In a fast and furious tech world, CMS Kickoff 25 was a ‘love letter’ to slow down

In the high-speed action blockbuster Fast Five, there’s a scene where the lead character Dom Toretto (played by the Herculean Vin Diesel) says:

“There’s always room for family.”

Even if you’ve never seen any of the 10 features or two spin-offs from the Fast & Furious franchise, you probably know these films are about cars. Fast cars. Muscle cars. Souped-up, tricked-out specialty cars. And heroes doing battle in… you guessed it: cars. 

Not your tank of gas? I get it. The “road movie” genre isn’t for everyone. But the Fast & Furious saga is a popcorn-worthy guilty pleasure, rising above its pedestrian plotlines. And when it really leans into its absurdity, it becomes so bad that it’s kinda good.

In this particular scene, an outsider approaches Dom about joining his crew of ragtag vigilantes. Without hesitation, he welcomes him to the pack. It’s not unusual for the reluctant protagonist, who preaches the beatitude of “family” in every movie. In fact, he says the word so often, there are drinking games dedicated to it.

In real life, it’s not so easy to merge with the fold. Some communities can feel insulated, and newcomers are challenged with penetrating the perimeter and finding a place in the crowd. 

I’ve attended countless tradeshows and conferences throughout my technology career, and I’ve been that guy looking for a way in. This includes enormous events with tech goliaths like AWS, where a “fireside chat” means sitting cozily with 3,000 people. In these vast arenas, the experience is often driven by sales, less so by a meaningful pursuit of knowledge and kinship. 

At last week’s Boye & Company CMS Kickoff 25 in St. Petersburg, I was once again reminded that it doesn’t have to be this way. 

In the pantheon of live events, there’s certainly a place for those kinds of mega-platforms. But they could learn a thing or two from Janus Boye about cultivating a community and proselytizing inclusion from the ground up – so that new people with bold ideas can take the wheel and help steer us in new directions.

Janus Boye. Source: Marta Cukierman

Despite my role as a conductor at CMS Kickoff 25, I had the opportunity to speak with multiple first-time attendees across the two-day event. They all conveyed the same sentiments, and I heard quotes like these: 

“This community is so welcoming.”

“I can’t believe this exists.”

“I think I found the place where I belong.”

For me, these comments crystallized our mission of belonging.

Once again, CMS Kickoff put people first, allowing them to telegraph how innovation is shaping the growth and evolution of our industry. As coordinators, we strove to make everyone – from vendors to agencies, customers to practitioners – feel a sense of warmth, dignity, and respect.

Like they were family.

In this sense, CMS Kickoff was a sort of “love letter” to our community, something that feels more urgent as AI ruptures our collective roadmaps. If the last two years were the training wheels for artificial intelligence, 2025 is sporting the kind of rims that can really burn rubber. And like being in a car with Dom Toretto, it’s a mix of excitement and fear.

That’s why we need events like this. So we can slow the roll, connect, and talk about what we’re racing towards – and against – as a community. 

Revving the engine for CMS

It’s hard to believe this was the third year of this conference, which has steadily climbed in attendance while remaining tightly knit. Boye & Company has also added complementary events like CMS Connect and CMS Summit, casting a wider net for participants in broader geographic markets at different times of the year. 

When Janus first conceived of a new live experience focused on content management, he was being actively coaxed by industry pundits (including me). It seemed a natural progression from the local peer groups he was coaching in Europe and the U.S., including the cabals of CMS Experts who met quarterly to discuss current industry trends.

That’s not to say there aren’t other events that focus on the various angles of content. HubSpot’s annual INBOUND Conference has long evangelized content, devoting a large portion of its energy to marketing and related strategies. But it’s not content management. And it’s explicitly vendor-focused, with sessions that amplify its own product centricity. It’s also big – and having attended INBOUND multiple times, I can attest to its lack of intimacy. 

The CMS Experts peer groups were already a novel manifestation. Technology vendors (many of them often pursuing the same RFPs) would gather to talk shop, break bread, and share advice. It almost seemed impossible to fathom. 

I remember my first time attending one of these meetups, arriving in a small room surrounded by these CMS savants. I was intimidated, to be sure – but accepted without hesitation. Sure, I was met with casual debates around CSS having “ruined the internet,” but I was also invited to discuss topics like digital accessibility and the emergence of microservices. 

It was an incredible journey.

And that’s precisely what we’re doing at CMS Kickoff: Continuing a legacy of inclusive discussion, of vendor-neutrality that stokes open conversation without the burden of selling (or being sold to). As a community, we’ve created an authentic container of trust for exploring the rough terrain and learning from one another. And as we grapple with the challenges ahead, it’s the perfect place to connect and explore with like-minded people. 

Pacing the conversation around AI

There’s no question that artificial intelligence and Gen AI permeated this year’s Kickoff. For me, every session offered unique perspectives, but I've noted a few of the standouts below (you can peruse the whole agenda here). 

Gen AI: The new “kingmaker”

First, Michael Spenceley’s talk on “How Generative AI is Making Content King Again” brought practical applications to bear through the customer’s lens. As the head of Johnson & Johnson’s Learning & Content Standards, Mike zeroed in on the underlying challenges that exist when implementing an AI strategy. There are still more questions than answers, but he offered suggestions on what content professionals can do now to seize the opportunity. 

Mike penned an article for us on this topic, which you can read here. You can also get his perspective on CMS Kickoff 25 in this quick segment from CMS Critic TV:

Evolving content migration with AI automation

Nick Rudd. Source: Marta Cukierman

Nick Rudd, Director of Strategy and Consulting at MMT Digital, focused his session on content migration – a task that has long been an albatross for agencies, vendors, and customers. He explored the many challenges that exist with traditional methods and how AI is changing the automation landscape. What jumped out for me was the introduction of Nimbus, a novel AI tool they've created that provides an end-to-end pipeline for content migration using AI models to map content from one website to another. 

The truth is out there…

Joel Varty. Source: Marta Cukierman

Agility CTO Joel Varty’s eye-opening presentation, “Verifying Truth in the Age of AI,” challenged us to ask if the truth is out there – drawing on the X-Files motif to reflect our growing concerns around the integrity of information and what to believe. Woven across his fun and lighthearted delivery were deep questions for CMS and content professionals, particularly as it relates to their responsibility in this morass. Even as we wrestle with the reality of hallucinations and fictional training sources, AI continues to become more prevalent in content creation. As he noted, our role in verifying and validating information is becoming more critical than ever.

Is AI appropriating content?

Ping Pan (left) and David Habib. Source: Marta Cukierman

One of the most surprising and enlightening sessions that touched on AI was from Ping Pan and David Habib of Brightspot. While the session was pitched around “securing content management” and touched on relevant topics from social engineering to malware, it also focused on the emerging trend of content appropriation. As David described, bad actors are using AI to target not just the secured data, but the publicly available information on websites. He offered solid insights and tips for improving security in an area that requires greater focus.

Search is getting “staxed” with AI

Sameer Maggon. Source: Marta Cukierman

Search is an area where AI had an early and profound impact on performance. Sameer Maggon of SearchStax explored the evolution of content search and how it presents key opportunities for CMS and digital experiences in 2025. It might have once been an afterthought for many websites, but user data clearly reflects that search is now one of the most preferred options for website navigation. Sameer shared key insights around this shift, and how every brand can harness search in their CMS and content strategy.

How do we trust AI? 

The second day of the CMS Kickoff offered an array of targeted workshops, including a roundtable discussion led by Mike Spenceley on “How do we build accuracy and trust with AI?” Drawing participation from multiple attendees, it was yet another opportunity to openly discuss and explore the existential challenges that exist as AI continues to disrupt the CMS space.

Reflections from “The AEM Guy”

Tom Cranstoun. Source: Marta Cukierman

For a more detailed overview (encompassing 30 pages of handwritten notes), let me recommend a recent article published by Tom Cranstoun – “The AEM Guy” and a CMS Critic contributor. As a practicing AI expert, he provides a more granular review of the implications of artificial intelligence and the intersection with CMS and content – reflecting on presentations from Petr Palas, founder of Kentico and Kontent.ai, and Makram Mansour of Intuit. He also features more takeaways from Joel Varty’s session (among others).

Pushing the pedal to the metal on CMS innovation

As any Fast & Furious fan would attest, there’s more to the story than just a 2022 Dodge Charger Daytona SRT EV. There are lots of cars. Trucks, too. And helicopters. Heck, even drones. 

To that end, there was so much more to this event than AI. Composable was once again a central theme, reflecting how vendors are shifting their posture, specifically as headless becomes the domain of every platform. We touched on MACH and its growing pervasiveness and challenges, and geeked out on the topics of ontology and taxonomy. 

Matt Garrepy (left) and Nicole France. Source: Marta Cukierman

From my opening conversation with Nicole France of Contentful on usability, to my panel discussion on “How to Select a CMS in 2025” with Carrie Hane, Mark Demeny, Karla Santi, and JJ Toothman, we were in the presence of the smartest people in our industry. Both sessions offered the analyst’s take on where the industry is headed, and how this direction is influencing the decision-making process for buyers – for whom confusion will continue to be a reality.

Left to right: JJ Toothman, Karla Santi, Mark Demeny, and Carrie Hane. Source: Marta Cukierman

We were also blown away by open source gurus like Karim Marucchi of Crowd Favorite, and trailblazers like Nick Condon of Squiz, Chris Justice of BL.INK, and Seb Barre of TELUS. We were even treated to some innovative non-AI web technologies from Justin Cook of 9thCO.

If you’re looking for further reflection from attendees, there have been great posts emerging on social media and our website. I would recommend: 

• A quick but poignant read from Agility’s Mauro Flammini about his top takeaways as another first-time attendee
• A fantastic list of quotes and observations by Adam Böhm of ACTUM Digital – my favorite being the evolution of the “M” in CMS
• A 10-minute ESPN-style video recap featuring Matt McQueeny that wraps the highlights from the first day’s session (we’re calling it the “Matt & Matt” Show)

A high-speed demo ride with “CMS Idol”

Enterprise technology vendors have long relied on their demo skills to present the benefits of their products. In a SaaS world, that’s becoming a little less common, especially downstream. But I’m happy to report that the art form is alive and well.

We can all agree that there’s no replacement for having a human take you on a test drive – and “CMS Idol” does just that. This friendly competition has become something of an institution at our events, giving vendors just six minutes to wow both a panel of judges and the audience with a clear, concise, and compelling presentation. 

This year’s contestants included Agility CMS, Kajoo, Kontent.ai, Pantheon, Squiz, and TYPO3 – and the stage was on fire. In the end, audience members voted for their top pick, and the crown went to Vojtech Boril of Kontent.ai.

“CMS Idol” participants and judges. Source: Marta Cukierman

What I love about this spirited fight is the willingness of vendors to participate – and to keep their demo muscles in top shape. Often at our events, we see leaders participating in the competition, reflecting their continued immersion in their own product experience. 

The feedback from judges also provides laser input from industry experts and analysts, which can help participating vendors tune their delivery and improve their presentations. It's also fun – something we need to remember when we’re mired in the trenches of technology. 

For a deeper analysis of the contest, check out Janus Boye’s blog post. 

Moving fast and furiously into 2025

I don't always “feel the love” at a tradeshow or event. I’d challenge that it’s more of a rarity than a Ferrari J50. Most of the time, conferences can exacerbate anxiety and drain your will to live. Nothing to love about that.

But the CMS community is a little different. Always has been. What unites us is tacitly different from other industries, and in many ways, those differences afford us the opportunity to come together more concertedly and focus on the “people” side of our product world.

We didn’t need CMS Kickoff to tell us that AI is coming faster and more furiously than ever. That’s abundantly obvious. To keep up, slowing down might seem like the opposite of what we need to do. But as Nicole France relayed during our keynote conversation, there’s an ideal rate of change for the human brain – and surpassing it can have consequences. As such, it's healthy to cool our jets and think about the bigger picture.

When we gather like this – especially against the backdrop of the James Museum, where thoughtful and quiet reflection is part of the experience – it’s a transformative treasure. We become our own collective CMS of sorts. A hub for human connection. A repo for ideas. 

I love what Paul Abdool (who is leading the Boye CMS peer groups in Canada) said about attendees feeling free in this place. “They’re talking about things they can’t talk about in other circles.” Perhaps in 2025, we can expand those circles of trust and become even more inclusive.

That’s why this community is so important to our future. It gives us a chance to pump the brakes, fill our tanks, and prepare for the long drive ahead. Connecting with each other is vital to our journey because it’s people – not products – that really matter.

Love is messy. So is content. At least there's a place where you can share this exhilarating ride with like-minded people. And if you’re looking to join, hey… there’s always room for family. 

Throttling up the gratitude

As we leave Kickoff in the rearview mirror, a quick thanks to Paul Abdool and Matt McQueeny for taking the wheel during the hairpin turns. Every live experience is in danger of stalling out, but these spark plugs kept the pistons firing. You're my “ride or die.” And that's all the car references I can muster.

Paul Abdool (left) and Matt McQueeny. Source: Marta Cukierman

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