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

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Pulp fiction payday? Here’s why Squarespace is trading public life for a juicy private deal

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<hr /> <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/amplitude-expands-platform-capabilities-with-session-replay-and-simplified-pricing">Amplitude</a> continues to prove its value as a go-to product analytics platform, especially around its <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/amplitude-introduces-snowflake-native-amplitude-app-with-new-snowpark-container-services">Snowflake</a> applications. To that end, the company just announced the general availability of its <a target="_blank" href="https://amplitude.com/warehouse-native">Snowflake native offering</a>, which allows organizations to leverage Amplitude’s product analytics capabilities without their data ever leaving Snowflake. The result: accelerated and streamlined insights around what customers are doing – allowing teams to build better products and drive growth. The new offering really features the best of both platforms, enabling companies to leverage Amplitude’s product analytics capabilities to understand user journeys across every touchpoint. With centralized data storage, there are fewer security concerns, making the investment more valuable for businesses. Amplitude’s direct connection also means that all queries are run within Snowflake, removing the need to store or copy data to multiple places – which reinforces privacy, security, and compliance best practices.One of the biggest benefits is getting valuable data insights into the hands of more customers for free. As early-stage and enterprise organizations look to adopt warehouse-native analytics, Amplitude is including up to five free seats of Warehouse-native Amplitude in every plan. “We want to provide our customers with the most choice and flexibility to leverage their data their way,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/francoisajenstat/">Francois Ajenstat</a>, chief product officer at Amplitude. “Now, customers can harness the power of Snowflake in Amplitude without their data ever leaving Snowflake. With the best of Amplitude and Snowflake together, teams can now focus on what matters most: creating amazing customer experiences that drive business growth.”The announcement was made at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.snowflake.com/summit/">Snowflake Data Cloud Summit 2024</a>, where Amplitude is an attendee with a booth in tow.<h3 id="bringing-the-power-of-product-analytics-to-snowflake">Bringing the power of product analytics to Snowflake</h3>Amplitude helps businesses capitalize on their investments by centralizing data in Snowflake. By leveraging Amplitude’s direct connection, all queries are run within Snowflake, removing the need to store or copy data to multiple places.The combined power of Amplitude and Snowflake also makes it easier and faster than ever for companies to integrate product and customer insights. With data that's trusted, secure, and always up-to-date, teams can make smarter product decisions while maintaining privacy, security, and compliance requirements. As more companies look to adopt Snowflake native analytics, Amplitude is sweetening the deal by including its new offering for free in every plan. Regardless of an organization's size, every team can get started with up to five seats for free. When it comes to their data, Amplitude is committed to meeting customers wherever they are. With integrations to over 130 data sources, Amplitude provides the most choice and flexibility for leveraging data anywhere in their digital ecosystem. While other solutions on the market force customers to choose between native and non-native connections, Amplitude provides a hybrid option to help businesses optimize data access and performance according to their unique needs.“We want to help every user quickly and easily build in the AI Data Cloud so they can deliver immediate business impact. Our continued investments with Amplitude allow us to do that at a greater scale,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrischild/">Chris Child</a>, VP and head of worldwide sales engineering at Snowflake. “Amplitude is well known for providing self-serve product analytics. With this new application, customers can better understand user behavior and gain critical behavioral insights without their data ever leaving Snowflake.”By building on Snowflake, product and engineering teams can develop, scale, and manage their apps without operational burden, delivering differentiated products to their customers. This also gives organizations access to resources that help them design, market, and operate their applications in the Data Cloud. <h3 id="why-it-matters">Why it matters</h3>We've been following the innovation track between Amplitude and Snowflake, and this realization of native functionality is a critical achievement. The unified approach empowers users to personalize experiences, optimize marketing campaigns, and ultimately drive growth – all with the security and governance you expect from Snowflake. With Snowflake Native Amplitude, teams can similarly bring their financial and enterprise data alongside rich behavioral data to truly correlate digital product engagement with business growth.As Francois Ajenstat suggested in a recent blog, you can have your cake and eat it too.The extent of the native capabilities is certainly evolutionary. If you consider the traditional model for analyzing behavioral and financial data, the entire process has been disjointed, with enterprise data residing in Snowflake and behavioral data in Amplitude. But Snowflake Native Amplitude effectively breaks down these silos, allowing teams to easily combine both data sets within Snowflake to better understand the business impact of user behavior. “Picture a user abandoning their cart,” Ajenstat said. “Previously, you might only see this as a missed sale. But with Snowflake Native Amplitude, you can combine behavioral data with the user's purchase history, demographics, or other information stored in Snowflake.”From a trust perspective, Snowflake Native Amplitude makes security and privacy easy for organizations. This is a big one for enterprises, particularly as data becomes more vulnerable across so many applications. The answer here is that the data itself never leaves the Snowflake Data Cloud, mitigating the risks associated with data movement, drift, and duplication to strengthen your compliance posture. You can also leverage your existing Snowflake security and privacy policies to reinforce data protection and simplify compliance management to all of your specific industry regulations.As product analytics take a more pronounced role for brands and enterprises, having reliable integration across the analytics plane and where it lives is key. Amplitude and Snowflake have now achieved the highest order of alignment with their capabilities, giving the market a critical asset for improving customer insights.   <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-conferences">Upcoming conferences</h3> <img style="width:29.67%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-connect-2024-logo.png" alt="CMS Connect 24 logo" /><h4 id="cms-connect-24"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect24">CMS Connect 24</a></h4>August 6-7, 2024 – Montreal, CanadaWe are delighted to present our first annual summer edition of our prestigious international conference dedicated to the global content management community. Join us this August in Montreal, Canada, for a vendor-neutral conference focused on CMS. Tired of impersonal and overwhelming gatherings? Picture this event as a unique blend of masterclasses, insightful talks, interactive discussions, impactful learning sessions, and authentic networking opportunities. <img style="width:29.58%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-kickoff-2025-logo.png" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-25"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff25/tickets">CMS Kickoff 25</a></h4>January 14-15, 2025 – Tampa Bay Area, FloridaJoin us next January in the Tampa Bay area of Florida for the third annual CMS Kickoff – the industry's premier global event. Similar to a traditional kickoff, we reflect on recent trends and share stories from the frontlines. Additionally, we will delve into the current happenings and shed light on the future. Prepare for an unparalleled in-person CMS conference experience that will equip you to move things forward. This is an exclusive event – space is limited, so secure your tickets today.

Amplitude Amps Up Snowflake AI Data Cloud with Product Analytics

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Contentstack Fires Up Brand-Relevant, AI-Powered Personalization at ContentCon 2024

Storyblok is writing its next chapter with an $80M Series C. Here’s why it matters

<hr /> A Digital Asset Management (DAM) system is a comprehensive solution designed to efficiently store, organize, manage, retrieve, and distribute an organization's digital assets. It combines software and business processes to centralize and streamline asset management, offering a more structured approach to handling media and content.DAM encompasses both a business strategy and a technology platform. Its primary function is to create a centralized repository where organizations can access, update, and distribute their digital assets efficiently. These assets include any digital file that holds value and is searchable through metadata. Some examples of digital assets include:<ul><li>Documents</li><li>Images</li><li>Audio and video files</li><li>Animations</li><li>Graphics</li><li>Presentations</li><li>Media files with usage rights</li></ul><h3 id="the-strategic-value-of-a-dam">The Strategic Value of a DAM</h3>Modern organizations leverage DAMs to repurpose creative assets, reducing production costs and avoiding duplication of effort. The search and retrieval capabilities of DAM systems are also crucial for optimizing workflows. In the context of digital transformation, where brand visibility and messaging consistency across platforms like social media are vital, DAM platforms play an essential role in maintaining brand integrity and fostering growth.By centralizing asset management, DAM systems provide a single source of truth, supporting a unified approach to content deployment and audience engagement. As such, they have become indispensable tools in the digital era, empowering businesses to adapt and thrive in competitive markets.<h3 id="key-benefits-of-a-dam">Key Benefits of a DAM</h3>A DAM system supports various organizational goals by improving asset management. It enhances operational efficiency, particularly for marketing and sales teams, by facilitating the production and distribution of rich media. This leads to better brand consistency, as assets are automatically updated and aligned with brand guidelines, ensuring a cohesive experience for both internal stakeholders and external audiences.Implementing a DAM system offers several advantages that improve operational efficiency, brand consistency, and customer engagement.<ul><li>Lower Production Costs and Optimized Resource Use: By centralizing assets, DAM systems help organizations quickly locate and reuse existing files, reducing the need for redundant production. This cuts costs and allows resources to be redirected to other strategic areas. The increased efficiency speeds up time-to-market for new content and solutions.</li><li>Enhanced Transparency: DAM provides a clear view of all digital assets, improving project management and content planning. It fosters better collaboration by eliminating redundant projects and creating more efficient workflows. Stakeholders can easily track asset usage and status, ensuring alignment across teams.</li><li>Elevated Conversion Rates and Customer Retention: Proper organization of content based on the customer journey allows businesses to deliver personalized, on-brand materials at the right time. DAM helps nurture stronger customer relationships by tailoring the user experience, accelerating movement through the sales funnel, and improving retention.</li><li>Consistent Branding: DAM ensures brand consistency by providing a single source of truth for all messaging, visuals, and creative assets. Teams across different departments can access and reuse approved assets, maintaining uniformity in market communications.</li><li>Governance and Compliance: DAM systems support regulatory compliance by organizing critical assets like licenses, contracts, and legal documents. This capability not only simplifies audits but also minimizes disruptions to business processes, saving time and reducing risk.</li></ul><h3 id="industry-use-cases">Industry Use Cases</h3>Digital Asset Management (DAM) systems offer versatile solutions across industries by enabling efficient storage, organization, and distribution of digital content. Here are some diverse use cases for DAM beyond the traditional marketing and branding contexts:Media and Entertainment<ul><li>Streamlined Production Workflow: DAM simplifies access to scripts, storyboards, and production notes. By centralizing assets like video clips, graphics, and promotional materials, teams can collaborate seamlessly across various locations.</li><li>Content Monetization: Media companies can organize and license content more effectively, enabling quick distribution to multiple platforms.</li></ul>Healthcare<ul><li>Patient Education and Training: DAM stores and categorizes multimedia resources, such as instructional videos or brochures, which healthcare providers can use to educate patients.</li><li>Regulatory Compliance: It ensures secure access and version control of sensitive documents like patient records, medical imaging, and compliance reports, streamlining audits and adherence to privacy laws.</li></ul>Retail and eCommerce<ul><li>Product Information Management (PIM): Retailers use DAM to store high-quality images, videos, and descriptions of products, ensuring consistent branding across eCommerce platforms.</li><li>Dynamic Content Delivery: Retailers can personalize customer experiences by delivering tailored content based on user behavior and preferences.</li></ul>Higher Education<ul><li>Course Material Management: DAM allows institutions to store and distribute digital textbooks, lecture recordings, and other educational resources, improving access for students and faculty.</li><li>Alumni and Fundraising Campaigns: Universities can manage and reuse promotional content, maintaining consistency in messaging across campaigns.</li></ul>Manufacturing<ul><li>Technical Documentation: Manufacturers utilize DAM for storing and sharing product manuals, CAD designs, and maintenance videos, aiding field technicians and partners.</li><li>Training Resources: Training modules for workforce development can be centrally managed and distributed.</li></ul>Public Sector<ul><li>Public Records Management: Governments can organize and provide access to historical records, legal documents, and public notices.</li><li>Crisis Communication: DAM systems help maintain up-to-date materials for public announcements, ensuring timely and accurate communication during emergencies.</li></ul>These varied applications highlight DAM's adaptability, enabling organizations to manage their digital content efficiently while supporting specific business goals<h3 id="what-to-consider-when-evaluating-a-dam">What to consider when evaluating a DAM</h3>Most modern DAM solutions are cloud-based SaaS (software as a service) platforms, making them easier to deploy and integrate. A DAM can be procured as a pure-play, stand-alone product, or as part of a Digital Experience Platform (DXP), and selecting a DAM is highly dependent on your existing product stack and architecture – as well as your market and business goals. When selecting a Digital Asset Management (DAM) solution, organizations should ensure it meets their current operational requirements and future growth needs. A robust DAM system should offer the following essential capabilities. By focusing on these attributes, organizations can ensure their DAM solution supports seamless content management and drives operational efficiency.<ul><li>Comprehensive Asset Lifecycle Management: A DAM platform should support the entire lifecycle of digital assets, from initial creation to archiving. This includes tools for version control, updates, and expiration management. </li><li>Strong Governance: Security and compliance are essential, and any good DAM system should provide role-based permissions, ensuring that access to assets is tightly controlled to preserve integrity. For organizations requiring high benchmarks for regulatory compliance, governance can include auditability and compliance tooling at the DAM level.</li><li>Seamless Integration and API Access: The DAM system should integrate with existing tools, such as content creation, distribution platforms, and project management systems. It should also be compatible with future technologies to ensure the organization can scale and adapt its digital ecosystem without significant overhauls. Best-of-breed solutions often include marketplaces of pre-existing connectors and integrations with third-party tools and plug-ins. </li><li>Rich Search Capabilities: An agile DAM solution allows for both metadata-to-asset and asset-to-metadata searches. This bidirectional search capability supports efficient asset discovery and reuse, empowering different functional teams to locate and repurpose content quickly.</li><li>Extensible Sharing Features: To avoid data silos, a DAM platform should facilitate the sharing of digital assets and related data across the organization. This includes exporting search results, metadata, or entire asset collections for use in other systems or for external collaboration.</li><li>Speed: Fast and reliable file transfer is critical for maintaining business agility. A DAM system should enable rapid sharing and deployment of assets to ensure they are available where and when needed, minimizing delays and enhancing productivity.</li><li>Cloud Storage and Infrastructure: The storage infrastructure – whether on-premises, cloud-based, or hybrid – should be stable and secure. Key considerations include flexibility, scalability, performance, and data recoverability to protect valuable assets and support business continuity. Modern cloud-based systems provide the most scalable solutions.</li><li>High-Utility AI Tools and Capabilities: Modern DAMs are embracing AI and matching learning, providing both complex and practical applications that are accelerating productivity, enhancing control, and improving governance. DAMs that feature AI prominently to impact functions like search and workflows are typically more performant. To that end, AI is an essential ingredient when considering a DAM.</li></ul><h3 id="need-help-evaluating-a-dam-solution?">Need help evaluating a DAM solution?</h3>If you're currently considering a DAM – either as a pure-play solution or part of a DXP – you can explore the best-of-breed solutions in our CMS Critic <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/digital-asset-management">Product Directory for Digital Asset Management systems</a>.  Looking for assistance with your evaluation? <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/contact">Contact us.</a>

What is a Digital Asset Management (DAM) system?

Zengenti’s Insytful Offers an Easy, Affordable Solution for Managing Accessibility and Governance

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Optimizely Leads Gartner's 2024 MQ for Content Marketing Platforms as More DXPs Join the Game

<hr /> May 16th is <a target="_blank" href="https://accessibility.day/">Global Accessibility Awareness Day</a>. It's a moment to reflect on how far we've come in our quest to build a more accessible world and discuss the continued work ahead. On the digital side of the ledger, there's still a lot to do.In honor of the 13th annual GAAD (we love our “shortcodes” in CMS, and this is a helpful one), <a target="_blank" href="https://www.acquia.com/">Acquia</a> – a leader in open digital experience software – just released its <a target="_blank" href="https://www.acquia.com/accessibility-report-2024">2024 Survey Report: Consumer Perspectives on Digital Accessibility</a>. The analysis reveals how website users with disabilities perceive the state of digital accessibility and how their experiences impact brand reputation and loyalty. This report contains some shocking stats. For starters, 89% of participants say they encounter accessibility issues that make it challenging to interact with websites or other digital experiences offered by brands. In addition, 62% say they would consider switching to a competitor with better accessibility features. “It’s clear that digital experiences are not meeting the accessibility expectations of those who need them. This is a critical business issue that requires more attention,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/acquia-and-the-art-of-the-possible-interview-with-chief-market-officer-jennifer-griffin-smith">Jennifer Griffin Smith</a>, Chief Market Officer at Acquia. “Digital accessibility is an essential pillar of digital experience design and management that should not be overlooked or shortchanged. Creating equal, accessible opportunities for all is a value all marketers and organizations should strive for.”The online survey was conducted in April 2024 by <a target="_blank" href="https://researchscape.com/">Researchscape</a> and is composed of responses from 1,265 adults across the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia who identified as having a disability. <h3 id="neglecting-digital-accessibility-is-impacting-brands">Neglecting digital accessibility is impacting brands</h3>The Acquia survey found that not only are disability issues widespread, but so are the impacts. For example, when encountering accessibility issues on digital platforms, 45% of respondents describe the experience as either “very” or “extremely” frustrating. It's not a leap to assume that brand reputation is negatively impacted when users encounter these digital accessibility challenges. Survey participants also report a myriad of feelings in response to accessibility issues. 71% express frustration, while 58% say they feel “disappointed” and 24% register as “angry.” Nearly 1 in 5 say they feel excluded.When asked what steps they are most likely to take when experiencing these issues, 34% said they would complain directly to the brand, and 31% of respondents said they would talk about the accessibility issue with their family and friends. However, 20% leverage social media to share their experiences, creating a ripple effect of negative brand perception that extends far beyond the disabled individuals who experience these problems first-hand.In terms of a direct impact on brands and their bottom lines, 51% of respondents stated they would most likely seek alternative options that are more accessible, and 42% said they would discontinue using the brand’s services.  <h3 id="prioritizing-digital-accessibility-can-build-confidence-and-trust-">Prioritizing digital accessibility can build confidence and trust </h3>The survey's participants codify what we already know: more work needs to be done to improve digital accessibility for all users, and brands can reap the benefits on multiple levels – if they take swift action. To that end, 93% of consumers surveyed say that it's important that the brands they engage with prioritize digital accessibility. However, consumers want progress over platitudes, and many respondents expressed skepticism about the true intentions of companies when messaging around digital accessibility. In the past year, only 27% of respondents said they believe that brands are taking accessibility seriously and making meaningful improvements. It gets worse from there: 33% believe companies are just “doing the basics” to check the regulatory compliance box. 28% believe that while companies talk about accessibility as a marketing tactic, not much action has been taken – and 12% believe that companies aren’t thinking about or doing anything to improve digital accessibility.  “Ultimately, we’re talking about a large proportion of the population who would like to access, enjoy, and get value from digital experiences," Jennifer Griffin Smith concluded. “As digital marketers, we should not be excluding anyone from engaging with or participating in our digital content. This is an enormous opportunity to grow your customer base, increase revenue and, above all else, improve customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.”To view more details from the study, visit <a target="_blank" href="https://www.acquia.com/accessibility-report-2024">https://www.acquia.com/accessibility-report-2024</a> <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-conferences">Upcoming conferences</h3> <img style="width:29.67%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-connect-2024-logo.png" alt="CMS Connect 24 logo" /><h4 id="cms-connect-24"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect24">CMS Connect 24</a></h4>August 6-7, 2024 – Montreal, CanadaWe are delighted to present our first annual summer edition of our prestigious international conference dedicated to the global content management community. Join us this August in Montreal, Canada, for a vendor-neutral conference focused on CMS. Tired of impersonal and overwhelming gatherings? Picture this event as a unique blend of masterclasses, insightful talks, interactive discussions, impactful learning sessions, and authentic networking opportunities. <img style="width:29.58%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-kickoff-2025-logo.png" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-25"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff25/tickets">CMS Kickoff 25</a></h4>January 14-15, 2025 – Tampa Bay Area, FloridaJoin us next January in the Tampa Bay area of Florida for the third annual CMS Kickoff – the industry's premier global event. Similar to a traditional kickoff, we reflect on recent trends and share stories from the frontlines. Additionally, we will delve into the current happenings and shed light on the future. Prepare for an unparalleled in-person CMS conference experience that will equip you to move things forward. This is an exclusive event – space is limited, so secure your tickets today.

Acquia Survey Reveals Brands are Paying the Price for Digital Accessibility Deficiencies

<hr /> It's a glass-clinking, champagne-drinking moment by all accounts.<a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/optimizely">Optimizely</a>, a leading digital experience platform (DXP), just announced that it has surpassed $400 million in annual recurring revenue after experiencing four consecutive quarters of double-digit growth. Not a bad haul for a company that started life as a CMS in 1994. Back then, it was called <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Episerver">Episerver</a>. The transformation is quite a tale, one that's been 30 years in the making. Episerver had a heck of a ride to the top, becoming an industry-leading <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">content management system</a> with a global presence. In 2018, following its acquisition by global software investor <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insightpartners.com/">Insight Partners</a>, the company embarked on a strategic journey to acquire category-leading companies and align its product offerings with the evolving requirements of modern digital teams.Over the past three years, to complement its best-of-breed CMS and better address marketers' needs, the company integrated solutions for content marketing (Welcome), experimentation (Optimizely), and commerce (Insite Software). This new ecosystem of solutions led to a rebrand under the “Optimizely” banner, an appropriate name given the forthcoming focus on optimization as a digital imperative.In 2023, its efforts resulted in a landmark achievement: the launch of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.optimizely.com/company/press/optimizely-one/">Optimizely One</a>. As the industry’s first operating system for marketers, Optimizely One offers a unified workflow – accelerated by AI – to simplify the process of creating, managing, delivering, and optimizing content seamlessly within a single platform. This breakthrough offering has led to a 21% year-over-year growth in multiproduct ARR. On top of that, an astounding 52% of Optimizely’s ARR is attributed to multi-product customers. This reflects the motion of brands as they consolidate their tech stacks into one unified suite to improve (or optimize) the total cost of ownership and reduce martech complexity.“Reaching $400 million in annual recurring revenue is a remarkable accomplishment that proves we are successful in our mission to make marketers’ lives better,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/aatzberger/">Alex Atzberger,</a> CEO at Optimizely. “We are immensely grateful to our employees and partners, who have worked tirelessly to deliver the world’s first operating system for marketers. Optimizely has always been at the forefront of delivering exceptional digital experiences – starting with our CMS thirty years ago – and we are excited to continue leading the industry for the next thirty years and beyond." <h3 id="building-value-by-the-numbers">Building value by the numbers</h3>Optimizely's composable solutions are trusted by thousands of companies globally, all with the mission of making marketers' lives better. Over 10,000 businesses deliver their digital experiences with Optimizely, and their increased reliance on the platform further cements its value to marketers.From a performance perspective, Optimizely has put up some impressive numbers. For example: over 70,000 experiments have been completed in the last 12 months – an 18.5% YoY increase – resulting in 390 billion test impressions. Customers have also seen a 24.6% increase in experiment ideas submitted, signaling the rise of collaborative test-and-learn cultures. Additionally, almost 150 customers have gone live on Optimizely's CMS since the beginning of 2023. That's over a 20% increase YoY, and an impressive testament to growing preference in a noisy market with expansive choices. Optimizely has also seen gains with its <a target="_blank" href="https://www.optimizely.com/products/content-marketing/">Content Marketing Platform</a>. Over the last year, usage of its CMP has nearly doubled, with 890,000 tasks and activities completed. This validates that marketers are seeking solutions that support the entire content and campaign lifecycle.One more remarkable data point: Optimizely’s market-leading commerce solutions – available in both SaaS and PaaS – enabled its B2B and B2C customers to complete over 50 million transactions last year.<h3 id="leading-with-industry-analysts">Leading with industry analysts</h3>Optimizely's ARR milestone aligns with several key analyst reports published since the launch of Optimizely One, all of which position them at the top of the market. The company is now recognized as a Leader in nine different analyst reports across each of its content, experimentation, and commerce offerings.These include the recent <a target="_blank" href="https://www.optimizely.com/insights/forrester-b2b-commerce-report/">Forrester Wave: Commerce Solutions for B2B, Q2 2024</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.optimizely.com/insights/gartner-magic-quadrant-for-content-marketing-platforms/">Gartner's 2024 Magic Quadrant for Content Marketing Platforms</a>, where it has been named a Leader the seventh consecutive year – positioned highest for its “Ability to Execute." Optimizely also maintained its Leader position in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.optimizely.com/company/press/gartner-dxp-mq-2024/">Gartner's 2024 Magic Quadrant for DXPs</a> for the fifth consecutive year.Optimizely works with more than 40% of Top 100 Interbrand companies, acting as the operating system for marketing – and the go-to choice for companies like Zoom, Shell, and American Express to drive digital transformation and business growth. This is a contributing factor to its unprecedented ARR achievement. "With three decades of experience investing in high-growth SaaS companies, Insight Partners knows what success and healthy growth metrics look like in software. Optimizely's growth trajectory has been extremely impressive and reflects their enduring commitment to innovation and customer empowerment," said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamsberger1/">Adam Berger</a>, Managing Director at Insight Partners. “Not only is achieving this ARR milestone a difficult feat, but the company also has all of the components needed to sustain its strong market position. We're proud to remain a core part of Optimizely’s journey and are excited to see them achieve new milestones along the way.”<h3 id="why-it-matters">Why it matters</h3>With such a trailblazing heritage in content management and digital experience, Optimizely has long been a bellwether for where the CMS and DXP markets are headed. Its industry surface area has evolved to include categories like CMP, but Optimizely's core value always comes back to content – and this is a company that's been shaping the content trajectory since 1994.While Adobe has maintained dominance in some of the relevant analyst channels (like DXP), Optimizely has been closing the gap against Goliath. With the introduction of its Optimizely One solution, it has clearly leveled up and driven demand with customers seeking a more complete solution – the kind that offers composable products that answer their challenges with greater flexibility, choice, and value. That strategy is resulting in significant market and revenue gains.Optimizely has also focused on the marketer as a key audience, starting with its purchase of Welcome in 2021. The added content marketing and digital asset management capabilities have expanded its appeal beyond the more focused lane of CMS while integrating everything within a composable solution. This continues to deliver a competitive edge as brands shift to delivering omnichannel experiences and look to market across a myriad of ecosystems like social media. Just like its name suggests, optimization is central to Optimizely's brand promise. As more companies look to enhance performance through testing and experimentation, Optimizely is already ahead with robust tools and AI features to help teams realize their personalization goals and access meaningful data and analytics from their programs.Optimizely's pace of innovation is clearly aggressive, and needs to be in a tight competitive market where uncertainty is always looming. The addition of new features across its portfolio – including AI – may very well lengthen its lead as customers look for greater scale and automation from their content tools. And with more capital to drive innovation, it can continue to meet and exceed customer expectations in an ever-changing digital world.  <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-conferences">Upcoming conferences</h3> <img style="width:29.67%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-connect-2024-logo.png" alt="CMS Connect 24 logo" /><h4 id="cms-connect-24"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect24">CMS Connect 24</a></h4>August 6-7, 2024 – Montreal, CanadaWe are delighted to present our first annual summer edition of our prestigious international conference dedicated to the global content management community. Join us this August in Montreal, Canada, for a vendor-neutral conference focused on CMS. Tired of impersonal and overwhelming gatherings? Picture this event as a unique blend of masterclasses, insightful talks, interactive discussions, impactful learning sessions, and authentic networking opportunities. <img style="width:29.58%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-kickoff-2025-logo.png" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-25"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff25/tickets">CMS Kickoff 25</a></h4>January 14-15, 2025 – Tampa Bay Area, FloridaJoin us next January in the Tampa Bay area of Florida for the third annual CMS Kickoff – the industry's premier global event. Similar to a traditional kickoff, we reflect on recent trends and share stories from the frontlines. Additionally, we will delve into the current happenings and shed light on the future. Prepare for an unparalleled in-person CMS conference experience that will equip you to move things forward. This is an exclusive event – space is limited, so secure your tickets today.

Optimizely Surges to $400M ARR, Pegs Growth on Demand for its Marketing Operations System

<hr /> As we turn the corner towards summer in the Northern Hemisphere, things are heating up in the composable world.Fresh off the publication of chiefmartec's <a target="_blank" href="https://martechmap.typeform.com/MartechDay2024">2024 State of Martech Report</a> – where composability was a key topic across the 14,106 products in the marketing technology landscape – we're also a month away from the industry's premier composable conference: <a target="_blank" href="https://machalliance.org/events/mach-three">MACH THREE</a>.This is the third edition of the annual event hosted by the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.machalliance.org/">MACH Alliance</a>, a group of independent tech companies dedicated to advocating for open, best-of-breed technology ecosystems. Buoyed by an array of sessions that aim to educate and elevate the understanding of MACH (Microservices, APIs, Cloud-first SaaS, Headless), the MACH THREE event promises to inspire attendees to “supercharge their composable journey."Today, the organization announced some juicy details regarding the roster for MACH THREE, which will be held in New York City from June 17 - 18. This is the first time the conference is slated for North America, signaling an important shift in focus toward the U.S. – which has been slower to adopt MACH but is now showing accelerated growth. In fact, an analysis provided in the <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/mach-alliance-publishes-first-annual-report-showcases-industry-impact-and-plans-for-2024">MACH Alliance's first annual report</a> – published in January of this year – underscores the opportunities ahead for the addressable U.S. market, and where the Alliance sees future potential to expand the MACH footprint. <a target="_blank" href="https://register.machalliance.org/hubfs/Agenda%20MACH%20THREE.pdf">The MACH THREE agenda</a> will feature heavy hitters like IKEA, MARS, and Ulta Beauty. But it will also include presentations from influential global brands like H&amp;M, Kraft Heinz, Mattel, Rally House, Clarks, Saks Fifth Avenue, and OBI. During the two-day conference, these industry leaders will discuss the innovative digital experiences they have created using MACH architectures, as well as the many benefits and challenges of embracing digital transformation with a composable strategy. “MACH THREE is not about technology providers sharing sales pitches or demos, it’s about brands showcasing their digital strategies, what worked and what didn’t,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-hall-4b14a945/">Holly Hall</a>, managing director at the MACH Alliance. “MACH THREE is an essential part of the MACH Alliance’s commitment to being a facilitator of education and advocacy around MACH principles, especially in the U.S. as this market becomes a strong advocate and adopter of MACH technologies.”The conference is free, and <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/mach-two-conference-wrap-six-takeaways-from-the-composable-event-of-the-year">registration is open</a> to business and technology leaders by application. They even offer a rebate program to cover travel expenses, which is a limited offer but nonetheless an attractive give (better act quickly on this one).CMS Critic attended last year's MACH TWO conference in Amsterdam and covered it in detail. For a glimpse at what to expect in New York, <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/mach-two-conference-wrap-six-takeaways-from-the-composable-event-of-the-year">read what this world-class event offered in 2023.</a><h3 id="a-packed-agenda-focused-on-mach">A packed agenda focused on MACH</h3>As retailers and brands strive to create a flexible, future-proofed digital ecosystem that promotes the best customer experience possible, MACH architecture has emerged as a leading differentiator. According to the 2023 MACH Alliance Annual Report, 85% of respondents have increased MACH investment in the past 12 months – and the U.S. has now surpassed Europe in the rate of MACH adoption. This trend was already being felt at last year's MACH TWO Conference. During the media session, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellygoetsch/">Kelly Goetsch</a> – former MACH Alliance Chair and CSO of <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/commercetools">commercetool</a> – observed that MACH “now feels like the default,” and that “we’re no longer advocating from the sidelines.” The MACH Alliance's annual conference series provides the connective tissue for the MACH movement, bringing together a community of members and customers to highlight successful use cases and real-world applications. This year's MACH THREE promises to explore and educate about the continued evolution of MACH through the voices of industry-leading brands. This includes mainstage keynotes from Kraft Heinz, H&amp;M, and more that will showcase MACH successes from initial deployment to long-term results.Along with the keynotes, MACH THREE will feature leadership sessions and peer-to-peer discussions that will provide insights into how brands can succeed in their composable journeys with unparalleled agility. As with previous events, there will be focused “MACH in Practice” workshops to help educate attendees on real-world MACH implementations that foster competitive advantages.Attendees will also have access to “MACH Creates” sessions, which will highlight how a MACH foundation can give brands the flexibility to experiment with the next generation of AI-driven SaaS.“From listening to the head of digital experience at The Kraft Heinz Company talk about the CPG revolution to hearing the senior director of digital engineering at Ulta Beauty explain how to innovate under pressure, MACH THREE will be an educational and inspirational experience for attendees,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/the-future-is-composable-a-conversation-with-new-mach-alliance-president-casper-rasmussen">Casper Rasmussen</a>, president of the MACH Alliance. “By being open and transparent about all facets of MACH technology, attendees will leave feeling confident they have the 360-degree picture needed to approach their own digital transformations.”<h3 id="why-it-matters">Why it matters</h3>Despite its meteoric rise, MACH continues to be an exotic topic in the annals of techdom. While it has appreciated significant growth, it still represents a small piece of the overall pie. The trend of composability is certainly more ubiquitous, but it, too, struggles to be clearly understood due to a myriad of mixed marketing messages. As we've reported, this is visible in the competitive morass betwixt legacy monolithic DXPs and headless CMSes, many of whom claim to be composable, though not all MACH. In an open letter to the market, the Alliance <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/mach-alliance-openly-invites-companies-claiming-mach-to-apply-for-certification">openly invited companies</a> that are claiming to the MACH (affectionately referred to as “MACH Washing”) to apply for certification in an effort to reduce confusion for buyers. That's why education is so important – and why it continues to be a key pillar of the MACH Alliance. Expressing this through digital content is table stakes, but live events provide a tangible backdrop for focusing on solutions, sharing ideas, and experiencing the real people behind the successes and failures (it's true, not all MACH stories have a happy ending). As Holly Hall also pointed out, this isn't a typical tradeshow where the primary motion is sales – and that's a refreshing distinction. Networking and the precipitous “elbow-rubbing” are par for the course; as such, connections and deals may emerge effervescently. But the agenda is laser-focused on learning, and that makes the experience more enriching. With over <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/mach-alliance-surges-past-100-members-caps-2023-as-a-milestone-year">100 members in its composable cabal</a>, the MACH Alliance keeps demonstrating its relevance to the market. That said, it isn't without its detractors, and that feedback has resulted in a heightened commitment to transparency and a resolve to open its membership to products within larger brands. It's evolving, and the vision for its roadmap is best experienced by inspirational leaders like Casper Rasmussen during an interactive keynote with Q&amp;As.  The bench of brands on display will provide robust examples of MACH at scale. More importantly, these industry leaders lend greater credibility to the adoption of MACH, and having so many assembled in one place is a great opportunity to learn and reflect, regardless of where you might be on your MACH journey. It will be difficult to one-up the MACH TWO event from an experiential perspective. Last year's conference was world-class in every dimension, from substance to location to accouterments. Even the food reinforced the organization's commitment to DEI with catering from a European B-corp focused on sustainable practices. Hosting the event in a cosmopolitan city like New York aligns with the tenets of the MACH Alliance, announcing its focus on U.S. soil with an elevated level of sophistication. The Big Apple is at the epicenter of technology and retail, and multiple industry brands are headquartered here. It's also a city of experiences, and we can be assured that many of its best features will be on display when the event kicks off next month.<h3 id="mach-takes-manhattan">MACH takes Manhattan</h3>Will we see you at MACH THREE in NYC? If so, we'd love to hear about your experiences with MACH and composable.CMS Critic's <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/critics/matt-garrepy">Matt Garrepy</a> is judging the MACH Impact Awards for the second year in a row. These awards celebrate the best of the best in composable use cases, with some incredibly innovative examples of MACH in action. <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/mach-two-conference-wrap-six-takeaways-from-the-composable-event-of-the-year">Check out an overview</a> of last year's awards and the winners. To learn more about MACH THREE and register to attend, visit <a target="_blank" href="http://www.machalliance.org/events/mach-three">www.machalliance.org/events/mach-three</a> <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-conferences">Upcoming conferences</h3> <img style="width:29.67%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-connect-2024-logo.png" alt="CMS Connect 24 logo" /><h4 id="cms-connect-24"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect24">CMS Connect 24</a></h4>August 6-7, 2024 – Montreal, CanadaWe are delighted to present our first annual summer edition of our prestigious international conference dedicated to the global content management community. Join us this August in Montreal, Canada, for a vendor-neutral conference focused on CMS. Tired of impersonal and overwhelming gatherings? Picture this event as a unique blend of masterclasses, insightful talks, interactive discussions, impactful learning sessions, and authentic networking opportunities. <img style="width:29.58%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-kickoff-2025-logo.png" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-25"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff25/tickets">CMS Kickoff 25</a></h4>January 14-15, 2025 – Tampa Bay Area, FloridaJoin us next January in the Tampa Bay area of Florida for the third annual CMS Kickoff – the industry's premier global event. Similar to a traditional kickoff, we reflect on recent trends and share stories from the frontlines. Additionally, we will delve into the current happenings and shed light on the future. Prepare for an unparalleled in-person CMS conference experience that will equip you to move things forward. This is an exclusive event – space is limited, so secure your tickets today.

IKEA, MARS, Ulta Beauty and Influential Brands to be Featured at MACH THREE Conference

Painting by numbers: Where CMS fits in the 14,106 products on the 2024 Martech Supergraphic

<hr /> <a target="_blank" href="https://accessibility.day/">Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD)</a> is an annual event that focuses on access and inclusion. Each year, it draws attention to the vital role of digital accessibility, encouraging communities to think and discuss its impact on the one billion people worldwide with disabilities and impairments. GAAD will take place on May 16th, enshrining this as “Digital Accessibility Month.” Many organizations use this opportunity to promote and reinforce their efforts to support accessibility, so the channels are aflutter with messaging. Heightened awareness is a good thing. It's also a stark reminder that we're still struggling with digital equality. Case in point: In 2020, <a target="_blank" href="https://webaim.org/">WebAIM</a> – a not-for-profit practice within the <a target="_blank" href="https://idrpp.usu.edu/">Institute for Disability Research, Policy &amp; Practice</a> at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.usu.edu/">Utah State University</a> – analyzed one million website homepages for accessibility issues. According to its report, over 98% of the scanned sites had at least one failure based on the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) internationally recognized <a target="_blank" href="https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/">Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).</a>The causes of the compliance errors were broad, but the biggest offenders were low-contrast text and missing ALT tags for images. Very basic issues that could be addressed in a matter of seconds without complex coding or refactoring. And therein lies the problem: developers and content creators still don't fully prioritize the importance of ensuring digital equality – nor are they incentivized to do so. Further, the momentary nature of “compliance” remains a challenge, as web content isn't always persistent. As such, a site can lose its error-free status with the addition of a single blog post. It would be easy to blame the tools, but we have a plethora to choose from and several are exceedingly good. Spotting most (if not all) of the critical errors can be fully automated and reports produced with a predictable cadence. And while humans are required to remediate many of the issues, we wouldn't have as many to correct if we simply took the right steps from the beginning. No, the problem lies with us. The builders. The creators. The practitioners. For too long, we've stoked a culture of disregard for embracing accessibility at a foundational level and de-prioritized education and awareness. We shouldn't be thinking about it on just one day every year; accessibility must be elemental to how we create and care for every experience in our digital ecosystem. The good news is that we're making progress, and not just as a result of <a target="_blank" href="https://accessibe.com/blog/knowledgebase/ada-website-lawsuits">class-action lawsuits</a>. We have better systems and structural processes than ever before. More institutional guidance is emerging, and the WCAG standards are continuing to evolve and expand. The GAAD Foundation (part of Global Accessibility Awareness Day) has also been on a mission to disrupt the culture of technology and digital product development to include accessibility as a core requirement. The policy landscape is shifting, too, as more governance enters the equation. Europe's <a target="_blank" href="https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/web-accessibility">Web Accessibility Directive</a> has been in force since 2016 but was reviewed in 2022 following the pandemic's unprecedented acceleration of digital commerce. It complements the broader European Accessibility Act, which is similar to the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ada.gov/">U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act</a>, but provides deeper monitoring and reporting of websites and digital properties. Of course, there's still confusion. And while some litigation has been “settled” (see: <a target="_blank" href="https://adasoutheast.org/court/robles-v-dominos-pizza-llc/#:~:text=Robles%20sued%20Domino's%20Pizza%2C%20LLC,did%20not%20have%20fair%20notice.">Robles v. Domino's Pizza</a>), private businesses still aren't hitting the mark. There's also the emergence of AI tools, which promise to streamline scanning and automatically generate ALT tags. That's cool – but even in light of these advances, there's still a major gap to backfill.Here's the bottom line: we have an ethical and moral obligation to reinforce accessibility. It's the right thing to do, and will ultimately impact everyone (it's true that with age, a great deal of us will likely develop one or more disabilities or impairments). But as I heard from many attendees at <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/from-accessibility-to-ai-and-beyond-five-key-takeaways-from-acquia-engage-boston">Acquia Engage</a> last fall – just after the DXP announced its acquisition of <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/acquia-tackles-accessibility-and-optimization-as-it-completes-monsido-buy">Monsido</a>, a best-of-breed web accessibility and optimization platform – there's a business imperative as well: people with disabilities are customers, and experiences that aren't accessible will almost certainly drive them to another brand.<a target="_blank" href="http://www.acquia.com/">Acquia</a> made accessibility a core theme of its annual conference in 2023, and it's continuing to provide users with the knowledge and resources to be successful. In fact, they just announced that Monsido now offers support for WCAG 2.2, the latest set of web content accessibility guidelines recommended by the W3C. By using its signature Accessibility Module in Monsido, Acquia customers can automatically scan their websites, obtain an accessibility score, and receive actionable recommendations to help ensure the accessibility of their digital content for individuals with disabilities. By reducing the friction and making it part of the flow, Monsido is helping to ensure accessibility. “WCAG 2.2 stands as the globally recognized benchmark for digital accessibility, and marks a pivotal step toward a more accessible and inclusive digital world,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/acquia-and-the-art-of-the-possible-interview-with-chief-market-officer-jennifer-griffin-smith">Jennifer Griffin Smith</a>, Chief Market Officer at Acquia. “Keeping pace with the latest guidelines as they emerge is a major challenge but a necessary one."Necessary indeed. As Jennifer cited, 51% of consumers are willing to pay more to companies committed to digital accessibility while 41% are willing to pay up to 10% more. “Monsido simplifies this process,” she said, "making it easy to identify and proactively fix accessibility issues, avoid penalties for non-compliance, and most importantly maximize the return on marketing investments by improving the digital experience for all users to ensure wider reach and more audience engagement.” <h3 id="evolving-with-the-wcag-standards">Evolving with the WCAG standards</h3>If you're not familiar with the WCAG, it's worth noting that the guidelines have been developed through the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/w3c-process/">W3C process</a> in cooperation with individuals and organizations around the world. The goal is simple: provide a single shared standard for web content accessibility that meets the needs of individuals, organizations, and governments internationally.The WCAG documents explain how to make web content more accessible to people with disabilities, ensuring they are perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust (the guidelines get more granular from here). Web “content” generally refers to the information in a web page or web application, including natural information – such as text, images, and sounds – as well as code or markup that defines structure, presentation, and other variables.WCAG 2.1 addressed key accessibility issues for individuals with blindness, deafness, and mobility requirements, improving upon its previous benchmarks. WCAG 2.2 builds on these efforts, adding new criteria to make the web more productive for those with low vision and cognitive disabilities, as well as those using tablets and other mobile devices. New device form factors present challenges for the WCAG; as mobile and IoT continue to evolve, the guidelines must also adapt to how users interface with new kinds of hardware. With so many factors at play – and so much content across channels – brands and organizations are seeking solutions like Monsido to address the scope and scale of managing an accessibility strategy. Having best-of-breed technology that's integrated with their DXP makes the entire process easier and faster, but also more trustworthy. “Customers who see accessibility as a foundation for digital experience want a solution that’s a core part of their DXP provider’s portfolio, not a tool off to the side as an ad-hoc consideration,” Jennifer said, “We’re seeing increased adoption because we’re putting our customers in a position to address digital accessibility proactively as part of a broader effort to create digital experiences that are also frictionless, relevant, and safe – or, as we often say, productive.”The Monsido platform addresses common accessibility issues against these latest WCAG guidelines and enables errors to be filtered by the desired level of compliance (e.g. A, AA, or AAA) for easy prioritization. Comprehensive reports explain how to resolve issues, and the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.acquia.com/products/monsido/features/accessibility">Accessibility Fast Track</a> feature empowers teams to instantly fix repetitive errors across multiple pages. This includes elements such as links, images, and text. It also addresses accessibility issues in bulk – all with the touch of a button.For additional support, teams will also have access to Acquia's <a target="_blank" href="https://help.monsido.com/en/articles/4891170-accessibility-help-center">Accessibility Help Center</a>, which breaks down the more technical WCAG 2.2 checks in plain language. This is key, as accessibility still requires human support to help unpack and remediate certain issues like keyboard tabbing for focusable elements. <h3 id="spotlighting-the-importance-of-digital-accessibility">Spotlighting the importance of digital accessibility</h3>Acquia’s stated mission is to help customers build a better digital future – one that's more inclusive, accessible, and sets new benchmarks for performance and innovation. With GAAD just a few days away, Acquia is using this month to spotlight digital accessibility as a critical element of every organization’s digital practices.  “We’re seeing a real shift in organizations who acknowledge that digital accessibility is a priority, which is wonderful because it never should have been seen as a nice-to-have," Jennifer shared. “Of course, there are varying states of maturity here. For some, increased regulatory pressure is still the forcing function. But more often, we’re seeing more business leaders who want to embed digital accessibility into their marketing programs because they recognize that’s the clearest pathway to maximizing the business benefits. And that’s ultimately what differentiates Monsido.” Throughout May, Acquia will offer opportunities for technology and marketing professionals to learn about the state of digital accessibility and get inspired to make meaningful improvements. This includes a host of webinars on subjects like “The Hidden Cost of Ignoring Digital Accessibility,” “The Digital Accessibility Dilemma,” and "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.acquia.com/events/webinars/achieving-near-perfect-web-accessibility-salvation-army-story">Achieving Near Perfect Web Accessibility</a>, which features a use case with the Salvation Army. Collaborative workshops at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.acquia.com/engage/london-2024">Acquia Engage London</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.acquia.com/engage/paris-2024">Paris</a> – as well as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.acquia.com/drupalcon">DrupalCon Portland</a> – will give attendees the opportunity to learn accessibility fundamentals and how to apply them in website design and development. Acquia is also promoting daily accessibility facts across its social channels and even offering downloadable animated American Sign Language emojis for Slack and social media. <h3 id="why-it-matters">Why it matters</h3>Simply put: because people matter. Every one of us. We all deserve dignity and respect, and accessing digitally equitable experiences should be a basic, fundamental expectation. By all accounts, brands and organizations are waking up to this, albeit slowly. Governments have been exerting pressure, but not evenly or in all places. There's also the persistent lack of understanding around digital accessibility, and whether customers have choices or options to utilize other channels (vis-à-vis making a call versus using an app). At these moments, we should remind ourselves of the impact that ramps and accessible bathrooms have had on our culture, allowing people with disabilities to know a level of freedom and independence they are entitled to. Should we not demand the same from digital experiences?There are great tools out there, and Monsido is certainly among the top of the list. At the same time, it would be shortsighted to pin all hope and responsibility on the tool. Companies need to instill a culture of accessibility at the foundational level – and for those vendors building websites, we need to think about accessibility first and not treat it like an afterthought. Not only will it deliver better results all around, but it will save money in the long run by avoiding labor-intensive remediation or costly fines.A quick side note: We spend a lot of time talking about website accessibility, but native mobile apps should also meet the same benchmarks as places of public accommodation. Not all tools are capable of crawling and identifying issues within mobile apps, but several options, like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.deque.com/">Deque</a>, offer a blend of AI-powered technologies and professional services for mobile app accessibility testing. What's clear is that Acquia is making good on its own commitment to accessibility. The Monsido acquisition was a sage investment, but the company has influenced its optimization strategy by infusing it with accessibility, which brings a cadre of structural standards that can improve a website's SEO health and performance. Keeping in lockstep with the WCAG's evolving standards is another example of how they are delivering greater confidence for customers. And of course, good accessibility is good business – and making Monsido an easy add-on within its DXP ecosystem helps solve problems faster and more efficiently. Jennifer gave us a clue that more of this interoperability and ease of integration is driving Acquia's future roadmap. “Looking ahead, we’ll soon have other announcements that make Monsido even more connected and easy to use in <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/drupal">Drupal</a> implementations," she said, "as well as integrations that provide customers with more flexibility and extend our compliance with global accessibility guidelines.”Finally, I'll leave you with this: at Acquia Engage Boston, I had the opportunity to see <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/habengirma/">Haben Girma</a> give a presentation called The Univeral Benefits of Inclusive Design. As the first deafblind graduate of Harvard Law School, Haben has long been a champion for digital accessibility. During her session, she stood in front of a crowded room and delivered a powerful talk – all without seeing or hearing the audience. This would have been impossible without the physical cache of accessible resources, but equally so without digital assistive capabilities.Using her braille keyboard, she shared how technology has unlocked so much for her, even though most tech is developed with non-disabled users in mind. “Disability sparks innovation,” she said. “It spurs creativity that ends up helping everyone.” So the next time you need to add an ALT description to an image, remember that you're not just doing your part to help one person – you're helping one billion.  <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-conferences">Upcoming conferences</h3> <img style="width:29.67%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-connect-2024-logo.png" alt="CMS Connect 24 logo" /><h4 id="cms-connect-24"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect24">CMS Connect 24</a></h4>August 6-7, 2024 – Montreal, CanadaWe are delighted to present our first annual summer edition of our prestigious international conference dedicated to the global content management community. Join us this August in Montreal, Canada, for a vendor-neutral conference focused on CMS. Tired of impersonal and overwhelming gatherings? Picture this event as a unique blend of masterclasses, insightful talks, interactive discussions, impactful learning sessions, and authentic networking opportunities. <img style="width:29.58%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-kickoff-2025-logo.png" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-25"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff25/tickets">CMS Kickoff 25</a></h4>January 14-15, 2025 – Tampa Bay Area, FloridaJoin us next January in the Tampa Bay area of Florida for the third annual CMS Kickoff – the industry's premier global event. Similar to a traditional kickoff, we reflect on recent trends and share stories from the frontlines. Additionally, we will delve into the current happenings and shed light on the future. Prepare for an unparalleled in-person CMS conference experience that will equip you to move things forward. This is an exclusive event – space is limited, so secure your tickets today.

Acquia Enhances Website Accessibility with Monsido, Now Supports WCAG 2.2 Guidelines

<hr /> <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence">Artificial intelligence</a> keeps steamrolling almost every part of the tech conversation. Even as litigation heats up around copyright issues – with authors like Margaret Atwood and Dan Brown <a target="_blank" href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/news/366544611/A-look-at-writers-battle-to-get-AI-vendors-to-pay-them">demanding</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://openai.com/">OpenAI</a> (and others) stop training on their content – the AI machine is full speed ahead. And it makes sense: there are already numerous provable benefits to AI, namely around automation at scale. This is an area where <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/solodev">Solodev</a>, a cloud platform for developers with CMS products, has frequently run ahead of the pack. Working closely with <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/aws">AWS</a>, they have a history of deploying specialized services from the Amazon AI/ML stack, including a <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/personalize/">cloud-based recommendation engine</a>. Today, the company announced a new offering called <a target="_blank" href="https://www.solodev.com/platform/ai/">Solodev AI</a> – a cloud platform for building, training, and hosting custom AI apps and foundation models in one place. From search to chat and beyond, Solodev AI enables organizations to start their AI journey with customizable off-the-shelf apps from an AI marketplace or host their existing AI apps in a secure, scalable cloud environment powered by AWS. One of the big challenges with building custom AI apps is figuring out where it put it. Scalability is a big concern, but so too is security. Without understanding the unique DevOps requirements, the cloud can get awfully expensive. Solodev AI seems to be easing these challenges for AI developers, promising the right resources to connect almost any Large Language Model (LLM) – including <a target="_blank" href="https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=mZZscIvHdlJxNZw0eGA31GfGh3Gvs35hVYsktUsJPk0XW-RMzILYUFuTHux6COjtSfHMQwtz7uEpmAuvA6isMA==">GPT-4</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=s76p5OKjo-A7PPxq5gykSabnUQJDbjYS78S_y9dCJoycsf8EsQsq2EFY8CgYToPumy0Vi4kOg40iAyLOEBJDqq1TARa6uV54UqBchBOq8yA=">OpenLLaMA</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=_LROvpsAF9KnzbJ0VGofMc-MvQoXiwM2MQxs3mBlK-XDSXA25MOIuzE0ICM3gPjKuo8_BArcc8FzzpMRy5B8-1HnK46nhl9gJ68oVuvczCM=">Amazon Titan</a>, and more – so users and organizations can train their apps all in one place.While almost anyone can play in the sandbox on OpenAI or jump into <a target="_blank" href="https://huggingface.co/">Hugging Face</a>, there are numerous considerations when going custom, and much of it depends on where you're at in your AI journey. Along with its platform features, Solodev offers consulting and professional services to help set up, manage, and support early-stage or advanced AI app strategies with experienced AI engineers and cloud solution architects at the ready.<h3 id="demand-for-ai-apps-is-driving-growth-in-the-cloud">Demand for AI apps is driving growth in the cloud</h3>We already know that AI has taken the world by storm. From <a target="_blank" href="https://openai.com/">ChatGPT</a> to <a target="_blank" href="https://gemini.google.com/">Google Gemini</a> to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.midjourney.com/home">Midjourney</a>, AI-powered apps are being harnessed by millions of users across every business sector. Generative AI is on target to become a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=vyln-fRIcorWP8muYo98topGkbSU7h8NStKWzis6KaMN_QWerIqHstjQrgeJVI3Jxl1RP6s69TIh4Omwxvat1VWRb5lRBBCYCbK97l6tVr1hyN3IcKVow8Ht4Gc5uLvwl4v0zurP2SJguASGIKqlqXGrirdUzgOnVFBwkPkKWuxqnCAr9LSBr0Cr3eULG1_zoiP04oWXzCw0Z1954cwKcwp67gZFF8q0wEddCAm3v0c=">$1.3 trillion market by 2032</a>, with a CAGR of 42% over the next decade. As organizations look to build their own solutions, like custom chatbots and search assistants, the market is expecting compounded growth of 38.3% in the AI app sector through 2028. This is why dizzying levels of investment are still saturating this tech segment. While developing custom apps is a primary goal, developers and companies struggle with the requirements to deploy, build, and maintain their AI strategy. Picking the right model can be challenging given the breadth of choices, and few model options offer dedicated support. Further, training a foundation model requires a significant amount of compute resources to process large datasets via deep learning algorithms – and although cloud solutions exist, the cost of hosting and leveraging AI services can be exorbitant. Many organizations are feeling the combined pinch and, in some cases, abandoning AI initiatives due to cost and a lack of demonstrable value. <h3 id="a-cloud-platform-for-powering-ai-app-strategies">A cloud platform for powering AI app strategies</h3>Solodev AI provides a complete, cloud-based platform for building and training AI apps with total control. That begins with everything being hosted in a developer's or organization's own AWS account as opposed to a closed system. As previously noted, Solodev AI offers a blend of advanced cloud technologies and expert resources to guide and scale an AI app – regardless of where a customer might be in their cloud journey. The engagement is process-driven, starting with a consultative discovery session with a team of AI and cloud architects, working to understand an app's purpose and vision. From here, Solodev outlines the essential cloud DevOps and services, including containers and serverless technologies, that will be required. Solodev’s AI engineers also help recommend the right LLM for an app’s features and functionality, from leading models like OpenLLaMA – an open reproduction of Meta’s LLaMA – to up-and-coming solutions like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=PYEM7VGvITQOnpTmiO1R0baluzzY7MZrI7GRHgAvhaRQB6jgZFjzIF578EuCxe0HfvNj5SEwstuWfalniASCQA==">Mistral</a>.Even if you “bring your own model,” Solodev delivers a turnkey setup of automated tuning and monitoring to train a selected LLM in the cloud and optimize the required compute resources. They also provide access to a dedicated global AI help desk.For organizations that are just starting out and don’t have an existing app, Solodev AI includes a marketplace of basic AI “shells” to deploy with. These include handy features like chat, search, and even a custom app option.Solodev also offers consulting services to help map out an AI strategy. Regardless of where a company might be in its development or execution, Solodev's team of experienced engineers can add AI services to an existing app – including the most advanced stack of solutions from AWS – or help explore and develop a go-to-market strategy for an emerging concept.“If your business doesn’t have an AI strategy, you might not have a business in the future,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=WogXmFMMvQRwxO_zTb9S8W5CRHgIzEF5LhDVbez3fzoD8wDUOgQ3TA7lHBvYWo4efk6G7HO5HBbXi6LKswmNLw_wTC-ZwLSZbXtOtnUpZ4Q=">Shawn Moore</a>, CTO at Solodev. “Now is the time to get on board, and Solodev AI is the answer. We’re helping forward-thinking developers and organizations harness the power of AI for a wide range of apps and use cases – including mobile, metaverse, blockchain, and IoT. It’s an AI world, and we’re here to help you navigate it successfully.”From a pricing perspective, Solodev AI includes cloud technology and services, one-time setup fees, and ongoing support.  <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-conferences">Upcoming conferences</h3> <img style="width:29.67%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-connect-2024-logo.png" alt="CMS Connect 24 logo" /><h4 id="cms-connect-24"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect24">CMS Connect 24</a></h4>August 6-7, 2024 – Montreal, CanadaWe are delighted to present our first annual summer edition of our prestigious international conference dedicated to the global content management community. Join us this August in Montreal, Canada, for a vendor-neutral conference focused on CMS. Tired of impersonal and overwhelming gatherings? Picture this event as a unique blend of masterclasses, insightful talks, interactive discussions, impactful learning sessions, and authentic networking opportunities. <img style="width:29.58%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-kickoff-2025-logo.png" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-25"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff25/tickets">CMS Kickoff 25</a></h4>January 14-15, 2025 – Tampa Bay Area, FloridaJoin us next January in the Tampa Bay area of Florida for the third annual CMS Kickoff – the industry's premier global event. Similar to a traditional kickoff, we reflect on recent trends and share stories from the frontlines. Additionally, we will delve into the current happenings and shed light on the future. Prepare for an unparalleled in-person CMS conference experience that will equip you to move things forward. This is an exclusive event – space is limited, so secure your tickets today.

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