Articles - Page 31

What I Mean to Say: A Practitioner Perspective on AI, Semantics, and Content Evolution

msalvatierra

It’s happened to all of us: an online ad piques our interest in an item, and suddenly we’re debating a purchase.
Then, you link to the product’s <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/netlify-to-host-headless-commerce-summit-for-talks-on-building-world-class-e-commerce-experiences/">e-commerce</a> store, only to find that it’s slow, unresponsive, or just bad. You refresh a few times and pray for a digital miracle. Maybe you browse a bit, holding your nose. But if you’re like many people, you give up and head to a competitor's site.
Many outside factors can impact an online purchase decision. Even if an item is lucky enough to make it to a cart, it’s frequently left for dead. You could chalk some of this up to pre-buyer’s remorse or other real-world distractions, but a new study from <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/netlify-to-host-headless-commerce-summit-for-talks-on-building-world-class-e-commerce-experiences/">Storyblok</a> – a <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-free-headless-cms-platforms/">headless CMS</a> provider – suggests that poor website design could be the culprit.
According to the company’s survey published this week, 60% of consumers estimated that on average, they abandon five purchases per year just due to poor website performance.
Five purchases may not seem like a lot, but collectively it adds up to billions in unrealized revenue, all due to a less-than-stellar website experience.
<h2>Bad websites mean big business losses</h2>
As Einstein once theorized, time = money. Or was that <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/350999364678568583/" target="_blank">Gary Larson</a>?
Time is indeed the enemy of all websites, particularly those with transactional e-commerce experiences. It starts with performance, and according to the <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/lighthouse/blipmdconlkpinefehnmjammfjpmpbjk?hl=en" target="_blank">Lighthouse</a> keepers at Google, pages should ideally load on mobile and desktop in <a href="https://seattlewebsearch.com/2020/11/your-website-needs-to-be-faster-than-3-seconds/" target="_blank">less than three seconds</a>.
Storyblok’s study takes the time conundrum a step further, digging into a user’s behavior on a web page and how the design experience might further impact their likelihood of sticking around. Based on the survey, 42% of participants said they decide whether to remain on a page in less than 10 seconds, while 20% decide in less than five. That means websites don’t have a lot of time to impress shoppers and convert interest into purchases.
And what about those “extra” features some sites make a point to have? Well, put earmuffs on those chatbots because ease of navigation, faster loading speeds, and a simple web design matter a lot more to shoppers.
“Consumers want easy-to-navigate, intuitively designed, and fast-loading websites,” said Storyblok CEO and co-founder <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominikangerer/" target="_blank">Dominik Angerer</a>. “However, a lot of e-commerce websites are falling short. Five purchases per shopper in missed sales may not seem like a lot, but when you scale this up to the number of potential new customers businesses are missing out on, it becomes a very significant amount of money.”
<h2>Avoiding “website embarrassment”</h2>
A great UI/UX can significantly impact a website’s <a href="https://raoinformationtechnology.com/blog/importance-of-ui-ux-design-for-your-website/#:~:text=A%20high%2Dquality%20UI%2FUX,brand's%20offered%20items%20and%20services." target="_blank">trust and credibility</a>. That’s why leading brands invest significantly in design and usability testing, as well as enhancing accessibility to ensure digital equality.
Still, getting the digital gum off your shoes can prove daunting in a world littered with bad UX. Let’s say a consumer actually decides to proceed with a purchase on a poorly functioning website. It turns out that experience still gives them the “ick”– and they would rather forget about it.
According to Storyblok’s survey, 42% of Americans and 18% of Europeans revealed that on at least one occasion, they were too embarrassed to say where they purchased a product – all because the website was so poorly designed.
Maybe we call this… digital shame?
Kudos to Storyblok for uncovering this data point, which is both entertaining and alarming. All jokes aside, any company that might be the target of this shame isn’t just missing out on sales – it's damaging the reputation of its brand.
<h2>Leveraging headless CMS and composable commerce to improve website experiences</h2>
As talk elevates around a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/02/business/global-recession-fears-explained/index.html" target="_blank">looming economic recession</a>, online shopping continues to be the gem in an otherwise rusting crown of retail. Outlooks are still trending upward, with 23% of those surveyed anticipating more holiday purchases online this year. Meanwhile, 51% of respondents are planning to make the same number of online purchases as last year.
To meet the shifting demands of online consumers, Storyblok sees technology as a key activator for improving the digital experience in an omnichannel world. This is crystallized by the rise of composable commerce and the need to meet consumers anywhere, anytime, on any device or form factor.
“Additional functionality is still an important factor in attracting customers, but it’s critical to get the basics right first,” said Angerer. “For example, by investing in a headless, composable commerce tech infrastructure, companies can set the foundation for a great, fast-performing user experience.” 
<h2>Shopping in a metaverse marketplace</h2>
<a href="https://www.solodev.com/metaverse/" target="_blank">The metaverse</a> has become all the rage in 2022, with leading brands investing heavily in AR/VR strategies – particularly when it comes to e-commerce. According to Storyblok’s survey, transactions in virtual and augmented reality environments might be gathering more attention.
In fact, 42% of respondents said they would be encouraged to make more purchases with an AR or VR experience. Surprisingly, that percentage rose to a whopping 57% when filtered to the U.S. market. That’s big news for retailers who are struggling to find new opportunities for growth.
The results of this study echo what we’ve heard over and over for years: consumers don’t just want products. They want experiences – and giving them what they want isn’t as hard as it might seem. New features aside, brands that provide a great UX with an easy-to-use, easy-to-navigate website and an abundance of payment options will make it hard for shoppers to say no, even if the storefront is in a virtual world. 
If e-commerce sites can KISS (keep it simple, stupid) and make up with shoppers, they’ll likely feel less “ick” at the bottom line. And investing in quality design and the right technology stack – including <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/the-future-is-composable-a-conversation-with-new-mach-alliance-president-casper-rasmussen/">composable, MACH-ready solutions</a> – can help keep the gum off everyone’s shoes.
<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.
 
<a href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff23/program" target="_blank"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2022/12/cms-kickoff-2023-banner-1024x151.jpg" alt="CMS Kickoff 2023 banner" /></a>
<h2>Join CMS Industry Leaders, Digital Agencies, and Users at CMS Kickoff 2023</h2>
January 17-18 in St. Petersburg, FL
Don't miss the only conference tailored for everyone working with content management systems, from beginners to experts! Featuring two packed days with a carefully curated mixture of talks, workshops, activities, world-class facilitators, thought provokers, speakers, and session leads. Mingle with CMS experts, system integrators, and users from around the globe at this exclusive event in beautiful St. Petersburg. 
Register today at the <a href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff23/program" target="_blank">CMS Kickoff 2023 website</a>.

Storyblok Study Reveals Poor Website Performance Costs E-Commerce Companies Billions

mk-patterson

The holidays are right around the corner, and if the newest version of <a href="https://www.drupal.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Drupal</a> is on your wish list, you’re in for a treat.
December will usher in the highly anticipated launch of Drupal 10, the open source CMS platform’s first release since 2020. Many industry experts have been preparing for months, and at CMS Critic, we had an opportunity to hear from <a href="https://pantheon.io/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pantheon</a> and several digital agencies about the upcoming release—and what has them excited.
<h2>Improvements for PHP, Symfony, and JavaScript</h2>
“We can’t wait to work with a new and refined version of Drupal that bakes in upgraded versions for PHP, Symfony and uses more modern Javascript,” said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/markwestuk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mark West</a>, engineering manager with TPXimpact. “This will all make it even easier to develop large complex websites. Additionally, there are lots of improvements for admins and users too. These include a better authoring experience using CKEditor 5 and UX improvements in the new Claro admin theme.”
West, along with <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/volker-baisch-17a0b52/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Volker Baisch</a>, managing director of the BitBase Group, were each happy to see the changes made to jQuery through the update.
“Reducing reliance on jQuery will make a big difference—jQuery was great at the time, but these days, it represents a bit of a hurdle to adopting modern Javascript like React.”
Baisch agreed. “For developers, the upgrade to PHP 8.2 and the removal of jQuery are major steps towards improved performance—even if it comes here and there with some additional work,” he said. “And the seamless upgrade from version 9 to 10 is a great relief.”
<h2>Evolving website UX and digital experiences</h2>
In addition to applauding specific, updated features that accompany the release, some experts looked even more broadly for what the future might look like for Drupal sites.
“This new Drupal version should enhance Drupal’s significant influence on the future of the web,” said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-garcia-domenech-02921573/?originalSubdomain=es" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alexandra García Domenech</a>, manager CMS with Hiberus Digital Business. “Upcoming new features will take Drupal’s usability and adoption to a whole new level. Currently [Drupal] is used by 1 in 30 websites in the world, and our goal is to significantly increase this number. With Drupal 10, the transition from just a CMS to an Open Source Digital Experience Platform (DXP) will be very close to completion and will allow digital agencies to create better sites quickly.”
West also expressed excitement over Drupal’s enhancements for accessibility and internationalization.
“The support for better accessibility and internationalization will be very useful in the future, along with paving a path forward as a headless CMS taking an API first approach with better GraphQL support.”
<h2>A fond farewell to Internet Explorer</h2>
There’s no question that Internet Explorer—Microsoft’s legacy web browser—has been a thorn in the side of many SaaS platforms from an interoperability perspective. As Microsoft Edge supplants the retiring property, many platforms like Drupal are leaving it behind.
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottlmassey/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Scott Massey</a>, managing director of international markets at Pantheon, thinks this update to Drupal 10 is a noteworthy move for the CMS, one that will pay dividends around efficiency and performance.
“Removing support for Internet Explorer might not sound like the biggest change, but it will free up time spent working on legacy tech,” Massey said. “Because it does not have to look at backward compatibility with IE, Drupal 10 will require less time spent on outdated browsers.”
<h2>What’s next for Drupal?</h2>
While Drupal 10 is still fresh from the beta launchpad, Massey is already looking ahead—and sharing what he would like to see in the next release.
“I’d like a first-time user to have better choices in the look of their site from the start,” Massey said. “The theme marketplace has become inscrutable, and it’s a subtle barrier to entry for organizations who might choose Drupal for a proof of concept or a small site. I am hoping the project browser makes it easier for those new to Drupal to get a site launched first—then discover the amazing possibilities over time.”
Domenech echoed that sentiment. “For a newcomer to the Drupal community, it is often difficult to choose between a number of modules offering similar functionality. Another area for improvement would be a more intuitive rating system than the current one.”
<h2>Unwrapping a new release for the holidays</h2>
The anticipation for the new release is obvious, but experts also called attention to Drupal’s longstanding commitment to being an effective CMS authority.
“For me, Drupal remains one of the most powerful tools for organizations, not because of any particular new features (which are all well and good, keep them coming!), but because of its core data model,” Massey said. “I believe ‘the journey is the destination,’ and I have seen Drupal implementations that have helped companies better understand their organizational structure, data, content, and the interactions between all three. It is an unexpected and transformative by-product of carefully rethinking the CMS as the hub of how people communicate internally and externally. It’s part of the magic of Drupal that’s kept me around for over a decade now.”
With new features and enhanced functionality on the way, it is easy to see why users think Drupal 10 will make this a “December to remember.” We’ll be watching to see how Patheon and digital agencies around the globe leverage Drupal’s next wave of capabilities in 2023 and beyond, particularly as composable solutions continue to gain ground across the market.
<h2>About Pantheon</h2>
Pantheon is the platform for extraordinary websites, running sites in the cloud for customers including Stitch Fix, Okta, Home Depot, Pernod Ricard, and The Barack Obama Foundation. Modern organizations choose Pantheon to empower their digital teams to continuously optimize and innovate to deliver more engaging digital experiences. Using Pantheon’s WebOps platform, developers, marketers, and IT are empowered to work together to develop, test, and release website changes quickly and reliably, knowing their sites will remain stable and secure – even during the biggest traffic spikes.

What Do Industry Experts Expect for the Drupal 10 Launch? Here’s What They Told Us

There were no crystal balls at last week’s <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/mach-alliance-releases-study-on-adoption-of-mach-technologies-by-tech-leaders-qa-with-sonja-keerl/">MACH Alliance</a> board meeting – at least none we could spot. But there were still quite a few salient prognostications being conjured during an unscripted Q&amp;A with select partners and media.
Moderated by <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-hall-4b14a945/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Holly Hall</a>, managing director of the MACH Alliance, the lively discussion covered a range of pertinent topics, namely the economic slowdown looming over 2023.
CMS Critic was invited to listen in on the roundtable, which featured <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/casper-aagaard-rasmussen/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Casper Rasmussen</a>, MACH Alliance President and Global SVP of Technology at Valtech, as well as three MACH Alliance Executive Board Members: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/gordana-vuckovic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gordana Vuckovic</a>, Chief Revenue Officer at Vue Storefront; <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-panella-b616911/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jon Panella</a>, Group Vice President at Publicis Sapient; and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tareknseir/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tarek Nseir</a>, Head of Digital Engagement, EMEA at EPAM Systems.
<h2>Revolution meets recession</h2>
The roundtable kicked off with two earth-shaking words: economic downturn.
Of course, this subject is on everyone's mind, particularly those in the technology sector where jobs are already being shed by the likes of <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/meta-follows-twitter-in-making-major-job-cuts-11668028132" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Amazon and Adobe</a>. Are these the canaries in the proverbial coal mine?
While many economists have been chattering about an impending “chill” on the horizon, the Wall Street Journal is now forecasting a <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/economists-now-expect-a-recession-job-losses-by-next-year-11665859869" target="_blank" rel="noopener">63% probability that the U.S. market tips into recession</a> in the next 12 months—which in turn could ignite a global contagion.  
Despite the impending challenges, the discussion turned to the rising role of the CFO as an activator, particularly for B2B organizations looking to reduce costs and make critical decisions around operations. Inviting CFOs into the conversation is helping to accelerate and optimize delivery—which is ultimately driving the customer experience.
As Jon Panella pointed out, one of the biggest impediments to businesses and manufacturers in 2022 has been the constant disruptions to the supply chain, which has impacted the customer’s expectation of same-day delivery. Despite significant technological advances around supply chain visibility, the lack of access to resources continues to be a drag on businesses as they plan for next year.
<h2>MACH is accelerating composable transformation</h2>
According to Tarek Nseir, the pace of transformation is accelerating across the enterprise. In B2B specifically, he is seeing signs that businesses are adjusting their operating models to be more composable—and that MACH is becoming a force.
Casper Rasmussen echoed this, stating that in the B2B space, there’s a growing degree of MACH preference and that buyers are looking for services. He went on to say that the MACH Alliance is providing a “rubber stamp” for customers, allowing MACH vendors to achieve greater traction.
“We will continue to provide innovation and optimization for the buyer’s journey,” said Rasmussen.
He also talked about the continued development of tools to aid in the decision-making process, improve TCO, and help organizations understand the costs of composable versus a single monolithic vendor.
<h2>Enhancing the investment in education </h2>
There was broad consensus amongst the group on the Alliance’s investment in education, from skills training to enablement. As Rasmussen noted, this is about “helping companies from within” to improve their internal dynamics.
Gordana Vuckovic also noted that education is a key activator for transformation—but that it needs to be sustainable. The problem in the past, she said, is that experts can provide consulting and guidance but ultimately disengage from the relationship. Organizations need persistent access to knowledge in order to make MACH and composable strategies attainable.
According to Nseir, there has been an enormous deficit in education for B2B companies in particular. Panella agreed: “Being part of the MACH Alliance is a must,” he said. “Clients are coming in, asking ‘how can you help us follow the path?’”
<h2>Differentiating with composable</h2>
As Panella pointed out, the scope of composable offerings from ISVs and vendors has become more mature, allowing them to scale their products and services with greater ease—much like traditional monoliths. This seems to translate into a more bullish view of growth for the composable category in 2023.
But what’s driving platforms, agencies, and integrators to embrace composable? According to the group, the ability to innovate and test quickly has had the most dramatic impact. Companies don’t know which models are best, so composable solutions are streamlining the lifecycle of spinning up and down and delivering almost anywhere via headless and microservices. Because this can be replicated over and over without the rigors of “rip and replace,” the entire process becomes much more efficient.
Rasmussen also spoke about the need for differentiation through composable, and how MACH has helped organizations pivot along the way. He went on to espouse the benefits of more meaningful personalization behind products and brand experiences that enhance loyalty and equity.
<h2>B2B versus B2C and tracking the “iterations”</h2>
There was some pointed discussion around the challenges facing B2B organizations and the adoption of MACH and composable. As a matter of context, it was suggested that most B2C companies might be on their third “iteration” of a strategy or stack, while B2B organizations are still on a first or second wave of transformation. This is likely why Alliance members haven’t seen as much greenfield opportunity in B2B (as of yet).
Despite the lag, the group did point out that B2B organizations tend to have better data than their consumer counterparts, enabling them to build better experiences around products. The standout observation: B2Bs have known customers, but not the required tech stack.
The group also talked discussed the opportunity event horizon for businesses to embrace MACH. Even those companies tethered to a years-long contract with a monolithic platform can start small and build inroads toward more advanced architectures in the future.
Their advice? Don't get stuck looking at the larger view. Instead, think in “smaller chunks.”
<h2>MACHifying more of the stack</h2>
One question posed to the roundtable was about traditional monolithic platforms becoming more composable. Prompting the discussion was <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/reviews/salesforce-cms-review-evolving-a-crm-powerhouse-into-a-dxp-challenger/">Salesforce</a>, which launched its <a href="https://www.ziffity.com/blog/salesforce-composable-storefront/#:~:text=In%20August%20this%20year%2C%20Salesforce,while%20increasing%20engagement%20and%20sales." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Composable Storefront</a> in August. A fully-customizable, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-headless-commerce-platforms/">headless</a> digital storefront, the new service allows users to make changes on their eCommerce site with greater speed and flexibility.
The solution seems to fit a more composable mold (it's in the name, after all). But does it meet the MACH threshold? 
The other specific example they pondered was ERP, and whether companies like <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/sap-drops-8-billion-to-buy-qualtrics/">SAP</a> would evolve their architectures to become more composable—or face competitors with MACH-oriented offerings.
Rasmussen replied, suggesting that these layers of the stack continue to reign as monoliths because there has been no other place for planning and resource data to live within the stack.
“Now with MACH, we have a place,” he said.
<h2>To be MACH or not to be, that is the question</h2>
The group also reflected on the efforts of other DXPs like Salesforce to position themselves as composable players in the market. When asked if these platforms might fit the MACH mold and become Alliance partners, Rasmussen reinforced the guiding principles of the organization, which mapped to his comments in a <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/the-future-is-composable-a-conversation-with-new-mach-alliance-president-casper-rasmussen/">previous interview</a> we conducted a few months ago.
“There are key qualities and attributes that need to be present,” he said. “[These organizations] are not there yet.”
This spurred further comments from the group about the key differentiators between MACH and composable. While the MACH Alliance believes fully in composability, the movement falls short of the specific tenants crystallized by the Alliance charter. As John Panella pointed out: “All MACH solutions are composable, but not all composable solutions are MACH.”
That may be true. But continuing to clarify the differentiators must be a central focus, particularly as more organizations seek guidance on their composable journey.  
<h2>Key Takeaways</h2>
It doesn’t take a crystal ball to see that education will be the most critical initiative for the MACH Alliance in 2023. While issues like orchestrating the data layer or finding skilled practitioners will remain persistent challenges, it’s clear that teaching and leading are the essential tools for driving greater adoption.
While many organizations are predicting less-than-rosy economic conditions over the next 12 months, the MACH Alliance sees opportunities for accelerating growth by decoupling the innovation cycle. For B2B companies and manufacturers that have struggled due to supply chain issues and unprecedented inflation, the move into MACH may seem daunting—but also ripe with possibilities.
On a final note: holding these open roundtables is applause-worthy. It speaks volumes about the Alliance’s commitment to its members and provides a layer of transparency to the broader market. It also underscores the deeper mission of supporting MACH at a community level, where a "rising tide lifts all boats."
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellygoetsch/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kelly Goetsch</a>, Chief Strategy Officer at <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/commercetools-acquires-frontastic-adds-composable-frontend-capabilities-to-headless-commerce/">commercetools</a> and a leading voice within the MACH Alliance, once observed during a <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/cms-kickoff-2023-brings-laser-focus-to-content-management-offers-sessions-with-industry-leaders/">CMS Experts</a> meeting that there might be a day when the Alliance is no longer needed—thus reflecting the market’s full pivot towards MACH. Until then, it will serve an essential role in helping everyone realize the promise of a composable future.

MACH Alliance Roundtable Focuses on Composability and Innovation as Economic Activators in 2023

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MACH Alliance roundtable participants featuring headshots

<h4>The two-day conference will be held January 17-18 in St. Petersburg, Florida, and feature keynotes and workshops with leading global experts in the CMS field. </h4>
<hr />
If only there were a vendor-neutral conference dedicated to CMS...
That was the vision guiding <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/critics/janus-boye/">Janus Boye</a> of <a href="https://www.boye-co.com/" target="_blank">Boye &amp; Company</a>, a leading peer group organizer, to create a new kind of live experience – one that focuses exclusively on Content Management Systems.
The <a href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff23" target="_blank">CMS Kickoff 2023 Conference</a> will offer attendees a fresh and unique perspective on the continuously evolving CMS space. The two-day event promises diverse opportunities for learning and networking, as well as keynotes from top industry speakers and thought leaders.
Aptly named a “kickoff” and held in January, the conference will look back at the previous year’s challenges and trends. But as Boye pointed out, event speakers will emphasize what’s ahead for the CMS community in 2023.
<h2>A program featuring global brands and industry experts</h2>
The CMS Kickoff 2023 will share learnings, insights, and best practices from leading brands that are utilizing CMS, including <a href="https://www.aetna.com/" target="_blank">Aetna</a>, <a href="https://dia.org/" target="_blank">Detroit Institute of Arts</a>, <a href="https://www.jnj.com/" target="_blank">Johnson &amp; Johnson</a>, and <a href="https://www.wellsfargo.com/" target="_blank">Wells Fargo</a>.
Attendees will also have an opportunity to hear from CMS industry experts like <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/deane/" target="_blank">Deane Barker</a>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bartomlo/" target="_blank">Bart Omlo</a>, and <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/from-legacy-to-composable-whats-the-best-way-forward/">Sana Remekie</a> (to name a few). These respected thought leaders will interpret market trends and discuss topics that range from <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-free-headless-cms-platforms/">headless CMS</a> to digital experience composition.
<h2>Exclusively focused on CMS</h2>
Boye has long been a respected voice within the CMS community, conducting peer groups that tackle a range of topics. Along the way, Boye &amp; Company has built a global cabal of experts representing a multitude of vendors and integrators, and many have been yearning for a CMS event.  
“The CMS industry does not currently have a dedicated conference,” said Boye. “This event aims to change that while remaining focused on helping customers and ultimately moving the industry forward – without sales pitches.”
The CMS Kickoff 2023 will offer curated talks, workshops, and a “perfect mix” of presentations and discussions. Along with Boye &amp; Company’s legendary learning format and social events, the conference promises something for every CMS user, builder, or enthusiast – regardless of skill level.  
“Think of this conference as a mixture of world-class masterclasses, relevant lectures, enlightening discussions, high-impact learning, and down-to-earth networking,” said Boye.
<h2><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2022/12/don-cesar.jpg" alt="Don Cesar Hotel image" /></h2>
<h2>Hosted at the Don CeSar Hotel in St. Petersburg, Florida</h2>
To top it off, the CMS Kickoff 2023 will be hosted at the legendary <a href="https://www.doncesar.com/" target="_blank">The Don CeSar</a> Hotel in beautiful St. Pete Beach – giving many attendees from around the globe an opportunity to leave winter weather behind and enjoy the Florida sunshine. Built in 1928 to resemble a Mediterranean-style castle and known as Florida’s "Pink Palace," the Don CeSar is the only historic hotel on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
CMS Kickoff will be held from January 17-18, 2023. Registration is now open, and you can visit the website to <a href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff23/program" target="_blank">explore the event</a>, <a href="https://lnkd.in/dy_cSrhe" target="_blank">see the speakers</a>, and <a href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff23/tickets" target="_blank">book your seat</a> today.

CMS Kickoff 2023 Brings Laser Focus to Content Management, Offers Sessions with Industry Leaders

CMS Kickoff featured image with palm trees and logo

<a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/kontent-ai-raises-40-million-to-bring-the-power-of-ai-to-content-management/">Kontent.ai</a>, an award-winning modular content platform, shared some big news yesterday that's reinforcing its ambitious growth plans. Along with stellar additions to its executive team, the company also announced a newly minted membership in the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/the-future-is-composable-a-conversation-with-new-mach-alliance-president-casper-rasmussen/">MACH Alliance</a> and the opening of new offices in New York City.
In addition to covering the announcements, CMS Critic had a chance to ask <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/vojtechboril/" target="_blank">Vojtech Boril</a>, the company's Vice President of Growth &amp; Marketing, a few questions about the news.
<h2>Kontent.ai prepares to enter its next phase of growth with two key hires </h2>
The senior executives joining the Kontent.ai team are <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/olga-stuck-480207/" target="_blank">Olga Stuck,</a> who will serve as COO, and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/montewilson/" target="_blank">Monte Wilson,</a> who has been named Head of GTM Strategy and Field Operation. According to the company's press release, these key executive appointments will serve Kontent.ai during a time of major growth and change, energized by a recent <a href="https://kontent.ai/blog/kontent-ai-has-raised-40-million-in-growth-capital/">$40 million growth capital</a> investment from Expedition Growth Capital.
With more than 20 years of experience in organizational development, Stuck has guided companies like Moravia IT and RWS Moravia through organic growth as well as acquisitions, scaling from 500 to 3,000 employees in 23 locations. “My mission is to help Kontent.ai scale and bring the organization to a new level while preserving our unique culture, relationships, and DEI at the center of what we do,” she said. 
Wilson's role at Kontent.ai is to fuel growth, developing innovative go-to-market plans and efficient sales and operational structures. Wilson's impressive pedigree includes successful builds, turnarounds, and rebuilds of organizations for companies like <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/sitecore-updates-experience-platform-and-experience-commerce-releases-new-sitecore-content-hub/">Sitecore</a>, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/cms-monthly-recap-wordpress-acquires-parse-ly-siteimprove-releases-upgraded-accessibility-product-twilio-segment-releases-2021-cdp-report-and-more/">Oracle</a>, and <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/adobe-experience-cloud-adds-new-headless-cms-capabilities-updates-to-commerce-integration/">Adobe</a>.
“Martech is a highly competitive business segment, so it is vital that you have the right product, the right team of highly talented individuals, and be with the right ecosystem of partners," said Wilson. "Kontent.ai is perfectly positioned for high growth, especially since composable, headless technologies are really taking off in the market. We have unique advantages that I’m certain will allow us to quickly separate from the pack and help customers realize the potential of this new space. The talent in this team and the capabilities of the product speak for themselves, and I’m honored to be a part of the Kontent.ai team,”
<h2>Kontent.ai joins MACH Alliance to deepen cooperation with other vendors and empower large organizations  </h2>
Another critical accomplishment for Kontent.ai is achieving <a href="https://kontent.ai/blog/kontent-ai-joins-the-mach-alliance/">membership in the prestigious MACH Alliance</a>, a group of more than 70 independent technology companies advocating for open, best-of-breed technology ecosystems. MACH architecture – which stands for Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native SaaS, and Headless – empowers organizations to adapt to customers’ changing behaviors and deliver results.   
A true cloud-native service since its inception, Kontent.ai meets the Alliance’s stringent certification standards, with its membership serving as strong validation of the platform’s impact and future vision. Becoming a member of the MACH Alliance will also allow Kontent.ai to deepen technology cooperation with other MACH vendors and deliver even more value to customers.
"Joining the MACH Alliance, Kontent.ai is pleased to shine a light on our long-standing dedication to MACH technology principles," said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bartomlo/" target="_blank">Bart Omlo</a>, CEO, Kontent.ai. "Our customers’ measurable success with our modular content platform is evidence of the transformative power of MACH, not only for engineering teams but also for global content teams.” 
<h2>Expanding Kontent.ai’s global footprint with an office in New York City </h2>
To meet increasing global demand, the company has opened another office in the U.S. to support its growing customer base on a local level. The new office – located in the iconic Chrysler Building in New York City – will serve as the main hub for all U.S. operations, enabling professionals at Kontent.ai to help US-based clients reach their ambitious goals.
According to the company's press release, the decision to choose New York City was reinforced by a successful New York-based session of the <a href="https://horizons.kontent.ai/" target="_blank">Kontent.ai Horizons conference</a> in November. The Kontent.ai team believes their presence in New York City will provide a great platform for establishing stronger and closer relationships with customers and partners. 
Kontent.ai's distributed team continues to work from multiple different locations around the globe, with offices in London, Amsterdam, Brno, Olomouc, Sydney, and previously Bedford, New Hampshire. On its mission to help people tell stories that change the world, the company is rapidly growing with new hires across engineering, sales, customer success, and other departments. 
<h2>Q&amp;A with Vojtech Boril, Vice President, Growth &amp; Marketing at Kontent.ai</h2>
Our CMS Critic editorial team had the opportunity to connect with Boril and follow up with a few questions regarding the company's recent announcements.
CMS Critic (CC): Large technology companies are announcing layoffs and adjusting expectations for 2023. With your recent investment news, Kontent.ai appears more bullish. That said, how do you see a potential recession affecting your new business strategy?
Vojtech Boril (VB): We keep a positive outlook for 2023 and plan to continue hiring across the board (for both commercial and technical roles). We can still see strong traction for Kontent.ai, and while the growth rate may slow down due to a recession (that would eventually impact every business), we're still confident that we will significantly grow year-over-year. 

CC: How will the new MACH Alliance membership help Kontent.ai better differentiate in what is becoming a more crowded space? Which vendors or categories do you see as key for growing your composable opportunities?
VB: Kontent.ai has always been focused on what we do the best: content management at scale. While the market is becoming more crowded, we strongly differentiate from other headless CMSs by providing key capabilities for business and marketing teams too, including real-time collaboration, superb content governance, or content collections. That being said, since we focus solely on content management (and do not plan to change this focus), it's critical for us to build strong relationships with other MACH vendors to provide customers with a composable DXP offering. We see the biggest partnership opportunities with vendors in areas of commerce (eg commercetools or Vue StoreFront), personalization (eg Uniform or Conscia.ai) and localization (eg Phrase or XTM Cloud).
CC: You mention an aggressive hiring strategy. Will more of the investment be made in specific regions like the new NA/NYC office?
VB: We're building and scaling Kontent.ai as a global, remote-first organization with office hubs in some critical locations. While our office in New York City is our main hub for North America, we're hiring across the entire US without any specified location requirement, as we aim to bring on the right talent. Over the next few years, we expect significant growth in NA, which is why the location is a focus for us from a hiring perspective, but we're also hiring in Europe (most significantly in the Netherlands, UK and the Czech Republic).
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<h2>Meet Bart and Vojtech at CMS Kickoff 2023</h2>
January 17-18 in St. Petersburg, FL
Don't miss the only conference tailored for everyone working with content management systems, from beginners to experts! Featuring two packed days with a carefully curated mixture of talks, workshops, activities, world-class facilitators, thought provokers, speakers, and session leads. Meet Bart Omlo and Vojtech Boril from Kontent.ai and mingle with CMS experts and users from around the globe at this exclusive event in beautiful St. Petersburg. 
Register today at the <a href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff23/program" target="_blank">CMS Kickoff 2023 website</a>. 
<h2>About Kontent.ai</h2>
Kontent.ai is a leading modular content platform that enables marketers and developers to plan, create, and deliver content at scale. Business teams collaborate daily in the intuitive authoring experience designed for governed content production and management, real-time reviewing and approvals, and modular content reuse. In parallel, developers leverage the total flexibility of the headless solution, best-of-breed technologies, and composable AI to deliver digital experiences via API to any channel. With hubs in New York, London, Amsterdam, Brno, and Sydney, Kontent.ai helps companies like Zurich Insurance, Algolia, Vogue, AC Milan, and Oxford University unlock the full potential of their content and connect with customers worldwide.

Kontent.ai Adds Key Executives, Joins MACH Alliance and Opens NYC Office: Q&A with Vojtech Boril

Kontent.ai logo against a black background

Are you looking to modernize your tech stack but feel hamstrung by your legacy systems? If so, you're not alone. Many organizations are in the same boat—stuck with old, outdated systems that are holding them back from taking advantage of newer, more innovative technologies.
<a href="https://www.gartner.com/en/articles/you-ll-be-breaking-up-with-bad-customers-and-9-other-predictions-for-2022-and-beyond" target="_blank">According to Gartner</a>, by 2024, 80% of CIOs surveyed will list modular business redesign, through composability, as a top five reason for accelerated business performance.   

So, what exactly is the problem with legacy architectures:
<ul>
<li>They are not composable; they don't have APIs to interact with other platforms</li>
<li>They are not scalable or stable and often have performance issues</li>
<li>They are difficult to maintain or update, increasing IT costs in both time and resources</li>
<li>Extensively customized and third-party elements of the application may no longer be supported</li>
<li>The system is no longer agile to emerging customer needs</li>
</ul>
Organizations are sitting on age-old infrastructure and applications, built over many years to meet the needs of their business. For that reason, these applications are not easy to replace. So, what options do organizations have to modernize?
<h2>Migration</h2>
Even though on the surface this sounds like the ideal solution, practically speaking, it's often very disruptive. The primary reason for this is the reliance on these applications and mission-critical workflows tied to them. They're powering many external or internal touchpoints and experiences, and you can’t afford to destabilize the backend these touchpoints so heavily rely upon.  
Integrations with various upstream and downstream systems and customizations have been made to the core capabilities of these systems to meet evolving business needs over the years. This means it’s not easy to find one system that can do everything that your legacy system does, even though it’s been put together with glue and duct tape.  
Finally, no one wants to spend the time and money needed for a migration project. Most organizations only invest in projects that will bring them immediate ROI. Complete system overhauls just don't fit into this model of business thinking because they take too long-term of an investment without any tangible benefits at first glance (and many end up costing more).
<h2>Re-Architect / Re-Build</h2>
This involves rewriting the legacy application from scratch. Similar to the migration option, this is also highly disruptive, time-consuming, and costly. If you do decide to go forward with a rebuild, you'll want to employ a composable strategy. However, chances are you will have a hard time justifying this approach to your steering committee.
<h2>Retain / Encapsulate</h2>
What if you could encapsulate your existing legacy system with a modernization layer? The idea here is to create a modern facade on top of your legacy systems to interface with modern applications while replacing pieces of the legacy system one small step at a time.
The “Strangler Pattern” is a technique for slowly replacing legacy systems with new ones. As the name suggests, the idea is to "strangle" the old system by gradually adding new features and functionalities on top until the legacy system is eventually replaced. This approach has several advantages, including that it doesn't require a complete rip-and-replace of the old system.
<h2>How the “Strangler Pattern” Works</h2>
There are two main ways to implement the <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchapparchitecture/tip/A-detailed-intro-to-the-strangler-pattern" target="_blank">Strangler Pattern</a>: top-down and bottom-up. 
With top-down strangulation, you start by creating a new system that mimics the functionality of the old one. Once this new system is up and running, you slowly start routing traffic away from the old system and towards the new one. Eventually, all traffic will be directed to the new system, at which point you can decommission the old one altogether. 
Bottom-up strangulation takes a different approach. Instead of starting with a brand-new system, you begin by identifying pieces of functionality that can be migrated from the legacy system to a new one without disrupting business operations. These migrated pieces are then wrapped in an API that exposes them to other parts of the system. This process is repeated until all functionality has been relocated to the new system and the legacy system can be decommissioned. 
This is the most practical approach organizations can employ to charge ahead toward digital transformation while maintaining stable operations. For instance, if you have a homegrown CMS, you create an API layer that encapsulates the legacy system and exposes only the content and functions that are required by the new customer experiences that you'd like to launch.
<h2>Legacy Systems Need More Than APIs </h2>
Okay, so you’ve added APIs to your legacy applications, so we should be good to go, right?  
Well, not quite. Legacy systems were never built to support today's traffic loads from modern touchpoints, and their infrastructure is weak—they can't keep up with the demand of your modern apps or websites. This means if you want these old apps running smoothly on an <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-jamstack-static-site-generators-for-2021/">API-driven</a> front end, they need something more: a fast-performing data layer that indexes what would have been stored locally in legacy applications.
What if you have multiple legacy systems that hold onto related data and you need these relationships to be exposed for the front-end experience? An example of this in an e-commerce domain would be a grocery brand with a product catalog, ingredients, and recipes that may all be stored in separate homegrown, proprietary, or legacy applications. This content from multiple systems may need to be connected before exposing it to an experience such as a product details page on an e-commerce website. 
Now, you can argue that we should be able to modernize each individual system with an API and then simply call the APIs from the front end and connect the data on the client side. This is theoretically possible, but it’s not sustainable. 
If you want to build multiple front-end applications relying on the same underlying data and business logic, especially if the frontends are built on several different frameworks, you have to repeat the same work every time, creating redundancies and inconsistent experiences. To make matters worse, what if the data in each of these legacy systems have gaps, inconsistencies, and inaccuracies? 
Adding APIs on top of bad data and content doesn’t solve this problem. After all, garbage-in means garbage-out.  
<h2>So, What’s the Best Way Forward?</h2>
I hope it is evident that a rip-and-replace or full rebuild are not practical solutions for legacy modernization. Piecemeal, step-by-step, replacement of functional components using the Strangler Pattern is definitely a more viable option. However, when you implement this pattern, you have to be aware that the system performance, scalability, and data unification are real concerns that must be addressed. 
What you need is a way to create a scalable, persistent, and API-enabled data layer that syncs with your legacy backends and is able to unify, normalize, and optimize the data before it is consumed by the front end. This data layer should be able to model the complexity of your data sources without shoehorning you into a pre-built schema of any sort. This not only removes the need to perform gymnastics on the front end, but it also ensures a separation of concerns in your experience stack.
At Conscia.ai, we provide an elegant solution to this problem with the DX Graph – and I invite you to learn more about our innovation at <a href="https://conscia.ai/" target="_blank">www.conscia.ai</a>.
<h2>About Conscia.ai</h2>
<a href="https://conscia.ai/" target="_blank">Conscia.ai</a> is an Experience Orchestration Platform that empowers digital teams to create personalized, omnichannel experiences in a composable tech stack. Conscia.ai offers two standalone products, the DX Graph and the DX Engine.
<h2>About the DX Graph™</h2>
One of the biggest roadblocks in the journey toward composability is legacy systems and data silos. If your data is trapped in one or more data sources that are not accessible via APIs, the DX Graph allows you to create an API-first modernization layer on top of your existing systems of record. Secondly, the DX Graph allows your digital teams to sync with these systems of record to create a 360 view of all your siloed content and data, where you can relate, search, enrich and distribute your data to downstream applications and touchpoints.
<h2>About the DX Engine™</h2>
With the shift towards headless and composable architectures, marketers have lost the ability to intuitively manage experiences; the control over who sees what content when, and where now falls squarely into the hands of the developer. The DX Engine puts marketers back in control to activate personalized and intelligent experiences on all channels from a centralized, intuitive interface. The DX Engine connects to all of the backend content and data sources (including the DX Graph) through real-time APIs and abstracts out the complexity of these integrations for business and marketing teams. 
<a href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff23/program" target="_blank"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2022/12/cms-kickoff-2023-banner-1024x151.jpg" alt="CMS Kickoff 2023 banner" /></a>
<h2>Join Sana at CMS Kickoff 2023</h2>
January 17-18 in St. Petersburg, FL
Don't miss the only conference tailored for everyone working with content management systems, from beginners to experts! Featuring two packed days with a carefully curated mixture of talks, workshops, activities, world-class facilitators, thought provokers, speakers, and session leads – including Sana Remekie's presentation, "The Journey from Monolith to Composable."
Register today at the <a href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff23/program" target="_blank">CMS Kickoff 2023 website</a>.

From Legacy to Composable: What’s The Best Way Forward?

sana-remekie

Composite image of Sana Remekie in front of arrow leading from "legacy" to "composable" with the Conscia.ai logo in the bottom right corner.

The composable revolution is upon us – and <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/contentstack-raises-57-5-million-in-series-b-round-qa-with-ceo-neha-sampat/">Contentstack</a> is establishing its position as a frontline innovator.
Last week, the Content Experience Platform (CXP) category leader and composable architecture pioneer announced $80 million in Series C funding. <a href="https://georgian.io/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Georgian</a> and <a href="https://www.insightpartners.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Insight Partners</a> co-led the round with participation from <a href="https://illuminate.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Illuminate Ventures</a>. Georgian’s Lead Investor Emily Walsh will join the Contentstack board along with Contentstack CFO David Overmyer.
“We look for high-growth companies with great leadership and a strong work culture," said Walsh. "We also love to help disruptors do what they do best. For all these reasons, we chose to double down on our investment. Contentstack’s ability to ensure customers are successful while also innovating at record speeds positions them as the leader in the CMS market. We are proud to co-lead this round and provide the Company with the support required for true category leadership.”
All three companies continue to grow their investment with Contentstack, contributing to a whopping $169 million raised thus far.
<h2>Powering the composable future with headless CMS</h2>
According to Contentstack, the company will use the infusion to support enterprise companies on their path to composable, helping them meet consumer demand for omnichannel and personalized experiences.
As the only <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-free-headless-cms-platforms/">headless CMS</a> offering a solution to “integration hell” with <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/company/press/contentstack-launches-first-ever-no-code-automation-hub-making-composable-content-experiences-easy-for-everyone/" target="_self" rel="noopener">Automation Hub</a>, Contentstack delivers a viable path to composable for enterprises. By automating and streamlining hundreds of activities across technologies and vendors in real-time, enterprises can now more aggressively retire costly legacy content management systems (CMS). This also allows them to unlock digital experience innovation more broadly and realize a significantly greater return on investment (ROI).  
"We started Contentstack years ago because other solutions in the market did not meet the growing demand for cloud, omnichannel, and ease of working with other technologies," said Neha Sampat, Contentstack’s founder and CEO. "Embracing composable means embracing change, empowering teams, getting more bang for your buck, and continuing to win in a tough economic environment. With the best composable content platform and the industry's best customer care, Contentstack is determined to help companies on their path. For enterprises ready to challenge the status quo, Contentstack will not only be your ally every step of the way. We go beyond that – we won’t let you fail.”
The Company’s flagship <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/company/press/contentstack-expands-customer-support-launch-industry-first-cross-vendor-service-commitment-program/" target="_self" rel="noopener">Care Without Compromise</a> program ensures cross-vendor support in composable environments. With Automation Hub and Care Without Compromise, Contentstack is again at the forefront of the composable movement, which strives to set customers up for success in today’s rapidly changing business and technology landscape.
Reinforcing its commitment to composable, Contentstack is also a founding member of the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/the-future-is-composable-a-conversation-with-new-mach-alliance-president-casper-rasmussen/">MACH Alliance</a>. Now with over 70 members, the independent non-profit organization helps enterprises understand, select, and evolve with best-of-breed technologies – so they can leave slow and expensive “monoliths” behind.
<h2>A growth streak built on composable</h2>
Since Contentstack’s Series B in June of 2021, it has seen explosive growth as more enterprises have adopted composable architectures at the center of their digital strategies. The company has grown to more than 400 employees and is approaching over 50,000 users in over 70 global markets. In the same timeframe, Contentstack also delivered a cloud-agnostic solution supporting both AWS and Microsoft Azure in the US and Europe.
Contentstack has also doubled the number of customers they serve and nearly tripled ARR, all while maintaining a 97% customer retention rate. Additionally, Contentstack has scaled its book of business with some of the world's largest brands. According to its press release, 42% of its new customers claim revenues greater than $1B, and 35% of them are publicly traded.
Contentstack also won six 2022 Comparably "Best Places to Work" Awards and was honored as an Inc. "Best Workplaces" in 2021. <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Austin Business Journal </a>also named Neha Sampat one of Austin’s Best CEOs in 2022.
<h2>About Contentstack</h2>
<a href="https://www.contentstack.com/" target="_self" rel="noopener">Contentstack</a> – the Content Experience Platform (CXP) category leader – empowers marketers and developers to deliver composable digital experiences at the speed of their imagination. Companies such as ASICS, Chase, Express, Holiday Inn, Icelandair, Mattel, McDonald's, Mitsubishi, Riot Games, and Shell trust Contentstack to power their most critical content experiences with uncompromising scale and dependability. Famous for its Care without Compromise™, Contentstack has achieved the industry's highest customer satisfaction rating. Contentstack is also a founder of the MACH Alliance, setting the industry agenda for open and composable technology that is Microservices-based, API-first, Cloud-native SaaS, and Headless. Learn more at <a href="http://www.contentstack.com/" target="_self" rel="noopener">http://www.contentstack.com</a>.

Contentstack Raises $80 Million Series C, Focuses on Accelerating the Path to Composable for Enterprises

Contentstack logo against purple background

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The "Muskavation" of <a href="https://twitter.com/cmscritic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a> continues, and the social media giant's newly anointed King is forcing many tech companies to reassess their remote work strategies.
Could this mean the end of <a href="https://zoom.us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Zoom</a> calls in pajamas and board meetings interrupted by cats?
And who, exactly, is resuming their commute back to the office?
While the remote work phenomenon might be in the rearview for many employees, it seems that developers will continue to drive the trend – and even shape its future. This is according to a recent survey published by <a href="https://www.netlify.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Netlify</a>, a buzzworthy platform that's powering modern web development.
The company announced the findings last week from its third annual <a href="https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3700082-1&amp;h=3410126094&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fjamstack.org%2Fsurvey%2F2022%2F&amp;a=%C2%A0Jamstack+Community+Survey" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Jamstack Community Survey</a>, the definitive pulse on global trends across the Jamstack web developer ecosystem. An acronym for Javascript, APIs, and Microservices (the "JAM"), <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-jamstack-static-site-generators-for-2021/">Jamstack</a> is an architectural model that decouples the web experience layer from the data and business logic – improving the flexibility, scalability, performance, and maintainability of modern apps. 
"The Jamstack Community Survey is created by the community, for the community," said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathias-biilmann-christensen-a5a3805/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Matt Biilmann</a>, co-founder and CEO of Netlify. "The findings will not only help developers learn from their peers but also help business leaders better understand how developers can be change makers within their organizations. They can learn about what tools and processes they need to be most impactful."
Along with prognosticating the future of remote work, the survey also revealed interesting data from developers about Web3, the growth of serverless and edge computing, and where content management systems fit in the mix.
<h2>For developers, remote work isn't going away </h2>
As Covid-19 lockdowns become a footnote in recent history, the impact of remote work is undeniable. In the last two years, it has cemented itself as "the new normal." 83% of developers claim to be working more than half the time remotely, while 76% say they've maintained or increased their frequency of working remotely in the last year.
What's clear in the survey results is that remote has become the preferred way of working for developers. In fact, 87% say they enjoy remote work – and an astounding 55% said they would quit their jobs if forced to return to an office. Someone should send Musk the memo. 
According to the survey, 33% of respondents have already changed jobs in the last year, increasing the likelihood that developers will not hesitate to "job-hop" if they need to. It's worth noting that remote work flexibility and career growth opportunities were the most frequently cited reasons for leaving a job, followed by compensation.
Clearly, developers value freedom a little more than finances. At least right now. 
<h2>Web3 hope... or hype?</h2>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Web3</a> has captured the tech zeitgeist throughout 2022, with <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-18/bitcoin-responds-to-ftx-contagion-by-heading-for-a-weekly-gain" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bitcoin</a> starting the year at around $50,000 to the beleaguered <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/15/ftx-says-could-have-over-1-million-creditors-in-new-bankruptcy-filing.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FTX exchange just declaring bankruptcy</a>. 
While the concept of a new web composed of decentralized blockchains (DeFi) is intriguing, Web3 has also been the target of mistrust and skepticism. According to the survey, 7% to 10% of developers have tried technologies like cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), but only 3% report using them regularly.
To help gauge the hope and the hype for the future, Netlify also asked developers to share their general attitudes toward Web3. The findings were mixed: 42% of developers either don't know what Web3 is (or don't care), while 31% had negative feelings about it.
Bottom line: the survey shows that Web3 is still a long way from mass adoption, and developers continue to be slow and cautious about embracing it. 
<h2>Building better web experiences with serverless and edge </h2>
Jamstack is continuing to evolve the modern web by helping developers build more dynamic websites. Developers are relying on cutting-edge cloud technologies to achieve this, including <a href="https://goserverless.solodev.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">serverless computing</a>.
To that end, Netlify's 2022 Jamstack report found that serverless is now officially mainstream: 70% of developers report using it, up from 46% last year – a jaw-dropping adoption rate. Meanwhile, some 47% of developers are experimenting with edge dynamic sites, a sign of the continued innovation happening at the network edge.
Serverless technology is enabling Jamstack websites to grow their capabilities while maintaining the simplicity of development and deployment that is the hallmark of the platform.
<h2>Web frameworks and programming languages </h2>
To build dynamic web apps, developers require flexibility. They want to choose whichever web framework best suits their needs, and they now have plenty to choose from.
Among the landscape of options, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/uxpin-merge-review-sync-react-components-with-prototypes/">React</a> continues to be the overwhelming favorite, with 71% of developers reporting they build with it – 3% more than last year.
Riding React's popularity is <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-jamstack-static-site-generators-for-2021/">Next.js</a>, which uses React and is the overall most popular web framework. In fact, 1 in 2 developers (47%) say they have built sites using Next.js in the last year. However, competition remains strong: newer entrants like Astro (11%) and SolidJS (6%) have had promising starts, and Remix (10%) and Sveltekit (15%) have grown steadily year over year. Vite saw an 18% increase since 2021, with a third (32%) of developers using it.
"We're thrilled that a third of the Jamstack community is embracing Vite as they build for the modern web," said Matias Capeletto (aka Patak), from the Vite Core Team. "Vite's usage more than doubled in a year, thanks to being adopted by many modern app frameworks and web tools. The pace of innovation continues to accelerate. Vite's Rollup-based Plugin API allows the ecosystem to share solutions and collaborate in ways we haven't seen before."
Regarding programming language preferences, the great <a href="https://www.typescriptlang.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TypeScript</a> migration continues, with usage growing 110% in the last two years. 21% of developers now call TypeScript their primary programming language, while the number of developers who say the same about JavaScript has dropped from 63% to 53% in the same timeframe. However, JavaScript isn't going anywhere soon: 96% of developers say they use it, even if it isn't their primary choice.
<h2>The CMS of choice is still WordPress, but... </h2>
In the world of Content Management Systems (CMS), things continue to evolve. <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/wordpress-keeps-classical-editor-alive-acquires-frontity-to-expand-headless-capabilities/">WordPress</a> is still by far the biggest winner, with 37% of devs saying they use it – even though their reported satisfaction with it is lower than many alternatives.
Interestingly, WordPress as a stand-alone CMS is losing share. At the same time, 22% of respondents said that they're using WordPress as a headless API to power a Jamstack website – and that number is growing.
<a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/storybloks-cms-report-shows-enterprises-are-still-scared-of-omnichannel-content-experiences/">Storyblok</a>, a newcomer to the survey, reached 9% usage amongst respondents, a strong showing for the up-and-coming <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-free-headless-cms-platforms/">headless CMS</a>. 
"More and more developers realize the potential of headless architecture in building and deploying better web experiences," said Dominik Angerer, CEO and founder of Storyblok. "At the same time, we believe that the content team utilizing the power of Jamstack with a headless CMS like Storyblok gets the content tools they need and love for creating great experiences on the frontend."
To explore the findings in more detail, you can view the <a href="https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3700082-1&amp;h=4098052836&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fjamstack.org%2Fsurvey%2F2022%2F&amp;a=full+methodology+of+the+survey" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">full methodology of the survey</a>.
<h2 class="wcag-arialevel-3">About Netlify</h2>
Netlify is the platform your developers love for building highly-performant and dynamic websites, e-commerce stores and web apps. By uniting an extensive ecosystem of technologies, services and APIs into one workflow, Netlify unlocks new levels of team productivity, while saving time and money. As pioneers of the Jamstack movement, Netlify brings together all modern web frameworks, serverless functions and edge computing into one platform to deliver unmatched user experiences. Millions of developers and businesses build with Netlify, from Fortune 500 companies like Unilever and Verizon to companies changing our digital experiences like Peloton and Twilio. Get started for free at <a href="https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3700082-1&amp;h=2291442546&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.netlify.com%2F&amp;a=netlify.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">netlify.com</a>.

Netlify Publishes Jamstack Community Survey, Shows Developers are Driving the Future of Remote Work

Image of the Netlify logo with the icon and text against a dark blue background.

When the MACH Alliance first arrived on the scene in June of 2020, the composable movement was still gestating. While monoliths and industry watchers pondered its fierce, no-exceptions-allowed membership requirement to be 100 percent focused on MACH, it's now clear that many vendors and agencies are adopting this posture – a clear signal that composability is shaping business strategy.
To that end, the <a href="http://www.machalliance.org/">MACH Alliance</a> announced this week that three new member companies have joined its ranks: <a href="https://www.bloomreach.com/en">Bloomreach</a>, <a href="https://www.emporix.com/">Emporix</a>, and <a href="https://kontent.ai/">Kontent.ai</a>. These additions bring the group of independent tech companies dedicated to advocating for open, best-of-breed technology ecosystems to more than 70. Worth noting: two of these vendors have recently adapted their models to become hyperfocused on MACH principles to meet the horizon of composable opportunities. 
“As with all new members that join the Alliance, we feel tremendous pride in continuing to attract such a reputable group of global leaders who believe in our mission,” said Casper Rasmussen, MACH Alliance president. “The fact we’re seeing companies like Bloomreach and Kontent.ai reshape their portfolio and product strategy sends a strong message to the market that MACH is not only the future standard for enterprise technology best practice, it’s the standard now."
<h2>Expanding the MACH movement and evolving the ecosystem</h2>
The embracing of <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/the-future-is-composable-a-conversation-with-new-mach-alliance-president-casper-rasmussen/">MACH</a> – an acronym for Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native SaaS and Headless – is no mystery. Composable architectures are giving companies a deeper level of agility, allowing them to deliver new features to customers at greater speed. But there are other considerations influencing the move to MACH, including the palpable presence of softening IT budgets and the specter of a global recession. 
"At a time when economic factors have forced many organizations to cut back spending on technology and innovation, we’re seeing that businesses who’ve embraced MACH are faring better by being able to adapt and respond faster,” said Rasmussen. 
To be certain, MACH is requiring a new philosophical mindset to embrace its foundational principles successfully. But based on the rapid scale of its membership community – which includes individual ambassadors that are champions for the cause – it's evident that more platforms and integrators are willing to make the shift and realize the benefits.
As previously noted, all members of the MACH Alliance must meet a stringent set of <a href="https://machalliance.org/insights/mach-certification-a-seal-of-confidence">certification standards</a> and pass muster with the Alliance's unbiased panel of reviewers. To carry the coveted "MACH Certified" seal, a company must be in full compliance with the organization's standards at all times. As we've covered in past interviews and articles, the Alliance has dismissed members based on acquisitions or other circumstances that have altered their posture.  
<h2>Welcoming Bloomreach, Emporix, and Kontent.ai to the MACH Alliance</h2>
According to the Alliance's press release, the three new members announced this week will join a cadre of leading platform and solution providers, including some of the biggest names in global tech. They will also be in the company of advanced "MACH enablers" that provide cloud infrastructure services and solution ecosystems, including <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/aws-joins-mach-alliance-as-enabler-member-reflects-growth-of-cloud-native-solutions/">AWS</a>.
The three new certified members of the MACH Alliance include:
Bloomreach: Launched in 2009 as an algorithm-powered platform for improving online experiences, Bloomreach has fully transformed into a composable commerce experience cloud, delivering industry-leading personalization and digital commerce growth. The company has undergone a major shift in product strategy over the past 18 months and is now 100 percent focused on MACH – enabling it to achieve Alliance certification. Bloomreach offers a range of composable solutions including AI-driven search and merchandising, a <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-free-headless-cms-platforms/">headless CMS</a>, a leading CDP, and marketing automation capabilities.
Emporix: A composable commerce platform that enables bigger, more engaged, and more efficient B2B and B2C, Emporix enables organizations to digitize and run their businesses with a cloud-native technology for building channels. Its open, modular, API-first ecosystem and easy-to-use, no-code interface are some of the many attributes that earned Empoix its MACH Alliance certification.
Kontent.ai: A modular content platform that enables global content and engineering teams to plan, create, and deliver experiences across channels, Kontent.ai was previously a business unit within the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/kentico-cloud-whats-it-all-about/">Kentico</a> software portfolio. Spun off as a standalone entity in July of 2022, the cloud-native service is now purely focused on MACH – and positioned for membership in the Alliance.
<h2>About the MACH Alliance</h2>
The MACH Alliance is a [501(c)(6)] non-profit organization, governed by an independent board and does not endorse specific vendors, members, or otherwise. The Alliance was formed in June 2020 to help enterprise organizations navigate the complex modern technology landscape. It aims to guide and show the business advantage of open tech ecosystems that are Microservices based, API-first, Cloud-native SaaS, and Headless. All MACH Alliance members meet certification principles that are published on the website. The MACH Alliance welcomes technology companies and individual industry experts who share the same vision for the future. Learn more at<a href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fmachalliance.org%2F&amp;esheet=52478831&amp;newsitemid=20210818005487&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=machalliance.org&amp;index=5&amp;md5=db9d7bdff8c8646152c1923d3ff4adc2"> machalliance.org</a>, read here about<a href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fmachalliance.org%2Fblogdetail%2Fbltfc0a3afbca44303e&amp;esheet=52478831&amp;newsitemid=20210818005487&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=MACH+certification&amp;index=6&amp;md5=ba1c5d6e1bf42963a3a8bb59771d09da"> MACH certification</a> and follow us on<a href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.twitter.com%2Fmachalliance&amp;esheet=52478831&amp;newsitemid=20210818005487&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=Twitter&amp;index=7&amp;md5=dfeea3f8422d14d51b860d90329a6837"> Twitter</a> and<a href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fcompany%2Fmachalliance&amp;esheet=52478831&amp;newsitemid=20210818005487&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=LinkedIn&amp;index=8&amp;md5=a1db2958e174d041221c1705e694b6f0"> LinkedIn</a>.

Bloomreach, Emporix, and Kontent.ai Join MACH Alliance, Pushing Member Total Over 70

matt-garrepy

Composite of the MACH Alliance logo above icons for Bloomreach, Emporix, and Kontent.ai

<a href="https://www.acquia.com/">Acquia's</a> putting the pedal to the metal in the headless race. 
Recently, the digital experience platform provider released an open source headless starter kit within the company’s <a href="https://www.acquia.com/platform/content-management-systems">content management system, Acquia CMS</a>. The kit expands existing Acquia CMS offerings, which empower organizations to accelerate the building of traditional Drupal-based applications.
Dubbed the "Acquia CMS Headless Starter Kit," the new solution gives developers a powerful set of tools to speed time to market, reduce operational costs, and gain flexibility in launching new digital initiatives quickly. Acquia introduced the new kit to developers at its customer and partner event, <a href="https://www.acquia.com/engage">Acquia Engage</a>.
<h2>Building on the growth of headless and hybrid Drupal apps</h2>
According to the company's press release, Acquia has many customers who have already built <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-free-headless-cms-platforms/">headless</a> and hybrid Drupal applications to create innovative digital experiences. Headless and hybrid architecture makes it possible for organizations to deliver content to more than just a traditional web browser. With a headless CMS architecture, organizations can deliver content to digital signage, wearable devices, chatbots, mobile applications, kiosks, and more.
The Acquia CMS Headless Starter Kit gives organizations the tools they need to build a modern headless or hybrid application up to 50% faster, with Drupal as the backend that powers one or more frontends. Existing Drupal users can also leverage the Headless Starter Kit to extend their existing Drupal application. 
“Managing content across current and emerging channels and devices is a major challenge for many organizations,” said Dries Buytaert, creator of Drupal and co-founder and CTO of Acquia. “As an accelerator for developing hybrid and headless applications, the Acquia CMS Headless Starter Kit offers out-of-the-box optimizations to reduce time to market with new and innovative digital experiences. This flexibility makes it possible for developers to use the components of Acquia CMS and Drupal that they need most—with the ultimate goal of getting the right content to the right user in the right channel at the right time.”
A headless approach works well for organizations that want to provide content through multiple API endpoints and modern JavaScript frontends. Others may prefer a hybrid approach, which provides similar API access for developers while empowering business users with low-code and no-code tools for application building. Acquia CMS provides the best of both worlds, giving organizations the freedom to choose the right path for their needs.
<h2>Leveraging Next.js to power frontend experiences</h2>
As headless strategies power more of the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-jamstack-static-site-generators-for-2021/">JAMstack</a>, companies are turning to static site generators to deliver faster websites that are decoupled from a traditional CMS. To complement the Acquia CMS Headless Starter Kit, Acquia has also released a <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-jamstack-static-site-generators-for-2021/">Next.js</a> Starter Kit to help accelerate the build of frontend applications that display content created in the headless CMS. This combo gives organizations the ability to support both the front and backend of their digital content experiences. 
"Headless and hybrid CMSes give organizations the freedom to use the newest frontend technology, while retaining their investment in their legacy systems and content backend,” said Marci Maddox, Research Vice President, Digital Experience Strategies, IDC. “This could be particularly attractive for commerce users, such as retailers, CPG companies, and others where brand managers require full control over the content that appears across multiple sites, or want the flexibility to change things such as site navigation or product categorization over time. The Acquia CMS headless starter kit can help organizations experience the benefits of a headless CMS; bringing together developers and content creators in a modern environment."
<h2>Key features of the Acquia CMS Headless Starter Kit</h2>
Here are a few of the noteworthy features in the Acquia CMS Headless Starter Kit:
<ul>
<li>Specialized Headless Developer Role: Frontend developers have a dedicated role inside the CMS for accessing API docs and managing access for frontend applications connecting to the CMS.</li>
<li>Marketer-friendly Content Preview: Users can preview content through their Next.js application from inside the CMS.</li>
<li>Omni-channel Made Easy: Connect content to multiple frontends that communicate across multiple channels.</li>
<li>Robust API Dashboard: A dedicated dashboard for frontend developers to manage all headless integration aspects with the CMS.</li>
<li>Flexible Headless and Hybrid UI Modes: Users can operate in a pure headless mode or in hybrid mode where Drupal is still used to render a frontend.</li>
<li>Simplified Data Modeling: Revamped admin navigation brings all the data modeling controls under a single menu that makes sense in a purely headless CMS.</li>
</ul>
The open source Acquia CMS Headless Starter Kit is freely available for download. To learn more about Acquia CMS, visit <a href="https://www.acquia.com/products/drupal-cloud/acquia-cms">https://www.acquia.com/products/drupal-cloud/acquia-cms</a>.
<h2>About Acquia</h2>
Acquia empowers the world’s most ambitious brands to create digital customer experiences that matter. With open source Drupal at its core, the Acquia Digital Experience Platform (DXP) enables marketers, developers, and IT operations teams at thousands of global organizations to rapidly compose and deploy digital products and services that engage customers, enhance conversions, and help businesses stand out. Learn more at <a href="https://www.acquia.com/">https://acquia.com</a>.

Acquia DXP Releases Open Source Headless CMS Accelerator

If you’ve ever used <a href="https://developer.chrome.com/docs/lighthouse/overview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Google Lighthouse</a> (or a similar tool), you’ve probably experienced that sobering moment when the results surface… and you realize your website is slow.
Or, at the very least, slower than you thought.
Website performance testing is an elemental function. It’s core to delivering and maintaining a positive user experience for any business or organization. And speed is just one dimension: brands need to be concerned about quality, accessibility, and a host of other variables that impact UX.
Of course, the most important part of any website testing regimen is what you do with the results to optimize and improve – so future tests look better. 
As it turns out, your specific industry might reveal a lot about your sensitivity to customer needs relative to your website performance. That’s what the team at <a href="https://www.contensis.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Contensis</a>, an enterprise content management system, discovered in its recent analysis of all FTSE 100 and 250 homepages.
Contensis <a href="https://www.contensis.com/community/blog/ftse-website-performance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published its research</a> in the beginning of August, but we finally got a chance to sit down with <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-chivers-34a36b11/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Richard Chivers</a>, the key man behind the platform, to talk about the report's goals and what Contensis has been doing to help organizations build better-performing websites.
<h2>A legacy of CMS innovation </h2>
One might say that Rich Chivers is Contensis. During his 23 -year tenure at <a href="https://www.zengenti.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Zengenti</a>, the parent company of the CMS platform, he has served as head of development, CTO, and now CEO. Within that stretch, Chivers helped grow Contensis within the UK market where the company is based, with international customers in regions like Canada and Italy.
In his current role, Chivers is helping to guide the strategic direction of the core Contensis product as it enters its next chapter. “Seeing the rise of <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-free-headless-cms-platforms/">headless</a>, it’s massive,” he said. That’s underscored by the platform’s hybrid capabilities to serve both traditional and headless roles in an omnichannel strategy. The platform's focus on easy-to-use CMS features like content modeling with fast, adaptable, and reusable content types have put wind in its sails, allowing it to compete head-to-head with other modern platforms designed for content operations. 
We also discussed the nature of being composable as a modern digital experience tool. “The composable way of thinking is how we’ve been since the beginning,” he said. “Contensis has always tried to provide the basics to keep things simple. For 90% of cases, that works. But if they want something specialized, we recommend other resources to integrate with.”
Since 2001, Zengenti has been “crafting and refining” Contensis, providing a stream of improvements. Now, the Zengenti practice seems focused on providing expanded services that include hosting, design, UX, project management, and other web-related disciplines. They have a team of 30 people dedicated to custom development and implementation, and 40% of their customers choose Contensis for these optional services.
“We have agency partners, and we provide training and resources,” said Chivers. “We try to remain agnostic and let the customer design it [the project] how they want to.”
<h2>Big players, slow webpages: unpacking the FTSE 100 and 250 research</h2>
According to Chivers, Contensis has always focused on higher education, where accessibility is an essential baseline requirement. As he noted, they “know the space” and were building with accessibility in mind before much of the web and digital experience industry.
When asked about the research and what prompted it, Chivers said that they saw an opportunity to focus on a larger portion of the market and reveal what was happening around readability and content governance. This led to the testing engagement – which was quite revealing.
When a second can mean the difference between a buy and a bounce, it’s fair to say that performance measurement has become critical for every online business. But as Contensis discovered in the study, it’s companies in the media and publishing industry that are optimizing for success. Contensis provided a table of industry sectors and their respective Lighthouse scores, which illustrates how sectors like retail and travel – businesses that rely heavily on digital performance – are lagging. Interestingly, areas like manufacturing and logistics are doing very well, perhaps for a myriad of reasons such as fewer digital commerce requirements. 
Contensis used three dimensions of Google Lighthouse measurements – performance, accessibility, and homepage speed – to develop its scoring rubric. Chivers noted that the biggest eye-opener was around accessibility and the disparity between categories like travel and hospitality. With 22 percent of UK citizens living with some manner of disability, Chivers noted that improving accessibility would be a “win-win for the sector and their customers.”
<h2>Increased competition and economic challenges</h2>
As CMS becomes an increasingly commoditized layer of the digital stack, legacy platforms must find new ways to enhance their features while energizing their user base. As Chivers noted, much has changed across the CMS landscape in the last decade, particularly with how organizations select platforms.
“Everyone was handing the problem of a website to a monolith provider,” he said. “That’s how we used to be ten years ago. Where we [Contensis] sit today is that we offer a completely headless CMS with everything you would expect from the content side – and more.” This includes APIs, a deployment platform, hosting, and even the freedom for developers to build in any language they prefer.
“With Contensis, you have one house under which all things sit,” said Chivers. “You don’t have to have a big DevOps team to create CI flows – like a large organization using AWS and other tools that need three or four people just to deliver.”
As the enterprise software market faces the growing specter of a global economic recession, we asked Chivers how Contensis and the CMS category might be challenged by the headwinds. He took it in stride, noting that he successfully navigated his company through the previous recession and they're buoyed by customers in the public sector, including local government and higher education. These organizations, he noted, tend to "tighten procurement" versus eliminating it.
Despite the economic realities, Chivers says that Zengenti and Contensis are in a “position that many would love to have” with long-standing customers that continue to stay and evolve with the platform. The company is stable, self-funded, and currently not reliant on VC investment.
“[Our customers] have no reason to jump because we’re always ahead of where they want to be,” he said.
<h2>What’s ahead for Contensis?</h2>
We asked Chivers about any new product features on the Contensis roadmap that readers would be interested in learning about, and he immediately mentioned two things: first, some new advancements to the platform's blocks functionality, which should start releasing in the next month or two. The other is a new concept that will enable developers and site owners to release code and features faster – and roll back in a split second. Chivers described it as a more “agile-esque” approach that will impact coders while infusing more low-code capabilities. 
The gauntlet of personalization came up (as it always does), and Chivers said that it’s critical but needs to give customers the insight to see what users are doing on a site. This in turn provides more actionable information about what needs to be personalized. He also noted that personalization can be a struggle for organizations using multiple platforms, even if there are clear benefits.
“If we look at what everyone is trying to do with [personalization] right now, like Contentful and others that have been marketed heavily, there’s a place where composable solutions make sense – and others where they don’t.”
As Contensis looks ahead into the unknown of 2023, they have the unique advantage of hindsight. With over two decades of constant innovation and dedicated leadership, it’s no wonder their community of customers remains loyal and stalwart. It’s a rare position built on relationships – and one that continues to serve them well under Chiver’s leadership.
<h2>About Contensis</h2>
Contensis provides a single place to create, maintain and deliver your content. Its content modeling, authoring, and governance features help your teams to create and keep on top of well-structured content. A flexible set of APIs makes it easy to use your content in any way you like. Learn more at <a href="https://www.contensis.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.contensis.com/ </a>

Contensis CMS Looks Ahead with Headless, Focuses on Performance: Interview with CEO Richard Chivers

Image of the Contensis logo icon - a hexagon with a leaf in the center in aqua - next to an orange hexagon with the headshot of Richard Chivers in a monochromatic tone.

<a href="https://uniform.dev/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Uniform</a> has been anything but uniform. And that's a good thing. Since the company's inception, it has frequently challenged conventional industry thinking and elevated the conversation around composability.
As a certified member of the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/the-future-is-composable-a-conversation-with-new-mach-alliance-president-casper-rasmussen/">MACH Alliance</a>, Uniform has been trumpeting its vision for integrating modern composable systems with legacy monoliths, allowing customers to smooth out the rough patches with delivery and update their architectures "through evolution, not revolution."
Along with an array of platform products that include personalization, Uniform has been carving a new niche that has DXPs and analysts rethinking the digital experience landscape. It's the kind of bold thinking that helped the company <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/uniform-raises-28m-in-series-a-funding-round-for-composable-dxp/">raise $28 million</a> in Series A funding last December, just 15 months after breaking ground. 
Now, Uniform is launching a new kind of industry event that focuses on digital experience composition – or DXC (add it to your list of three-lettered acronyms to remember).
The virtual conference, dubbed <a href="https://uniform.dev/dxc-assembly?utm_campaign=marketing&amp;utm_source=uniform-blog&amp;utm_medium=DXCA-web-banner-link-for-uniform-page" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DXC Assembly</a>, will be held on November 15th and promises a unique mix of speakers that are leading the charge in the emerging field of digital experience composition. The conference will also feature breakout sessions, AMAs, and demos that will be announced in the coming weeks.
<h2 class="text-lg sm:text-2xl font-semibold text-blue-ribbon mb-4 md:mb-8">Building the future for developers and business teams</h2>
According to Uniform, DXC offers fast, robust, and highly adaptable tools that allow businesses to build lightning-fast experiences that are engaging and immersive. DXC-powered experiences are also designed to respond to changing business needs, customer behaviors, and market conditions. 
The DXC Assembly will feature a mix of speakers and attendees from across the development and business tracks. This includes engineers, architects, and marketers that work extensively in the digital experience arena.
While the agenda continues to evolve, the festivities will begin at 9 AM Eastern with a keynote from <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lars-birkholm-petersen/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lars Birkholm Petersen</a>, cofounder and CEO of Uniform. Immediately following, Uniform's CTO and cofounder <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexshyba/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alex Shyba</a> will demonstrate how to build a composable solution by taking a project from early development and quickly delivering it to business teams. 
In addition to the Uniform leadership, attendees will hear from a panel of speakers including <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/pierre-burgy-88671673/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pierre Burgy</a> of <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/strapi-releases-v4-of-headless-cms-enhances-plugins-and-api-performance/">Strapi</a>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/patriciakunth/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Patricia Kunth</a> of Cobham Satcom, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lars-orum-andersen/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lars Ørum Andersen</a> of Kruso, and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/workingmom/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Beth Torrie</a> of Tercera. 
If you're interested in attending DXC Assembly, you can get a free ticket for access to all workshops, live streams, and expos <a href="https://hopin.com/events/dxc-assembly-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>. 
<h2>About Uniform</h2>
Uniform is the world's first composable DXP, built for today's performance and scalability demands. A frictionless, pre-integrated composable digital experience platform gives companies the choice to continuously adopt traditional and headless best-of-breed technologies without ever replatforming, allowing businesses to deliver omnichannel orchestration with built-in high-performance testing and personalization – regardless of how their tech stacks evolve over time. Several top brands use Uniform to power their digital experiences, including Cirque du Soleil, Life Extension, Sunweb and Trimble. Visit <a href="https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3376641-1&amp;h=192194015&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fc212.net%2Fc%2Flink%2F%3Ft%3D0%26l%3Den%26o%3D3344227-1%26h%3D2537620590%26u%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Funiform.dev%252F%26a%3Duniform.dev&amp;a=uniform.dev" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">uniform.dev</a> for more.

Uniform to Host DXC Assembly, Offers First Virtual Conference on Digital Experience Composition

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<a href="https://www.storyblok.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Storyblok</a>, a content management system (CMS) category leader for 2022 that empowers developers and content teams to create better content experiences across all digital channels, just announced its expansion into the APAC (Asia-Pacific) region.
In its press release, the company noted that across APAC, brands such as Pizza Hut Australia, FC Sydney, Liberty Finance Australia, Vicinity Centres, Treasury Wine Estates, Crimson Education, Octopus Deploy, and Akasa Air already use Storyblok as the content engine for their digital experiences. 
In recognition of the massive growth potential throughout APAC, Storyblok has hired <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/markgpaterson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marcus Paterson</a> as its APAC Sales Manager. Marcus has held leadership roles at National Australia Bank, Fuji Xerox, and Leidos Australia. Now based in Thailand, Paterson will support customers across the region and while being tasked with growing a sales team and related support roles.
“After working throughout APAC for over 20 years, I’ve come to understand the unique challenges that companies face in this part of the world,” said Paterson. “Agile and secure content management continues to be something that all sorts of businesses struggle with. With Storyblok, your marketing and content teams have a future-proof CMS that enhances content experiences at any scale.”
<h2>Surveying APAC professionals about CMS</h2>
To understand more about content management in APAC, Storyblok surveyed 301 professionals who use a CMS in both Australia and Singapore. The survey revealed the following key insights:
<ul>
<li>Only 13% of APAC companies are happy with their monolithic CMSs</li>
<li>46% are considering moving to a headless CMS</li>
<li>The CMS features that are most important: #1 Security, #2 Website speed, #3 Easy to use for content creators</li>
<li>61% are worried about the security of their CMS</li>
<li>67% use 2 or more CMSs</li>
<li>68% deliver content in more than one language</li>
<li>12% are using their CMS to deliver content in virtual reality, and 9% in augmented reality</li>
</ul>
“Based on our great success so far in APAC, we knew now was the right time to invest more heavily in the region,” said Sascha Ploebst, VP of Sales at Storyblok. “The data shows us that local companies are ready to move to headless CMS solutions to improve their digital storytelling.”
“Our expansion into APAC is an important milestone in the global growth of Storyblok,” said Dominik Angerer, Co-Founder and CEO of Storyblok. “Audiences all over the world demand better content experiences that traditional CMS platforms were never built for. Storyblok already offers a cloud-native CMS to manage all content in one place with data centers in the US, Europe, and a dedicated instance in China. I’m also proud to announce that we are planning to offer a locally hosted option in Australia soon for organizations that need this.”
To see the full survey results, you can download The State of Content Management in APAC report: <a href="https://www.storyblok.com/lp/state-of-cms-apac" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.storyblok.com/lp/state-of-cms-apac</a>
<h2 style="font-weight:400">About Storyblok 
</h2>
Storyblok, a 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, security, optimized omnichannel storytelling, and robust personalization. Storyblok enables 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 – and empowers developers to build anything, integrate with everything, and publish everywhere with Storyblok’s headless CMS architecture.

Storyblok Expands to APAC to Transform Digital Storytelling Across Region

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