Articles - Page 31

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

matt-garrepy

<p>Let's be honest: there's nothing quite like <strong>Awards Season. </strong>Just ask Moira Rose.</p>
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<div class="tenor-gif-embed"><a href="https://tenor.com/view/moira-rose-schitts-creek-awards-favorite-season-gif-16223893">Moira Rose Schitts Creek GIF</a>from <a href="https://tenor.com/search/moira+rose-gifs">Moira Rose GIFs</a></div>
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<p></p>
<p>And it's not because of the glitz, the glamour, or even the drama (although last year's Oscars did deliver the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/23/entertainment/oscars-crisis-will-smith/index.html" target="_blank">slap heard 'round the world</a>).</p>
<p>No, we love Awards Season because it's a <em>celebration.</em> An opportunity to cheer for the things we love. From film to music, actors to performers. Heck, even our favorite technologies.</p>
<p>Each year, CMS Critic is proud to feature our <strong>People's Choice Awards</strong>: a unique, one-of-a-kind platform for celebrating our industry. Since 2012, the People's Choice Awards have provided an opportunity for <em>you</em> – our community of digital professionals and stack fanatics – to tell us which platforms you love the most.</p>
<p>The People's Choice Awards are always fun and engaging, and the results never fail to surprise us. We put the power in your hands to nominate and vote, so it reflects your community participation. No matter how you feel about the outcomes, this is a win for every platform involved and your passionate users and fans.</p>
<p>This year, we had record participation from around the globe for both the nominations and final voting, and we're thrilled to share the winners <em>you</em> selected!</p>
<h2>And the Oscar goes to...</h2>
<p>But first, a quick reminder about the contest and how it worked:</p>
<ul>
<li>In <a href="/nominate-your-favorite-platforms-for-the-2022-cms-critic-peoples-choice-awards/">December 2022</a>, we invited readers to nominate platforms across a set of categories on our website.</li>
<li>Nominations closed at the end of January.</li>
<li>The top five nominees (in the case of a few ties, the top six) were selected for voting in each category.</li>
<li>General voting began in early February and closed on February 20.</li>
<li>Participants could vote only once, and companies that offered incentives of any kind were disqualified.</li>
</ul>
<p>And that's it! Without further ado, here are the winners of the 2022 People’s Choice Award winners:</p>
<h4>Best Enterprise CMS: Contensis</h4>
<p><a href="https://www.contensis.com/" target="_blank"><img style="width:300px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/03/contensis-logo.jpg" alt="Contensis Logo" /></a></p>
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<h4>Best DXP: Adobe Experience Cloud</h4>
<p><a href="https://business.adobe.com/" target="_blank"><img style="width:300px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/02/adobe-edited.jpg" alt="Adobe Experience Cloud Logo" /></a></p>
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<h4>Best Free CMS: Joomla!</h4>
<p><a href="https://www.joomla.org/" target="_blank"><img style="width:300px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/02/joomla-edited.png" alt="Joomla! Logo" /></a></p>
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<h4>Best Flat File CMS: Statamic</h4>
<p><a href="https://statamic.com/" target="_blank"><img style="width:300px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/02/statamic-edited.jpg" alt="Statamic Logo" /></a></p>
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<h4>Best Open Source CMS: Umbraco</h4>
<p><a href="https://umbraco.com/?gclid=CjwKCAiAr4GgBhBFEiwAgwORrRdPATQsqJ5M2tqVIMIHVlkjBnO2Cl29dGTXI9dhb9_BNa9pqdulIhoCK40QAvD_BwE" target="_blank"><img style="width:120px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/02/umbraco-edited.png" alt="Umbraco Logo" /></a></p>
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<h4>Best ECM (Enterprise Content Management): Microsoft SharePoint</h4>
<p><a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/sharepoint/collaboration" target="_blank"><img style="width:300px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/02/sharepoint-edited.png" alt="Microsoft SharePoint Logo" /></a></p>
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<h4>Best E-Commerce Solution: Shopify</h4>
<p><a href="https://www.shopify.com/free-trial?term=shopify&amp;adid=565872334073&amp;campaignid=15436644439&amp;branded_enterprise=1&amp;BOID=brand&amp;gclid=CjwKCAiAr4GgBhBFEiwAgwORrQTcMx9LwHQNvRFM6fN3NdS4GIn0wcvVgK3LdPDmBWiVFRhMOA64HxoCZEQQAvD_BwE&amp;cmadid=516586854;cmadvertiserid=10730501;cmcampaignid=26990768;cmplacementid=324494812;cmcreativeid=163722649;cmsiteid=5500011" target="_blank"><img style="width:250px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/02/shopify-edited.png" alt="Shopify Logo" /></a></p>
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<h4>Best Headless Commerce Solution: commercetools</h4>
<p><a href="https://commercetools.com/resources/booklet/microservices?utm_source=Paid%20Search&amp;utm_medium=Google%20Search&amp;utm_content=microservices-bookle-CA&amp;utm_campaign=MACH&amp;utm_term=commercetools&amp;utm_campaign=MACH%20retargeting%20AMER&amp;utm_source=adwords&amp;utm_medium=ppc&amp;hsa_acc=9131799125&amp;hsa_cam=19415290532&amp;hsa_grp=145609670540&amp;hsa_ad=643141341485&amp;hsa_src=g&amp;hsa_tgt=aud-1945381266863:kwd-366236213007&amp;hsa_kw=commercetools&amp;hsa_mt=p&amp;hsa_net=adwords&amp;hsa_ver=3&amp;gclid=CjwKCAiAr4GgBhBFEiwAgwORrbE7RUL47caWM3RyFkC6b649F5PR5Z6DHNnToZTeBOWkTjGjxOL6IBoCGAMQAvD_BwE" target="_blank"><img style="width:300px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/02/commercetools-edited.png" alt="Commercetools Logo" /></a></p>
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<h4>Best Headless CMS: Contentful </h4>
<p><a href="https://www.contentful.com/" target="_blank"><img style="width:260px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/02/contentful-edited.jpg" alt="Contentful Logo" /></a></p>
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<h4>Best Website Builder: YOOtheme</h4>
<p><a href="https://yootheme.com/" target="_blank"><img style="width:250px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/02/yootheme-edited.png" alt="YOOtheme Logo" /></a></p>
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<h4>Best Static Site Generator: Next.js</h4>
<p><a href="https://nextjs.org/" target="_blank"><img style="width:200px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/02/next-js-edited.png" alt="Next.js Logo" /></a></p>
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<h4>Best Composable System: Uniform</h4>
<p><a href="https://uniform.dev/" target="_blank"><img style="width:250px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/02/uniform-edited.jpg" alt="Uniform Logo" /></a></p>
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<h4>Best Digital Experience Composition (DXC): Occtoo</h4>
<p><a href="https://www.occtoo.com/" target="_blank"><img style="width:250px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/02/occtoo-edited.png" alt="Occtoo Logo" /></a></p>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>Congratulations to our People's Choice Winners!</h2>
<p>There you have it, folks! Thank you again for participating in our Awards this year, and always, we welcome your feedback and your votes for next season!</p>


Let's Celebrate the Winners of the 2022 CMS Critic People’s Choice Awards

cms-critic-staff

<p><em>"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore..."</em></p>
<p>Those words uttered in the 1939 film <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wizard_of_Oz_(1939_film)" target="_blank">The Wizard of Oz</a></em> have come to mean a lot of things, but chief among them is “we’ve entered unfamiliar territory.” And while we’re not in a strange new land somewhere over the rainbow, there are certainly huge changes coming to the largest data analytics platform in the world – and that might leave a lot of people clicking their heels and wishing for home.</p>
<p>The story begins last year when Google announced it would sunset <a href="https://www.rootandbranchgroup.com/google-analytics-4-vs-universal-analytics/" target="_blank">Universal Analytics (UA)</a> and require users to migrate to <a href="https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/10089681?hl=en" target="_blank">Google Analytics 4 (GA4)</a>. Now, as we approach the zero-day reality of the mandated change, holdouts are being told that if they don't make the move, <em>Google will do it for them</em>. </p>
<h2><strong>Follow the Yellow Brick Road... or else</strong></h2>
<p>Back in the halcyon days of 2014, <a href="https://www.eonline.com/news/1071481/remember-when-apple-forced-a-u2-album-on-us-all" target="_blank">Apple and U2</a> shipped a copy of their album <em>Songs of Innocence</em> to every iTunes account on the planet. They saw it as a gift, but it became a touchpoint about data privacy and corporate overreach. </p>
<p>In some ways, the recent announcement by Google to forcibly move a customer's account evokes the same sentiment. Sure, users and businesses have the option to drop Google Analytics and turn to different platforms like <a href="https://www.semrush.com/" target="_blank">Semrush</a> or <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/unlocking-the-power-of-products-and-people-a-conversation-with-amplitudes-new-cmo-tifenn-dano-kwon/">Amplitude</a>. But how practical is that when you've been tracking everything on Google for years? </p>
<p>If you're not familiar with the nitty gritty: in March 2022, Google first announced its flagship UA would be <a href="https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/11583528?hl=en#:~:text=On%20July%201%2C%202023%2C%20standard,Google%20Analytics%204%20going%20forward." target="_blank">“going away,”</a> leaving many people in the dark about what to expect. Shortly after, it introduced GA4 – which offered some intriguing new features and capabilities.</p>
<p>Google also informed customers they could continue using and collecting data in UA until July 1, 2023. At that point, they would have an additional six months to export their legacy data, which can't be migrated into GA4. </p>
<p>While Google has been proactively communicating with its users, many have delayed or resisted the call for change. As the end date approaches, these users are in danger of losing their legacy data and missing out on collecting sufficient data in the new GA4. </p>
<p>Google's solution? We'll take care of it for you – whether you like it or not.</p>
<p>The search giant announced its intentions in <a href="https://searchengineland.com/make-the-switch-to-ga4-or-google-will-do-it-for-you-392612" target="_blank">an email</a> informing users that any accounts without an established GA4 property by March 2023 would have one configured for them by reusing existing site tags.</p>
<p>GA4 might be the Emerald City, but forcing users down the Yellow Brick Road feels more like the work of the Wicked Witch. It's true that many customers could stand to lose a lot of valuable data if they don’t make the switch before July – and the new GA4 has certainly received positive praise from some users (a whole lot of negative, too). But even Steve Jobs and Bono weren't considering the sacred trust that exists between customers and brands when it comes to the power of choice. </p>
<h2><strong>Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain</strong></h2>
<p>In the film adaptation of <em>The Wizard of Oz</em>, Dorothy and her newfound friends journey to see a wizard that will grant them their greatest wishes. Upon closer inspection, they discover the deity they sought was just an ordinary man complicit in deceiving people.</p>
<p>Not to drag out the metaphor, but it might be worth taking a closer look at what’s behind the GA4 curtain as well, and that's the Google Cloud.</p>
<p>Unlike data storage with UA, GA4 only allows access to user and event data <a href="https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/7667196?hl=en" target="_blank">for up to 14 months</a> – then it's deleted on a rolling monthly basis. Once the retention period has expired, users will have limited options for accessing their data unless they buy storage in a Google data warehouse.</p>
<p>Since UA users have always had the option to access their legacy data indefinitely, this represents a huge change. In effect, it forces users to assimilate to the Google Cloud and pay a lot more to access data they've always had for free.</p>
<h2><strong>Privacy matters</strong></h2>
<p>One of the primary reasons Google introduced GA4 was to comply with austere data privacy measures impacting Europe. Because UA did not meet regulations such as <a href="https://gdpr.eu/" target="_blank">GDPR</a>, the new GA4 was deployed to help meet those requirements. But lingering questions remain about legacy data being forced onto Google Cloud products without user consent.</p>
<p>To access large chunks of this data, users will need to use <a href="https://cloud.google.com/bigquery-ml/docs" target="_blank">BigQuery</a> – a serverless, ML-powered data warehouse platform in the Google Cloud. It comes at a hefty price for small businesses or individual users who have not had to pay until the forced GA4 migration. This added cost could have a chilling effect on Google's customer base, and perhaps have them seeking alternatives. </p>
<p>Regarding complexity, many users who have switched to GA4 say it requires more developer-focused knowledge of analytics, as it’s a completely new way of gathering data. This could mean even more costs associated with migration, especially if your team isn't prepared to handle the changes.</p>
<p>In the epic "Battle of the Clouds," things are heating up for Google, which currently trails it two largest rivals. According to <a href="https://www.statista.com/chart/18819/worldwide-market-share-of-leading-cloud-infrastructure-service-providers/" target="_blank">Statista</a>, Amazon Web Services (AWS) dominates the market share at 34 percent, with Azure well behind at 21 percent. By further integrating its analytics with its cloud property, Google could strengthen its relative position and drive more adoption by default.</p>
<p>The search king has always reigned over the analytics market, and if GA4 users want to expand their data resources, it seems like Google is shouting from the rooftops, <em>“there’s no place like home.”   </em> </p>


Who’s Behind the Curtain? GA4’s Takeover of Universal Analytics

Yellow brick road with Google Analytics logo in the sky in the distance.

<p>Right on the heels of <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/mach-alliance-adds-four-new-members-vultr-dept-mapp-and-fulfillmenttools/">adding four new members</a> to its ranks, the MACH Alliance has <a href="https://machalliance.org/insights/staying-focused-why-we-re-expanding-the-mach-alliance-advisory-board" target="_blank">announced</a> the expansion of its 2023 executive advisory board.</p>
<p>The newly appointed panel will now include 46 experts consisting of select member CEOs and other "luminaries" who will help shape the future of the organization and promote the principles of MACH (microservices-based, API-first, cloud-native SaaS and headless).</p>
<p>This is a significant increase from last year's board and reflects the Alliance's commitment to supporting the composable movement through diversity, collaboration, and innovation.</p>
<p>This year's crop represents a multitude of industries and organizations from across the globe. Each year, the chairperson of the MACH Alliance has the opportunity to curate the advisory board with oversight from the nine-person management board.</p>
<p>“The executive advisory board provides invaluable guidance to the entire MACH Alliance,” said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellygoetsch/" target="_blank">Kelly Goetsch</a>, Chairman, MACH Alliance. “From questions about membership criteria to borderline applications to join the MACH Alliance, to governance, to budgeting - the executive advisory board provides comprehensive outside guidance to the board that is invaluable.”</p>
<h2><strong>MACH Book Pro</strong></h2>
<p>Earlier this month, the MACH Alliance also launched its eponymous <a href="https://the.machalliance.org/book/" target="_blank">MACH Book</a> – a comprehensive digital resource that provides detailed information about each MACH-certified company, including partnerships within the MACH Alliance.</p>
<p>The goal of the MACH Book is to assist customers that are researching, evaluating, and comparing MACH technologies that fit their specific needs and goals. </p>
<p>“It is the passionate belief in MACH, and the commitment to composability, which defines members of the Alliance,” said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonjakeerl/" target="_blank">Sonja Keerl</a>, MACH Alliance co-founder and advisory board member. “This book is an introduction to our community, a celebration of our achievements, and a calling card that will show businesses that for technology to transform business outcomes, it must evolve from monolithic architecture to an innovative approach built for the digital age."</p>
<h2><strong>MACHing a Splash</strong></h2>
<p>With the announcement of its expanded advisory board and newly minted MACH Book, the Alliance appears poised for continued growth in 2023 – especially as more best-of-breed vendors join the composable movement. </p>
<p>Since its founding in 2020, the MACH Alliance has added nearly 80 members and is continuing to accept new applications in four categories: startup vendors, vendors, system integrators, and enablers. The Alliance also features a select group of <a href="https://machalliance.org/members" target="_blank">MACH Ambassadors,</a> a cabal of leading experts and industry voices that are helping to advance the composable cause.</p>
<p>Even with its rapid and unprecedented expansion, the requirements to join the MACH Alliance remain stringent. And while <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/cms-kickoff-2023-draws-global-attendees-focuses-on-the-future-of-content-and-composable/">the debate between monoliths and MACH</a> continues to heat up, there's no debate that this trend is far from cooling down. </p>
<h2><strong>About the MACH Alliance</strong></h2>
<p>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.</p>
<p>The MACH Alliance welcomes technology companies and individual industry experts who share the same vision for the future. Learn more at machalliance.org, read here about MACH certification and follow us on <a href="https://twitter.com/MACHAlliance">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/machalliance/">LinkedIn</a>.</p>


MACH Alliance Expands Advisory Board, Launches New MACH Book Resource

mk-patterson

MACH Alliance Advisory Board featured image

From Chatbots to ContentOps: How AI is Coming to Your CMS (Whether You Like It or Not)

An android with its eyes closed, and a cloud above showing it dreaming of electric sheep.

<p>No doubt about it: composable is hot, and the <a href="https://machalliance.org/" target="_blank">MACH Alliance</a> is on fire. </p>
<p>This week, the heralded cabal announced the addition of four new members to its ranks: cloud platform <a href="https://www.vultr.com/" target="_blank">Vultr</a>, digital experience platform <a href="https://www.deptagency.com/en-us/" target="_blank">DEPT</a>, and customer experience platforms <a href="https://mapp.com/" target="_blank">Mapp</a> and <a href="https://fulfillmenttools.com/en/company/" target="_blank">fulfillmenttools</a>.</p>
<p>The latest batch brings the MACH Alliance's <a href="https://machalliance.org/members" target="_blank">membership total</a> to nearly 80 since its inception in 2020 – and reflects the rising demand for MACH (microservices, APIs, cloud, headless) and composable solutions across the market. </p>
<p>"2023 has already seen solid momentum for the MACH Alliance and for the continued embrace of MACH, overall," said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/casper-aagaard-rasmussen/" target="_blank">Casper Rasmussen</a>, MACH Alliance president. "DEPT, fulfillmenttools, Mapp and Vultr add yet more volume to our movement and more power to our voices as we continue to push for a new standard in enterprise tech. They share in our belief that a composable technology stack is the best way to deliver on today's customer expectations and to gain competitive edge over those still stuck in the weeds of legacy."</p>
<p>Here's a bit of detail about the newcomers:</p>
<h2><strong>Vultr: birds of prey that simplify the cloud</strong></h2>
<p>Founded in 2014 in West Palm Beach, Florida, Vultr is the flagship product of <a href="https://www.constant.com/products/cloud-compute/" target="_blank">Constant</a>. Vultr has helped over 1.5 million customers simplify their software infrastructure with advanced cloud deployments through 30 million servers across 17 global locations.</p>
<p>Constant has been on a roll since 2021 when it <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/constant-the-creator-of-vultr-announces-150-million-credit-facility-to-expand-its-cloud-computing-and-bare-metal-platform-301274924.html" target="_blank">announced the closing</a> of a $150 million credit facility from J.P. Morgan and Bank of America – including a <span class="xn-money">$25 million</span> uncommitted expansion option to accommodate future growth. Constant has used the capital to expand its global footprint of automated cloud infrastructure to serve its rapidly-growing customer base, further solidifying its leadership position in the independent cloud provider market.</p>
<h2><strong>Experience digital depth with DEPT</strong></h2>
<p>DEPT is a global digital agency specializing in marketing technology. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Amsterdam, with more than 30 international locations.</p>
<p>DEPT recently utilized a headless architecture (one of the core principles of MACH) as part of its "motion first" identity delivery for the 2022 <a href="https://www.deptagency.com/case/the-mtv-video-music-awards-vmas/?utm_source=linkedin&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=gl-case-the-mtv-video-music-awards-vmas" target="_blank">MTV Video and Music Awards</a>. DEPT's innovation helped merge both the physical and digital experiences of the VMAs utilizing one dynamic design distributed via a composable strategy. </p>
<h2><strong>Get customers on the Mapp</strong></h2>
<p>Mapp, an “insight-led” customer experience platform based in Berlin, combines data with artificial intelligence to help marketers connect with consumers.</p>
<p>Mapp uses AI to sort through massive amounts of data to help marketers predict customer behavior. Headless architecture through the Mapp Cloud helps marketers build an <a href="https://mapp.com/blog/mapp-updates-its-insight-led-customer-experience-platform/" target="_blank">engagement strategy</a> for customers, showing up when and where consumers are most likely to turn a nudge into a sale.</p>
<h2><strong>Fulfilling retail growth with fulfillmenttools</strong></h2>
<p>fulfillmenttools is a new(ish) company formed in 2020 as a spin-off of <a href="https://www.rewe-group.com/en/company/structure-and-saleslines/rewe-digital/" target="_blank">REWE Group digital</a>. fulfillmenttools helps retailers and customers during every part of the fulfillment process leveraging composable and MACH-oriented strategies. </p>
<p>The platform – recognized by both Gartner and Forrester – prides itself on an omnichannel approach to fulfillment for B2B and B2C retailers, as well as D2C brands worldwide.</p>
<h2><strong>What's next for the MACH Alliance in 2023?</strong></h2>
<p>Along with a packed schedule of activities that includes multiple member events, the Alliance is planning a <a href="https://machalliance.org/machevents/mach-haus-las-vegas" target="_blank">MACH Haus US Roadshow</a> stop in Las Vegas during <a href="https://shoptalk.com/" target="_blank">ShopTalk 2023</a>. This follows an engaging MACH Haus session held this past January during the <a href="https://nrfbigshow.nrf.com/about/2023-event-recap#:~:text=Retail's%20Big%20Show%20took%20place,video%20highlights%20from%20NRF%202023." target="_blank">National Retail Federation (NRF) show</a> in New York City.</p>
<p>While the year is still kicking off, many companies continue to debate whether a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/global-markets-recession-2023-02-10/" target="_blank">recession will rear its head in 2023</a>. While economic conditions appear to be improving in some sectors, the tech landscape has experienced a blight of staggering layoffs – even in light of a U.S. jobs report <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/02/03/business/jobs-report-january-economy#:~:text=The%20United%20States%20added%20517%2C000,in%20the%20summer%20of%201969." target="_blank">showing unprecedented gains</a> in January. While companies like Amazon, Google, Meta, and Salesforce are attributing these RIWs to a "spree of over-hiring" during the Covid-19 pandemic, it's clear that nothing is clear. </p>
<p>At a <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/mach-alliance-roundtable-focuses-on-composability-and-innovation-as-economic-activators-in-2023/">MACH Alliance Roundtable</a> that CMS Critic covered in December, there was deep discussion around the potential for MACH and composable to meet the challenges of a coming economic retraction. Given shifting geopolitics and growing uncertainty, it's a safe bet that technology budgets will continue to be a key topic for Alliance members over the coming quarters – and how MACH can provide greater agility during these periods. </p>
<p>Since its founding in 2020, the MACH Alliance has grown into a consortium for innovation, steadily adding more members and specialized expertise to its community. As noted in our previous <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/the-future-is-composable-a-conversation-with-new-mach-alliance-president-casper-rasmussen/">interview with Casper Rasmussen</a>, education is a pivotal part of the program, and we can expect to see more investment in resources that promote the values and standards of MACH. From a customer perspective, these tools will further benefit their journey when selecting best-of-breed technologies from within the Alliance ecosystem to build their composable solutions. </p>
<p>One thing to be sure of: the MACH Alliance will continue to grow. </p>


MACH Alliance Adds Four New Members: Vultr, DEPT, Mapp and fulfillmenttools

MACH Alliance Certified emblem with Vultr, DEPT, Mapp, and fulfillmenttools logos around it.

<p>Containers are cool. Seriously. And you don't have to "nerd out" to say so. </p>
<p>Think about it: not only have containers revolutionized the cloud computing landscape, but they're also powering the future of <a href="https://aws.amazon.com/serverless/" target="_blank">serverless technology</a> – which is ushering in a new era of digital transformation for modern apps.  </p>
<p>Of course, with containers comes the complexity of orchestration. That means (utter dreaded locution): <a href="https://kubernetes.io/" target="_blank"><em>Kubernetes</em></a>.</p>
<p>For the uncontainerized, Kubernetes is a Dutch word that means "helmsman" or "pilot" in English. And true to its translation, Kubernetes requires an experienced DevOps captain to steer the ship through the wild waters of the cloud. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, in the choppy seas of CMS, containers are making the course easier to navigate thanks to <a href="https://www.contensis.com/" target="_blank">Contensis,</a> a content management system owned by <a href="https://www.zengenti.com/" target="_blank">Zengenti</a>. The company recently announced a new container-forward solution called “Blocks,” which is designed to help web teams build and deliver <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-free-headless-cms-platforms/">headless websites</a>.</p>
<p>The Blocks, which use packages of code built as <a href="https://www.docker.com/" target="_blank">Docker</a> containers, aim to be easier and more efficient for both developers and content teams to use.</p>
<p>“Not many people are tackling the combined challenges of making it really easy to develop code, connect it to your content, and then deploy it,” said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-chivers-34a36b11/" target="_blank">Richard Chivers</a>, CEO of Zengenti. “More often than not, enterprise-grade websites have multiple technologies co-existing, from payment gateways and search to rendering, all in different programming languages. With Blocks, we’ve made it easy to have each of these running independently in their own containers, potentially even managed by different teams, yet giving the site owner oversight and complete control to set new features live or roll-back functionality quickly without impacting the rest of the website.”</p>
<p>With the introduction of Blocks, users of the Contensis CMS can deploy new applications or services – without prior knowledge of Kubernetes or container orchestration. This makes it easier to push small changes or launch massive rollouts, depending on your specific needs.</p>
<p>“The launch of Blocks has addressed flexibility, convenience, and support head-on,” said Chivers.</p>
<h2>Catching up with CEO Richard Chivers</h2>
<p>Last October, CMS Critic caught up with Chivers for an <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/contensis-cms-looks-ahead-with-headless-focuses-on-performance-interview-with-ceo-richard-chivers/">interview</a>, where he hinted at the coming release of Blocks. When news broke of its launch, CMS Critic reached out to Chivers to learn more about the new solution and what it means for the future of Contensis. He outlined some key details in an insightful Q&amp;A below.</p>
<p><strong>CMS Critic (CC)</strong>: <em>Blocks sounds like serverless, particularly around the DevOps mitigation and the autoscaling capabilities. Can you speak more about the DevOps posture? Is there AWS or Azure powering the underlying infrastructure? Or is this a proprietary cloud solution?</em></p>
<p><strong>Richard Chivers (RC)</strong>: With a simple Github action, you can push a block to the Contensis infrastructure, effectively bypassing any traditional deployment models typically associated with DevOps, meaning you can have continuous deployment and releases set-up and configured in minutes, without the need for deep DevOps expertise. Users can tailor the experience to their precise needs if required, but our typical workflows cover the 95th percentile out of the box. The underlying infrastructure for blocks is built on Kubernetes, and from a deployment perspective, our Kubernetes infrastructure is built on our proprietary cloud solution, which does include public cloud providers as required.</p>
<p><strong>CC</strong>: <em>What kinds of apps can be containerized and run as Blocks? Is this strictly for Contensis sites, or can any app be deployed and orchestrated in your cloud (without worrying about managing Kubernetes, CLIs, etc.)?</em></p>
<p><strong>RC</strong>: Any app can be deployed and orchestrated using Blocks. You don’t need the block to use the Contensis content API. As a simple example, we have customers such as Revitive who run the order processing side of their e-commerce application inside Blocks today. This app reads and writes data to Oracle Netsuite as it happens, pulling orders at the point of sale from the Contensis API, but this could equally be any other platform or system.</p>
<p><strong>CC</strong>: <em>Who do you feel is the primary audience for this enhancement? Is this a play towards developers and Git-focused app builders? With the authoring and workflow upgrades, it seems that you’re tackling multiple targets in one announcement.</em></p>
<p><strong>RC</strong>: It is fair to suggest that developers and Git-focused app builders are a key audience for Blocks, but we see huge benefits for all organizations and teams. Blocks allows real collaboration around deployments. Developers can focus on the delivery of new features, and product owners can release and deploy changes when it suits them, which really takes the sometimes awkward tension between developers and the business away. We see Blocks as being a perfect fit for agile teams.</p>
<p><strong>CC</strong>: <em>The rollback capability is very interesting. How does this compare to traditional blue-green deployments? Is that the underlying architecture? How simple is it to execute the change?</em></p>
<p><strong>RC</strong>: The concepts of traditional blue-green deployments are very much at the heart of our strategy with rollback and releasing changes. We keep old Blocks running until new Blocks take over and vice-versa. The key difference is that we are putting these tools in the hands of business people with no need for any dev ops experience, rolling back is just the click of a button and is rolled out globally in seconds.</p>
<p><strong>CC</strong>: <em>At the recent <a href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff23" target="_blank">CMS Kickoff 2023 conference</a>, there were many headless platforms in attendance and several from Europe. Competition is heating up, and features are becoming more commoditized (as many vendors noted). What makes Blocks a truly competitive and transformative pivot for Contensis? What else might give you an edge in a crowded field in 2023, particularly when technology budgets are being reduced?</em></p>
<p><strong>RC</strong>: Blocks simplifies deployment, which ultimately means fewer vendors and fewer experts to help manage, maintain, and support them, in turn, commoditizing, so to speak, the process of deploying and running websites or apps in a headless world. This ultimately allows companies to deliver their goals faster and save money. A customer can again go to a company to run their CMS and web deployments under one roof and one support contract, just like they used to in the days of the monolith CMS, but they can also benefit from all of the advantages a headless CMS brings to the table. In terms of what we are doing, our new canvas editor, due to be released over the next few months, is a completely different way of editing long-form content and something we have developed from the ground up. We think this will be pivotal in the future of Contensis and our continued drive toward the ultimate authoring experience for our users.</p>
<p><strong>CMS Critic</strong>:<em> The MACH Alliance was also at the conference, and they shared some ambitious plans and goals for this year. Does Contensis have any plans to join the best-of-breed consortium looking to elevate composable standards for the marketplace?</em></p>
<p><strong>Chivers</strong>: This is absolutely something we would be interested in doing, we have been watching that space for some time, we have planned to open the conversation this year.</p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>As cool as containers are, they present significant challenges from a DevOps perspective. Without a Git-focused team that understands the nature of repos and CI/CD pipelines, a container strategy isn't complete. This might sway organizations from embracing container-based tools or resources to power their apps. </p>
<p>According to Chivers, Contensis Blocks effectively bypasses those DevOps barriers, providing continuous deployment and releases without the need for deep DevOps expertise. As he mentions in our Q&amp;A, Blocks covers most of the complexity out of the box, meaning that some expertise might still be required. It also sounds like there's a mix of both proprietary cloud technology running on essential public cloud services.</p>
<p>Contensis is clearly pushing the envelope (a kind of container, if you will). Blocks is a great expression of "cloud thinking" at its best and endeavors to streamline the use of containers to drive headless website development and deployment to the next level. </p>
<p>If you can't "contain" your excitement, you can learn more at <a href="https://www.contensis.com/events/webinars/introducing-blocks" target="_blank">https://www.contensis.com/events/webinars/introducing-blocks.</a></p>
<h2>About Contensis</h2>
<p>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">https://www.contensis.com/.</a></p>


Contensis Launches Blocks, New Container-First Website Builder: Q&A with Richard Chivers

Illustration of shipping containers being stacked.

<p>Today is Groundhog Day in the U.S., a peculiarly American tradition that marks the tipping point between winter and spring.</p>
<p>During a jubilant celebration held in rural Pennsylvania, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/01/us/groundhog-day-weird-history-punxsutawney-phil-cec/index.html" target="_blank">a groundhog called Punxsutawney Phil</a> – the affectionate moniker reserved for this hallowed rodent – is consulted on the fate of the weather ahead. If he sees his shadow and scurries away, it means six more weeks of winter (which is what he predicted <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/groundhog-day-2023-punxsutawney-phil-prediction/" target="_blank">this morning</a>).</p>
<p>One might call Punxatawney Phil a "critic," and his reviews certainly garner a lot of media attention. But given the fact that his predictions are only 46% accurate, he's not a very reliable critic.</p>
<p>But you know who is? <strong>YOU</strong>.</p>
<p>And you showed up in force this January to share your favorite nominations for the 2022 CMS Critic People's Choice Awards! We had an unbelievable amount of participation this year, so we're expanding our picks to include the top five contenders in each category. That means you'll have more platforms to select from.</p>
<p>There were a few ties, so you'll see six platforms in the "Best Enterprise CMS," "Best DXP," and "Best Free CMS" categories.</p>
<p>Now, it's time to pick the winners. <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/vote-for-the-cms-critic-2022-peoples-choice-awards/">Click here to vote now</a>!</p>
<p>You have until <strong>February 20, 2023</strong> to cast your ballot. We'll share the results later this month, along with our Critic's Choice Awards, which are hand-selected by our CMS Critic staff. Just a reminder: you can only submit one ballot per valid email address, and companies that offer incentives of any kind will be disqualified.</p>
<p>The People's Choice Awards are all about you. YOU submitted the nominees and rallied your communities to participate, and we can't wait to see the results and celebrate your top picks. Share with your colleagues and friends to help get the word out for voting!</p>


Cast Your Vote for the CMS Critic 2022 People’s Choice Awards

<p><a href="https://www.netlify.com/" target="_blank">Netlify</a> has netted another competitive catch.</p>
<p>The leading web development platform announced today that it has acquired Gatsby Inc., provider of an advanced cloud platform for web delivery and content orchestration. It's also the company behind the popular open source framework <a href="https://www.gatsbyjs.org/" target="_blank">Gatsby</a>, a static site generator built on top of Node.js using React and <a href="https://graphql.org/" target="_blank">GraphQL</a>.</p>
<p>The San Francisco-based startup has been something of a wunderkind in the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-jamstack-static-site-generators-for-2021/">Jamstack</a> space and the toast of the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-free-headless-cms-platforms/">headless CMS</a> community. In addition to a strong initial round of funding, Gatsby most recently closed on a <a href="https://www.gatsbyjs.com/blog/2020-05-27-announcing-series-b-funding/" target="_blank">$28 million Series B</a> in 2020 to grow its offerings. That said, Gatsby has been trailing behind its larger former rival, which pioneered the space and has been doubling down on composable – as signaled by its 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>. </p>
<p>The acquisition of Gatsby is Netlify’s latest move to support its vision of empowering developers at companies such as <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/twilio-acquires-segment-for-3-2b-adds-market-leading-cdp-for-building-data-driven-apps/">Twilio</a>, Mattel, and Verizon to build a better web and comes on the heels of surpassing 3M+ developers on the Netlify platform.</p>
<p>“The future of the web is composable architectures," said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathias-biilmann-christensen-a5a3805/" target="_blank">Matt Biilmann</a>, CEO of Netlify. "The acquisition of Gatsby not only accelerates our product roadmap, but more importantly, allows us to provide developers with increased flexibility and choice in building composable web experiences. We’re excited to integrate Gatsby’s cloud innovations into the Netlify platform and open up Gatsby’s content hub and source plugin ecosystem to the diverse world of modern frontend frameworks like Astro, Next, and Remix.”</p>
<h2>The rise of "The Great Gatsby"</h2>
<p>Gatsby first became known for its high-performance, open source, frontend framework that featured a powerful data layer and an ecosystem of high-quality content management system (CMS) plugins. On top of the framework, Gatsby built a cloud platform for building, deploying, and previewing large enterprise content sites and has since been growing revenue at more than 100% year-over-year.</p>
<p>To keep the power in the hands of developers and honor its deep roots in open source, Netlify is committed to being good stewards of the Gatsby open-source project, and the maintainers will join the open source group together with the creators of frameworks like Solid JS and <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-jamstack-static-site-generators-for-2021/">Eleventy</a>.</p>
<p>Gatsby’s source plugin ecosystem – originally targeted primarily to content management systems – is also accessible to any data source that exposes an API (such as e-commerce systems like <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/cms-monthly-recap-shopify-invests-in-sanity-dotcms-updates-content-authoring-experience-wp-engine-acquires-plugins-and-more/">Shopify</a>), enabling teams to easily adopt composable architectures without having to write glue code. The company has been working closely with partners and enterprise customers to deliver the new <a href="https://www.gatsbyjs.com/products/valhalla-content-hub/" target="_blank">Valhalla Content Hub</a>, which builds upon their data layer and delivers a hosted, fault-tolerant, edge-first <a href="https://graphql.org/" target="_blank">GraphQL API</a>.</p>
<p>“After years of partnering with Netlify, we are thrilled to join forces,” said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/zurlocker/" target="_blank">Zack Urlocker</a>, CEO of Gatsby. “We share a belief in the future of composable architecture, and together, we will better be able to bring our cloud solution to enterprise teams and accelerate the adoption of composable.”</p>
<h2><strong>Additional Resources</strong></h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.netlify.com/enterprise/" target="_blank">Netlify for enterprises</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.netlify.com/careers/" target="_blank">Learn about careers at Netlify</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.netlify.com/jamstack/" target="_blank">Learn about Jamstack</a></li>
</ul>
<h2><strong>About Netlify</strong></h2>
<p>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://www.netlify.com/enterprise/" target="_blank">netlify.com</a>.</p>
<h2>About Gatsby</h2>
<p>Gatsby is a web development framework that brings together all the best, modern ways to build on the web. Specifically designed to help frontend engineers leverage the advantages of cloud native architecture, Gatsby provides the most collaborative, secure, and performant way to build websites with access to a broad ecosystem of tools and enhancements via easy to setup integrations. Used by Fortune 500 companies including ButcherBox, Capital One, DraftKings, IBM, and Impossible Foods, the company is backed by Index Ventures, CRV, Trinity Ventures, Dig Ventures, Mango Capital, Fathom Capital, and prominent angel investors.</p>


Netlify Acquires Gatsby, Aims to Accelerate Adoption of Composable Web Architectures

Hotjar - Spot what confuses

Spot what confuses your users with Hotjar & AI

#ffffff

<p>The <a href="https://www.boye-co.com/groups/cms-experts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Boye &amp; Company CMS Experts Group</a> always provides lively debate and thought-provoking presentations. At the organization’s annual <a href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff23/program" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CMS Kickoff</a> on January 17-18 in St. Petersburg, Florida, the event went to script.</p>
<p>One of the lines of thought particularly intriguing to me was put forth by <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/cms-kickoff-2023-draws-global-attendees-focuses-on-the-future-of-content-and-composable/" rel="noopener">Optimizely's Deane Barker</a> in his opening presentation. He talked about the creation of content – <em>where content begins – </em>and the idea that the “first 85% of content exists outside of a CMS.”</p>
<p>I had never considered this but had learned from my own experiences – and nightmares – why this is the case. </p>
<h2>So many CMSes, so little time</h2>
<p>I have had the opportunity in my varied roles as a journalist, consultant, project manager, search engine optimizer, and content producer to interact with more than 15 different content management systems. Whether proprietary, mass appeal, enterprise license-based, low-code, no-code, or HTML-code, they all essentially do the same thing. An interface exists to push content to the web, and this interface is more user-friendly, organized, and manageable than doing so in code. A CMS enables many more users within an organization to publish to the web and (should) limit the old bottleneck that was created by content creators (often many) sending their written content “over the wall” to developers (often few) to bring those “artifacts” to life digitally. </p>
<p>While publishing to the web might have become an action to be handled by many more hands, the fact that content creation itself doesn’t happen in a CMS – Barker’s “85%” comment – is still the general law of cyberspace.  A CMS – even when it features a WYSIWYG or visual editor – has never felt like a great place to begin the content journey. For me, it has never provided a better toolset than word processing software, like Microsoft Word or Google Docs, or notes applications, like Evernote, Apple’s Notes, or Microsoft OneNote. In addition, I am sure we have all experienced the nightmare of trying to develop content in a CMS, and then some reboot or login script automatically triggers and wipes away your potential masterpiece. </p>
<p>Barker noted that people are hesitant to create content within a CMS because of an anxiety of potentially being judged while a kernel of an idea is gestating. “Psychological Safety” is important for healthy content development. Barker himself negotiates “keyboard time” into his agreements with his employer, <a href="https://www.optimizely.com/?utm_source=linkedin&amp;utm_medium=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Optimizely</a>. This is an acknowledgment that to create, you often need to “go dark” for at least a bit and be trusted to create. It also got me thinking that while content editing, queueing, moderation, and publishing can feel like a virtual supply chain, content creation feels more like product development or innovation. </p>
<h2>Trust the process... whatever that may be</h2>
<p>Some enterprise organizations, like Boye &amp; Company event presenter <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-spenceley-7058a312/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michael Spenceley</a>’s team at <a href="https://www.jnj.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Johnson &amp; Johnson</a>, <em>can</em> build a high-performing content team that aligns impeccable customer-centric content creation into a kind of content conveyer belt, but most still need inspiration from the mind of a creator to kick things into gear. Could this – <em>should this – </em>be accounted for in the CMS? Is it good for content operations, from conception to commercialization, to be commoditized?  Should we still leave and trust some parts of the process to serendipity?</p>
<p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/carriehane/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Carrie Hane</a>, principal evangelist at <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/sanity-raises-39-million-focuses-growth-on-content-as-data-for-transformative-digital-experiences/">Sanity.io</a>, talked at the Boye &amp; Company CMS Kickoff about how content technology impacts business. Her own research and vantage of the market note that “CMS users still think their CMS <em>sucks</em>, and that’s just how it is,” and that “most organizations don’t have a content strategy.” She also noted that composable technologies are being embraced by early-adopting IT teams and are better for content management. </p>
<p>This made me further think about the best use cases and philosophical aspirations of a content management system. </p>
<p>How do we square all these competing elements?</p>
<ul>
<li>CMS users who don’t like the system, but only use it for 15% of the content process.</li>
<li>IT teams procure new systems on behalf of content managers, who will primarily use them.</li>
<li>The right platform for content inspiration simultaneously enables quick and efficient processes for content perspiration.</li>
</ul>
<p>Most importantly, is there a specific problem in all this that is hankering to be solved?</p>
<h2>A new (old) content sheriff in town?</h2>
<p>In times of yore – let’s say the late 2000s – when selling the virtues of the then-nascent CMS to a prospective customer, we would often say that the technology allows you to manage and publish content on the web as simply as you can within Microsoft Word. Back then, it felt like the CMS would make Microsoft Word redundant, or worse, anachronistic!</p>
<p>This is a funny notion now in 2023. Microsoft has made quite a resurgence, up to its current perch as the third-largest company in the world by market capitalization. And just this past Monday (January 23), it announced <a href="https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2023/01/23/microsoftandopenaiextendpartnership/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a multibillion-dollar investment in ChatGPT</a>, via its maker OpenAI. Many are frenziedly anointing ChatGPT as the holy grail of content creation and production. It will undoubtedly become tightly integrated with Microsoft’s products.</p>
<p>Is it possible in the future that a CMS could just become a way to deliver generative AI-enhanced, Microsoft Word content directly to the web for publishing? What if Microsoft can swoop in and own Barker’s “85% of content” happening outside of the CMS and make a moot point of whether CMS users think their CMS sucks or not (per Hanes’ presentation)?</p>
<p>What happens in the CMS might not stay in the CMS much longer. It's a gamble to be sure, but the bets are already on the table that AI will change everything. We'll have to wait and see. </p>
<h2>About the Author</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-mcqueeny-9732493/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Matthew McQueeny</a> is part of the leadership team at <a href="https://konabos.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Konabos</a>, a global agency that specializes in digital experience platform implementation. Matt's role as the relationships and community lead is powered by over 15 years of digital marketing and web project management experience. He has worked with clients ranging from Fortune 500 to startups across a wide range of industries including healthcare, publishing, technology, telecommunications, education, retail, entertainment, manufacturing, and transportation. </p>
<p>Matt loves the intersection of technology, marketing, and communications. Throughout his career, he has worked with many licensed and open-source content management systems, in editorial, social media strategy and advertising, search engine marketing, lead generation, analytics, and podcasting. You can follow Matt on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-mcqueeny-9732493/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LinkedIn</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/mattmcqueeny" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a>. </p>


What Happens in the CMS, Stays in the CMS?

mattmcqueeny

Las Vegas sign with text that reads "Welcome to your Fabulous CMS" instead of Las Vegas. Background of Las Vegas city skyline at night.

<p>For better or worse, <a href="https://www.google.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Google</a> has a long history of "optimizing" things. And not just on the tech side of the fence.</p>
<p>Consider how <a href="https://abc.xyz/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alphabet</a> – the publicly traded parent of the search giant – <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/18/investing/google-alphabet-stock-split/index.html#:~:text=But%20the%20split%20has%20two,prestigious%20Dow%20Jones%20Industrial%20Average." target="_blank" rel="noopener">split its stock in 2022</a> to improve its market capitalization. The company has a market cap of over $1 trillion and is still considered one of the most valuable on the planet. But the move made it even more attractive to main street investors while enhancing its position on the exchanges. </p>
<p>On the negative side, the company recently "optimized" its workforce, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/google-parent-lay-off-12000-workers-memo-2023-01-20/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cutting 12,000 jobs</a> after what it called a "pandemic hiring spree." It plans to refocus its budget on AI initiatives, no doubt in response to the recent explosion of <a href="https://www.theinformation.com/articles/microsoft-and-openai-working-on-chatgpt-powered-bing-in-challenge-to-google" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ChatGPT and the announcement from Microsoft</a> that it will weave the bot's intelligence into its <a href="https://www.impression.co.uk/blog/bing-differ-google/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bing</a> platform. For reference, Bing represents less than 10% of the search market (Google owns almost all the rest). </p>
<p>When it comes to its products, Google is also wrestling with a bevy of optimization challenges, most notably the sunsetting of its eponymous <a href="https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/11583528?hl=en#:~:text=On%20July%201%2C%202023%2C%20standard,Google%20Analytics%204%20going%20forward." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Universal Analytics (UA)</a> as of July 1, 2023. Companies have been scrambling to get its replacement, <a href="https://www.solodev.com/blog/digital-marketing/how-to-make-the-leap-from-universal-analytics-to-google-analytics-4.stml" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Google Analytics 4 (GA4)</a>, up and running. Despite its touted new features and "optimizations," many digital marketing and SEO professionals have confronted significant challenges with the new platform. </p>
<p>As if that wasn't enough, Google is now retiring two more of its products: <a href="https://optimize.google.com/optimize/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Google Optimize</a> and <a href="https://marketingplatform.google.com/about/optimize-360/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Optimize 360</a>. The company recently announced that beginning September 30, 2023, users will no longer have access to either product and that it was “investing in A/B testing in Google Analytics 4."</p>
<p>How will these changes impact users? It's hard to say. But in a world where Google's grip over search and analytics is being threatened by fragmentation and competition – all ignited by advanced AI – there may be more "optimizing" ahead for everyone. </p>
<h2><strong>The dawn of a new </strong><strong>A/B testing and personalization era</strong></h2>
<p>While Google Optimize and Optimize 360 have a strong and proven legacy, Google Analytics has long been the data source of truth for millions of websites. The upgrade was highly anticipated by marketing and SEO professionals, but there have been swelling questions about how the rollout would affect the broader ecosystem – including the interplay with the Optimize products.</p>
<p>As noted, the shift to GA4 has been fraught with controversy, particularly around the limitations of migrating historical data. To be fair, Google has been strongly encouraging customers to make the switch to GA4 as soon as possible, so they have ample time to build historical data in the new platform. But don't panic: your legacy data can be exported as CSVs, and UA will still be in effect until July 1, 2024.</p>
<p>Google said its rationale for sunsetting Optimize, a five-year-old product, was rooted in "developing something better" for customers. According to the company, many users were requesting features and services not currently available for experimentation and testing. Google said it wanted to invest in more robust and effective solutions to meet the evolving need – and no doubt, to compete with more expansive customer analytics platforms like <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/amplitude-announces-new-testing-and-analytics-tools-for-making-smarter-product-decisions-at-scale/">Amplitude</a>. </p>
<p>Optimize users are encouraged to download their historical data before September 30. For more information on how to access that data or how this will affect a current Optimize and Optimize 360 contract, visit <a href="https://support.google.com/optimize/answer/12979939#:~:text=Google%20Optimize%20and%20Optimize%20360,on%20that%20date%20will%20end" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Google Support</a>.</p>
<h2><strong>“The Times They Are a-Changin’”</strong></h2>
<p>What <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Times_They_Are_a-Changin%27_(song)" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bob Dylan</a> so eloquently penned in 1964 still holds true. <em>The times are a-changin'.  </em>And like the musical poet of yesteryear, Google has withstood the test of time in our modern digital era and become a cultural icon. (Worth noting: a search for "Bob Dylan" returns over 122,000,000 results).</p>
<p>At the same time, Google is facing the fierce headwinds of change as an aging brand and ecosystem, one that has achieved a monolithic status in the tech stack. New and innovative products are forcing the company to evolve, and that's good. But change – as Dylan would agree – is like a hard rain falling. </p>
<p>As Google executes its sunsetting and upgrading, we're already getting a glimpse of how analytics will look in the future. The field of data science is exploding, and analytics have become more important than ever. At the same time, measuring across different platforms and applications has become exceedingly more difficult.</p>
<p>Google Optimize and Optimize 360 will be remembered as transformative tools in the A/B testing and experimentation narrative. While we're not expecting any love songs to be penned for their eulogy, they have impacted how marketers think about testing and its scalability. Google has indicated its lofty ambitions to incorporate more of these personalization functions into GA4, but when?</p>
<p>The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind. </p>
<h2><strong>So…what now?</strong></h2>
<p><em>Get GA4 up and running!</em> You have time to download and export your legacy Optimize and UA resources, but GA4 really needs historical data to thrive – so set it up ASAP. Just a reminder: Google has remained firm on not making any extensions for the programs they are retiring. That could change, but it's best to assume the worst. </p>
<p>It's likely that GA4 will introduce its new A/B testing features in 2023. But if you don’t like the idea of “wait and see,” there are also other platforms to explore:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/?s=optimizely">Optimizely</a> is choosing to celebrate the news by offering Google Optimize customers a <a href="https://www.optimizely.com/google/optimize/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">special deal</a> for keeping their experimentations running smoothly.</p>
<p><a href="https://business.adobe.com/products/target/adobe-target.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adobe Target</a> is another leading product that has similar functionality to Google Optimize, but with more features. It predictably integrates with Adobe Analytics, rather than Google Analytics.</p>
<p><a href="https://vwo.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visual Website Optimizer</a>, <a href="https://www.abtasty.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AB Tasty</a> and <a href="https://www.dynamicyield.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dynamic Yield</a> are also good options to explore, even with smaller market share in this field.</p>
<p>With just a few months left to use Google Optimize, it might seem daunting to consider a new alternative, but it’s also nice to have options. Not to get too poetic (though we have already mentioned Dylan), but each sunset <em>does</em> bring the dawn of a new day. And it looks like we’ll just have to wait and see what Google shines a light on next.</p>


Google Announces Sunset of Google Optimize and Optimize 360

CMS Kickoff 2023 Draws Global Attendees, Focuses on the Future of Content and Composable

CMS Kickoff 2023 photo montage with images from the event of people and sessions

<p>Last week, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://agilitycms.com/">Agility CMS</a> announced its position as a “High Performer” in the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-free-headless-cms-platforms/">headless CMS</a> category for the Winter 2023 rankings by <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.g2.com/products/agility-cms/reviews">G2</a>.</p><p>The API-first composable “content platform” attributed its success in part to a new user interface called <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://agilitycms.com/resources/posts/what-is-plenum-ui">Plenum</a>, which has delivered a more modern and dynamic look to the platform.</p><p>“We are thrilled to have had such a successful year and be recognized as a high performer by G2,” said Joel Varty, CTO of Agility. “We are continuing to innovate and provide the best content platform for our customers' unique needs.”</p><h2 id="driving-growth-around-headless-and-composable"><strong>Driving growth around headless and composable</strong></h2><p>Aside from the new look, Agility also launched a new management API which gives users more flexibility and automation options when configuring the backend for content management.</p><p>With these updates, Agility stated in a news release they have “propelled to the forefront of the composable and flexible architecture movement, going beyond the headless CMS space.”</p><h2 id="more-planned-enhancements-for-2023"><strong>More planned enhancements for 2023</strong></h2><p>For 2023, Agility has outlined additional enhancements for their in-platform experiences, including:</p><ul><li>Content modeling that visibly tracks the evolution of their content models and page module schemas</li><li>A markdown editor field that provides a convenient tool for developers and markdown users</li><li>A robust app marketplace that facilitates users with extensive tools and integrations to enhance their content management experience</li></ul><p>Varty also announced an integration with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://nextjs.org/blog/next-13">Next.js 13</a> and the relaunch of the Agility partner program.</p><p>"Our users are loving the new Plenum UI, while developers are taking advantage of our new management API,” Varty said. “Plus, our updated Next.js 13 SDK has generated a lot of excitement - it’s a super powerful framework that Agility takes full advantage of. Moving forward, we are continuing to innovate with lots of announcements coming in 2023! Our goal is to provide the best content platform to fulfill all of our customers’ unique needs."</p><h2 id="about-agility"><strong>About Agility</strong></h2><p>Agility is a premium Content Platform for unique solutions. Its API-first platform is more than a headless CMS. With its flexible, agile and composable architecture built from the ground up, the platform is designed for enterprise teams to solve all of their unique content needs.</p>

Agility CMS Ranked as High Performer by G2 with Additional Updates Projected in 2023

Agility CMS logo and G2 Winter 2023 High Performer badge

<p>Last week, Portland-headquartered <a href="https://www.sheerid.com/shoppers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SheerID</a> announced a new partnership with composable commerce vendor <a href="https://commercetools.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commercetools</a>. The goal: help merchants create better personalization and more relevant offers and promotions for consumers based on identified customer segmentation.</p>
<p>“Our partnership with SheerID further demonstrates our commitment to providing our merchants with access to market-leading technologies,” said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellygoetsch/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kelly Goetsch</a>, chief strategy officer at commercetools. “We look forward to working together to help merchants sell more, grow faster, and create meaningful connections that build customer engagement and loyalty.”</p>
<h2><strong>SheerID gets personal</strong></h2>
<p>SheerID operates what it calls a “digital verification engine.” With more than 20,000 authoritative data sources, the system helps to instantly verify eligible customers for offers they qualify for.</p>
<p>With brands like <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/andy-jassy-amazons-new-ceo-signals-bold-future-for-loud-and-digital-experiences/">Amazon</a>, Spotify, and T-Mobile already on the verification platform, SheerID boasts their customers have received three times the conversion of their typical campaigns when utilizing the verification platform.</p>
<p>“Our strategic partnership with commercetools enables the company’s merchants to access our audience verification service, driving significant business outcomes,” said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakeweatherly/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jake Weatherly</a>, chief executive officer at SheerID. “Providing offers to valuable consumer communities like students, teachers, and healthcare professionals is a proven strategy to drive immediate sales. In the cookieless future, online merchants increasingly rely on privacy-compliant, zero-party data marketing solutions like this to drive consumer acquisition, retention, and loyalty.”</p>
<h2><strong>Heading headless with commercetools</strong></h2>
<p>The partnership with commercetools – a <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-headless-commerce-platforms/">leading headless commerce platform</a> and member of the <a href="https://machalliance.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MACH Alliance</a> – was a natural fit for SheerID to improve customer segmentation. More integrations like SheerID and commercetools could be likely in the future as companies embrace the headless commerce structure, allowing for greater flexibility and more software offerings.</p>
<p>“The integration was conceived with MACH principles in mind,” said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyvanags/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Andy Vanags</a>, global director of retail technologies and marketplace partnerships at SheerID. “Companies will be able to flexibly set up SheerID with their existing frontend e-commerce systems and DXP, CDP, and marketing automation systems. With our supporting documentation and sample open-source code, a merchant's developer or system integrator can easily leverage the verified customer data to create custom promotions, feed the loyalty system and/or personalize the site experience. Companies are only limited by their imagination!”</p>
<h2><strong>About commercetools</strong></h2>
<p>The inventor of headless commerce, <a href="https://commercetools.com/?utm_source=press_release&amp;utm_medium=announcement&amp;utm_campaign=publicis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commercetools</a> is an innovative technology disruptor that has established itself as an industry-leading eCommerce software provider. Today, some of the world’s most iconic brands and growth-focused businesses trust commercetools’ powerful, flexible, scalable solutions to support their ever-evolving digital commerce needs. As the visionaries leading the modern MACH (Microservices-based, API-first, Cloud-native and Headless) architecture movement, commercetools provides customers with the agility to innovate and iterate on the fly, merge on and off-line channels, drive higher revenue, and future-proof their eCommerce business.</p>
<h2><strong>About SheerID</strong></h2>
<p>SheerID is the global leader in identity marketing. With SheerID, brands identify and acquire customers from highly valued consumer communities — such as the military, students, teachers, first responders, and more — with personalized offers, gated by instant verification from the largest set of authoritative data worldwide. SheerID verifies over 2.5 billion people via 20,000 authoritative data sources; provides global insights from hundreds of the world’s leading brands, and never shares or sells customer data. As a result, the world’s biggest brands — including Amazon, Home Depot, Spotify, and T-Mobile — rely on SheerID as their identity marketing partner. Founded in 2011, SheerID is backed by Fortson VC, Brighton Park Capital, Centana Growth Partners, Voyager Capital, and CVC Growth Partners. For more information, please visit <a href="https://www.sheerid.com/business/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SheerID</a> or follow us on <a href="https://twitter.com/SheerID" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/sheerid/about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LinkedIn</a>, and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SheerIDdotcom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a>.</p>


SheerID and commercetools Form Partnership to Provide More Personalization and Better Offers for Consumers

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