Visual Workspace and the Future of Content Management

Andrew Kumar is the GVP, Customer Solutions & Tech Ecosystem at Uniform, and a CMS Critic Contributor.

Effective content management is crucial for businesses to stay competitive and engage with their audience in today's digital landscape. As technology evolves, so do the processes and methods for managing and creating content. 

The shift to composable architectures has disrupted the more traditional model for content management, providing opportunities to accelerate time to market and tap omnichannel capabilities. One emerging trend is the concept of a visual workspace, which is revolutionizing how teams collaborate to build websites and apps. 

In this article, we'll explore the future of content management through the lens of 8 key predictions, focusing on how visual workspaces are shaping this landscape. 

Prediction 1: “All hands on deck” when building websites and apps

Traditionally, website development and content creation have been siloed tasks performed by developers or marketers. This is nothing new; collaboration has seldom been a main staple of the developer/marketer workflow, which has been described as “broken” for the last two decades.

However, in the future of content management, there will be a conscious shift towards a more collaborative approach. A broad spectrum of digitally-savvy team members will be involved in the process, democratizing who can build, deploy, and launch with confidence. This “new way” is more inclusive, allowing diverse perspectives and expertise to come together, resulting in more innovative and user-centric experiences.

Prediction 2: Platforms must coexist

With the increasing complexity of digital experiences, it's unrealistic to expect a single platform to fulfill all of your requirements. In fact, according to the Content Marketing Institute, less than 25% of marketers believe they have the right tools to succeed. 

In the future, platforms will need to adapt and learn to coexist. To that end, we can expect to see a combination of consolidation and modularization. Different platforms will be used for specific tasks based on their strengths, allowing organizations to leverage the right tool for each job. This approach promotes flexibility and adaptability as businesses can easily integrate new technologies or features without being tied down by a monolithic system. 

Prediction 3: Experience modeling will rise in importance

While content modeling has long been a cornerstone of effective content management, experience modeling will gain prominence. 

Unlike content modeling, experience modeling creates clear divisions and boundaries within digital experiences while enabling seamless reusability across multiple channels. Dedicated tools for experience modeling will emerge, providing organizations with better control over their customer journeys and enabling them to deliver consistent experiences across multiple touchpoints.
 

Prediction 4: Brands will start with the customer and deprioritize orchestration

Orchestration has certainly become an oft-used buzzword in the composable realm. But in the future, brands will shift to prioritizing customer-centricity over orchestration.

Content graphs, which provide visibility and observability of existing content, will enable organizations to solve specific business problems. Orchestration, however, will take a backseat – as it does not directly improve customer experience or tackle customer problems. This shift in focus will allow businesses to allocate resources more effectively and achieve a higher return on investment.

Prediction 5: No more “lift and shift,” only incremental migration

Ask any practitioner who has redesigned or migrated a website to a new CMS, and they will likely say the same thing: it's hard.

Content migration has traditionally been a daunting task. However, in the future of content management, we can expect a more granular and piecemeal approach to content migration. Instead of “lifting and shifting” entire websites or applications, organizations will adopt an incremental migration strategy. This approach allows for faster and more efficient migration while minimizing disruption to ongoing operations.

Prediction 6: More accelerator "products" for integration and white-labelling

Accelerators are pre-built technology solutions that provide a faster time to market. To mitigate the risks associated with current accelerators, the future of content management will see an increase in accelerator "products." These products offer pre-built integrations and white-label solutions that can be easily customized to meet specific business needs. 

By leveraging these accelerators, organizations can streamline their development process, reduce time-to-market, and ensure greater consistency across their digital experiences.

Prediction 7: No-code capabilities for integration frameworks will continue to emerge

As headless and composable stacks gain traction in the industry, integration frameworks will play a crucial role in connecting various components seamlessly. In the future of content management, we can expect to see the rise of no-code integration frameworks. These frameworks allow non-technical users to build integrations between different systems without writing code. 

This democratization of integration capabilities will empower teams to quickly adapt and connect their preferred tools without relying on developers.

Prediction 8: AI quality will improve

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has already made significant advancements in various industries, and content management is no exception. 

In the future, we can expect AI to play a more prominent role in CMS platforms. Improved AI capabilities will enable personalized user experiences, enhanced search functionality, chatbots and virtual assistants, automation of repetitive tasks, dynamic pricing and offers, real-time language translation, accessibility enhancements, and much more. 

These advancements will revolutionize how businesses engage with their audience and deliver tailored experiences at scale.

Conclusion

The future of content management is bright – and filled with exciting possibilities. At the center of it all are visual workspaces, which are reshaping how teams build digital experiences by fostering inclusivity and collaboration. 

With the predicted trends discussed in this article, organizations can prepare themselves for the evolving landscape of content management and stay ahead of the curve. By embracing these changes and leveraging emerging technologies like AI and integration frameworks, businesses can create compelling experiences that resonate with their audience while streamlining their workflows.

Continue the conversation with Andrew Kumar in the Boye & Co CMS Experts Community

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