Articles - Page 75

<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/critics/andycohen">Andy Cohen</a><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/critics/deane"> </a>is the founding architect of Sitecore XM Cloud. He is VP/Chief Architect at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.altudo.co/">Altudo</a>, and a CMS Critic contributor. <hr /> When people talk about personalization, they often mean “the right content to the right person at the right time.” That idea is now past tense.I have watched this shift play out up close, from <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/sitecore">Sitecore’s</a> early rules-based personalization, through <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/contentstack">Contentstack’s</a> use of edge-based personalization in a composable architecture, to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/optimizely">Optimizely’s</a> launch of Opal, a system of marketing AI agents. Personalization no longer stops at swapping content on a page. It now reaches into the interaction itself, and soon, into the relationships agents form with one another.<h3 id="when-agents-adapt-to-us">When Agents Adapt to Us</h3>That shift, from “what” to “how,” is where the major CMS players are already moving, and you can see it in the different bets they're making:<ul><li>Contentstack has put its weight behind <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/livin-on-the-edge-contentstacks-new-adaptive-dxp-might-just-rock-your-world">EDGE</a>, which they call a hyper-personalization platform. It blends their headless CMS with a real-time CDP, AI, and automation. The goal is simple but ambitious: deliver one-to-one experiences in the moment and at scale. Because it is composable, brands can adapt interactions without locking themselves into rigid patterns. What strikes me about EDGE is that it reframes personalization as something continuous, not a campaign you set and forget.</li><li>Optimizely has taken another route with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/optimizely-opal-gets-supercharged-for-agentic-ai-powering-infinite-use-cases-for-marketers">Opal</a>. Instead of a single assistant, Opal is built as a collection of agents that act like members of a marketing team. There is a campaign manager agent, a personalization advisor, a market researcher, and more. With the 2.0 release, Optimizely put the emphasis on letting these agents collaborate and run multi-step workflows across content, data, and experimentation. I have seen teams spend weeks coordinating those same steps manually. Opal hints at a world where marketing execution is handled by an ensemble of digital teammates who can plan, act, and adjust together.</li><li>Sitecore has focused on bringing assistance directly into daily work. Through <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.sitecore.com/products/sitecore-stream">Stream</a>, they have introduced AI copilots that support authors and marketers in real time as they draft and optimize campaigns. On top of that, Sitecore’s partnership with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/sitecore-sharpens-ai-focus-with-strategic-partnership-and-new-leadership-appointments">Gradial</a> shows how agentic workflows can extend into campaign execution. It is not just about smarter editors or quicker drafts. It is about agents that can carry intent through to delivery and adapt along the way. For a company that has lived for years in the world of static content publishing, that is a meaningful step forward.</li></ul>None of these approaches feels like a gimmick.They are different answers to the same problem: personalization is no longer about what content you are shown, it is about how the interaction unfolds. Whether that happens through hyper-personalization at the edge, through orchestrated marketing agents, or via copilots and execution partners, the shift is real and already in motion.<h3 id="what-nondeterminism-really-means">What Nondeterminism Really Means</h3>Most software behaves like math: 2 + 2 always equals 4. Generative AI does not. Ask it to draft a thank-you note and you will get three different answers, all plausible, none identical. That variability is what we call nondeterminism.It is the very thing that makes AI feel creative, but also the reason it needs personalization to stay useful. As <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://parivedasolutions.com/perspectives/managing-the-non-deterministic-nature-of-generative-ai/">Pariveda Solutions points out</a>, nondeterminism is what makes AI flexible and creative, but it also introduces governance challenges that remain unresolved. In my own work with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/getting-loud-with-xm-cloud-sitecore-reports-100-growth-of-its-ai-powered-cloud-based-cms">XM Cloud,</a> I have seen how unpredictable outcomes can be a feature if the system adapts well – and a liability if it does not.<h3 id="when-agents-adapt-to-each-other">When Agents Adapt to Each Other</h3>The next frontier is agents adapting not just to us but to each other. Nondeterminism multiplies when two autonomous systems interact. They need ways to converge on workable outcomes.Sometimes that looks like adjusting communication style, where one agent is structured and terse, another free-form and verbose. Sometimes, it means learning to accept differences in task style, such as fast approximation versus cautious step-by-step reasoning. Other times it's about role negotiation: who leads, who validates, who escalates.And sometimes it is memory. Agents do not just adapt in the moment; they remember. That memory can look like a grudge. A search agent that hallucinated last time will get fact-checked the next. A procurement agent that botched a deal may face stricter oversight. Even first impressions stick. If an agent’s very first hand-off is sloppy, the other agent may never fully trust it, no matter how good the later work becomes.Humans behave the same way. In corporate life, one bad kickoff meeting can color a partnership for months. Agents will carry those patterns too.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.deepset.ai/blog/ai-agents-and-deterministic-workflows-a-spectrum"> Deepset calls this the “spectrum of determinism to nondeterminism</a>.” I call it relationship management.<h3 id="everyday-illustrations">Everyday Illustrations</h3>Picture a grocery agent told to buy apples if they are $0.99 a pound. A deterministic system comes back empty because they are $1.09. An adaptive one checks with you, “They are a little higher today. Should I buy anyway?” That is useful, until the store’s own agent learns to nudge yours into paying even more.Or ride-hailing. You set a $20 target. The price surges to $23. Do you want your agent to decline, wait, or decide on its own? What happens when the ride-share’s agent starts upselling yours into priority pickup at $28?Or travel. You say, “Book me a flight under $500.” The system finds none. A flexible agent returns with, “There is one at $525 with better times. Should I grab it?” Helpful, but it shows how quickly rules can bend.In the enterprise, this gets thornier. Procurement policies might cap software licenses at $50 per seat. A deterministic agent halts the deal. A personalized one negotiates to $55 and closes it. That looks like a win until you realize the vendor’s agent deliberately anchored higher, knowing yours would flex upward.Healthcare raises the stakes even more. You ask for an appointment with your doctor next week. A rigid agent says none available. A personalized one offers a nurse practitioner tomorrow or a specialist in two weeks. That looks like a better experience, but it could also push you toward higher-margin services instead of the care you really wanted.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.salesforce.com/blog/deterministic-ai/">Salesforce has written about this exact problem</a> of when to script agents tightly and when to let them roam. I see it every day in delivery projects. Too rigid and you frustrate users. Too loose and you open the door to manipulation.<h3 id="agents-that-carry-“you”-with-them">Agents That Carry “You” With Them</h3>Now push it further. Imagine your agent not only executes tasks but carries your personality footprint into every interaction. If you are cost-sensitive, it pushes harder. If you are time-poor, it pays more for speed. If you are detail-driven, it double-checks everything.What if you could swap personas entirely?<ul><li>"Frugal Andy" does the grocery shopping</li><li>"Executive Andy" books the flights</li><li>"Playful Andy" explores games and hobbies.</li></ul>Your agent would not only personalize to you. It would personalize as you.But there is risk in this. If the other agent knows who you are or which persona you are using, it can adapt back. That can be powerful when aligned with your goals, but it can also be exploited. Imagine a vendor agent that recognizes executive mode and steers you toward premium packages.This is not hypothetical. Optimizely’s Opal agents already act like different team members depending on context. Contentstack’s Brand Kit lets you define voice profiles and store guidelines so that every AI-generated artifact reflects your identity. Sitecore’s Stream copilots are designed to guide content creators in real time, aligning their work with brand and role expectations.These are early signals of a future where agents carry pieces of us, including quirks, preferences, and even biases, into every exchange.<h3 id="why-this-matters">Why This Matters</h3>This is why nondeterminism is not a flaw but the feature. Deterministic systems did not need personalization. There was only one output. Nondeterministic systems can go in many directions, and personalization is what prevents chaos.The best metaphor I know is jazz. Musicians improvising do not know exactly where the others will go. They adapt, they respond, they personalize their playing to the group. The music works not because it is scripted but because the players trust each other enough to bend and flex.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insights/seizing-the-agentic-ai-advantage">McKinsey has argued</a> that this adaptability is the defining advantage of agentic AI. From what I have seen in publishing systems, SaaS cost optimization, and large-scale CMS migrations, I agree. The resilience comes not from rigid plans but from the ability to adapt in context.<h3 id="what-leaders-should-prepare-for">What Leaders Should Prepare For</h3>Leaders should focus on their readiness in key areas. For example, trust frameworks must extend beyond human-agent interactions into agent-to-agent ecosystems. Standards cannot stay as fixed APIs; they need flexibility built in. Identity management has to protect personality profiles and alter egos from misuse. And agents must be able to remember not just what they did for us, but how they worked with others.<h3 id="the-future-of-personalization">The Future of Personalization</h3>Personalization started with content. It evolved into experiences. Now, it is moving into interactions – first with humans and then with other agents.If we get this right, nondeterminism will not be something to suppress. It will be the source of resilience, adaptability, and creativity. The companies that thrive will not just personalize their websites. They will personalize their agents. Those agents will adapt to us, and to each other, in ways that reflect who we are or even who we choose to be.And like humans, they will remember. First impressions will matter. Grudges may form. And relationships between agents will start to look a lot like relationships between people. <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-events">Upcoming Events</h3> <img style="width:31.61%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/08/storyblok-joyconf-2025-logo.jpg" /><h4 id="storyblok-joyconf-2025"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://joyconf.storyblok.com/">Storyblok JoyConf 2025</a></h4>October 14-15, 2025 – Amsterdam, Netherlands November 4, 2025 – New York, NY November 6, 2025 – Los Angeles, CAJoin us at JoyConf 2025, where the future of content meets the people shaping it. Built for developers, marketers, and digital innovators, this free conference goes way beyond product updates or yet another strategy playbook. It’s where you’ll get inspired, get real, and get connected – to ideas, to the community, and to what’s possible when you build joyfully. Whether you're building lightning-fast frontends or launching cross-channel campaigns, this is where content becomes connection and collaboration becomes second nature. Come for the talks. Stay for the community. Leave with joy. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://joyconf.storyblok.com/">Save your spot.</a> <img style="width:28.9%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/08/sitecore-symposium-2025.jpg" /><h4 id="sitecore-symposium-2025"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://symposium.sitecore.com/">Sitecore Symposium 2025</a></h4>November 3-5, 2025 – Orlando, FLAt Sitecore Symposium, you’ll learn how to meet your customers where they are – across channels, moments, and touchpoints that didn’t exist a year ago. You’ll hear how the boldest brands in the world are transforming content into outcomes and creating experiences that are fast, relevant, and human. Join 1,500 marketers, digital leaders, and technologists in Orlando to see what’s possible when personalization scales, AI accelerates creativity, and trust becomes your competitive edge. This is the Third Wave of the Internet. And this is your moment to lead in it. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://symposium.sitecore.com/">Get your tickets today.</a> <img style="width:31.44%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/08/cms-kickoff-2026-logo.png" alt="" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff26">CMS Kickoff 2026</a></h4>January 13-14, 2026 – St. Petersburg, FLMeet industry leaders at our fourth annual CMS Kickoff – the industry's premier global CMS event. Similar to a traditional kickoff, we reflect on recent trends and share stories from the frontlines. Additionally, we will delve into the current happenings and shed light on the future. Prepare for an unparalleled in-person CMS conference experience that will equip you to move things forward. This is an exclusive event – space is limited, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff26">so secure your tickets today.</a>

Agent-to-Agent Personalization: Trust, First Impressions, and the 'Grudge' Factor

andycohen

It may have been a typically grey London morning, but the Park Plaza Hotel in the heart of England's capital was looking elegant as I made my way to the entrance. I was ready for the first day of <a href="http://www.gartner.com/events/emea/digital-workplace" target="_blank">Gartner DWS 2016</a>.
Once inside, I was directed to the registration room where I was able to sign in and print my own pass. An attendant remarked that I was the first member of the press to arrive – which only intensified my resentment for my early morning alarm.
But hey, I was on time for Gartner’s opening keynote, which to its credit, made it all seem worth it.
Gartner's Debra Logan delivered the keynote to a room brimming with attendees. She entertainingly hopped between topics like customer engagement, leadership, and risk taking in the world of business. It was an intruguing presentation with lots of imagery, perfect as an appetizer for the two days ahead.
<h2>Spotlight on Social Colloboration</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/img_6198-1834x0-is.jpg" />
The rest of the two-day event had a big focus on social collaboration in the workplace.
The sponsors of Gartner DWS 2016 – each of whom had a booth in the lunch and coffee hall – mainly consisted of social collaboration platforms like <a href="https://www.huddle.com/" target="_blank">Huddl</a> and Prysm, while many presentations touched on the same subject.
For example, Anthony Leaper from <a href="http://go.sap.com/index.html" target="_blank">SAP</a> spoke eloquently about how social collaboration in the workplace is changing. He referenced SAP’s social collaboration software ‘Jam’ very often, citing the impact it had been having on the internal workings of SAP and its customers.
Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.liferay.com/" target="_blank">Liferay</a>, the digital experience platform vendor, also had a presence at Gartner DWS 2016. Edmund Dueck , their Marketing Manager for Europe, delivered a short but valuable presentation that highlighted the importance of establishing a platform that was customer centric, meaningful, and that engages people on levels that they deem familiar.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/img_6223444x0-is.jpg" />
He referenced Tumblr’s latest video feature as an example. The Tumblr team resisted the urge to create their own standalone video streaming platform, and instead built their platform around existing ones like YouTube and Periscope. Thus, they were able to engage vloggers in a way that was convenient for them.
Other notable presentations included:
<ul>
<li>Top 12 Emerging Digital Workplace Technologies to Transform Your Business (<a href="http://www.gartner.com/events/emea/digital-workplace#">Matthew W. Cain</a>)</li>
<li>An Etiquette Handbook for the Digital Workplace Leader (<a href="http://www.gartner.com/events/emea/digital-workplace#">Carol Rozwell</a>)</li>
<li>10 Proven Ways to Find the People and the Ideas You Need (<a href="http://www.gartner.com/events/emea/digital-workplace#">Diane Morello</a>)</li>
</ul>
<h2>The Gartner DWS Atmosphere: Professionalism vs Personality</h2>
As for the overall atmosphere at Gartner DWS, it was seamlessly professional. Maybe too professional.
The Gartner bag I received at registration was filled with small booklets and leaflets about the event itself, but there was no freebie or souvenir in sight other than a train ticket holder.
When it came to lunch time, you once again felt the constant presence of uber-professionalism looming over the room. It didn't help that presentations were being made in the same room (and at the same time) as lunch. It only added to the feeling that you weren't ever going to truly relax at any stage of this event.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/img_6226-13264x1930-cropx0y517-is563x0-is.jpg" style="text-align:center" />
Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed myself at Gartner DWS 2016, and the presentations on show were insightful.
I also recognize that Gartner is a serious brand, but it’s sometimes nice to see a company let its hair down a little at these prolonged events, even if that just means throwing a small gadget or keepsake into the goody bag.
Otherwise, the event risks having no personality at all.
Or who knows, maybe I’ve just been spoiled by free conference loot given out at previous events.
In any case, a big thank you goes out to <a href="https://www.liferay.com/" target="_blank">Liferay</a> for kindly inviting CMS Critic to attend Gartner DWS 2016, and a congratulations goes out to Gartner on an event well hosted.

Gartner DWS 2016: How It Went Down

mike-johnston

In their mission to help enterprises build stronger performing applications at speed and scale, eZ Systems and Platform.sh announce today a new partnership that offers developers an accelerated path to build content-rich websites and web applications with eZ’s open source content management system, eZ Platform, and its premium edition, eZ Enterprise. By taking advantage of Platform.sh’s Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), eZ now allows developers to build, test, and deploy new features faster and more frequently, which in turn reduces costs, time, and risk for the business.
Whether it’s ecommerce, news and media sites, multi-channel applications or connected devices (the Internet of Things), users expect seamless, engaging digital experiences. This puts pressure on the C- suite, developers, marketers and editors to deliver new features quickly and on quality to meet users’ heightened expectations. eZ’s choice to integrate Platform.sh’s PaaS into eZ’s content management system provides developers a better user experience, elevating production uptime and continuous delivery of changes, which in turn equips business users and executives for digital success.
<blockquote>
“The PaaS concept brings the promise of helping developers focus on what really matters: developing new features. With Platform.sh for eZ Platform and eZ Enterprise, this promise turns real. Finally, developers can focus on code, and not on infrastructure. This means a lot for the business!” says Roland Benedetti, Chief Product and Marketing Officer, eZ Systems.
</blockquote>
This latest strategic partnership is testament to the level of trust that software vendors have in the power of Platform.sh’s expertise in continuous delivery and PHP. “We are very pleased to sign this strategic agreement with another global software vendor. eZ Systems has a great reputation and has had a strong presence in the PHP marketplace for some time already”, says Fred Plais, CEO, Platform.sh.
The new version of eZ’s platform offers a strong differentiator from other CMS solutions. By choosing to partner with Platform.sh, eZ stands to benefit from accelerated licence sales, and incremental revenue growth from PaaS hosting as part of their business model. “The combination of the Platform.sh PaaS and eZ’s new content management system gives eZ a considerable advantage over their competitors. We are pleased to have already acquired our first joint customer, Gelbe Seiten Marketing Gesellschaft bmbH (The Yellow Pages in Germany) last week”, adds Kieron Sambrook-Smith, Chief Commercial Officer, Platform.sh.
Learn more about eZ Platform at http://ez.no/Products/eZ-Platform and eZ’s premium edition, eZ Enterprise, at <a href="http://ez.no/Products/eZ-Enterprise" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">http://ez.no/Products/eZ-Enterprise</a>
To start a one month free trial of eZ Platform using Platform.sh’s PaaS, visit <a href="https://platform.sh/hosting/php/ez/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://platform.sh/hosting/php/ez/</a>

eZ Systems partners with Platform.sh to accelerate development of content- rich websites and applications

<a href="https://mautic.com/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mautic</a>, the open source marketing automation software vendor, has successfully closed a $5 million A Round, led by <a href="http://www.g20vc.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">G20 Ventures</a> and <a href="https://underscore.vc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Underscore.VC</a>. A big win for the growing cloud-based marketing company.
Earlier in 2016, Mautic announced $600,000 in seed funding from the same two investors mentioned above. This new round of investment has come following Mautic's significant traction with its customers and open source community.
<h2>A Closer Look at Mautic</h2>
The Mautic open source project has enjoyed a healthy level of growth throughout 2016. The statistics speak for themselves:
<ul>
<li>More than 50,000 downloads of the open source version</li>
<li>More than 20,000 additional companies using the free hosted version</li>
<li>Thousands of contributing developers around the world</li>
<li>Translated into 24 different languages</li>
<li>Launched dozens of new features in 2016 alone due to the vibrant community</li>
</ul>
Those features include things like SMS campaigns, contact management, segmentation, multi-channel marketing, built-in reports, and much more. It's a fully fledged markting automation system – but it's open source, too.
Mautic also recently announced that Matt Johnston has joined Mautic’s founding team and will become CEO at the end of 2016. Johnston is currently the Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer at Applause.
The co-founder and CTO of Mautic, David Hurley, had this to say:
<blockquote>
“Adding Matt, with his track record of growing community-driven startups into major disruptive forces, is a great win for Mautic. We’ve connected seamlessly about Mautic’s vision, and have a shared philosophy for building a great company around an already-strong product and community.”
</blockquote>
For more information, check out the <a href="https://pr.blonde20.com/mautic/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">official press release</a>.

Mautic Raises $5M to Fund Open Source Marketing Automation Project

<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-11132x0-is.png" />
<a href="http://ez.no/" target="_blank">eZ Systems</a>, the open source CMS vendor, is hosting their latest conference – called, <a href="http://conference.ez.no/" target="_blank">eZ Conference 2016: Beyond the Web</a> – in the centre of Paris on October 5th and 6th. And CMS Critic will be there.
The conference promises to bring together experts in digital strategy, marketing, and engineering to exchange ideas on how to deliver remarkable digital experiences.
The venue is the lovely Châteauform' City Le Cnit in Paris, minutes away from L'arc de Triomphe.
<h2>eZ Conference 2016: Who's Speaking?</h2>
The eZ Conference will host more than 20 distinguished speakers, including business and technology leaders, digital transformation specialists, marketers, and software developers.
The speakers that make up the two-day agenda include the likes of Paul Boag, an industry leader in user experience and digital strategy; Yann Gourvennec, CEO and Founder of the digital marketing agency Visionary Marketing; Mark Brincat, Chief Technology Officer of The Economist; and Dietmar Schantin, Founder of the Institute for Media Strategies.
As for the discussions themselves, the conference is set to cover the following:
<ul>
<li>eZ and the evolution of CMS: where are we today and where are we headed tomorrow?</li>
<li>Pitfalls of digital transformation and how to avoid them</li>
<li>Adapting to the digital economy: how to become a catalyst for organizational change</li>
<li>Content marketing 2016-2020: how to raise your content above the surface</li>
<li>Why is application performance so important to your business and what can you do about it?</li>
<li>Content as a Service: Positioning eZ as the digital hub for the enterprise</li>
<li>Customizing and extending eZ: the eZ Platform UI, SOLR search and many extensions</li>
</ul>
Further to the two-day conference starting on the October 5th, there will also be a pre-conference on the 4th, where attendees can access a full day of developer training. eZ’s Professional Services team will be on hand to provide some insights into customizing and extending eZ Platform and eZ Enterprise in valuable ways.
Aleksander Farstad, the CEO and Co-founder of eZ Systems, is expecting the conference to be a big hit:
<blockquote>
“We are very excited to return to Paris for this year’s eZ Conference.
Our annual summit is the best opportunity for members of the eZ Community to get together and learn from each other. It’s also a great chance for people new to our ecosystem to discover our software and hear from many of the talented people who use it to deliver engaging digital experiences.”
</blockquote>
<h2>CMS Critic's Famous Live Tweeting &amp; 20% Off SymfonyCon Berlin</h2>
As for our coverage, I'll be on the ground on both days of eZ Conference 2016, bringing you live tweets from the <a href="https://twitter.com/cmscritic" target="_blank">CMS Critic Twitter account</a>, as well as blog coverage following the event's conclusion.
I'm looking forward to checking out some keynotes on show that will cover topics like PaaS (Platform as a Service) as well as the evolution of content marketing. And of course, it'll be great to catch up on what's going on over at eZ Platform.
Also, if you're looking to attend one more conference before the end of the year, you can earn yourself a 20% discount on SymfonyCon Berlin – which is to be held on December 1-3, 2016 – simply by attending eZ Conference 2016, which will set your back $295.
For more information and to register for the conference, visit <a href="http://conference.ez.no/" target="_blank">http://conference.ez.no</a>

CMS Critic to Attend eZ Conference 2016: Beyond The Web

<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/a91b86f3f17e37ae14daedf22edb071c333x0-is.png" /><a href="https://www.surrealcms.com/" target="_blank">Surreal CMS</a> is a platform that integrates with existing websites to bring you inline editing and other content management functionality. It has been designed for web designers with clients who wish to modify their websites quickly and easily. 
Until now, there was no way to demo Surreal CMS without hooking it up to an existing website. But that just changed.
As of today, you can test the features of Surreal CMS on a demo website before you commit to bringing it to your own web property.
That’s not to say the integration process was ever too bad, though. The addition of some simple code into your website’s header does the trick. However, this update certainly makes things easier for prospective users. 
<h2>An Intro to Surreal CMS</h2>
Manage all your websites and clients from one account. Surreal CMS connects to your websites using FTP, SFTP, or Amazon S3.
You can then give clients access to specific pages or page areas, allowing them to edit their content inline. It's pretty sleek.
Surreal CMS also boasts:
<ul>
<li>User management</li>
<li>White labelling</li>
<li>Responsive templates</li>
<li>Revision tracking</li>
<li>File management</li>
<li>Google Analytics integration</li>
<li>And a developer API</li>
</ul>
I think the inclusion of a demo website will benefit Surreal CMS a tonne. It's a type of website builder (in a way, at least), and all website builders should provide some form of demonstration.
Oh, and the CEO of Surreal CMS has promised 25% off all new subscriptions that come in before September 24th – not too shabby!

Surreal CMS Now Offers Demo Websites

<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/selz_logo595x0-is.png" />
<a href="http://selz.com/a?tap_a=8735-a5f61e&amp;tap_s=54870-f521b3" target="_blank">Selz</a> is an eCommerce solution with barrels of charm. With it, you can deploy a store or add buy buttons to existing websites and social channels.
Selz was born in 2013, and today boasts over 100,000 users. For the better part of a year, I've admired Selz from afar. It has been busy releasing small, regular updates that have all contributed to the impressive growth of the platform.
As well as being able to embed into any website, Selz boasts a range of payment gateways, built-in analytics, native apps, a WordPress plugin, and more.
Let's take a look at what the most recent set of updates brought to the eCommerce platform.
<h2>Broader Product Variations &amp; License Keys</h2>
Selz now enables you to easily sell products with varying characteristics. So, if you’re selling t-shirts in different colors, different styles, and different sizes, each of those variants can be represented in your Selz store.
You can even assign different prices to each variant if you charge more for different styles or sizes.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen-shot-2016-08-12-at-10_37_01-am-1600x932657x0-is.png" />
If you’re selling proprietary software, apps, themes or any other digital product, you can now use license keys to let your customers “unlock” their product.
This will prevent your products from being shared by multiple people or illegally used by unauthorized users. Thus, your intellectual property is protected by the license key generated by Selz.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen-shot-2016-08-24-at-12_37_49-pm-1600x673911x0-is.png" />
To find out more about these two new features, <a href="https://selz.com/blog/2-major-features-released-august/" target="_blank">check out the Selz blog</a>.
<h2>Earn 200% Commission With The Selz Affiliate Program</h2>
Selz can make you money from the products you sell via an existing website or social media handle. But now, you can make money by selling Selz itself.
For any one person you refer to Selz, you'll receive 200% of their monthly plan price. Which is not too shabby.
You can become a Selz affiliate <a href="https://selz.com/affiliates" target="_blank">here</a>.
As I said, I've had my eye on <a href="http://selz.com/a?tap_a=8735-a5f61e&amp;tap_s=54870-f521b3" target="_blank">Selz</a> for a while now, and I like the way they handle business. For that reason, I think I'll delve into Selz a little deeper during the next episode of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdYIRZAO8llwAipfWWujTHsqH-2x3Qwwu" target="_blank">Software Explorer</a>.

Selz Grows Further With Product Variants, License Keys, Affiliate Scheme

<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/djangocms_green-1_400x0.png" /><a href="http://www.django-cms.org/en" target="_blank">django CMS 3.4</a> is here, and it's the first release of the free and open source CMS that comes with long-term support (LTS).
In my <a href="/django-cms-review/" target="_blank">django CMS review</a> which I published a few months back, I remarked that:
<blockquote>
“There's no doubt about it, <a href="http://www.django-cms.org/en" target="_blank">Django CMS</a> is an excellent platform for projects large and small. It's simple enough for anybody to approach, although its true potential will need to be unlocked by a developer familiar with Python.”
</blockquote>
Matteo Larghi, the CXO at Divio and member of the django CMS technical board, gave CMS Critic an exclusive comment as he and the rest of the django CMS team released version 3.4. He claimed that, “this is a historic date [for django CMS], since it's the first Long-Term Support version.”
<h2>django CMS 3.4: What's New?</h2>
<iframe allowfullscreen frameborder="0" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/182752360"></iframe>
The video above does a good job of explaining the new features that can be found within django CMS 3.4, but here are the highlights:
<ul>
<li>An Improved editing experience: 	The Edit page view now displays complex content better. We've removed some extraneous markup and made some fundamental changes to the editing model to eliminate differences in appearance between draft and published views.</li>
<li>More editing shortcuts: 	Keyboard navigation has been improved and extended. An overview of keyboard shortcuts in editing mode is available by pressing “?”. Especially useful is a new “Shift + Space” command to switch between structure and content mode while highlighting the current plugin, revealing its position.</li>
<li>Revamped user permissions: 	The content permissions system has been significantly reworked. During this process a number of issues were discovered and addressed. The system now behaves now as expected. We recommend that owners of sites using permissions upgrade to 3.4, as some of these issues represent potential security problems.</li>
<li>Speed: 	The rendering speed of plugins in the structure view has been significantly increased.</li>
</ul>
For a complete summary of all updates, see the <a href="http://docs.django-cms.org/en/latest/upgrade/3.4.html">django CMS 3.4 release notes</a>.
<h2>It's Finally Here: Long Term Support for django CMS</h2>
All previous versions of django CMS came with no promise of long-term support. Which was a bummer.
But with django CMS 3.4, the django CMS team has proudly announced long-term support, meaning that security patches and bug fixes will roll out until at least the end of 2018.
This is an important milestone in the history of django CMS, which was voted in at the <a href="/announcing-the-2015-winner-for-best-open-source-cms/" target="_blank">Best Open Source CMS of 2015</a> not too long ago.

django CMS 3.4 Released With Long Term Support

CMS Kickoff 26

Find out at CMS Kickoff 26, January 13 - 14, St. Pete FL

What's the future of CMS in the AI era?

#ffffff

If you are in the market for an inexpensive, yet powerful email marketing platform for your business (or multiple brands) then you are in luck. In this Sendy review, we'll provide you with all of the details about this low cost alternative.
Email Marketing platforms such as <a href="https://www.aweber.com/">AWeber</a>, <a href="https://www.constantcontact.com/">Constant Contact</a> and others are great solutions but they can end up getting costly as your subscriber count increases. Fortunately, there are alternative solutions out there. In our case here at CMS Critic, we found that as our subscribers grew, we were creeping up on over $100 / month for a traditional cloud based email marketing platform. We decided to explore alternatives and ended up landing on a great self-hosted email marketing solution called <a href="https://sendy.co/">Sendy</a>.
What makes Sendy great is that not only is it hosted on our own servers (and btw requires very little overhead) as well as using Amazon SES in order to send out the emails. The good thing here is that Amazon SES is extremely inexpensive and highly reliable for getting emails to the inbox rather than getting blocked by spam filters. Furthermore, Sendy itself is an inexpensive $59 one time fee when compared to the hundreds of dollars per month you could be spending on cloud-based email marketing. When you add hosting, Amazon SES costs together, you might be paying $1-10 monthly at the most for up to $10k subscribers.
<h3>Multiple Brands</h3>
Don't think that Sendy isn't powerful because of the cost either. You can set up Sendy to work with multiple brands easily so not only can you use it for your primary business, but you can use it for multiple brands for the same low cost of $59.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screenshot1-11380x0-is.jpg" alt="sendy review" />
<h3>Custom Fields and Multiple Subscriber Lists</h3>
Setting up subscriber forms with Sendy is quick and easy as well. You can not only add custom fields but it will also provide you with passthrough URLs and embed codes for signup forms so you can quickly and easily add more subscribers to your mailing list.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screenshot6894x0-is.jpg" alt="sendy review" />
You can also have multiple subscriber lists allowing you to quickly and easily segment your subscribers. Sendy also supports a number of methods to add subscribers to your list. You can use the API or a subscribe form to pass users to your lists.
<h3>Automatic bounce, complaint &amp; unsubscribe handling</h3>
Bounces, complaints and unsubscribes are automatically handled in real time once your newsletter is sent. There is no need for any manual post campaign cleanups.
<h3>Signup and activity reports</h3>
Subscriber signups are captured within a nice interface that allows you to quickly see what has happened recently with those on your list, if they have subscribed, unsubscribed or are pending confirmation. Another important thing to note is that Sendy allows you to enable or disable double opt-in so you can choose whichever you prefer.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screenshot2838x0-is.jpg" alt="sendy review" />
<h3>Designing your Newsletter</h3>
Designing your newsletter is very straight forward. You can use their WYSIWYG editor to build out what you'd like and insert images as well as some specialized tags so you can personalize things if desired. You can even use an html template builder or find some on the web and paste them into the editor while in “source” view to use them with Sendy.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screenshot3-2756x0-is.jpg" alt="sendy review" />
<h3>Send newsletters via Amazon SES</h3>
Sendy uses multi-threading to send emails via Amazon SES which is not only significantly cheaper than virtually all email marketing platforms on the market but also has a high deliverability rate. Most traditional email marketing platforms restrict you based on the size of your lists, but not Sendy.
<h3>Beautiful Reporting</h3>
Once you've sent your campaign, Sendy will show you a number of statistics about your campaign within the reports section. One thing we noticed here at CMS Critic is that once we started using Sendy and personalizing our newsletters, we saw a large boost in the open rate and click through rates on our newsletter. The reporting system within Sendy is excellent and presents the data in a great way.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screenshot4-2773x0-is.jpg" alt="sendy review" />
<h3>Autoresponders</h3>
You can also easily configure autoresponders to specific users.. an example might be to send them an email on their birthday (if you are capturing this). Sendy allows you to create drip campaigns to follow up with your subscribers, send an email annually or one off emails at a specific date.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screenshot7-1828x0-is.jpg" alt="sendy review" />
<h3>Give your client access and charge them to email your subscribers</h3>
Sendy has one very sweet feature that I haven't seen before in any email marketing software and that is the ability to white label the platform and allow your clients to login and send emails to your subscriber list for a fee. You can even set a monthly send limit for them.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sendy_review383x0-is.jpg" alt="sendy review" />
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
Overall, we've found Sendy to not only be an excellent alternative to MailChimp, but to blow it away as far as speed, usability and functionality are concerned. Sure MailChimp has drag and drop but Sendy is fast, reliable and cheap.
If you are looking for something that is powerful, flexible, and not based on subscriber list size like most cloud-based email marketing platforms, this is the software for you. At $59 you can't beat it. From me, it gets a 5 out of 5.
<a href="https://sendy.co/">Grab your copy of Sendy today.</a>

Sendy Review - Cheap Email Marketing for the Masses

<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/gartner_logo_svg.png" />
We love attending a good conference, so when <a href="https://www.liferay.com/" target="_blank">Liferay</a> – the renowned digital experience platform – invited us to join them as their guests at <a href="http://www.gartner.com/events/emea/digital-workplace" target="_blank">Gartner DWS 2016</a>, we couldn't say yes fast enough.
Traditionally, the Gartner DWS (Digital Workplace Summit) is a conference that brings together analysts and brands in posession of vast experience in the world of business software.
Basically, if you're looking for software experts, you'll find them at Gartner's conferences.
The Gartner DWS 2016 will be a two day conference, kicking off on September 21st and ending on the 22nd. The venue is set to be the prestigious Park Plaza Westminster hotel located in the heart of London – which just happens to be my home city.
<h2>Why Attend Gartner DWS 2016?</h2>
As mentioned previously, the CMS Critic team has always traveled far and wide to attend business software events, but I'm particularly excited about attending Gartner DWS 2016.
Why? Because I'll get to:
<ul>
<li>Expand my knowledge of emerging technologies in the workplace</li>
<li>Understand what the world's biggest brands are thinking about when it comes to software</li>
<li>Be better positioned to advise <a href="/cms-consulting/" target="_blank">the companies we consult here at CMS Critic</a></li>
<li>Plus, I'll get to watch some (almost certainly epic) presentations by Gartner analysts and brands like Coffee Republic</li>
</ul>
For more information on what to expect, check out the <a href="http://www.gartner.com/binaries/content/assets/events/keywords/digital-workplace/pcce11/gartner_digitalworkplace_brochure_2016.pdf" target="_blank">Gartner DWS 2016 brochure</a>, which includes the agenda for the entire event.
Personally, I'm looking forward to hearing news and views pertaining to enterprise content management and artificial intelligence in the workplace. All in all, it should be an eventful and beneficial two days.
Another thanks is in order to the guys over at <a href="https://www.liferay.com/" target="_blank">Liferay</a> for inviting me to join them as their guest.
Will you be joining me at Gartner DWS 2016? Let me know what you're excited about in the comments section below!

CMS Critic to Attend Gartner DWS 2016

<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/aqm011logo.jpeg" />Account Based Marketing (ABM) is the new acronym on the block – <a href="https://www.marketo.com" target="_blank">Marketo</a> just made sure of it.
The world renowned marketing automation software has fully embraced ABM, which essentially allows marketers to target specific accounts, and specific decision makers within those accounts. It's basically personalization, except better.
Here's how it works:
<h2>Marketo ABM: A Summary</h2>
Marketo ABM empowers marketing and sales teams with the right tools to target and engage specific accounts in more relevant and personalized ways. More specifically, it allows marketing teams to:
<ul>
<li>Target the accounts that matter: By leveraging account and lead-level scoring, marketers can easily target the right accounts and the right people within those accounts with personalized campaigns.</li>
<li>Deeply engage accounts and key decision-makers across channels: This includes working through channels likes email, web, ads, events, social, and mobile; use rich customer behaviors captured in Marketo's <a href="https://www.marketo.com/software/platform/" target="_blank">Audience Hub</a> to deliver highly personalized messages at exactly the right time.</li>
<li>Utilize powerful account-based analytics: Marketo's stats help account teams measure the impact of – and further optimize the results of – their ABM efforts across key dimensions, including cross-channel engagement, pipeline, and revenue.</li>
<li>Take advantage of complementary solutions: The products offered by Marketo's LaunchPoint® ecosystem partners, including predictive scoring and account enrichment to expand the capabilities of Marketo ABM.</li>
</ul>
Essentially, the new features allow marketers to target specific accounts and customers in a personalized way – across all major channels. Plus, revenue-based account analytics and lead management functionality all comes bundled in Marketo's unified platform.
<h2>Target Accounts “With The Most Revenue Potential”</h2>
Along with the announcement of Marketo ABM, Marketo's CMO Chandar Pattabhiram claimed that the new technology will help marketers target customers with the most revenue potential:
<blockquote>
“While marketing and sales teams have long been doing account targeting, the technology hasn't been available to reach and engage accounts – and the decision makers within them – in a coordinated, scalable way from one place.
Built natively within the Marketo platform, Marketo ABM provides account teams with all of the necessary tools to discover, manage, engage, and analyze the accounts with the most revenue potential, thus driving revenue from their most valuable accounts and delivering higher return on their sales and marketing investments.”
</blockquote>
If you want to learn more about what ABM is all about, Marketo have also just published a free eBook titled, ‘<a href="https://www.marketo.com/ebooks/the-3-essential-components-of-an-abm-solution/" target="_blank">The 3 Essential Components of an ABM Solution</a>‘. It looks like it's worth checking out.
To learn more about Marketo ABM, check out the <a href="https://www.marketo.com/newsroom/press-releases/2016-09-13-Marketo-Account-Based-Marketing-Unveiled/" target="_blank">press release</a>, as well as the <a href="https://www.marketo.com/software/account-based-marketing/" target="_blank">Marketo website</a>.

Marketo Unveils Account Based Marketing Features

<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/pexels-photo-106341_11280x761-cropx0y64-is577x0-is.jpeg" /> Nowadays, the average small or medium sized business owner will know about <a href="https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo" target="_blank">the importance of SEO (search engine optimization)</a> even before they begin building their website.
Website builders like <a href="http://www.wix.com/" target="_blank">www.wix.com</a> are of course ideal for such businesses, and thanks to the platform’s global success, they have had the luxury of honing their SEO features alongside their innovative page building functionality. 
In fact, Wix offers up seven simple ways to nail your website’s SEO campaign:
<h2>1. Blogging</h2>
That’s right, blogging is still the most important ingredient in an SEO campaign – and Wix has it covered.
With Wix, you can add a blog to your website with ease, just like any other page element. Then, you can begin publishing blog posts that will contribute towards to quality of your website’s search engine optimization through keywords and social sharing. 
Learn more about the <a href="https://www.wix.com/support/html5/article/wix-blog-and-seo">benefits of blogging with Wix</a>.
<h2>2. Page Meta Tags</h2>
Meta tags aren’t visible to your website visitors, but they are visible to those savvy robots that report back to search engines.
Page meta tags are made up of two parts:
<ul>
<li>
Page Title
</li>
<li>
Page Description
</li>
</ul>
By applying the right keywords to these meta tags, you can communicate with search engines about the content on your pages, which gives you a better chance of being ranked high in their search results for that particular piece of content.
Learn more about <a href="https://www.wix.com/support/html5/article/meta-tags">how to add page meta tags with Wix</a>.
<h2>3. Alt Text</h2>
Search engine robots can’t see images, but by adding alt text to images on your website, you have the chance to tell search engines exactly what the image is all about.
By keeping your alt text keyword rich, you can positively impact your SEO – plus, you’ll go a long way to helping your website’s visually impaired visitors.
Thankfully, adding alt text to Wix images can be done quickly and easily, because it’s all part of the process of inserting images into your content.
Learn more about <a href="https://www.wix.com/support/html5/article/adding-alt-text-to-an-image">how to add alt text to images with Wix</a>.
<h2>4. Heading Tags</h2>
Search engines places a fair amount of importance on the headers on a page. 
Headers come in a few different varieties, including H1, H2, and H3. H1 is typically being used for the main header of a page, while H2 and H3 are used as sub-headers. For example, the seven headers used to make this list are in fact H2 headers.
To make it easy to insert such headers into your page, Wix has a fully fledged text editor brimming with formatting options. Once such option enables you to highlight any text and turn it onto a header with just two clicks. 
Learn more about <a href="https://www.wix.com/support/html5/article/adding-a-heading-tag">how to use heading tags with Wix</a>.
<h2>5. 301 Redirects</h2>
If you need to change the location of a page on your website, you need to handle the entire process in a way that won’t confuse the search engine’s robots when they next come around. Or else, the seemingly deleted content may become a cause for concern for them. 
301 redirects allow you to redirect search engine robots to a page’s new destination, so they don’t end up getting lost when accessing content that has been moved. 
Wix gives you the ability to use 301 redirects between domains, platforms, and within Wix websites.
Learn more about <a href="https://www.wix.com/support/html5/article/getting-the-most-out-of-your-301-redirects">how to do 301 redirects using Wix</a>.
<h2>6. Google Analytics</h2>
Attracting visitors to your website is the primary objective of an SEO campaign. But what happens when they finally visit your web property?
Google Analytics helps you monitor your traffic so you can see where visitors are coming from, how they found you, and what areas of your website they respond best to. This will help you hone your content to convert more visitors, and it will also tell you what parts of your SEO campaign are starting to work. 
Wix makes it simple to get going with Google Analytics by giving you a dedicated area to paste your Google Analytics tracking code. 
Learn more about <a href="https://www.wix.com/support/html5/article/google-analytics-8399675">how to add Google Analytics to your Wix site</a>.
<h2>7. Simple Site Verification</h2>
By verifying your website with a few third party services and apps, your website’s SEO score will be all the healthier.
For example, it’s a good idea to get verified with:
<ul>
<li>
Google Webmaster Tools
</li>
<li>
Google+
</li>
<li>
Bing Webmaster Tools
</li>
<li>
Pinterest
</li>
</ul>
Thankfully for Wix users, Wix makes it easy to add site verification codes directly into site headers, so you can connect with all the apps above, and more. 
Learn more about how to <a href="https://www.wix.com/support/html5/article/verifying-your-site-using-header-codes">verify your Wix site with header codes</a>.
<h2>Wix: SEO A High Priority</h2>
In an exclusive interview, Wix told CMS Critic that:
“One of our highest priorities is SEO – making sure that Wix sites are built in accordance with the guidelines set forth by search engines, for example the improvement of loading time, and the provision of user friendly URLs.”
So, further to the seven points above, it’s also important to realize that Wix takes it upon itself to make sure your website is speedy and search engine friendly right out of the box. 
Plus, the <a href="http://www.wix.com/app-market/seo-wizard/overview">Wix SEO Wizard</a> gives you step-by-step help in the backend to ensure you have all your bases covered.
Not bad Wix, not bad!
For more insights into how Wix handles search engine optimization, check out the <a href="https://www.wix.com/" target="_blank">Wix website</a>.

7 Ways Wix Nails Search Engine Optimization

<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-19-1898x0-is.png" />
Last year, <a href="https://thegrid.io/" target="_blank">The Grid</a> burst on to the scene as the world’s first artificially intelligent website builder. Back then, <a href="/the-grid-artificial-intelligence-meets-web-design-or-does-it/" target="_blank">I was skeptical</a> – and I still am.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea behind The Grid; a website builder that can build websites on autopilot sounds great. I just wasn’t convinced that they would be able to execute it properly.
The Grid then entered a long period of beta testing, which ended this week. Here's their launch video to introduce you to The Grid.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aEfpARsP8Fg?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<h2>A Stuttered Launch &amp; A Pricey Pro Plan</h2>
Because I signed up to their newsletter, I received an email with the big news.
They used their email to link to their only plan (which I will discuss later), but when I visited their website's homepage, nothing had changed. It was the same pre-launch website I explored last year. Which was odd.
However this stuttered launch only lasted for a few days, as <a href="https://thegrid.io/" target="_blank">The Grid's new-look website is now in full flow</a>.
Currently, there's only one way to use The Grid, and that's by signing up to their Pro Plan.
You pay $249 per year ($20.75 per month) for:
<ul>
<li>1 year pre-paid subscription to The Grid</li>
<li>7 different sites with hosting</li>
<li>Custom domain support</li>
<li>Hosting, storage, and bandwidth included</li>
<li>Multiple collaborators when available</li>
<li>Commerce engine (not yet available)</li>
</ul>
Weirdly, The Grid team hasn't specified just how much storage and bandwidth you're entitled to on this rather pricey plan. To accomodate seven websites, you'd hope it to be a substantial amount.
Furthermore, I'm not a fan of having to pay for a yearly subscription up front. The lack of a monthly contract and a free trial just makes The Grid seem unapproachable. 
<h2>My Gripe With The Grid</h2>
A self-building and self-evolving website sounds like just what the doctor ordered. It is 2016, after all.
But I can't help but see long term issues with this method of web design. No matter how many “Filters” (otherwise known as templates) The Grid uses, it surely won't be long until it start churning out websites that look similar to each other.
If two separate food bloggers want to use The Grid to build a cake recipe website, will their websites look the same if they select the same filter? These are questions that time (and a large user base) will answer.
I'm hoping to get my hands on <a href="https://thegrid.io/" target="_blank">The Grid</a> very soon for a hands on session, so stay tuned for more coverage on the world's first artificially intelligent website builder.

The Grid Is Finally Here

<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/coffee-desk-notes-workspace1280x671-cropx0y149-is655x0-is.jpg" style="text-align:center" />
Most document management software (DMS) vendors sufficiently describe their product offerings, but it’s very seldom they explain how DMS works within the context of a preexisting IT infrastructure, particularly when it comes to how departments within larger organizations are impacted by DMS deployment.
In a survey administered by the Compliance, Governance, and Oversight Council (CGOC), 98% of IT and legal stakeholders asserted that “defensible disposal of information” was a desirable trait in information management, bringing DMS’s automated document retention and deletion feature into the spotlight. However, as to be expected with emergent technologies like DMS, incongruence between the technology’s capacity and usage exists, particularly in IT departments:
The CGOC noted in a white paper that “85% of retention schedules included electronic information.” However, 77% of respondents to the CGOC survey said the contents of these “schedules were not actionable in their current form, or could be applied only to paper, requiring manual intervention to bring these schedules to fruition.
This suggests that despite the belief that DMS is difficult to integrate into contemporary IT systems, retention schedules and other routine IT tasks can be simplified, made actionable, and automated through DMS—reducing workload and inefficiency costs for IT departments. Companies interested in On-Premise(s) DMS and that already have a preexisting IT infrastructure should take special note of the following steps when it comes to implementing DMS for their organizations.
<h2>Common DMS Implementation Mistakes</h2>
As is the case with most technologies, all mistakes made with DMS implementation and initial use can be pinpointed on a continuum of either behavioral mistakes or technology mistakes. Although no mistake is purely behavioral or purely technological, any mistake made with the implementation of DMS contains both technology and behavioral mistakes to a certain degree.
<h3>Common Behavioral Mistakes</h3>
Even though automation is a large part of document management, DMS cannot be potentiated in and of itself—its positive impact is derived from how organizations utilize the technology. For instance, an example of a common behavioral mistake is failing to learn about and identify the goals of a new DMS, which can be costly, for it will then be difficult to use the features necessary to maximize return on DMS investment.
Furthermore, changes are often not adequately communicated throughout the silos of each organization, and even more frequently plans are not implemented to integrate DMS solutions into the routine processes and performances of employees.
<h3>Common Technology Mistakes</h3>
An example of a technology mistake as it pertains to DMS would involve selecting a scanner with a lack of Optical Character Recognition (OCR), which can lead to digitization of documents in unsearchable format, making information irretrievable.
Finally, it’s imperative to avoid selecting a DMS solution with inadequate data backup, which can occur in two ways: inadequate multiple points of data presence, temporally inadequate backup (which should occur as frequently if not more frequently than every 24 hours).
Additionally, not understanding the functions of DMS can hinder long-term investment in the software, which is where its revenue is.
<h3>Workflow Considerations</h3>
Efficiency and effectiveness, as they pertain to DMS workflow, are often terms used interchangeably despite their different meanings. Effectiveness in a workflow is most important, because an ineffective process can be done very efficiently. In order to avoid structuring an efficient but ineffective workflow process in the chosen DMS, diagnosing problems in old workflows, primarily the workflows which existed before implementing a DMS solution, is imperative.
Not only is workflow a drastically underutilized DMS feature, it is arguably the most crucial DMS feature for effectively mapping strategy after the implementation process, for it redefines the management process by identifying, tracking, and tabulating the results of projects and collaboration.
Workflow is also bi-directional and user and group specific, and creates accountability at each stage of a team’s task completion cycle. Specified users can move files to different parts of the workflow as desired.
The most sophisticated On-Premise(s) DMS solutions, and the up-to-date, Online, Cloud-Based DMS solutions will be able to track workflow once they are implemented, but either of these DMS models will retain the ability to create and start multiple workflows in the system, help determine the order of these workflows, and manage the workflows accordingly.
Going paperless can be somewhat disruptive, but shared drive migration to DMS is not the disruptive component of the implementation process; information architecture, however, is. The first step in architecting an effective workflow for a DMS solution is to identify existing workflow, then problems with workflow, then costs associated with these problems, then gaps in existing workflow, and finally, ascribing a dollar value to the gap in this workflow.
Just as a physician would not prescribe treatment (DMS) before diagnosing a malady within the body’s process (workflow), an organization cannot effectively implement the best method for workflow creation.

How to Assimilate a DMS into a Modern IT Model

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