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<hr /> Ah… personalization. Like it or not, it’s still the Holy Grail. And we’re still in search of its full potential. While the promise of scalable personalization remains a bit elusive for many companies (there are a bevy of reasons for this), CMS and DXP platforms have discovered some finely cut diamonds in the rough – making it much more attainable. Some of that success can be credited to the force-multiplying effects of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-generative-ai">generative AI</a> on things like variant testing. But it’s also due to having more of the right tooling, analytics, and best practices in place to shepherd the journey. The impact of AI can't be understated. At some point, it seems entirely feasible that we'll arrive at completely autonomous hyper-personalization, so every customer has a fully curated experience without batting an eyelash. For now, we’ll settle for the incremental gains – and how a new breed of innovative tools is helping marketers achieve success with their personalization efforts. Case in point: <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/umbraco">Umbraco</a>, an open-source .NET <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">content management system</a> provider, recently announced the general availability of <a target="_blank" href="https://umbraco.com/products/add-ons/engage/">Umbraco Engage</a>. Born three months after the company’s acquisition of the Dutch-based <a target="_blank" href="https://www.umarketingsuite.com/">uMarketingSuite</a>, Engage is a new add-on for Umbraco CMS that instantly provides organizations with meaningful analytics around visitor interactions with web content.At its core, Umbraco Engage enables marketers to take a “learn, adapt, convert” approach to personalizing their digital experiences and optimizing content to boost conversion rates and improve ROI across their digital platforms. It has the potential to help businesses create dynamic digital content that’s continuously informed by real customer interactions. Engage is packed with power in all the right channels. It provides server-side analytics and customer 360° profiling to surface deep insights, stats, and heatmaps on critical metrics like pageviews. It also provides real-time A/B testing, enabling teams to adapt content to the needs of diverse audience segments. Having this layer of intelligence right at your fingertips will undoubtedly give marketers quick and relevant data around content engagement, allowing them to optimize more fluidly.“Engage provides businesses with intuitive tools, all within their familiar CMS platform, and we’re thrilled to now offer this powerful set of content optimization tools as a first-party solution,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mats-persson-296a66/">Mats Persson</a>, CEO at Umbraco. “This launch brings immediate value for our partners and end-clients, empowering them to meet the growing demand for tailored digital experiences. Personalization and content optimization, that work in practice, are now essential for driving conversion rates and ROI – a trend we’re excited to support with Umbraco Engage.”<h3 id="powering-personalization-for-marketing-teams">Powering personalization for marketing teams</h3>The benefits of personalization – and its impact on customer experience – are ubiquitously evident, and there's ample research to support a brand's investment in personalization technologies and strategies. A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/the-value-of-getting-personalization-right-or-wrong-is-multiplying">McKinsey &amp; Company study</a> found that 76% of consumers were more likely to purchase from brands that personalize their experiences, and 78% were more likely to refer friends and family to those brands. Beyond the tangible effects on purchase conversion, personalization can also improve other business and financial dimensions for brands. In fact, the same study found that personalization can reduce customer acquisition costs by up to 50%, lift revenues from 5% to 15%, and increase marketing ROI by 10% to 30%. McKinsey also reported that digitally native direct-to-consumer brands – ones that own the customer transaction and put first-party data at the heart of their marketing decision-making – derived approximately 25% of their revenue from personalization. Not too shabby. Umbraco is clearly driving more focus and attention around personalization based on the company’s innovation roadmap. As noted, the launch follows the announcement of Umbraco’s acquisition of uMarketingSuite, a content personalization tool that has become popular in key industries like financial services, healthcare, and the public sector, where privacy regulations restrict the use of third-party data. Existing uMarketingSuite customers will continue to benefit from the product's A/B testing, 360° profiling, analytics, and content personalization. Because Engage is now part of Umbraco, organizations also have the confidence and reassurance that ongoing product development and support will be delivered by a larger team at Umbraco HQ.According to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/hemraker/">Rune Strand</a>, Umbraco’s Product Communications Manager, marketing teams can immediately gain value from these new content personalization and optimization tools within its CMS.“As soon as Engage is installed on existing or new sites, marketing teams can instantly see how well web content is performing,” he said. “Pageview analytics and statistics are all at their fingertips within the Umbraco CMS interface. Being able to see heat maps that show precisely how users interact with your site can be game-changing for identifying which content is working well and which needs to be retired, refreshed, or personalized.”<h3 id="out-of-the-box-insights">Out-of-the-box insights</h3>Umbraco has scored a win by making this level of data more accessible to marketing professionals, content editors, and CRO specialists. With the add-on, users can gain actionable insights based on interactions with existing content and more effectively personalize and optimize information for new and returning website visitors and customers.Additionally, teams will be able to make data-informed decisions and take swift marketing actions within the Umbraco editing environment. They can proactively improve content performance using the tool’s real-time A/B content variant testing to improve digital experiences and boost conversion with more relevant, custom-tailored content. <figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:85.09%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/11/umbraco-engage-screenshots.png" alt="" /></figure>Umbraco Engage provides clear analytics and performance metrics “People who create web content should be able to see how well it performs and make necessary tweaks, all within the CMS,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/leondewildt/">Leon de Wildt</a>, the Commercial Product Manager for Umbraco Engage and the founder of uMarketingSuite. “Umbraco Engage is designed to help organizations tailor digital experiences in response to their own interaction data. Using the in-app reports, marketing teams can make changes that measurably improve engagement. Businesses can use Umbraco Engage to continuously improve the digital experience and boost conversion rates, whether that means more people filling out a form, buying a product, engaging with content or signing up for a webinar.”Umbraco is also addressing regulatory and data privacy considerations – something the company has long been a fierce proponent of. With Engage, marketers will be able to use server-side analytics and first-party data to satisfy compliance with data and privacy laws while accessing the platform's benefits.Umbraco Engage works out-of-the-box with other platform add-ons like <a target="_blank" href="https://umbraco.com/products/add-ons/forms/">Umbraco Forms</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://umbraco.com/products/add-ons/commerce/">Umbraco Commerce</a>. For example, integrating Umbraco Commerce and Umbraco Engage enables digital marketers to view order history on the visitor profile level. This can help power eCommerce sites that recognize returning customers, serve personalized product information, and interact immediately with abandoned shopping carts to help boost sales. Umbraco Engage is available now, and Umbraco digital agency partners can access discounts, exclusive webinars, and free demo licenses based on their partnership agreements. If you’re a uMarketingSuite customer, there’s also a path for upgrading to Engage by February 24th, 2025. <a target="_blank" href="https://umbraco.com/products/add-ons/engage/">You can learn more about Umbraco Engage here</a>. <h3 id="why-it-matters">Why it matters</h3>Umbraco continues to drive a unique position as an open-source .NET content management system. With a fervent community of over 220,000 active members worldwide, they’re benefitting from a wide bench of innovation as more contributors participate in advancing the CMS and its capabilities.Personalization remains a challenge for all parties, from vendors to customers. It’s no longer the “undiscovered country,” but it needs to be defined around a brand’s specific goals. Further, there are many challenges associated with executing and maintaining a successful strategy. Having access to the right tooling – specifically around analytics and insights – can help provide a solid foundation for marketers and deliver better outcomes. AI will further disrupt the landscape, but Umbraco has a distinct advantage with a proven and “friendly” brand that will be key to cementing loyalty. By all accounts, the uMarketingSuite acquisition was a smart move as it looks to expand features, remain in competitive parity, and drive greater agility for marketing teams. UX is also pivotal. Having meaningful data closer to the CMS – and integrated within the editing workflow – will enable users with more control and faster decision-making, which could ultimately improve conversions and grow the bottom line.And that’s the real Holy Grail. <hr /><h4 style="text-align:center" id="looking-for-guidance-on-umbraco?--talk-to-us.-">Looking for guidance on Umbraco?  <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/contact">Talk to us. </a></h4><hr /><h3 id="upcoming-events">Upcoming Events</h3> <img style="width:29.58%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-kickoff-2025-logo.png" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-2025"><a href=" https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff25">CMS Kickoff 2025</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, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff25/tickets">so secure your tickets today.</a> <img style="width:30.46%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/11/cms-summit-25.png" alt="" /><h4 id="cms-summit-25"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmssummit25">CMS Summit 25</a></h4>May 13-14, 2025 – Frankfurt, GermanyDon't miss the first European edition of our prestigious international conference dedicated to the global content management community! CMS Summit 25 will bring together top-notch speakers, our renowned learning format, and engaging social events. Hear from leading practitioners like Deutsche Bahn, Dr. Oetker, and more – and join customers, agencies, and CMS vendors as we discuss current trends and what's ahead for the content and digital experience fields. Connect and network at the only vendor-neutral, in-person conference focused on CMS. Space is limited for this exclusive event, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmssummit25">so book your seats today.</a>

Umbraco Engage Enhances Digital Personalization to Drive Higher Conversion Rates

matt-garrepy

Scandinavia has long been regarded as a cradle of CMS innovation. And while that cradle has been rocked by the rise of Western competitors, the Nordic legion of web content management systems still holds a strong position in the minds – and hearts – of their users.
Heart. That might be one of the most tangible differentiators for <a href="https://umbraco.com/" target="_blank">Umbraco</a>, a Danish platform that was originally coined “The Friendly CMS” <a href="https://umbraco.com/about-us/values/why-the-friendly-cms/" target="_blank">by one of its community members</a> back in 2006.
As this now-legendary designer was credited with observing: Everything about Umbraco is friendly. The UX, the community, and the pricing.
Turns out this tagline has stood the test of time – just like Umbraco itself.
In a global marketplace where CMS providers are struggling to establish or re-establish their identity (be it headless, DXP, or some bolt-on Frankenstein of neo-monolithic proportions), Umbraco is staying true to its core. It’s doubling down on its community, making complex technologies easier to use, and reminding us that open source is really about people – not just platforms.
For all these reasons (and presumably more), <a href="https://www.monterro.com/" target="_blank">Monterro</a> – the Swedish software growth investor that prides itself on turning Nordic software companies into global players – <a href="https://umbraco.com/blog/swedish-software-growth-investor-monterro-acquires-a-majority-stake-in-umbraco/" target="_blank">has just purchased a majority stake in the Danish vendor</a>.
We had a chance to discuss this news with Umbraco’s CEO and self-proclaimed “Chief Friend Maker,” <a href="https://twitter.com/kimsneummadsen?lang=en" target="_blank">Kim Sneum Madsen</a>, who has been with the outfit since 2016. While acclaimed founder Niels Hartvig will be parting company, Madsen will continue to man the reigns as Monterro’s operational and financial backing comes online.
In our exclusive interview, we discussed where the company has been, what’s ahead – and how open source is “not a hippie thing anymore.”
<h2>Expanding best-of-breed digital experiences</h2>
Umbraco has come a long way since its founding in 2005, and like the rest of the market, the company has adapted to significant change. But according to Madsen, what hasn’t changed is their persistent focus on making things simpler.
While describing Umbraco’s history, Madsen said there have been three key elements to their success: software, community, and company. The first decade of their growth was focused on making great software and aligning with Hartvig’s vision of open source. The second was focused on nurturing an active community that loved their product – and built on it in a big way. At last count, Umbraco boasts over 220,000 developers and users worldwide, which is an astounding amount of adoption by any measure.
With the software and community pieces firing on all cylinders, the company is now focused on the company, which is where Madsen comes in. While his mission over the last five years has revolved around “customer happiness,” his job as CEO will require a balancing of the elements to achieve scale in a competitive, mature, and increasingly commoditized market.
“We believe we’re in a very strong position with the balance of the elements,” said Madsen, speaking of the software, community, and company components. “We’ve reinvented the way our community works, we have a mature model for engaging community teams around the globe, and we can give them something to build on.”
To reach the next level, Umbraco has invested in expanding its product set. Along with its flagship open-source Umbraco CMS, they now feature <a href="https://umbraco.com/products/umbraco-heartcore/" target="_blank">Umbraco Heartcore</a>, a headless offering; <a href="https://umbraco.com/products/umbraco-cloud/" target="_blank">Umbraco Cloud</a>, a fully-hosted ecosystem that boasts simplicity as one of its core attributes; and <a href="https://umbraco.com/products/umbraco-uno/" target="_blank">Umbraco Uno</a>, a one-stop platform for non-technical marketers and creative agencies.
Along with its vast community of members, including a large partner network that offers customized solutions that integrate with Umbraco, the company now counts more than 700,000 websites worldwide – the majority in Europe and the U.S. – running live on its solutions. Along the way, the company has scored some impressive customers, including JP Morgan, Rubbermaid, Scholl, the NFL, and other market leaders.
<h2>Monterro brings extensive CMS experience to Umbraco </h2>
On the Monterro side of the ledger, the stars couldn’t be more aligned – and Madsen is thrilled with the outcome. He said the private equity partner stood out because of their financial structure, but also because members of their operational staff served in key roles at other CMS platforms, including Episerver.
“With extensive CMS experience and a true belief in open-source software, Monterro is a perfect match as we strive to meet the increasing demand for best-of-breed DXP solutions that make complex technologies easy to use,” Madsen said.
As part of its mission to turn Nordic software companies into global market leaders, Monterro has completed 17 investments and 17 add-on investments since 2012. These include operational experience from successfully developing and running companies such as Pointsec, Orc Software, and CMS vendor Episerver, now <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/episerver-rebrands-as-optimizely-following-acquisition/" target="_blank">Optimizely</a>.
“With Monterro’s valuable guidance and capital,” Madsen remarked, “we will continue to work closely with our active open-source community to bring the Umbraco family of user-friendly, flexible, and robust CMS platforms to an even greater portfolio of companies in even more countries.”
While the structure of Umbraco’s ownership has changed, Madsen affirmed that the company’s direction will remain the same. “Our ambition is to use this position and invest money back into the continued growth of all the elements that constitute Umbraco," he said. "We will continue to focus on creating world-class software that produces outstanding value for users and customers.”
<h2>Market consolidation and confronting the data challenge</h2>
One area we discussed was the breakneck consolidation echoing across the CMS market and the drive to shore up the data layer – <a href="https://www.gartner.com/reviews/market/digital-experience-platforms" target="_blank">a key requirement for Gartner</a> in their assessment of modern digital experience platforms.
Earlier this year, we saw several DXP players purchase customer data platforms (CDPs) to address the “missing data link” in their vision of completeness. This includes <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/optimizely-acquires-customer-data-platform-zaius/" target="_blank">Optimizely’s purchase of Zaius</a> this past March.
Madsen said that data is important, and while Umbraco would love to claim itself as the “single source” for data, what’s important is the aggregation of all relevant data – particularly as it relates to GDPR and other compliance requirements. He said customers must be in control, and with CMS as the backbone of a digital business, this should be made simpler in the process.
<h2>The growth of Enterprise and the role of Microsoft</h2>
“As Umbraco has matured over the last five years, we’re seeing increased demand from Enterprise customers,” said Madsen. At the same time, he said they’re seeing more customers wanting to move campaign sites closer to marketers – which is where Umbraco Uno comes in. As an out-of-the-box solution, it’s providing shorter delivery times for a wider range of clients, from enterprise to full-service digital agencies to design shops.
We also discussed the legacy role of <a href="https://dotnet.microsoft.com/" target="_blank">Microsoft</a> and their history of .NET – which Madsen said continues to be a differentiator given Microsoft’s footprint in key geographies.
<h2>The rise of headless CMS</h2>
In our discussion of Umbraco Heartcore – their headless offering – Madsen reflected that it’s still very new as a stand-alone product. Like other traditional CMS platforms, their API nature has enabled connections and integrations before headless exploded in demand. He maintains that users want the freedom to build and connect as they see fit.
While the jury may be out on whether headless is a lasting trend, Madsen supports the need for agencies to have greater freedom over the frontend and focus on omnichannel. However, he underscored the need for the CMS to be structured around the workflow for users, so it remains easy for editors to do their job.
“We’ve always been focused on the content editor,” he punctuated. “It has to be easy, or they won’t bother.”
<h2>Mining growth from a strong open source community</h2>
What’s abundantly clear is that Umbraco’s fiercely loyal community has been a keystone to their success. Madsen knows this well given his history and proximity to partners during his tenure at Umbraco.
“Users and partners are intertwined, as developers often work for an agency,” he said. “Every developer working on Umbraco makes a living on our software.” This underscores the value of their open source community to their future growth.
Focusing on partners has had an intrinsic “one to many” effect on multiplying Umbraco’s business. Madsen describes their community as the implementers, which has allowed Umbraco to focus on perfecting their software.
We asked Madsen if there’s one thing he would want the market to know about Umbraco, and he again came back to the value of being open source – and the contributions of their community.
“Open source is not a hippie thing anymore,” he noted. “It has a far better development cycle. Developers can raise an issue and get an answer quickly from other developers. It is the true ‘outside in’ approach, not us inventing in a lab and taking something to market. This is all based on real-life experiences that our developers have.”
That sounds like a friendly CMS experience to us – and a true differentiator for an investor like Monterro.
Peace, love, and integration.
<h2>About Umbraco</h2>
Danish Umbraco was founded in 2005 with the vision of making the complex simpler. The company offers a user-friendly best-of-breed platform for content management (CMS) based on open-source technology. With more than 700,000 installations, Umbraco is one of the most deployed Web Content Management Systems on the Microsoft stack. Its success lies in the open-source model, a unique community of more than 220,000 developers and users, and a well-established partner network of digital agencies. Umbraco has 100 employees and is headquartered in Odense, Denmark, with a branch office in Charlotte, North Carolina. For more information, visit <a href="https://umbraco.com/" target="_blank">www.umbraco.com</a>

Umbraco CMS Acquired by Software Investor Monterro: Interview with CEO Kim Sneum Madsen

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Image of Umbraco logo and CEO Kim Sneum Madsen

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Umbraco Engage Enhances Digital Personalization to Drive Higher Conversion Rates

Umbraco CMS Acquired by Software Investor Monterro: Interview with CEO Kim Sneum Madsen