connected.
Along with the epic shift in naming, the company also introduced its new <a href="https://hygraph.com/blog/introducing-content-federation" target="_blank">Content Federation</a>. This powerful set of features will enable customers to unify all their backend services into one universal content API and serve third-party or programmatically created content alongside editorial content.
"We're excited about this new chapter in our company's history." said CEO and co-founder Michael Lukaszczyk. "Launching the Federated Content Platform as a new product category captures the essence of what we're all about: we enable building a mesh of connected content graphs to effortlessly manage and distribute content from any source to any destination. The resulting development velocity within composable architectures is simply mind-blowing."
According to the company's press release, the new brand direction also includes a refreshed website at <a href="https://hygraph.com/" target="_blank">www.hygraph.com</a>.
<h2>Building on the success of GraphCMS</h2>
As with all rebranding endeavors, there are inevitable questions from the market. How companies shape the narrative is a key part of making its rebrand successful – and that's precisely what Hygraph has done. 
According to its website, the company embarked on refreshing its identity and visual presence in an effort to "reinforce the commitment they have made toward enabling outstanding digital experiences on day one." The shift comes at a milestone moment in the company's history, and the new brand provides a stage for promoting its Content Federation features and creating excitement around the offering.
Originally launched in 2017 under the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/graphcms-brings-graphql-to-headless-content-management/" target="_blank">GraphCMS</a> banner, Hygraph is still defining itself as an enterprise-class, API-first content management system known for its versatile GraphQL content APIs. Headquartered in Berlin, Germany, Hygrapgh is also <a href="https://machalliance.org/members" target="_blank">MACH-certified</a> – and currently powers over 50,000 projects, including those at companies like Dr. Oetker, Philips, Samsung, and Ashley Furniture.
On the more philosophical side of the market ledger, Hygraph has stated its belief that headless CMS has reached a sort of tipping point – and that frontend-agnostic benefits are no longer enough. Rather than adding yet another service to complex stacks, they wanted to expand upon the possibilities of allowing content aggregation from multiple sources programmatically, essentially becoming backend agnostic as well.
From an investment perspective, Hygraph <a href="https://hygraph.com/blog/series-a" target="_blank">recently raised a $10 million Series A Round</a> to build out its vision of unified content APIs and federating the content layer. 
<h2>What is the Hygraph Federated Content Platform?</h2>
Hygraph has provided a detailed view of its Federated Content Platform in a recent article, which we've denoted here. 
The company points out that while cross-platform content consumption and API-first delivery have become the "new normal," content architectures are increasingly complex.
With the rise of best-of-breed systems design and modular architectures, content is now maintained in a myriad of disconnected data silos, resulting in an overwhelming complexity. The risk of serving outdated data and lack of data consistency in distributed architectures is becoming a maintenance burden.
Many organizations perceive custom middleware development as a solution to these challenges, but building and maintaining this is time-consuming and complex.
With the new Content Federation capability, you can bring content from other systems and sources to the Hygraph API without migrating the content itself. There are many use cases where moving content into the content repository isn't possible or desirable. Examples include content for which there is a different system of record (e-commerce/product data such as price or availability, content from a different vendor such as GitHub or IMDB) and content that is maintained in legacy systems that can't be easily migrated.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2022/07/federated-content-platform-e1658872762419.png" alt="Federated Content Platform diagram" />
<h2>Extending the Hygraph Content API with Remote Sources</h2>
Hygraph's concept of Remote Sources allows customers to extend Hygraph's Content API with content from all these different sources, providing flexibility for front-end developers and downstream applications.
The Hygraph Content Federation architecture consists of the following components:
<ul>
<li>Remote source: a system or product that holds content that needs to be combined with content in Hygraph and which can be queried through a RESTful or GraphQL API.</li>
<li>Custom type: a GraphQL type used for content from a remote source.</li>
<li>Remote field: a field inside a Hygraph model that connects specific remote data to an entry of that model.</li>
<li>Configurable cache: a TTL-based caching layer that guarantees optimal API performance for remote content.</li>
</ul>
Hygraph allows true composability of your tech stack while taking away the heavy-lifting in the backend. As a result, Content Federation can lead to a massive reduction in development time and costs when integrating with multiple APIs.
Interested in learning more? Hygraph offers a free tier for personal and small-scale projects. You can <a href="https://app.hygraph.com/signup" target="_blank">sign up here</a>. 
<h2>About Hygraph</h2>
Hygraph (previously GraphCMS) is the enterprise-grade federated content platform that enables ambitious digital products at scale. With the industry's most versatile GraphQL content API and a novel approach to external data sourcing, the federated content platform enables use cases beyond existing market solutions. Hygraph's capabilities can be extended as a database highly optimized for structured content while giving content creators the tools to build their ultimate content pipeline. Hygraph is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, and is currently enabling more than 50,000 teams across the world, including Dr.Oetker, Shure, Samsung, and Philips to rapidly build and deliver tomorrow's connected digital experiences at scale.

GraphCMS Rebrands to Hygraph, Launches New Federated Content Platform

Image of new Hygraph logo against a dark background with a graph pattern

Reflections on WordCamp Europe 2022

Queue the fireworks.
Amidst the explosion of acquisitions and partnerships across the CMS and DXP industries, <a href="https://kontent.ai/" target="_blank">Kontent.ai</a> – now formerly Kontent by Kentico – has officially <a href="https://kontent.ai/blog/kontent-ai-has-raised-40-million-in-growth-capital/" target="_blank">declared its independence</a>.
After securing a whopping $40 million investment from Expedition Growth Capital (EGC), the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/tag/headless/">headless</a> Content Management System is now a standalone enterprise for the first time. The next stop on the growth path: enhance its product by bringing AI deeper into its CMS.
Currently powering over 2,000 projects – from websites to apps to <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-headless-commerce-platforms/">headless commerce</a> experiences – Kontent.ai came from humble beginnings. Originally started in 2015 as a business unit of its elder bootstrapped parent, <a href="https://www.kentico.com/" target="_blank">Kentico</a>, Kontent now boasts a roster of global brands, including Algolia, Anaplan, SonarSource, and Zurich Insurance. 
Kentico's fledgling division already employed over 120 staff across five offices on four different continents before the announcement. As a newly-minted independent company, Kontent.ai already has plans to increase its headcount by 100 over the next 12 months. 
By channeling investment into "human power," Kontent will have the resources to expand its global footprint by amping up marketing and sales. It will also have ample funds to further innovate and enhance composable AI across its modular content platform.
<h2>Kentico's rise in the headless CMS market</h2>
Let's face it: headless is hot. In fact, the headless CMS market alone is projected to reach $1.6 billion by 2027. 
In its "<a href="https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/3994550" target="_blank">Adopt a Composable DXP Strategy to Future-Proof Your Tech Stack</a>" report, Gartner estimates that organizations that have adopted a composable approach will outpace the competition by 80% in 2023 – specifically when it comes to new feature implementation. 
CMS and DXP vendors are rapidly embracing <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/mach-alliance-releases-study-on-adoption-of-mach-technologies-by-tech-leaders-qa-with-sonja-keerl/">MACH and the composable revolution.</a> With this spin-off, Kontent.ai appears to be taking a major step towards becoming a composable DXP. While competition across the stack has been increasingly fierce, Kontent has a critical advantage by not being "the new kid on the block." 
<a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/tag/kentico/">Kentico</a> has been helping to shape the CMS landscape for almost two decades. As a stable fixture in Gartner's Quadrant for Digital Experience Platforms, it has juiced Kontent's prospects significantly – giving it an edge towards success. 
 
<img style="max-width:700px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2022/03/gartner-mq-dxp-2022.jpg" alt="Gartner Magic Quadrant for DXP graphic 2022" />
 
Despite the blessing of Kentico's DNA, the dream of Kontent.ai has been seven years in the making. During that time, Kontent has established itself as a contender in the headless CMS market, powering content delivery and collaboration at scale. 
<h2>Kontent.ai brings advantages to marketers and developers</h2>
These days, it may sound cliché to position a CMS or DXP as a platform that "unites" marketers and developers. But Kontent.ai believes that both parties have a stake in the digital experience – and by adopting Kontent as their platform, a business can unlock the potential for both parts of its team. 
From a marketer's perspective, Kontent's modular capabilities help organizations unify, organize and manage all business content in a cloud-based repository. Its intuitive authoring experience allows for simultaneous, collaborative work at every phase of the content lifecycle. Using Kontent.ai, content teams can easily plan, create, and review content with streamlined workflows and approvals. Editors can also focus on content without being blocked by structural design choices that govern how and where their content will be displayed.
From a developer's perspective, Kontent's modern, microservices-based architecture allows for seamless integration with other applications and technologies. Robust APIs, webhooks, and flexible content models give developers full control over the structure of their content and how it's delivered to their websites and applications. This ensures clean, organized content can be pulled into any experience or technology stack, saving developers time and allowing them to focus on the best way to display information. Meanwhile, the cloud-based infrastructure means there are no concerns over maintenance – and virtually no downtime or performance issues.
<h2>Delivering centralized content to distributed organizations</h2>
According to the company, there has been an ever greater need for Kontent following the rise of hybrid and remote work. As global companies shifted due to the pandemic, they needed to centralize content and reproduce digital experience at scale while employees leveraged and produced across different locations. 
Using Kontent.ai, multinational organizations are able to ensure consistent content across languages and regions, with no need to jump in and out of other apps. The result: improved real-time collaboration and planning that saves both time and money.
<h2>Using composable AI to evolve content management</h2>
It's clear that Kontent.ai is looking to push the boundaries on technology. Following its recent investment news, the company has been doubling down on the development of its composable AI features. 
So what is "Composable AI" anyway? According to Kontent, it's the application of machine learning capabilities directly within its CMS, so it's available where its needed – and can be distributed to support specific teams, workflows, use cases, or delivery channels. 
Kontent believes that for AI to bring true value, it needs to be purposeful, targeted, and actionable. In achieving these things, AI will enable Kontent's customers to improve all aspects of content operations, from creating more relevant content to optimizing results to automating repetitive tasks. 
<h2>Rapid change ahead as Kontent.ai and Kentico appoint new CEOs</h2>
As part of the announcement, the separation of the two companies will also bring changes to the captain's chairs: the newly formed Kontent.ai will be led by <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bartomlo/" target="_blank">Bart Omlo</a>, while <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominik-xperience-pinter/" target="_blank">Dominik Pintér</a> will take the helm at its former parent. Kentico's current CEO and founder, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/petrpalas/" target="_blank">Petr Palas</a>, will become Chairman of the Board for both companies.
"With this investment into Kontent.ai, now as its own company, we're excited to expand our global footprint helping enterprise teams scale their content operations, make the most of machine learning and AI, and deliver exceptional digital experiences," said Omlo. "With Kontent.ai's modular content platform, we push the boundaries of content management to give our customers the competitive edge."
Kentico recently introduced a new cloud-native version of its digital experience platform called <a href="https://www.kentico.com/" target="_blank">Xperience by Kentico</a> – which was chosen as <a href="https://www.kentico.com/discover/blog/kentico-xperience-received-gartner-customers-choice-for-dxp" target="_blank">Gartner's Choice for DXP</a> last year. Xperience is a separate tool designed for midmarket companies, and Kentico plans to continue supporting its growth and enhancement. Additionally, the company is investing heavily in product development – and as part of the funding announcement, will also receive an additional $20m of committed capital from EGC that will be used to support its growth in the future. 
<h2>About Kontent.ai</h2>
Kontent is the world’s leading cloud-based headless CMS platform. Robust APIs, webhooks, and flexible content models give developers full control over the structure of their content and how it’s delivered to their websites and applications. The APIs deliver clean, structured content that can be pulled into any experience and technology stack. On top of this headless foundation, Kontent includes an intuitive authoring experience that lets marketers focus on content creation, allowing developers to focus on building engaging online experiences that look great in every channel. Kontent’s customers include AC Milan, Oxford University, Konica Minolta, REWE Group, and Vogue. Learn more at <a href="https://kontent.ai/" target="_blank">www.kontent.ai</a>
<h2>About Kentico</h2>
Kentico Software is an established global company with two award-winning content management and digital experience products: Kentico Xperience, a fully integrated DXP platform, and Kentico Kontent, an enterprise headless CMS. Kentico has customers in over 120 countries, with offices located in six countries on four continents. Over the last 16 years, a community of 1,000+ partners has formed around Kentico. Learn more at <a href="https://www.kentico.com/" target="_blank">www.kentico.com</a>

Kontent.ai Raises $40 Million to Bring the Power of AI to Content Management 

Kontent.ai logo against a white and turquoise background

<a href="https://www.storyblok.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Storyblok</a>, a headless content management system (CMS) that enables developers and marketers to deliver powerful content experiences on any digital platform, just announced the launch of its $1.5M Partner Fund. 
This new initiative will enable Storyblok to support the growth and success of its agency partners and develop co-marketing activities. The goal: evangelize a best-of-breed, headless architecture as the foundation for agencies to create and scale better content experiences for their clients.
In its press release, Storyblok says that the money will be distributed to partners through multiple initiatives. This includes a $5K budget that every Storyblok Certified Partner can use to highlight its collaboration with Storyblok in any way they wish. This can encompass events, guerilla marketing, content development, ad campaigns, and more. 
On a fun note: from now until September 10th, Storyblok is also running a contest for Certified Partners to submit their most creative co-marketing ideas for the chance to double their dedicated budget to $10K.
<h2>Expanded benefits for Storyblok Certified Partners</h2>
In addition to the new Partner Fund, <a href="https://www.storyblok.com/partners" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Storyblok Certified Partners</a> will receive benefits such as free development spaces with Storyblok’s CMS, revenue share, the ability to build custom apps, a dedicated success team, and much more.
“Partners played an important role in the growth of Storyblok during the past couple years,” said Barry D'Arcy, VP of Partners at Storyblok. “We appreciate the steps they took to help us get where we are today, and so we as a partner team and Storyblok as a whole would like to pay those good deeds forward to all of our partners, both old and new. The Partner Fund is one example of how we want to support our partners’ growth and boost their businesses with Storyblok. We all have stories to tell—let’s do it together.”
At CMS Critic, we've followed Storyblok's "storied" rise over the last few years as the company expanded its global footprint through partnership channels. This includes the development of a <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/interview-headless-cms-storyblok-expands-partner-program-with-u-s-agency-campbell-ewald/">partner program with U.S. Agency Campbell Ewald</a> in 2021.
“We’ve seen so many great marketing initiatives around Storyblok that allowed our partners to grow,” said Thomas Peham, VP of Marketing at Storyblok. “With the $1.5M Partner Fund, we not only want to help our partners with a dedicated marketing budget, but also team up with them to tell more stories at scale while shaping the future of digital storytelling together.”
Get more details in the <a href="https://www.storyblok.com/partners/partner-playbook" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Partner Playbook</a>, and visit the <a href="https://www.storyblok.com/partners" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Partner Program</a> page to learn how to become a Storyblok Certified Partner.
<h2>About Storyblok</h2>
Storyblok is a headless CMS that enables developers and marketers to deliver powerful content experiences on any digital platform. Developers create flexible components that are independently managed by content teams through a collaborative visual editor and customizable workflow. Published content is delivered through an API, so changes are made once and will appear everywhere: websites, mobile, IoT, the metaverse, and beyond. This approach reduces maintenance and makes content management more efficient. Leading brands such as Adidas, Renault, and Marc O’Polo use Storyblok to manage and share their content with the world. Storyblok was named the #1 CMS for 2022 by G2.
For more information, visit <a href="https://www.storyblok.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.storyblok.com</a> and follow Storyblok on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/storyblok" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LinkedIn</a> and <a href="https://www.twitter.com/storyblok" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a>.

Storyblok Launches $1.5M Partner Fund to Help Agencies Shape the Future of Digital Storytelling

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<a href="https://www.wix.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wix</a>, one of the industry's leading website builders, announced its first-ever developer conference, <a href="https://www.wixdevcon.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wix DevCon 2022</a> – which will take place September 7 - 8 in New York City.
Wix DevCon will present a unique opportunity for the broad developer community to learn about the company's growth as a cutting-edge developer platform and ecosystem. The two-day event will consist of talks from a range of Wix experts and leadership, including CEO Avishai Abrahami.
Attendees will also hear from Yoav Abrahami, Head of Code and Chief Architect for Velo – Wix's full-stack development platform that empowers users to build, manage, and deploy professional web apps rapidly.
According to Wix, DevCon will enable attendees to learn and exchange ideas, elevating and extending their development skills by exploring the newest Wix developer-centric products, tools, and technologies. 
And the icing on the cake: event attendees will also be the first to hear about new Wix product announcements.
“Wix DevCon 2022 will bring our community of developers together for a unique insight into how Wix tools were created, how to get the most out of them, and offer the community a chance to interact and learn from one another,” said Abrahami. “An immersive, differentiated, and exclusive experience, attendees will have unparalleled access to the heart of development at Wix, enabling them to confidently create the business capabilities they need. Furthermore, at the event, we’ll unveil an exciting new product innovation that will change the future of web development at Wix.”
<h2>Offering both a no-code website builder and a full-stack development platform</h2>
Wix – which is best known for its incredibly popular drag-and-drop website builder – has become a go-to platform for artists, freelancers, and small business owners looking to establish brands online without the hassle of coding and complexity. 
While it competes with well-known brands like <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/squarespace-a-diy-website-builder-1/">Squarespace</a>, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/duda-snaps-up-snipcart-to-boost-e-commerce-capabilities-qa-with-ceo-itai-sadan/">Duda</a>, and <a href="https://www.weebly.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Weebly</a>, Wix has carved out a competitive advantage with its array of rich templates, its progressive <a href="https://www.wix.com/blog/2016/06/wix-artificial-design-intelligence/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wix ADI</a> (Artificial Design Intelligence), and solid user support. 
Two years ago, Wix introduced <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/wix-introduces-editor-x-offers-designers-advanced-tools-for-building-custom-websites/">Editor X</a>, its new drag-and-drop web builder for web designers and digital agencies that are seeking to push the aesthetic limits without the hassle of coding from scratch. From there, the company continued to enrich its customization features. 
With the introduction of DevCon, Wix seems poised to transform its customer base by attracting more developers to the flock. By providing a more expansive platform that offers both a no-code website builder and a full-stack development platform, Wix is also upping the ante on how "custom" a website or app can be when built with its technology. This means users are no longer limited, regardless of their goals as a small business, agency designer, or advanced developer. 
<h2>How to Attend Wix DevCon 2022</h2>
As mentioned, Wix DevCon bites into the Big Apple in early September. The sessions will include groundbreaking product reveals, live tours through the Wix developer ecosystem, engineering talks, programming workshops, fireside chats from the industry experts, and community showcases of the best websites built on Wix.
Wix DevCon 2022 will be held from September 7 - 8 at <a href="https://lavan541.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lavan541</a> in New York City. Sessions begin at 8:00 AM and last through 4:00 PM (EST). 
Wix DevCon is completely free. However, space is limited, so the company recommends registering early to ensure your spot. If you can't make it to NYC, no worries – you can see the entire program virtually via the event website.
For tickets, session schedules, speaker lineups, and more, visit Wix's beautiful DevCon website at <a href="https://www.wixdevcon.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.wixdevcon.com</a>
<h2>About Wix</h2>
Wix is a leading platform to create, manage and grow a digital presence. What began as a website builder in 2006 is now a complete platform providing users with enterprise-grade performance, security and a reliable infrastructure. Offering a wide range of commerce and business solutions, advanced SEO and marketing tools, Wix enables users to have full ownership of their brand, their data and their relationships with their customers. With a focus on continuous innovation and delivery of new features and products, anyone can build a powerful digital presence to fulfill their dreams on Wix.

Wix to Host First-Ever Developers Conference, Wix DevCon 2022

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