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e-commerce Article

<hr /> When I first learned about the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/mach-alliance-launches-new-mach-ai-exchange-to-help-enterprises-streamline-ai-adoption">MACH Alliance’s </a>plan to host a “pitch day,” I thought it would be a fantastic way to expand its mission and grow MACH adoption downstream for startups and scale-ups. And why not? Like hackathons and incubator bakeoffs, this could be a great pipeline for learning, exploring, and challenging the ecosystem while supporting the growth of early-stage companies with real products – and real ambition.I also thought it sounded fun. Kinda like <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark_Tank">Shark Tank</a> for the modern tech stack. Can Mr. Wonderful roll with composable?OK, OK. So I have it on good authority that Mark Cuban wasn't a judge for this shindig. But the inaugural North American <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://machalliance.org/insights-hub/winner-of-inaugural-futuremach-pitch-day-event">FutureMACH Pitch Day Event</a> had some heavy hitters reviewing the entries – and that alone gave this new experience some decent buzz. This new contest is the latest community program offered by the MACH Alliance, the not-for-profit industry body committed to advancing composable enterprise architecture. And in this first battle royale betwixt up-and-coming technologies embracing the composable path, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.bildit.co/">BILDIT CMS</a> took home the crown.BILDIT, a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">content management system</a> with a penchant for personalization and a keen focus on e-commerce and retail, brought some spicy innovation to the competition. According to the Alliance's press release, BILDIT took home the crown thanks to its novel use of AI, MACH technology, and external data sources that can deeply personalize shopper experiences. From an analyst's point of view, BILDIT is doing some interesting things. If you decide to keep reading, I'll key in on a few of its differentiated attributes, minus the Shark Tank references.As the winner of the pitch contest, BILDIT will receive some cool prizes, starting with mentorship. This includes access to top-notch brand development resources and even introductions to potential investors, fostering its growth and innovation within the MACH ecosystem.Full transparency: I’ve served on the MACH Alliance Executive Advisory Board for several years as an objective industry watcher, and I align with the universal architectural trend towards composability. Education has long been a central tenet of the organization, and FutureMACH's pitch day is another example of how the Alliance is committing its knowledge and resources to elevating the ecosystem.You can <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/the-composable-conference-2025-takes-shape-as-mach-alliance-announces-speakers-and-new-events">read my coverage</a> of “The Composable Conference” live event from 2025 to learn more about how the space is evolving – and how the MACH Alliance is evolving with it.<h3 id="helping-startups-drive-composable-growth">Helping startups drive composable growth</h3>As a MACH Alliance initiative, FutureMACH was designed to accelerate (you guessed it) the future of MACH. That translates into support for innovative, MACH-aligned startup companies targeting their next phase of growth. This recent competition was open to North American pre-seed, seed, or Series-A startup technology companies with less than $2 million in annual recurring revenue.The jury panel comprised leaders and luminaries from top global VC firms, providing an elite class of industry knowledge and wisdom. Participants were evaluated based on specific criteria spanning their market opportunity and vision, product differentiation, applications of AI and automation, and alignment with MACH’s innovation principles. The jury panel included:<ul><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-benerofe/">Gary Benerofe</a> – General partner, Mu Ventures</li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/marachaben/">Mara Chaben</a> – Principal, Hawke Ventures</li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurakchau/">Laura Chau</a> – General partner, Canaan Partners</li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-fa-b567304a/">Christina Fa</a> – Principal, NewView Capital</li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/svthompson/">Sam Thompson</a> – Founding partner, Progress Ventures</li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/thescotwingo/">Scot Wingo</a> – Co-founder &amp; CEO, ReFiBuy.ai</li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/benwinn/">Ben Winn</a> – VP content &amp; communities, FirstMark</li></ul>With deep expertise in emerging tech and market disruption, these judges will provide the cohort of entrants with market-tested guidance, strategic insights, and potential access to influential investment networks.As the winner, BILDIT will also receive a brand and storytelling workshop provided by <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.thebaascompany.com/">The BaaS Company</a>, a long-time resource within the MACH Alliance community. Led by <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonijanssen/">Leoni Janssen</a>, “the pragmatic strategist” who serves on the Alliance’s advisory board, The BaaS Company applies its unique “Branding as a Service” methodology to help elevate brands with tech enablement and an AI focus.BILDIT will reap the strategic benefits of The BaaS Company’s expertise in branding and corporate communications, helping them automate processes and prepare for greater scale. Additionally, they'll receive a spotlight feature in a MACH Alliance webinar or insights piece, a facilitated introduction to five MACH Alliance member companies of its choosing, and discounted membership into the MACH Alliance Startup ISV category, which is contingent upon qualification. <h3 id="building-a-new-vision-for-cms">Building a new vision for CMS</h3>In my recent conversation with MACH Alliance veteran <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellygoetsch/">Kelly Goetsch</a> (who will appear on the next episode of our podcast), we discussed the AI-induced challenges that exist for SaaS companies – and whether the market actually needs another CMS. Let’s face it: there are hundreds of solutions out there, from pure headless to DXP component solutions. Is the category sufficiently saturated? Are we all chasing the same 80 percent of commoditized features? How are buyers navigating the confusion?The real crux of his observation isn’t whether we need another CMS. It’s the reality that we’re swimming in a sea of sameness. As he noted during my interview, it’s not enough to be different – you need to be unique.This is where a platform like BILDIT is showing real promise. First, it’s bucking the trend by laser-focusing on its niche: e-commerce marketing teams struggling to deliver personalized, targeted campaigns across every channel. This is where a composable posture provides the right foundation for extensibility and multi-modality within BILDIT’s CMS product set. <figure class="media"><div data-oembed-url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxp1IvBBpog&amp;t=1s"><div style="position:relative;padding-bottom:100%;height:0;padding-bottom:56.2493%"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Zxp1IvBBpog?start=1" style="position:absolute;width:100%;height:100%;top:0;left:0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></div></figure> As one of its founders attested, BILDIT was born out of a deepening frustration with creating targeted, engaging campaigns in a multichannel world. Consumers need seamless solutions, and brands need less code-related friction to deliver them. According to BILDIT’s site, the measure for success is elementary, funny, and exceedingly spot on: If customers can't check out while holding a baby, the checkout isn’t good enough.Part of BILDIT’s value angle is its easy cross-channel content management, underscored by a dynamic product UX. Users can manage content for both web and mobile in a single e-commerce-oriented CMS, with support for email and push notifications. Like you would expect, you can create, edit, schedule, and publish with real-time previewing and shareable links – not just for sites but for mobile apps as well.  <figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:97.55%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/07/image-1753743388012.png" alt="A screenshot of a website

AI-generated content may be incorrect." /></figure>Source: BILDIT website Like its peers, BILDIT also provides the permissions and governance you would expect from a performant CMS, allowing you to manage multi-user access and modular editing with streamlined approval and deployment inside the CMS. It also sports some tricked-out marketing capabilities, letting you create images, banners, recommendations, animations, and customized display configurations. This gives it even more content marketing power than the average CMS tool.From a composable perspective, BILDIT gives you discrete control over your mobile app or <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/nextjs">Next.js</a> site, allowing you to build out advanced content types to surface the right content to the right users at the right time with personalization and advanced targeting. When it comes to infusing your stack with more power, BILDIT also integrates with some of the top e-commerce platforms, from <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/shopify">Shopify</a> to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/commercetools">commercetools</a>. This allows brands to expand functionality with best-of-breed products at their disposal. BILDIT is also helping to accelerate delivery. Having to wait weeks to launch on mobile or settle for out-of-the-box, generic solutions can translate into lost revenue opportunities. To combat this, BILDIT’s templating solution empowers marketing teams to execute with less complexity. Meanwhile, IT can focus on more advanced customizations within the CMS, allowing marketing teams to quickly deliver – without a deployment.Another cool thing: BILDIT provides both native mobile app and web storefront features to provide greater speed and simplicity, all geared towards improving conversions. They even have a reference app to provide a workable snapshot of how your finished app will unfold. All in all, they're endeavoring to make the journey easier for customers by enhancing their e-commerce and retail performance with greater control and simplicity.<h3 id="pricing">Pricing</h3>No big shocker, but price is becoming an even bigger factor within composable stacks as uncertainty continues to drag on the market. Both brands and agency partners are looking for smarter ways to reduce cost and complexity with high-performance stacks that deliver optimal results over the long haul. I like the general transparency that BILDIT provides with its pricing. It offers a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.bildit.co/pricing">range of packages</a>, from its ground-floor Launch Plan at $500/month, all the way up to a Pro Plan that clocks in at $11,000/month. The latter might seem hefty, but give it a good comparison to the TCO with other solutions, and it feels less intimidating. Cost is based on site visits, and each option sweetens the pot with additional features. There’s also an enterprise Scale Plan with custom options; that one requires a phone call. You can also get a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.bildit.co/app-and-web-cms">quick snapshot</a> of how BILDIT stacks up feature-wise to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/sanity-says-cmses-are-broken-is-its-content-operating-system-the-next-evolutionary-step">Sanity</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/adapt-thrive-contentstacks-contentcon25-energizes-attendees-with-an-ai-powered-vision">Contentstack</a>, and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/can-content-management-be-joyful-again-storyblok-labs-promises-fun-and-possibility-in-its-innovation-playground">Storyblok</a>. I highly recommend doing your homework on the specific details during your evaluation, particularly around your requirements. <h3 id="why-it-matters">Why it matters</h3>“BILDIT represents the new wave of MACH-native innovators,” said Kelly Goetsch. “They’ve solved the decades-old personalization problem in e-commerce.”Knowing just how elusive personalization has been, that seems like a big claim. But Kelly would know. Working on the front lines at commercetools, he’s amassed deep insight into the challenges brands face. His observation might be one of the key points of validation in BILDIT’s favor. That said, BILDIT has already established success with notable brands. For example, retail giant Belks saw a significant CVR and AOV lift by moving to BILDIT’s mobile app management platform. As for the FutureMACH Pitch Day competition, I think it’s a win. Making space to include new and early-stage ISVs should be a keystone tenet of the MACH community. This is not just an ecosystem for enterprise vendors. By providing critical resources from experienced partners like The BaaS Company – and even access to potential funding – the Alliance is giving these disruptors a vital boost to the next level. It's also a win-win-win all around. Participating startups gain vital visibility, even if they don't take home the top prize. VCs and investors get access to potentially disruptive technologies and co-investment plays, giving them a strategic edge. And MACH Alliance members also reap the benefits of expanding their networks, growing partnerships, and expanding their category leadership. If you missed out on the North American FutureMACH contest, there's an upcoming UK/Europe competition in Q4 of this year. You can get more details at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.machalliance.org/futuremach">www.machalliance.org/futuremach</a>.Get your pitching skills ready. I'll let Mr. Wonderful take it from here.  <hr /><h4 style="text-align:center" id="looking-for-guidance-on-bildit?-talk-to-an-expert.">Looking for guidance on BILDIT? <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/contact">Talk to an expert.</a></h4><hr /> <h3 id="upcoming-events">Upcoming Events</h3> <img style="width:31.83%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/01/cms-connect-2025-logo.png" alt="" /><h4 id="cms-connect-25"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect25">CMS Connect 25</a></h4>August 5-6, 2025 – Montreal, CanadaSee Agility CMS at the second annual summer edition of our signature global conference dedicated to the content management community! CMS Connect will be held again in beautiful Montreal, Canada, and feature a unique blend of masterclasses, insightful talks, interactive discussions, impactful learning sessions, and authentic networking opportunities. Join vendors, agencies, and customers from across our industry as we engage and collaborate around the future of content management – and hear from the top thought leaders at the only vendor-neutral, in-person conference exclusively focused on CMS. Space is limited for this event, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect25">so book your seats today.</a>

BILDIT CMS Wins Inaugural MACH Alliance FutureMACH Pitch Day

matt-garrepy

The Sommelier of MACHtails: Sommsation’s Danielle Diliberti Uncorks Composability 

<hr /> <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/critics/ryan-breen">Ryan Breen</a> is CTO at Fastr, a digital experience composition platform built for e-commerce, and a CMS Critic Contributor. To differentiate, e-commerce businesses need to deliver the right content to the right audiences. But the “right content” and the “right audience” change every single day.That means you have to make data-optimized content changes at the same pace. That’s your minimum viable content velocity. But you’re stuck: meaningful content changes require developer intervention. AI, 2024's proposed solution to all velocity problems, only exacerbates this problem. It’s boosting the content creation pace across departments faster than speeding up developer release cycles.<h3 id="presentation-is-content">Presentation IS Content</h3>The traditional approach of minor tweaks – like adjusting copy or shuffling UI elements – barely scratches the surface. These changes are superficial, allowing for only cookie-cutter modifications. What we need goes deeper, demanding a radical shift in how content is presented. This is about more than aesthetics; it’s about structural transformation.Consider the scale of change required: the capability to serve entirely different layouts of your product detail page (PDP) to various audience segments. Take a case study where analytics reveal that users coming from search engines exhibit distinct shopping behaviors. They are more inclined to purchase related products than the specific SKU they initially viewed. The logical move? Experiment by altering the PDP layout for these users, placing related products prominently at the top, instead of their usual position below the fold.This approach isn’t about making a single change. It’s about the ability to test a multitude of visual treatments – 5, 10, even 20 variations – to pinpoint what truly engages your audience. And this testing isn’t static; it evolves daily, adapting in real time to the insights gathered.<h3 id="the-ai-productivity-paradox">The AI Productivity Paradox</h3>The advent of AI in business operations presents a profound challenge I call the “AI Productivity Paradox.” On the surface, AI technologies promise significant productivity gains across the board. Marketing and e-commerce teams are leveraging AI to generate a flood of innovative ideas, scaling their creative output to levels previously unimaginable. Imagine this: 20 individuals in e-commerce and marketing now produce 200 times as many viable, impactful ideas each day as they did last year, thanks to AI tools at their disposal.To put this into perspective, consider the equation: (A) the number of ideas generated by the team, times (B) number of target audience segments, compounded by (C) the multiple variants you need to test to get a strong signalIf A is now 200 and B and C are anything above 0, a development team is now staring down the barrel of a combinatorial explosion of demands. A neverending, ever-growing influx of content change initiatives that must be handled with no latency.At the same time, every other part of the business was already waiting on development for site updates. It’s not like development teams anywhere match a business's needs for velocity. Now, this explosion of creative output from e-commerce and marketing teams – amplified by AI – will blow open an ever-widening gap in productivity.This disparity is not just a logistical headache; it’s a strategic bottleneck that stifles innovation, slowing down the essential process of testing and learning. Without a shift towards more scalable, developer-independent systems for executing these ideas, the promise of AI-enhanced productivity is a bottleneck – not a breakthrough.<h3 id="speed-wins">Speed Wins</h3>In today’s e-commerce landscape, agility goes beyond making superficial tweaks with ease (and, sorry, your CTA text is superficial). Agility is about enabling immediate, profound shifts in how content engages and converts. Traditional approaches, marked by delays and developer bottlenecks, miss the rapid pace at which market trends evolve. All content must adapt as fluidly as consumer preferences and market dynamics do, unencumbered by the grindingly slow human latency of development time.And no: clunky, semantically void page builder components aren’t a solution. Their limited scope and bulky controls make them cookie-cutter templates with more steps. Today, we’re giving marketers components like a “carousel with 4 images.” Turning that into a labyrinth of dropdowns so they can spend hours composing a “carousel with 4 images” component into a “carousel with 4 images grouped vertically on desktop but not on mobile and with a translucency effect on hover on desktop” isn’t going to get us where we need to go.Instead, we envision a future where developers empower e-commerce, marketing, and AI tools with the capability to design every pixel of the Product Detail Page (PDP) and sculpt every underlying interaction. This isn’t about providing a bigger box of basic tools; it’s about handing over the keys to the entire workshop. In this new world, developers focus on creating sophisticated, flexible environments that offer total creative control – environments where non-technical teams can intuitively design, test, and refine every aspect of the e-commerce experience without compromise.By stepping away from the bottleneck and repositioning themselves as enablers, developers unlock the full potential of their colleagues in e-commerce and marketing. This shift is critical. It’s about equipping those closest to the customer with the means to apply their insights and ideas directly, in real time, without the mediation of cumbersome, limiting tools.This is how we get something more than pain and dashed hopes from our AI investments.This is how we overcome the AI Productivity Paradox. <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.

How to Free Your e-Commerce Business from the AI Productivity Paradox

ryan-breen

<hr /> There's no question that speed can be the deciding factor when it comes to e-commerce and digital retail. There's more to it than that, but the buck generally stops when the clock hops.Precious seconds count, so it's no wonder why brands are seeking new ways to accelerate and optimize their e-commerce properties. That's why platforms like <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/fastr">Fastr</a> exist: to raise the bar for online shopping experiences and deliver more sales. As a frontend service, Fastr seamlessly combines a rich set of design tools with intuitive orchestration capabilities, giving marketers, merchandisers, and creatives more control over their e-commerce sites – as well as the freedom to experiment at scale. We've spoken previously to <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/fastr-accelerates-ecommerce-optimization-with-adaptive-ai">Ryan Breen</a>, the company's Chief Technology Officer, about Fastr's investment in a built-in, brand-aware AI assistant. This tool – along with other novel features – are helping teams to rapidly create, deploy, and optimize dynamic shopping experiences without the challenging reliance on developers. All of this innovation is strengthening the SaaS company's position in the super-charged e-commerce landscape.Over the last year, Fastr has evolved on several fronts. The company's new identity emerged from the <a target="_blank" href="https://publicatorcommunity.zmags.com/hc/en-us">Zmags</a> corporate umbrella (it was previously a product under the moniker of “Fastr Frontend”). Zmags is known for its Publicator digital catalog solution and Creator Studio software. The company also acquired <a target="_blank" href="https://www.beapartof.com/">Be A Part Of</a> – an award-winning agency – last year. Now, Fastr is hitting the gas pedal on growth, which includes the appointment of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmurdock/">John Murdock</a> as its new Chief Executive Officer. As the company's press release points out, the move reflects Fastr's commitment to innovation and growth as it focuses on global brands and retailers seeking to “revolutionize their e-commerce presence.”“As I step into the role of CEO at Fastr, I am filled with optimism for the future of our company and the e-commerce landscape as a whole," said Murdock. "Together with our dedicated team, we will not only embrace the opportunities presented by the evolving market landscape but also strive to shape its trajectory. I am excited about the incredible journey ahead and the chance to work collaboratively to unlock new possibilities for Fastr and our valued community of partners and clients." <h3 id="proven-technology-pedigree-and-success">Proven technology pedigree and success</h3>Murdock brings 30 years of technology sales and operations experience to his new role. Before joining Fastr, he served as CEO at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.centage.com/">Centage</a>, an FP&amp;A software platform provider. He also spent 7 years at Juniper Networks, holding a myriad of sales director roles. According to the press release, Murdock's expertise lies in scaling organizations through strategic process shifts and building high-performing teams to drive customer success and organizational efficiency. With Fastr, he is squarely focused on profitable growth.  “Fastr has already established itself as a trusted partner for companies navigating the ever-evolving digital landscape,” said Murdock. “I’m thrilled to be leading a team that has earned the admiration of industry leaders, and excited to take Fastr into the future where it will be the go-to provider for all companies seeking cutting-edge e-commerce solutions.” Breen also emphasized the significance of Murdock joining the organization at this critical juncture for the business.“John’s leadership comes at a time when we are redoubling our efforts to fortify our technology for the enterprise, incorporating cutting-edge advancements like artificial intelligence, and introducing new functionalities and service packages that will elevate Fastr's value proposition," he stated. "His arrival marks a milestone in our journey towards greater maturity as an organization, and we look forward to the incredible advancements and innovations that will define this chapter of Fastr’s story.” <h3 id="leveraging-product-innovation-to-drive-growth">Leveraging product innovation to drive growth</h3>Along with advancements in AI and other features, Fastr recently achieved SOC-2, Type 2 compliance, which the company sees as a boon to its growth prospects. Continuing with this trend of milestones, Murdock promises a big year of product enhancements for Fastr’s enterprise solutions. This includes:<ul><li>Fastr Frontend: designed for digital experience composition and experimentation</li><li>Publicator: built for premium digital catalog creation</li><li>MINIBC: offering subscription and payment management for <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/bigcommerce">BigCommerce</a>-powered stores</li></ul>Fastr is aiming to make a big market impact in the coming months, starting with its participation at <a target="_blank" href="https://etailwest.wbresearch.com/">eTail West</a> from February 26th to 29th. The company will also attend other key industry events, including <a target="_blank" href="https://shoptalk.com/us">ShopTalk</a> and the <a target="_blank" href="https://commercenext.com/">CommerceNext Ecommerce Growth Show</a> later this year. These engagements reflect Fastr's goal of staying at the forefront of industry trends and building lasting partnerships.  <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.

Fastr Appoints New CEO John Murdock, Accelerates Plans for Growth and Innovation

cms-critic-staff

<hr /> This week, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/proventus/">Proventus AS</a> announced the release of <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/relatude">Relatude 7</a>, the latest version of its signature <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">content management system (CMS)</a> and e-commerce platform. According to the company's <a target="_blank" href="https://relatude.com/proventus-announces-the-release-of-relatude-7-the-innovative-cms-and-e-commerce-platform">press release</a>, the update includes an array of advanced AI features and <a target="_blank" href="https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet/7.0">.NET 7</a> support, which builds on Relatude's previous traction in both areas. “Relatude 7 is an important release,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/olegulbrandsen/">Ole Gulbrandsen</a>, Director of Relatude at Proventus. "Relatude has been a pioneer in AI usage in content management and E-commerce for a long time. The previous AI usage in Relatude has mostly been focused on images and related content due to previous limitations in AI technology. With this release, we have developed a range of new features mainly focused on text, to take advantage of the power of modern Large Language Models (like <a target="_blank" href="https://openai.com/">ChatGTP</a>). <h3>Expanding to include .NET 7 support</h3>Based on the company's roadmap, <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/proventus-as-announces-release-of-relatude-cms-and-e-commerce-version-6">Relatude 6</a> added cross-platform .NET support. In this latest release, the company has expanded this to include .NET 7, which offers new features and improved performance to the .NET platform. According to Relatude, .NET 7 is the fastest mainstream web framework on the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.techempower.com/benchmarks/#hw=ph&amp;test=fortune&amp;section=data-r22">TechEmpower benchmark</a>. The performance translates into flexibility – something the company prioritizes and values.<h3>Introducing Relatude Copilot</h3>To help editors take advantage of its new AI functionality, Relatude 7 provides a new AI companion called Relatude Copilot. The feature helps users rewrite, formulate, edit, and summarize text – as well as generate illustrations and images as part of their workflow. Now, as the company notes, “boring” and often forgotten tasks – like writing meta descriptions – can be done with the click of a button.<h3>Semantic search and vector database</h3>As Relatude points out, text comparison has long been a primary method for performing search, scouring words and sentences for matches in a text-based search index. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wwt.com/event/648339fe1e871d454275b5af?utm_campaign=ao_ai_and_data_wwt2324_event_experts_aditya_llm_ps_1_search&amp;utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=cpc&amp;utm_content&amp;gad=1&amp;gclid=CjwKCAiA6byqBhAWEiwAnGCA4Ewt27CptGHR18H4Ob3fQjcz8JU3xO48tSAviyc2uLPfhpL0A5q_UxoC3QUQAvD_BwE">Large Language Models (LLMs)</a> now make it possible to locate content that has a similar meaning – and not just by comparing text. This allows for an enhanced search experience for users. Relatude 7 is shipping with a semantic search engine powered by its vector database, giving users a more advanced AI tool for conducting search. “While most of our competitors are also bringing out AI features based on LLMs, we have gone deeper and developed our own vector database and semantic search engine,” explained Gulbrandsen. "These advanced AI features are deeply integrated with the content in Relatude. This allows our partners to deliver cutting-edge AI web projects at lower costs than the competition.”<h3>Improved AI image features</h3>Relatude has been delivering powerful image API and image editor capabilities for the last few years. This image functionality has been relying on AI technology, establishing Relatude as an early adopter and innovator in the AI race. “The new AI technologies have also improved our imaging features," said Gulbrandsen. ”Due to our cooperation with <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/microsoft-sharepoint">Microsoft</a>, we have had early access to Azure <a target="_blank" href="https://openai.com/research/gpt-4">OpenAI GTP4</a>. This has been very beneficial and an important factor in why we can offer such advanced AI functionality now."In this release, most of the platform's AI functionality has been upgraded, providing AI operations that deliver faster performance with better quality.<h3>More on the horizon with Relatude 8</h3>According to the company, Relatude 8 is already in the advanced stages of development, and it is planned to be released around the end of the year.

Proventus Releases Relatude 7, Adds AI and .NET 7 Features to CMS and E-Commerce Platform

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

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

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Last week, the MACH Alliance announced the addition of three new members to the organization: Adyen, Commerce Layer, and Pipe17. With these new members, as well as naming <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/google-cloud-joins-mach-alliance-as-enabler-member/">Google Cloud</a> an Enabler member earlier this month, the MACH Alliance now boasts <a href="https://machalliance.org/members" target="_blank" rel="noopener">74 total members</a>.
<h2>Adyen: an A+ choice for financial tech</h2>
The Netherlands-based financial technology company, <a href="https://www.adyen.com/about" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adyen</a>, was the first added to the MACH Alliance roster last week. Adyen’s all-star list of clients includes Facebook, H&amp;M, Uber, and Microsoft, with a specialization in providing end-to-end payment options and financial products in one solution.
“Joining the MACH Alliance is a natural move for us, as our success hinges on the strength and flexibility of our digital backbone, of which MACH solutions are foundational,” said Brian McDonnell, Senior Vice President, Partnerships at Adyen. “Unified commerce for retailers and other players in the fintech space wouldn’t be possible with legacy technology. We believe the MACH framework is the standard that will change the game for how businesses connect, transact and grow.”
<h2>Commerce Layer provides ready-to-use headless commerce experiences</h2>
<a href="https://commercelayer.io/why" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Commerce Layer</a>, an Italy-based, API-first, headless commerce platform, helps customers scale their businesses for almost any commerce channel in any market. Commerce Layer utilizes a set of “ready-to-use micro frontends that allow you to quickly create a headless commerce site without compromising the flexibility and the uniqueness of your brand.”
They also focus on commerce, merchandising, and product discovery rather than content and catalog management.
Occupying MACH principles, Commerce Layer promotes composable, headless commerce and offers customers a “clean separation of commerce and content,” which helps developers design and build efficient and clean shopping experiences.
<h2>Pipe17 offers operations ease from initial sale to delivery</h2>
Seattle-based <a href="https://pipe17.com/why-pipe17/overview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pipe17</a> is an API-first e-commerce integration operations platform that helps customers simplify the workflow of orders from the point of sale to fulfillment obligations.
As opposed to just focusing on quick and scalable e-commerce solutions, Pipe17 uses composable technology to connect inventory data, as well as shipping and fulfillment services, which help companies keep the same tempo from sale to delivery. They promise users improved sales, smoother integrations, greater visibility for consumers post-checkout and easy accessibility for developers.
<h2>MACH Growth at MACH Speed</h2>
Since the MACH Alliance formed in June 2020, the organization has had a stringent process for accepting new members based on principles aligned with MACH (microservices, API-first, cloud-native SaaS and headless). With the goal of “future proofing enterprise technology,” each organization must embrace MACH architecture in order to be accepted. With growth increasing from 15 organizations at the launch of the MACH Alliance to now almost 75, companies are taking note of the benefits of early adoption of these principles, compared to other monolithic enterprises. With four new additions already in the first month of 2023, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/8-cms-trends-to-watch-in-2023-from-mach-to-metaverse/">we anticipate seeing even more adoption of MACH principles and growth for the MACH Alliance continuing for the rest of the year</a>.
<h2>About the MACH Alliance</h2>
The MACH Alliance is a [501(c)(6)] non-profit organization, governed by an independent board and does not endorse specific vendors, members or otherwise. The Alliance was formed in June 2020 to help enterprise organizations navigate the complex modern technology landscape. It aims to guide and show the business advantage of open tech ecosystems that are Microservices based, API-first, Cloud-native SaaS and Headless. All MACH Alliance members meet certification principles that are published on the website.
The MACH Alliance welcomes technology companies and individual industry experts who share the same vision for the future. Learn more at <a href="http://machalliance.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">machalliance.org</a>, read here about MACH certification and follow us on <a href="https://twitter.com/machalliance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/machalliance/posts/?feedView=all" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LinkedIn</a>.

Adyen, Commerce Layer and Pipe17 Named Newest Members of MACH Alliance

It’s happened to all of us: an online ad piques our interest in an item, and suddenly we’re debating a purchase.
Then, you link to the product’s <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/netlify-to-host-headless-commerce-summit-for-talks-on-building-world-class-e-commerce-experiences/">e-commerce</a> store, only to find that it’s slow, unresponsive, or just bad. You refresh a few times and pray for a digital miracle. Maybe you browse a bit, holding your nose. But if you’re like many people, you give up and head to a competitor's site.
Many outside factors can impact an online purchase decision. Even if an item is lucky enough to make it to a cart, it’s frequently left for dead. You could chalk some of this up to pre-buyer’s remorse or other real-world distractions, but a new study from <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/netlify-to-host-headless-commerce-summit-for-talks-on-building-world-class-e-commerce-experiences/">Storyblok</a> – a <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-free-headless-cms-platforms/">headless CMS</a> provider – suggests that poor website design could be the culprit.
According to the company’s survey published this week, 60% of consumers estimated that on average, they abandon five purchases per year just due to poor website performance.
Five purchases may not seem like a lot, but collectively it adds up to billions in unrealized revenue, all due to a less-than-stellar website experience.
<h2>Bad websites mean big business losses</h2>
As Einstein once theorized, time = money. Or was that <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/350999364678568583/" target="_blank">Gary Larson</a>?
Time is indeed the enemy of all websites, particularly those with transactional e-commerce experiences. It starts with performance, and according to the <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/lighthouse/blipmdconlkpinefehnmjammfjpmpbjk?hl=en" target="_blank">Lighthouse</a> keepers at Google, pages should ideally load on mobile and desktop in <a href="https://seattlewebsearch.com/2020/11/your-website-needs-to-be-faster-than-3-seconds/" target="_blank">less than three seconds</a>.
Storyblok’s study takes the time conundrum a step further, digging into a user’s behavior on a web page and how the design experience might further impact their likelihood of sticking around. Based on the survey, 42% of participants said they decide whether to remain on a page in less than 10 seconds, while 20% decide in less than five. That means websites don’t have a lot of time to impress shoppers and convert interest into purchases.
And what about those “extra” features some sites make a point to have? Well, put earmuffs on those chatbots because ease of navigation, faster loading speeds, and a simple web design matter a lot more to shoppers.
“Consumers want easy-to-navigate, intuitively designed, and fast-loading websites,” said Storyblok CEO and co-founder <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominikangerer/" target="_blank">Dominik Angerer</a>. “However, a lot of e-commerce websites are falling short. Five purchases per shopper in missed sales may not seem like a lot, but when you scale this up to the number of potential new customers businesses are missing out on, it becomes a very significant amount of money.”
<h2>Avoiding “website embarrassment”</h2>
A great UI/UX can significantly impact a website’s <a href="https://raoinformationtechnology.com/blog/importance-of-ui-ux-design-for-your-website/#:~:text=A%20high%2Dquality%20UI%2FUX,brand's%20offered%20items%20and%20services." target="_blank">trust and credibility</a>. That’s why leading brands invest significantly in design and usability testing, as well as enhancing accessibility to ensure digital equality.
Still, getting the digital gum off your shoes can prove daunting in a world littered with bad UX. Let’s say a consumer actually decides to proceed with a purchase on a poorly functioning website. It turns out that experience still gives them the “ick”– and they would rather forget about it.
According to Storyblok’s survey, 42% of Americans and 18% of Europeans revealed that on at least one occasion, they were too embarrassed to say where they purchased a product – all because the website was so poorly designed.
Maybe we call this… digital shame?
Kudos to Storyblok for uncovering this data point, which is both entertaining and alarming. All jokes aside, any company that might be the target of this shame isn’t just missing out on sales – it's damaging the reputation of its brand.
<h2>Leveraging headless CMS and composable commerce to improve website experiences</h2>
As talk elevates around a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/02/business/global-recession-fears-explained/index.html" target="_blank">looming economic recession</a>, online shopping continues to be the gem in an otherwise rusting crown of retail. Outlooks are still trending upward, with 23% of those surveyed anticipating more holiday purchases online this year. Meanwhile, 51% of respondents are planning to make the same number of online purchases as last year.
To meet the shifting demands of online consumers, Storyblok sees technology as a key activator for improving the digital experience in an omnichannel world. This is crystallized by the rise of composable commerce and the need to meet consumers anywhere, anytime, on any device or form factor.
“Additional functionality is still an important factor in attracting customers, but it’s critical to get the basics right first,” said Angerer. “For example, by investing in a headless, composable commerce tech infrastructure, companies can set the foundation for a great, fast-performing user experience.” 
<h2>Shopping in a metaverse marketplace</h2>
<a href="https://www.solodev.com/metaverse/" target="_blank">The metaverse</a> has become all the rage in 2022, with leading brands investing heavily in AR/VR strategies – particularly when it comes to e-commerce. According to Storyblok’s survey, transactions in virtual and augmented reality environments might be gathering more attention.
In fact, 42% of respondents said they would be encouraged to make more purchases with an AR or VR experience. Surprisingly, that percentage rose to a whopping 57% when filtered to the U.S. market. That’s big news for retailers who are struggling to find new opportunities for growth.
The results of this study echo what we’ve heard over and over for years: consumers don’t just want products. They want experiences – and giving them what they want isn’t as hard as it might seem. New features aside, brands that provide a great UX with an easy-to-use, easy-to-navigate website and an abundance of payment options will make it hard for shoppers to say no, even if the storefront is in a virtual world. 
If e-commerce sites can KISS (keep it simple, stupid) and make up with shoppers, they’ll likely feel less “ick” at the bottom line. And investing in quality design and the right technology stack – including <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/the-future-is-composable-a-conversation-with-new-mach-alliance-president-casper-rasmussen/">composable, MACH-ready solutions</a> – can help keep the gum off everyone’s shoes.
<h2>About Storyblok</h2>
Storyblok is a headless CMS that enables developers and marketers to deliver powerful content experiences on any digital platform. Developers create flexible components that are independently managed by content teams through a collaborative visual editor and customizable workflow. Published content is delivered through an API, so changes are made once and will appear everywhere: websites, mobile, IoT, the metaverse, and beyond. This approach reduces maintenance and makes content management more efficient. Leading brands such as Adidas, Renault, and Marc O’Polo use Storyblok to manage and share their content with the world. Storyblok was named the #1 CMS for 2022 by G2.
 
<a href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff23/program" target="_blank"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2022/12/cms-kickoff-2023-banner-1024x151.jpg" alt="CMS Kickoff 2023 banner" /></a>
<h2>Join CMS Industry Leaders, Digital Agencies, and Users at CMS Kickoff 2023</h2>
January 17-18 in St. Petersburg, FL
Don't miss the only conference tailored for everyone working with content management systems, from beginners to experts! Featuring two packed days with a carefully curated mixture of talks, workshops, activities, world-class facilitators, thought provokers, speakers, and session leads. Mingle with CMS experts, system integrators, and users from around the globe at this exclusive event in beautiful St. Petersburg. 
Register today at the <a href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff23/program" target="_blank">CMS Kickoff 2023 website</a>.

Storyblok Study Reveals Poor Website Performance Costs E-Commerce Companies Billions

Reflections on WordCamp Europe 2022

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With a name like <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/tag/storyblok/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Storyblok</a>, we expect a good story.
That's exactly what we received yesterday when the headless CMS player <a href="https://www.storyblok.com/mp/storyblok-s-technology-ecosystem" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> the launch of its new <a href="https://www.storyblok.com/partners/technology-ecosystem" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Technology Ecosystem</a> – a curated collection of <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/tag/mach/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MACH</a>-ready technology solutions that can be integrated together with Storyblok as the central content hub. 
According to Alin Tanase, Technology Partner Manager at Storyblok, having a dedicated Technology Ecosystem was the "missing piece of the puzzle" in the company's growing partnership program. Building it from the ground up and relying on agency experience helped Storyblok see the gap and identify the potential. 
<h2>A MACH-driven technology ecosystem </h2>
The Storyblok Technology Ecosystem provides a ready-made set of integrations for e-commerce, localization, deployment and hosting, personalization, marketing, analytics, and more – allowing businesses to build successful digital experiences across channels with best-of-breed, composable technology. 
Launched in 2015, Storyblok has embraced the principles of MACH (Microservices, API-first, Cloud, and Headless) from day one. Having <a href="https://www.storyblok.com/mp/storyblok-joins-the-mach-alliance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">joined the MACH Alliance</a> last November, Storyblok believes the future belongs to marketplaces that are built with MACH in mind – and its new ecosystem reflects a continued commitment to the tenants of building scalable MACH architectures. 
The new Technology Ecosystem provides integrations for some of the biggest names in e-commerce, including <a href="https://www.bigcommerce.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BigCommerce</a>, <a href="https://www.netlify.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Netlify</a>, <a href="https://cloudinary.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cloudinary</a>, <a href="https://commercetools.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commercetools</a>, <a href="https://spryker.com/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Spryker</a>, <a href="https://www.shopify.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shopify</a>, <a href="https://lokalise.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lokalise</a>, <a href="https://www.vuestorefront.io/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">VueStorefront</a>, <a href="https://ninetailed.io/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ninetailed</a>, <a href="https://www.algolia.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Algolia</a>, <a href="https://instantcommerce.io/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instant Commerce</a>, <a href="https://www.centra.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Centra</a>, <a href="https://www.scayle.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SCAYLE</a>, and <a href="https://vercel.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vercel</a>. The library features add-ons and plug-ins to Storyblok's API-driven CMS to extend its functionality, increase its value, and deliver a best-of-breed, future-proof platform designed to fit any need. 
"We want to offer businesses a strong ecosystem of powerful API-led technologies to support the growth of their digital offerings," said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/barrydarcy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barry D'Arcy</a>, VP of Partners at Storyblok. "Partnering with other best-in-class solutions allows us to co-innovate and deliver better digital outcomes." 
We had the chance to connect with D'Arcy last year, and he <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/interview-headless-cms-storyblok-expands-partner-program-with-u-s-agency-campbell-ewald/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shared some of his views</a> on the CMS market and the value of being headless.
<h2>Powering the future with Jamstack and cloud technology partnerships</h2>
According to analyst firm <a href="https://www.forrester.com/bold" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Forrester</a>, the future of digital experiences lies in ecosystems. They recommend picking an ecosystem rather than just a single vendor, as innovation through such communities will help organizations gain speed, agility, and resilience.
Storyblok seems to be squarely focused on this vision. While the company provides a vendor-specific headless CMS platform, the development of a corresponding technology ecosystem will help expand the value of its technology across a composable channel of options – enabling users to build in multiple directions without the persistent challenge of monolithic vendor lock-in. 
<a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-jamstack-static-site-generators-for-2021/">Jamstack</a> will play a crucial role in the new technology ecosystem, which is evidenced by comments from Netlify – a key partner in this new initiative. "Jamstack is an approach to build for the web that has generated a large global community and movement over the past six years," said Sarfaraz Rydhan, Senior Director of Business Development at <a href="https://www.netlify.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Netlify</a>. "Netlify is focused on bringing the modern web community together and enabling the benefits of Jamstack with our platform alongside partners and customers. We are delighted to be part of Storyblok's Technology Ecosystem to help empower our customers to build better digital experiences with the Jamstack."
Storyblok is also offering integrations with infrastructure players like Cloudinary to power the management of digital video and media assets. "Cloudinary firmly believes in establishing relationships with other software companies that share our belief in headless, API-first software and composable technology," said Gary Ballabio, VP of Technology Partnerships at <a href="https://cloudinary.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cloudinary.</a> "Which is why we're so excited to be a part of the Storyblok Technology Ecosystem."
You can visit the <a href="https://www.storyblok.com/partners/technology-ecosystem" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Technology Ecosystem</a> page to learn more and see the full list of partners.
<h2>About Storyblok</h2>
<a href="http://Storyblok – an enterprise headless CMS that enables developers and marketers to deliver powerful content experiences on any digital platform – today announced the launch of its Technology Ecosystem. This new program is a curated collection of MACH-ready technology solutions that can be integrated together, with Storyblok as the central content hub. The Storkblok Ecosystem is a curated collection of tech solutions that can be integrated together, with Storyblok at the center. It’s a universe of endless technology possibilities. Some of the technology partners include BigCommerce, Netlify, Cloudinary, Commercetools, Spryker, Shopify, Lokalise, VueStorefront, Ninetailed, Algolia, Instant Commerce, Centra, SCAYLE and Vercel. “We want to offer businesses a strong ecosystem of powerful API-led technologies to support the growth of their digital offerings. Partnering with other best-in-class solutions allows us to co-innovate and deliver better digital outcomes.” said Barry D'Arcy, VP of Partners at Storyblok. &quot;Jamstack is an approach to build for the web that has generated a large global community and movement over the past six years,&quot; said Sarfaraz Rydhan, Senior Director of Business Development at Netlify. &quot;Netlify is focused on bringing the modern web community together and enabling the benefits of Jamstack with our platform alongside partners and customers. We are delighted to be part of Storyblok's Technology Ecosystem to help empower our customers to build better digital experiences with the Jamstack.&quot; &quot;Cloudinary firmly believes in establishing relationships with other software companies that share our belief in headless, API-first software and composable technology - which is why we're so excited to be a part of the Storyblok Technology Ecosystem,&quot; said Gary Ballabio, VP of Technology Partnerships at Cloudinary." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Storyblok</a> is an enterprise headless CMS that enables developers and marketers to deliver powerful content experiences on any digital platform. Developers create flexible components that are independently managed by content teams through a collaborative visual editor and customizable workflow. Published content is delivered through an API, so changes are made once and will appear everywhere: websites, mobile, IoT, the metaverse, and beyond. This approach reduces maintenance and makes content management more efficient. Leading brands such as Adidas, Pizza Hut, and Marc O'Polo use Storyblok to manage and share their content with the world. Storyblok was named the #1 CMS for 2022 by G2.
For more information, visit <a href="https://www.storyblok.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.storyblok.com</a> and follow Storyblok on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/storyblok" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LinkedIn</a> and <a href="https://www.twitter.com/storyblok" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a>.

Storyblok Launches New Technology Ecosystem Featuring MACH-Ready Solutions

Talk about a sonic "bloom."
<a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-headless-commerce-platforms/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bloomreach</a>, a leading content and search platform focused on commerce, just made some big noise by <a href="https://www.bloomreach.com/en/news/2022/bloomreach-valuation-soars-to-usd2.2-billion-following-usd175-million-investment-led-by-goldman-sachs-asset-management" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcing</a> a $175 million round of funding, skyrocketing the company's valuation to a whopping $2.2 billion. 
The investment – which follows a massive <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2021/01/26/bloomreach-raises-150m-on-900m-valuation-and-acquires-exponea/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$150 million funding round</a> in January 2021 – was led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management ("Goldman Saalamogordochs"), with participation from existing Bloomreach investors Bain Capital Ventures and Sixth Street Growth. 
The size of these two infusions demonstrates some serious confidence from the street. With heavy-hitters like Goldman Sachs piling on the cash, it's clear that investors see continued opportunities in digital commerce transformation, particularly at the enterprise level. Bloomreach has made a series of smart investments along the way, giving them the heft to challenge one of the biggest e-commerce brands on the planet.
<h2>Arming brands against Amazon with personalized e-commerce</h2>
When it comes to e-commerce – or any commerce for that matter – it's impossible to ignore "The Amazon Effect." 
In the 25 years since Jeff Bezos launched Amazon.com from a garage in suburban Seattle, it has grown to become the top e-commerce platform in the world. Each month, <a href="https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/amazon-statistics/#10-fascinating-amazon-statistics-sellers-need-to-know-in-2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more than 197 million people</a> around the globe visit Amazon.com. That's more than the entire population of Russia.
Worldwide e-commerce sales <a href="https://www.emarketer.com/content/worldwide-ecommerce-continues-double-digit-growth-following-pandemic-push-online" target="_blank" rel="noopener">are expected</a> to reach $7.4 trillion by 2025. According to <a href="https://www.ibm.com/industries/retail" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IBM's U.S. Retail Index</a> data, COVID-19 has accelerated retail trends by nearly five years. E-commerce sales <a href="https://www.statista.com/topics/871/online-shopping/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">were skyrocketing</a> before the pandemic, and Amazon was already monopolizing most of the air in the digital room. As contactless delivery became essential during COVID lockdowns, Amazon moved into its pole position as the uncontested leader in digital customer experiences. 
<a href="https://www.mdm.com/news/operations/amazon-business-says-company-reached-25-billion-in-2020-sales/">Amazon's grasp over the e-commerce world</a> is viewed as an existential threat to many global brands. Even giants like Walmart, Apple, and Macy’s are struggling to compete with the digital heavyweight. But according to Bloomreach, brands now have a weapon to fight Amazon – giving retailers, distributors, and manufacturers a platform for delivering highly relevant and personalized digital experiences with speed and scalability.
<h2>Moving away from monolithic</h2>
According to Raj De Datta, CEO of Bloomreach, the key to competing is the move from monolithic e-commerce platforms to microservices-based architectures that empower not just the web, but all digital touchpoints. That way, enterprises can have more control over the customer experience by making it highly personalized and innovating quickly.
"It starts in the early days of the web, with Amazon and eBay, when e-commerce was in its infancy. Twenty years later, e-commerce is exactly where we would expect a 20-year-old to be — just getting started," said De Datta. "Indeed, at Bloomreach, we believe that if the first 20 years of e-commerce have been about standing up the store or simply transacting online, then the next twenty years are about standing out from the crowd, or differentiating in the face of increased digital competition and rising consumer expectation. "
<h2>Growing its Commerce Experience Cloud</h2>
Following its latest round of funding, Bloomreach plans to invest in the development of cutting-edge personalization use cases powered by its entire <a href="https://www.bloomreach.com/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Commerce Experience Cloud</a>, showcasing the differentiated power of its combined product suite. In addition, Bloomreach will invest in expanding its go-to-market teams to accelerate business growth worldwide.
Currently, Bloomreach's DXP for Commerce helps keep customers engaged, increases revenue per visit, and drives customer loyalty. The company says that the solution integrates with leading commerce platforms to form a complete e-commerce solution. Bloomreach further enhances its commerce offerings with AI-powered search, intelligent merchandising, and highly agile content management, which are fast becoming essential tools for shaping modern e-commerce experiences. 
Additionally, <a href="https://www.bloomreach.com/en/products/bloomreach-experience" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bloomreach Experience (brX)</a> currently drives over $200 billion in digital commerce experiences across many of the world's largest online retailers, brands, distributors, and B2B manufacturers – representing 25% of retail e-commerce in the U.S. and U.K. With Bloomreach Experience, organizations can access rich features, all powered by an API-first headless architecture. This makes it easier for brands to connect Bloomreach with their existing commerce platform and frontend technologies and avoid many of the rigors of re-platforming everything.
In 2021, Bloomreach <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/bloomreach-acquires-exponea-secures-150m-investment-to-power-e-commerce-saas-expansion/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acquired Exponea</a>, a Customer Data and Experience Platform (CDXP), with the goal of integrating its market-leading e-commerce capabilities with Exponea's best-in-class customer data (CDP) and marketing automation capabilities. With this combination, Bloomreach appears well-poised to accelerate the creation, personalization, and optimization of powerful commerce experiences.
<h2>About Bloomreach</h2>
Bloomreach is the world’s #1 Commerce Experience Cloud, empowering brands to deliver customer journeys so personalized, they feel like magic. It offers a suite of products that drive true personalization and digital commerce growth, including: Discovery, offering AI-driven search and merchandising; Content, offering a headless CMS; and Engagement, offering a leading CDP and marketing automation solutions. Together, these solutions combine the power of unified customer and product data with the speed and scale of AI-optimization, enabling revenue-driving digital commerce experiences that convert on any channel and every journey. Bloomreach serves over 850 global brands including Albertsons, Bosch, Puma, FC Bayern München, and Marks &amp; Spencer. For more information, visit <a href="https://bit.ly/2EfrSOZ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bloomreach.com</a>.

Bloomreach Reaches $2.2 Billion Valuation Following $175 Million Investment from Goldman Sachs

Image of rocket flying with people on top of it, next to text that reads "$175 million investment"

Just before Christmas, <a href="https://www.optimizely.com/" target="_blank">Optimizely</a> – a leading digital experience platform (DXP) provider – delivered a gift that we're still unwrapping: an integrated version of its <a href="https://www.optimizely.com/products/commerce/b2b/" target="_blank">B2B Commerce Cloud</a> and <a href="https://www.optimizely.com/products/content/" target="_blank">Content Cloud</a> products.
OK... so maybe the other schwag under your tree had a bit more pizzazz. But this tidy pairing brings some real power to brands, particularly those looking to reach audiences with sophisticated content strategies and digital experiences. The new integration also has to potential to help large marketing teams collaborate more effectively around their content – providing a more complete ecosystem of services.
According to Optimizely, the integration leverages its B2B Commerce Cloud as a <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-headless-commerce-platforms/" target="_blank">headless commerce</a> API, making B2B data and capabilities available in Content Cloud. The coupling enables users to access B2B-specific features in the Commerce Cloud while using Content Cloud CMS to manage all the pages, templates, content, and assets of their website. Content Cloud also lets marketers build and manage multiple sites while leveraging shared data for customers, products, and orders in B2B Commerce Cloud.
Another key feature of the integrated solution is a combined out-of-the-box search engine, allowing users to search products in the B2B Commerce catalog as well as the Content Cloud – and return combined results. Users can also manage their product catalog in B2B Commerce and have them available in Content Cloud.
“Optimizely Content Cloud has a long history of providing marketers with extensive tools for content publication and creation of exceptional digital experiences,” said Justin Anovick, Chief Product Officer of Optimizely. “With the integration of B2B Commerce Cloud, businesses can extend these tools to B2B customers, enabling the delivery of optimal digital experiences across audiences.”
<h2>Powering buying experiences with B2B Commerce Cloud</h2>
To be clear, Optimizely's B2B Commerce Cloud and Content Cloud have been stand-outs in their own right. The former has carved a decent niche as a one-stop commerce solution, decreasing the complexity of a brand's online commerce stack by collectively managing catalogs, quotes, orders, product configurations, and more – all with one holistic view. It also boasts personalization capabilities, leveraging data-driven recommendations to power custom digital commerce experiences.
Optimizely has focused its B2B Commerce Cloud on manufacturers and distributors, helping them configure custom solutions that meet their specific brand requirements. Additionally, the solution has made the connections with an organization's ERP, PIM, and other backend systems more efficient, allowing them to scale their growth across their stack. Those connections are key, and so is maintaining the security of a brand's data; to that end, Optimizely has achieved ISO certifications in its pursuit of assuring the highest standards of data security with B2B Commerce Cloud.
<h2>Create once, publish everywhere with Content Cloud CMS</h2>
On the other side of the integration equation is Optimizely's Content Cloud, a shadow of the former Episerver (which, as you know, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/episerver-to-acquire-optimizely-the-worlds-leading-experience-optimization-platform/">purchased Optimizely in 2020</a> and consolidated under its banner). Content Cloud has been enabling marketing teams to leverage an industry-leading content management system to distribute content across channels with a coupled, headless, or hybrid CMS model – or via Optimizely's global network.
Content Cloud boasts a wide berth of rich features including personalized media management, drag-and-drop layouts and authoring, custom workflows, and more. The system also enables users to create and target personalized content and commerce experiences based on dynamic audience segments. The personalization features come out of the box at a rules-based level but can be upgraded through their <a href="https://www.optimizely.com/optimization-glossary/hyper-personalization/" target="_blank">AI-powered 1:1 personalization</a> with <a href="https://www.optimizely.com/products/intelligence/recommendations/" target="_blank">Content Recommendations.</a>
<h2>Providing sample resources and implementation support</h2>
One thing Optimizely consistently does well is listen to customers. This has been most evident following the large-scale acquisitions of Episerver and <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/optimizely-acquires-customer-data-platform-zaius/">Zaius</a>, where users needed both training and vision to build confidence around the company's roadmap. This is just one contributing factor to the company's leadership positions on <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/key-takeaways-from-gartners-2021-magic-quadrant-for-digital-experience-platforms/">Gartner's 2021 Magic Quadrant for DXPs</a>, as well as the <a href="https://www.optimizely.com/company/press/optimizely-named-a-leader-in-agile-content-management-systems/" target="_blank">Forrester Wave for Agile Content Management Systems</a>.
To help customers get the most from this new integration, Optimizely is releasing a B2B-specific sample site packed with Content Cloud templates and blocks – giving users a pipeline of resources to accelerate their builds. In its press release, the company said that the sample site will answer the "time-to-market metric" variables that many B2B customers weigh when selecting technology vendors. Once again, evidence that Optimizely is listening to the voice of the customer and thinking ahead.
Additionally, Optimizely has named <a href="https://www.nishtech.com/">Nishtech</a> – a full-service digital experience and e-commerce consultancy – as a preferred implementation partner to support the B2B Commerce Cloud/Content Cloud integration. Nishtech is an Optimizely Platinum Partner that has first-hand experience with the new integration and can be contracted to guide customers and their agencies through setting up and utilizing the new integration.
<h2>About Optimizely</h2>
<a href="http://www.optimizely.com/">Optimizely</a> is on a mission to help people unlock their digital potential. With their leading digital experience platform (DXP), they equip teams with the tools and insights they need to create and optimize in new and novel ways. Now, companies can operate with data-driven confidence to create hyper-personalized experiences. Building sophisticated solutions has never been simpler. Optimizely’s 900+ partners and 1100+ employees in offices around the globe are proud to help more than 9,000 brands, including Toyota, Santander, eBay, KLM, and Mazda, enrich their customer lifetime value, increase revenue and grow their brands.

Optimizely Integrates B2B Commerce Cloud and Content Cloud, Combines Headless Commerce with CMS

Optimizely logo against a black background

Well, 2021 is almost at an end. The holidays are upon us, and merrymaking is in full swing (at least as far as Omicron will let us swing). Before we wrap things up and officially start the festivities, there's one last piece of business to attend to...
NOMINATIONS!
That's right: it's time to kick off our annual CMS Critic Awards – and it all starts with our 2021 People's Choice Nominations! Starting today, you can submit your favorite platform in a variety of categories such as Best DXP, Best Headless CMS, and more. Based on your input, we choose the top three contenders in each category – and let you vote for the best of the best. 
The 2021 People's Choice Nominations will be open until January 15th, 2022. Once we've tallied your submissions, we'll open voting on the top three platforms in each category.
Here's some exciting news: this year, we've added Best Composable System and Best Headless Commerce Platform to the nomination list. We covered the rise of both categories throughout the year – now you can tell us which platforms are doing it best!
To learn more about the CMS Critic Awards, keep reading. Ready to submit your nominations? <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/2021-cms-critic-awards-nominations/">Click here!</a>
<h2>What are the CMS Critic Awards?</h2>
OK... so maybe our program is a little less visible than the Oscars, but it fills an important gap in our industry by celebrating the contributions of CMS, DXP, and the related ecosystem of vendors.
Since 2012, the CMS Critic Awards have been something of an institution. Not only do they give our panel of thought leaders an opportunity to "chime in" on the general direction of the industry, but they also give individuals a chance to vote for their favorite platform. It's a fun way to engage with our communities and create more visibility around the importance of this technology sector.
To provide a fair shot to all vendors, we offer two unique programs:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/12/criticschoice_logo-1024x173.jpg" alt="CMS Critic's Choice Awards Logo" />
Critic's Choice Awards
Hand-selected by our CMS Critic editorial staff, vendors receive the coveted Critic's Choice Award for each category based on our internal research and criteria.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/12/peoplechoice_logo-1024x173.jpg" alt="CMS People's Choice Awards Logo" />
People’s Choice Awards 
As previously mentioned, these community-based awards are designed to engage with readers through an open forum. The top three vendors with the most nominations will be featured on our website for voting, and the platform with the most votes in each category is declared the winner. The rules are simple, and focus on fairness and integrity: participants may nominate or vote only once, and companies that offer incentives of any kind will be disqualified.
<h2>2021 People's Choice categories for nominations</h2>
This year's categories include:
<ul>
<li>Best Enterprise CMS</li>
<li>Best DXP</li>
<li>Best Free CMS</li>
<li>Best Flat File CMS</li>
<li>Best Open Source CMS</li>
<li>Best ECM (Enterprise Content Management)</li>
<li>Best E-Commerce Solution</li>
<li>Best Headless CMS</li>
<li>Best Headless Commerce Platform</li>
<li>Best Website Builder</li>
<li>Best Static Site Generator</li>
<li>Best Composable System</li>
</ul>
Both the Critic's Choice and People's Choice Award results will be announced at the same time in mid to late February of 2022.
<h2>Submit your nominations!</h2>
Go on... tell us what platforms you love! Fill out the form below and submit your nominations. You can only vote once and a valid email address is required with each entry. Companies that offer incentives of any kind will be disqualified.
We can't wait to see your nominations. Cheers – and happy holidays!

Submit Your Nominations for the CMS Critic 2021 People's Choice Awards

CMS Critic 2021 People's Choice Award logo

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