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Critic: Janus Boye

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A late 2024 field trip: 2 days at the Kentico Connection conference

Untangling the CMS market in 2024

<hr /> What a year 2023 has been in CMS. Both buyers and investors keep pouring money into the space, everyone is busy adding GenAI, and if you do a Google search for “headless CMS,” you’ll see how digital marketing (still) works.While all of this is exciting, what about the content producers? Your faithful colleagues working in communications or marketing are tasked with creating successful campaigns and content in your corporate tone of voice. They work tirelessly, and do their very best to help you and your company stand out. Content matters, right?At the end of the day, you buy a CMS for the content producers, yet how far have we really come in the past 20 years to make their working lives better? In brief:<ul><li>The requirements of authors (content contributors) are still largely ignored, both in the CMS selection process and – sadly, also in the implementation that follows</li><li>Content failures can happen quietly but be far more damaging than tech failures</li><li>As the dirty little secret of this industry, the first 85% of content production still doesn’t happen in the CMS. </li></ul>As I look back at this year and look towards putting the final touches on the program for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff24">CMS Kickoff 24</a> in Florida in January, allow me to be a critic of most content management vendors out there: You urgently need to improve content production! The editor experience is the next frontier in making a better Web. It will happen, so it’s up to you to determine how to meet customer expectations and stay ahead of the competition. Let’s start with the bigger picture and then look at the different dimensions of content production. <h3>Content production is big money… unfortunately, just not in CMS</h3>A common theme (at probably all conferences in all industries) is the perpetual “what’s next?” question. While some speakers look far into the future, my focus has always been on what’s on the horizon. Let’s take some insight, some innovation, some hard-earned experiences, connect some people together, and use this mix to make things better. Perhaps with experience (or is it age?) I've also started to make historical parallels from earlier in my career. As the famous quote goes: “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.”What’s headless CMS really if not just a less smart, but sadly more widely adopted way, to say decoupled as it was called in the late 90’s? What’s really new about composition or even orchestration, if not just confusing you as a buyer even more? I know I sound cynical, but I’m deeply interested in improving things, and cutting through the deafening hype is not for the faint of heart. Look at the interfaces of a CMS in the past and in 2023, and to be fair, you’ll see clear design improvements when it comes to the authors, but we still have a long way to go. At a recent <a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/groups/cms-experts">CMS Experts group meeting</a> in Sacramento, Adam Kalsey and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/speakers/deane-barker">Deane Barker</a> did a double act, showing us good old Movable Type – a weblog publishing system initially released in 2001. Adam magically still had a circa 20-year-old version up and running. It was big back then, and the interface remains powerful and useful today.Last week in Hamburg, Germany, we brought some of our European community together and looked more broadly at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/blog/2023/11/what-might-2024-bring">2024 digital trends</a>. In a refreshingly honest session given by a product leader at CMS vendor CoreMedia, we saw how their interface looked 15 years ago. The iPhone was just out back then, and that also changed design. Most, if not all, CMSs are now responsive – yet the 15-year-old screenshot also showed a system that’s widely adopted, useful, and still in production worldwide. So what’s happened with content production in the meantime? Where print has faded, digital content production has become big money. But for some reason, the action really hasn’t happened in the CMS. Look at the seemingly ever-growing MarTech vendor landscape, and I would argue that the CMS category (or Web Experience Management as it is also called on the landscape) is probably one of the older statesmen of the many categories, but it’s not growing as quickly as some of the more emerging ones. If you look at the content journey, from creation via composition to delivery, the CMS marketplace in recent decades has clearly focused on what today is called omnichannel experiences (that’s delivery) and then also on technical innovation (foundational stuff, new frameworks, going cloud), and perhaps recently on composition (the middle part), but unfortunately not much on the creation. Consequently, other categories, like content marketing or digital asset management tools, have been eating away at the budgets and the content production problem. <h3>Listen deeply to the requirements of content authors</h3>It’s tough to say that the requirements of authors (content contributors) are ignored, both in the CMS selection process and, sadly, also in the implementation that follows. But I’ve seen how it happens working in this field since the late 90’s.Yes, many requirements specifications, request-for-proposals, and similar documentation include editorial and content production requirements. But what tends to happen is that at the end of the day, buyers and CMS vendors alike overfocus on making the developers happy, creative, and productive – rather than also considering the needs of everyone working with content. A simple explanation is that developers tend to be in much higher demand and require substantially bigger paychecks. In addition, there’s this perception that code is something very few can create, like a unique masterpiece of innovation, while content is something everyone can easily do. That’s a sad way to look at things, particularly now with an explosion in content thanks to GenAI. Will it be your code or your content that makes you stick out?Actually, the best copywriters, content creators, editors, and whatever you call them in your organization are what will set you apart from the competition in 2024. It’s a long-standing misconception, perhaps a relatively privileged one, in the CMS space that you stand out by just shouting louder than the others. That might work in a fast-growing sector like CMS, but most of customers are not positioned like that. They need to stand out from the competition genuinely. They need to deliver services and storytelling that work for their students, staff, customers, and fans – and to do that, they need good content. <h3>Content failures can happen quickly and be devastating</h3>So, what’s a content failure? For some reason, many are far more worried about code failures than content failures, yet poor content quality is likely to slowly and effectively undermine your brand trust. <figure class="image image_resized" style="width:53.46%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/11/deane-barker-image.jpg" /></figure> It gets worse: It can happen quicker and be more painful than that. A content failure on Black Friday is likely to be very costly. I’ve seen it happen time and time again. Content that can’t get pushed out, some seemingly minor important outdated text on a corner of the website, a missing translation, and the list goes on… and it’s all very bad news. As Deane has passionately argued at multiple sessions this year, including at the Web Summer Camp in Croatia, to succeed, you need to:<ul><li>Provide your content team with the materials and equipment to do their work right</li><li>Give your content team the opportunity to do what they do best every day</li></ul>In other words: Your content team wants to be creative, and if your current CMS restricts them too much, or just genuinely isn’t supporting them, you can count on them to get increasingly disengaged – and the best ones will likely seek new opportunities. While you can probably find another developer who knows this or that framework, how long might it take to find and train someone who will excel in creating content in your tone of voice?<h3>Start solving 100% of content production problems</h3>Let’s go almost 20 years back in time. In 2006, Deane Barker wrote this post: <a target="_blank" href="https://deanebarker.net/tech/blog/first-85/">The first 85%</a>. To quote from the opening: “Content management is a process. It starts when someone gets an idea in their head that they want to publish (or change) some content somewhere. It ends when that content is actually published. This is the entire length of the process.At what point does the content management system come into the picture? Well, with most middle- and lower-end systems, it’s not until very late in the game. There’s an exception explained below, but in most cases, no one actually opens a content management system and tries to enter any content until about 85% along in the entire process.”In his current role as Global Director of Content Management at Optimizely, Deane published an updated version with some more insights in 2022: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.optimizely.com/insights/blog/the-first-85/">Why the first 85% of content production is a must</a>. In it, he compares it to the famous Seine River in France:“We tend to get myopic around things like content modeling, editorial UIs, content aggregations, templating, and such. These are the mechanical details that enable the management of content. But all this assumes the content exists. Where does it start? Think about the Seine River. You’re probably thinking about where it flows past the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame, right? But…that’s just the part of the river that runs through Paris. The Seine is 432 miles long. The waters start at a wellspring several hundred miles away in Dijon.“So what’s the missing 85%? If you don’t know what it’s like in your organization, then ask around. Inquire about what it takes to get content on their website. What has to happen before something gets published? Might it be some research, meetings, an initial draft in some other tool (Google Docs, perhaps), a review, some more meetings, additional illustrations, social media planning… and the list goes on. Let me just finish with one example, which was really a running joke back in the late 90’s. Every CMS back then also had content workflow. While a nice demo, it was rarely, if ever, used in production. Today, does anyone really use workflow in CMS? As far as I know, the content workflow happens in other tools. Content production is indeed what matters. Understanding and supporting this better is what will set any content technology apart. <h3>As a final and forward-looking note:</h3>CWI researcher and Internet pioneer <a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/speakers/steven-pemberton">Steven Pemberton</a> recently pointed out that we are still in what you could call the days of the “paper Internet.” The <a target="_blank" href="https://homepages.cwi.nl/~steven/Talks/2023/11-09-lightning/#L634">Web is imitating the old,</a> as he said in a lightning talk at the Boye Aarhus 23 conference. Think about it for a moment: With responsive design, we could have truly escaped the page-based paradigm. But have we really? So many things we do on the Web still resemble previous technology, and this also goes for content production, where we type into forms. Innovation is needed!PS: A content model that really works could be a good place to start. At CMS Kickoff 24, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/speakers/mike-wills">Mike Wills</a>, VP of Technology at BlueModus, will host a session on this topic titled “Content That Connects.”PPS: For more on what it means to truly manage content, read my piece from 2022: <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/will-this-be-the-year-where-cms-is-finally-about-managing-content">Will this be the year where CMS is finally about managing content?</a> <hr /><figure class="image"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/11/cms-kickoff-2024-banner.jpg" /></figure><h3>Join us at CMS Kickoff 2024 - January 16-17</h3>Boye &amp; Company is delighted to present the second annual edition of its prestigious international conference dedicated to the global CMS community. This event will bring together top-notch speakers, Boye &amp; Company's renowned learning format, and engaging social events.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. Prepare for an unparalleled in-person CMS conference experience that will equip you to move forward in 2024. Hear from leading voices across the industry on a wide range of topics, including:<ul><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/speakers/andrew-kumar">Andrew Kumar</a>, GVP at Uniform</li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/speakers/becky-brown">Becky Brown</a>, Content Strategy Lead at Johnson &amp; Johnson</li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/speakers/marli-mesibov">Marli Mesibov</a>, Content Strategy at Verily</li></ul><h4> </h4><img style="width:39.13%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/11/don-cesar-hotel.jpg" /><h4>The Don CeSar: a world-class venue</h4>Is there a better location for a winter kickoff than Florida's beautiful, sugary sand beaches? CMS Kickoff 2024 will be held at the iconic Don CeSar, just steps from the Gulf of Mexico. Dubbed the “Pink Palace,” this majestic hotel and resort provides a stunning backdrop to the conference, along with access to the local food and culture of St. Petersburg Beach.  <h4>Get your tickets today</h4>CMS Kickoff offers an intimate, highly focused experience. Space is limited, and only a few seats remain. Don't miss this exclusive opportunity!<a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff24/tickets">Purchase tickets now &gt;</a>

Content Production: The Next Wave for Digital Experience Platforms

At the risk of sounding cynical...
For as long as I can remember, the customer focus has always been on finding the best CMS – while vendors have been busy trying to win the analyst game.
Yes, products have clearly improved and innovation in the CMS space is happening. But the real story is that most customers are still playing catch-up, often running their digital presence on older versions of multiple products.
I’m not sure vendors will ever stop competing in this "horse race," hoping to land in the leadership position in some diagram. But I’m cautiously optimistic that customers have finally changed their focus to something more sustainable by finding a solution (call it a “digital experience platform” if you must) that’s simply good enough for them.
Let’s look at current trends through that lens and unpack what it means for buyers, vendors, and agencies alike. We’ll start with the buzz…
<h2>Navigating the buzzwords: composable, federated content, and more</h2>
Even if you missed a few weeks of practice (maybe you took some time to work on something other than CMS), you have probably heard of the <a href="https://www.boye-co.com/blog/2023/1/headless-cms-in-2023" target="_blank">headless CMS</a> trend that’s been going on for a while.
Today, several vendors champion “composable” as the one big buzzword and “federated content” as the other. Similar to the past – again, call me cynical – each vendor often has its definition, leaving customers to figure it out on their own.
In brief, I would say:
<ul>
<li>Composable is an architectural approach using different software solutions as building blocks to create a digital experience. For case studies covering this topic: <a href="https://www.boye-co.com/blog/2022/12/composable-design-throughout-the-stack-at-salling-group" target="_blank">Composable design throughout the stack at Salling Group</a> and <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/composable-cms-gains-traction-as-google-search-volume-triples-in-recent-months/">Composable CMS Gains Traction as Google Search Volume Triples in Recent Months</a>.</li>
<li>Federated content is all about unifying your content and data from different sources to enable better collaboration and a scalable content experience.</li>
</ul>
Then, there’s this thing called DXC: Digital eXperience Composition. Whether you like new three-letter acronyms or not, the problem that DXC is trying to solve is a real one: it’s what we called “composition” in the past, and it’s all about composing the digital experience based on content from different sources. There is indeed an experience challenge looking for better solutions – and niche vendors like <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/contentful-and-conscia-launch-unify-a-multi-space-orchestration-app-for-personalization-and-headless-commerce/">Conscia.ai</a>, <a href="https://kajoo.ai/" target="_blank">Kajoo.ai</a>, <a href="https://www.stackbit.com/" target="_blank">Stackbit,</a> and <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/uniform-raises-28m-in-series-a-funding-round-for-composable-dxp/">Uniform</a> are pushing the needle here.
Read more about DXC in this recent conversation with <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/dguarnaccia/" target="_blank">Darren Guarnaccia</a>, President at Uniform: <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/is-the-birth-of-dxc-the-death-of-dxp-a-conversation-with-darren-guarnaccia-president-at-uniform/">Is the Birth of DXC the Death of DXP?</a>
No, it is not. I also shared a more detailed take in my post: <a href="https://www.boye-co.com/blog/2023/1/whats-the-real-story-about-digital-experience-composition" target="_blank">What’s the real story about digital experience composition?</a>
What else is everyone talking about? There’s at least one more big thing.
<h2>It's really an AI-supported world</h2>
In January, we hosted the <a href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff23/" target="_blank">CMS Kickoff 23</a> and AI wasn’t really a big thing. 
Then, ChatGPT came out – and the game changed.
In each and every peer group meeting since, we’ve talked about the impact of artificial intelligence, be it from <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/from-chatbots-to-contentops-how-ai-is-coming-to-your-cms-whether-you-like-it-or-not/">Google’s Bard, Bing’s integration with ChatGPT</a>, or similar tools. The bottom line is that AI is now being taken to the next level – saving time and enhancing platform features for many of our members.
To put things in perspective: compared to other trends, we haven’t just talked about the superpower of AI and how amazing these new tools are. Instead, our group members and practitioners have already adopted AI tools in their work. They've become AI-supported – whether to create sample content, inform analysis, or something more exotic.
<a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/contentstack-raises-57-5-million-in-series-b-round-qa-with-ceo-neha-sampat/">Contentstack</a> may not have been the first platform to release an AI feature, but their ChatGPT connector lets you generate content via chat and prompt responses using the OpenAI platform. Other vendors are demoing similar capabilities, which will likely become a feature in most content management systems in the near term.
To quote Silicon Valley legend <a href="https://www.boye-co.com/blog/2023/3/expert-of-the-month-andreas-ramos" target="_blank">Andreas Ramos</a>:
“We are just at the beginning of seeing the practical application of AI in digital marketing.”
Having said that, you might have seen that <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-65139406" target="_blank">Italy just blocked ChatGPT over privacy concerns</a> – and some <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-65110030" target="_blank">experts urged a halt to AI training</a>. Stay tuned!
One more buzzword…
<h2>How MACH must you be? </h2>
While I would probably struggle to find someone in the community unfamiliar with ChatGPT, many digital leaders haven’t heard about the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/the-future-is-composable-a-conversation-with-new-mach-alliance-president-casper-rasmussen/">MACH Alliance</a>.
MACH stands for:
<ul>
<li>Microservices</li>
<li>API-first</li>
<li>Cloud-native SaaS</li>
<li>Headless</li>
</ul>
This unique community of vendors and agencies was formed in 2020 and now includes a set of infrastructure “Enablers” such as <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/aws-joins-mach-alliance-as-enabler-member-reflects-growth-of-cloud-native-solutions/">AWS</a>, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/google-cloud-joins-mach-alliance-as-enabler-member/">Google</a>, and <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/netlify-acquires-gatsby-aims-to-accelerate-adoption-of-composable-web-architectures/">Netlify</a>. To be clear: this is not just about CMS, and for a deeper introduction, see my 2021 post: <a href="https://www.boye-co.com/blog/2021/10/11/whats-the-mach-alliance-all-about" target="_blank">What’s the MACH Alliance all about?</a>
Today, the MACH Alliance is a vocal consortium with over 80 members, all promoting best-of-breed technologies and practices that power composable architectures. Vendors pay upwards of $25k to pledge allegiance to the certification and rules of what <a href="https://www.forrester.com/analyst-bio/joe-cicman/BIO14164" target="_blank">Forrester analyst Joe Cicman</a> described in 2021 as “The Coolest Tech in Town Club.” Agencies are paying less for membership but still upwards of $10k.
Looking at the Alliance from the outside and having covered it in several group meetings, here are a few observations:
<ul>
<li>As a community person, I like the idea of a shared ecosystem and collaborative and joint efforts to push the industry forward.</li>
<li>The process of joining is not as transparent as it could be. A few MACH Alliance members have told us about long wait times and less-than-critical technical reviews to become certified.</li>
<li>The annual fee is increasing and seems like a very expensive sticker for your products and collateral. Who is there to pay for this… besides the customer?</li>
<li>Could the Alliance be a bit more open, inclusive and transparent? That ‘insider club’ feeling is hard to quantify but shared by many.</li>
<li>Will the Alliance complicate things as a kind of “new monolith” selling to the enterprise? Hopefully not.</li>
</ul>
With far less marketing muscle, the open source community has long had its own “<a href="https://www.cms-garden.org/" target="_blank">CMS Garden</a>,” which launched in 2013 as a grassroots initiative. The membership fee? €100. 
Let’s move on and talk about the vendor side – and we’ll start with the biggest player.
<h2>We live in a WordPress world</h2>
At the recent <a href="https://www.boye-co.com/groups/cms-experts" target="_blank">European CMS Experts</a> meeting, we heard from <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-mccue-56494910/" target="_blank">Ryan McCue</a> at enterprise WordPress powerhouse <a href="https://humanmade.com/" target="_blank">Human Made</a>, who reminded us that WordPress powers 43% of the Web. Contrary to what you might think, that’s not just millions of small sites for mom-and-pop stores but also wide enterprise adoption from large, complex, and global organizations.
Coming in second is <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/adobe-experience-cloud-adds-new-headless-cms-capabilities-updates-to-commerce-integration/">Adobe</a> with less than 15%. And from there, no platform has more than 10% of the market share.
Unfortunately, many industry analysts don’t cover open source well – where <a href="https://www.drupal.org/" target="_blank">Drupal</a>, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/joomla-cms-turns-16-celebrates-with-long-awaited-release-of-version-4-0/">Joomla</a> and <a href="https://www.boye-co.com/vendors/typo3" target="_blank">TYPO3</a> also have notable adoption.
In this crowded and confusing marketplace, you might think consolidation is happening.
I’m not seeing it.
Yes, there are the usual mergers and acquisitions happening. Recently, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/netlify-acquires-gatsby-aims-to-accelerate-adoption-of-composable-web-architectures/">GatsbyJS joined Netlify</a>, but that didn’t leave buyers with less options.
Actually, after 20 years, I keep learning about new ones. In fact, Netlify CMS was new to me when I saw the news that they will become <a href="https://www.netlify.com/blog/netlify-cms-to-become-decap-cms/" target="_blank">Decap CMS</a>.
One thing that’s for sure is that money keeps flowing into CMS vendors – not just from customers, but also from investors. Recently, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/contentstack-raises-80-million-series-c-focuses-on-accelerating-the-path-to-composable-for-enterprises/">Contentstack raised $80m in November</a> and they now have multiple product lines. And just last month, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/hygraph-secures-30-million-in-series-b-funding/">Hygraph secured $30m</a> to “power the next generation of content management.” BTW, Hygraph is pushing big on federated content. 
Long story short: as a customer, you have more options today compared to a year ago. This brings me back to where we started.
<h2>Find the CMS that’s “good enough”</h2>
Yes, it still makes sense to go through a proper vendor selection and take time, potentially several years, to understand needs and the marketplace before selecting the right CMS. But a trend that makes me happy is that focus on finding a CMS that’s good enough, rather than necessarily the very best.
Finding a CMS that’s good enough can save you both time and money. Yes, do talk to references, invest time in training and learning, consider what you already have in your landscape – and then get started.
Having said that, don’t worry so much about where the vendor is on some analyst diagram or which club stickers you see on the laptops of your implementation team. Instead, worry about your requirements, budget, deadlines, and success criteria.
Let me finish with a friendly reminder by <a href="https://www.boye-co.com/speakers/morten-elvang" target="_blank">Morten Elvang</a>, European Business Agility Lead at <a href="https://www.accenture.com/us-en" target="_blank">Accenture</a>:
“Most organizations suffer from project overload. They are simply trying to do too many things at once.”
Good luck with your initiatives.
<h2>Learn more</h2>
In my past marketplaced updates for CMS Critic, I’ve looked at
<ul>
<li>2022: <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/will-this-be-the-year-where-cms-is-finally-about-managing-content/">Will This be the Year Where CMS is Finally About Managing Content?</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>2021: <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/how-to-make-sense-of-the-cms-market-in-2021/" target="_blank">How to Make Sense of the CMS Market in 2021</a></li>
</ul>
I've also written <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/what-can-we-learn-from-the-w3c-cms-selection-process/">What can we learn from the W3C CMS selection process</a>, which had a healthy focus on accessibility, but was very much a selection process focused on finding the best.
<h2>About Boye &amp; Company</h2>
<a href="https://www.boye-co.com/" target="_blank">Boye &amp; Company</a> designs and delivers unique learning and networking experiences that bring similarly motivated and curious decision-makers and practitioners from different organizations together. Members receive direct access to a specialized international network of like-minded professionals through focused peer groups, meetings, and live events to share, learn, and discover new insights. Founded by Danish Internet entrepreneur <a href="https://janusboye.com/" target="_blank">Janus Boye</a> – a CMS Critic contributor – Boye &amp; Company provides a friendly community where strong professional relationships can take form as we discuss the challenges and opportunities across the digital experience space.

The Days of 'The Best CMS' are Over

Woman putting flowers on a grave with a headstone that reads, "The Best CMS"

Janus Boye has worked at the intersection of networking, innovation and digital leadership since 1998, focusing on connecting leaders and creating superior results in a friendly down-to-earth way.


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