Kontent.ai

A CMS that spots issues, applies fixes, and keeps teams in control.

Nominations are Open for the 14th Annual CMS Critic Awards!

CMS Critic Awards - 2025 Nominations

<hr /> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Battle_After_Another">One Battle After Another</a> is already garnering buzz as an Oscar contender. But there’s another battle brewing for the top spots in the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/cms-critic-awards">14th Annual CMS Critic Awards</a> – and you get to nominate the contenders!As usual, we’re not the Academy. During this contest, we put you in the judge’s seat, so you can tell us what CMS and related tools really blew your mind in 2025.Keep scrolling for more background and the house rules, but here's how it works in a nutshell: Make your nominations at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/nominate">www.cmscritic.com/nominate.</a> We take the top five contenders across a range of categories, open that up to general voting, and announce the victors in late February.DiCaprio might steal the show on screen, but he doesn’t hold a candle to agentic workflows. Content is the real star of this action flick, and the CMS Critic Awards are an opportunity for you to sing the praises of the platforms that power your digital experiences.<h3 id="celebrating-the-content-community">Celebrating the content community</h3>If you’re not familiar, the CMS Critic Awards are an institution in the content management and digital experience industries. It unites rabid fans across the globe to rally around the tools they love – no small feat in today’s fleeting technology landscape. With well-established enterprise vendors and a plethora of open source platforms, CMS enjoys some of the most loyal user communities in the tech pantheon. That’s why we’ve had such incredible participation over the past 13 years, making ours one of the longest-running awards programs in our industry (you can check out<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/cms-critic-awards"> all the previous winners here</a>).While CMS is our North Star, we also make space for the expanded ecosystem of products. Over the last decade, we've seen the rapid rise of digital experience technologies, from pure-play to fully integrated. To that end, we include categories for e-commerce, digital asset management, and even product information management. If it's a system that manages content, we want to celebrate it.In a world where using technology can feel like fighting one battle after another, the CMS Critic Awards is proof that loyalty still lives – and people make all the difference.<h3 id="2025:-the-agents-cometh…">2025: The agents cometh…</h3>…and they’re still coming. Without a doubt, this was the year when AI shifted to an agentic gear, with nearly every CMS, DXP, and adjacent platform touting its advancements with agents (and in some cases, “super agents”). It was a rapid-fire news cycle infused with innovative announcements – and we covered some of the biggest shifts throughout the year.We traversed the world in 2025, from San Francisco to Hamburg, connecting with communities and following the rattle and hum of the content world. With hundreds of articles published over the last 12 months, there’s too much to cover – but here are a few highlights:<ul><li>Platforms made big moves this year, from <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/">Contentstack’s acquisition of Lytics</a> to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/seasons-of-love-sitecore-symposium-2025-sings-putting-ai-and-marketers-in-the-spotlight">Sitecore’s launch of its new Sitecore AI.</a> We attended both conferences, reporting from the ground with exclusive interviews. </li><li>At every event – from <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/joy-to-the-content-world-storyblok-brings-ai-innovation-and-human-connection-to-joyconf-2025">Storyblok’s inaugural JoyConf</a> to the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/the-deep-dish-on-composable-6-tasty-takeaways-from-the-mach-alliances-2025-conference">MACH Alliance’s “The Composable Conference” </a>– agentic AI was a constant undercurrent, manifesting in a wide range of applications, use cases, features, and partnerships. </li><li>Analyst grids were rife with change as enterprise vendors like <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/optimizely-opal-fuels-marketers-with-powerful-ai-agents-via-googles-gemini-enterprise">Optimizely made headlines</a> with AI advancements and GEO-ready CMS capabilities. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/rush-to-geo-adobe-to-acquire-semrush-for-19b-to-enhance-ai-search">Adobe’s acquisition of SEO darling Semrush</a> was big news, Progress shook things up with its new <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/progress-powers-its-vision-for-generative-cms-with-agentic-rag-and-a-legacy-of-innovation">Progress Agentic RAG offering</a>, and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/fight-the-cognitive-overload-brightspot-lights-the-way-to-productivity-with-its-evolutionary-cms-release">Brightspot launched</a> a game-changing release of its CMS.</li><li>Meanwhile, headless CMS players continued to drive innovation, from <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/the-headless-holodeck-joel-varty-of-agility-cms-on-warp-speed-demos-ai-and-the-next-generation-of-cms">Agility</a> to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/agentic-cms-why-kontentais-vision-for-the-future-of-content-management-is-inspiring">Kontent.ai</a> to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/hygraph-studio-sets-sail-with-increased-content-velocity-and-new-asset-management-capabilities">Hygraph</a>, leveraging their native composability to accelerate new AI and agentic capabilities and a host of dynamite enhancements.</li><li>Open source was also a big part of the conversation. In the wake of last year’s <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/wp-engine-wins-an-injunction-against-automattic-is-the-wordpress-scorched-earth-campaign-over">“WordPress Debacle,”</a> we broke the news about the new <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/alls-fair-in-love-and-war-new-fair-package-manager-aims-to-bring-peace-to-the-wordpress-ecosystem">FAIR Package introduced at Alt Ctrl Org,</a> helping to shape a healing path forward. During our coverage of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/sowing-the-seeds-of-love-umbracos-codegarden-2025-celebrates-20-years-of-community-and-innovation">Umbraco’s Codegarden event,</a> we saw notable traction in areas like orchestration, MCP, and more. And we were honored to help judge <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://t3con.typo3.com/awards">the TYPO3 Awards,</a> which featured some inspiring and ambitious entries.    </li><li>Along with our coverage of pure play DAM platforms like <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/cloudinary">Cloudinary</a>, customer data was on our radar. From <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/hightouch-launches-high-performance-agents-to-help-marketers-move-10x-faster">Hightouch</a> to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/treasure-data-brings-ai-marketing-cloud-and-super-agent-capabilities-to-aws-marketplace">Treasure Data</a>, we saw incredible use cases for AI and evolving roadmaps for agents at scale. More to come on that in 2026. </li><li>We featured lots of great research on a range of topics, from <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/agentic-panic-new-study-finds-ai-agents-in-production-face-infrastructure-and-reliability-challenges">agent system performance</a> to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/put-on-a-happy-cms-face-storybloks-facial-coding-experiment-reveals-how-ai-is-sparking-joy">facial coding experiments.</a> We also tracked some innovative new tools in areas like <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/one-ux-to-rule-them-all-auxia-powers-customer-journeys-with-ai-agents-in-new-unified-experience">customer journey orchestration</a> while continuing to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/the-complete-wordpress-accessibility-checklist-for-2026">shine a light on accessibility</a> and more exotic topics like <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-i-mean-to-say-a-practitioner-perspective-on-ai-semantics-and-content-evolution">semantics and content evolution.</a>  </li></ul>Much like last year, traditional category lines are blurring, and new monikers are entering the lexicon. Platforms now offer a wide range of tools and capabilities, particularly in the case of DXPs. But we're focusing on clear, well-established lanes – and as always, if you feel a single vendor can live in more than one category, it’s your choice to nominate it. <h3 id="be-kind-–-your-mother-might-be-watching">Be kind – your mother might be watching</h3>The CMS Critic Awards are intended to be fun and friendly. But they do, at times, get a little intense. Every year, we receive thousands of ballots. Users come together like wolfpacks, championing the platforms they love. We also intercept a number of, shall we say, “passionate” pleas, demanding to know why certain platforms were in a specific category, or why their tool wasn’t in the running. As always, we try to operate in a space of respect and integrity. Obviously, if a platform isn’t truly open source, it won’t be considered for “Best Open Source CMS.” But now more than ever, we're blurring the proverbial lines – and let’s face it, the analysts are also compounding the problem. So, our editorial team endeavors to stay out of the nominating process. As a reminder, we only take the top five in each category by nomination count, so anything below that won’t be featured in the final voting in February.To the victors go the spoils! Winners receive official badging, shout-outs on social media, and one month of upgraded status in our highly-trafficked <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products">Product Directory.</a> <h3 id="how-to-make-your-nominations-">How to make your nominations </h3>The good news is that it’s easy – and fun. Here’s how you can participate:<ul><li>Visit <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.cmscritic.com/nominate">www.cmscritic.com/nominate</a></li><li>Fill out the required fields and enter the names of your nominees in each category. You don't have to include a nomination for every category – only complete the fields that you care about, and your ballot will be counted. Remember that you can nominate the same vendor in multiple categories.</li><li>Once completed, click the “Submit” button at the bottom of the form. </li><li>You can only nominate once, and companies or brands that offer incentives of any kind will be disqualified.</li><li>Spread the word! Remember to share and encourage others to participate, especially across your social channels.</li><li>Nominations close on January 25, 2026, so get out there and rally your communities! Once we tabulate the results, we’ll announce the top five for general voting in early February via email and social. </li></ul>We might call this a battle, but it’s really a lovefest for CMS – and you call the shots. So make your nominations today! <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-events">Upcoming Events</h3> <img style="width:31.44%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/08/cms-kickoff-2026-logo.png" alt="" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff26">CMS Kickoff 2026</a></h4>January 13-14, 2026 – St. Petersburg, FLMeet industry leaders at our fourth annual CMS Kickoff – the industry's premier global CMS 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" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff26">so secure your tickets today.</a> <img style="width:30.13%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/12/image-1765546475634.png" /><h4 id="umbraco-codegarden-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://codegarden.umbraco.com/">Umbraco Codegarden 2026</a></h4>June 10–11, 2026 – Copenhagen, DKJoin us in Copenhagen (or online) for the biggest Umbraco conference in the world – two full days of learning, genuine conversations, and the kind of inspiration that brings business leaders, developers, and digital creators together. Codegarden 2026 is packed with both business and tech content, from deep-dive workshops and advanced sessions to real-world case studies and strategy talks. You’ll leave with ideas, strategies, and knowledge you can put into practice immediately. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://codegarden.umbraco.com/">Book your tickets today.</a>

The ‘Battle Royale’ Begins: Nominations are OPEN for the 14th Annual CMS Critic Awards!

Your voice. Your choice. Tell us what tools really won your heart in 2025.

The Zero-Cost Content Paradox

AI is lowering the cost of content production. Can brands avoid drowning in their own content?

An Operating Model to Optimize Content Operations (and Lots of Other Stuff)

An Operating Model to Optimize Content Operations (and Probably Lots of Other Stuff)

<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/critics/michael-spenceley">Michael Spenceley</a> is Leader, Learning &amp; Content Standards - Innovative Medicine at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.jnj.com/">Johnson &amp; Johnson</a> and a CMS Critic Contributor. <hr /> Most organizations understand <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/content-operations">content operations</a>, even if there are differences in how it's executed. Generally speaking, it's the foundation of people, processes, and technology that enables a brand to manage its content at scale across a multitude of channels. But it's also a living, breathing activity that requires continuous maintenance and consideration. Regardless of how you navigate the ebb and flow of creating, reviewing, publishing, and managing your content, there are fundamentals that almost every model shares – and areas where things can be optimized and improved.In my years of managing content across large enterprises with distributed teams in highly regulated industries, I've formulated an operating model for optimizing content operations. Not only has it proven very successful in content applications, but it also has the potential to improve collaboration, support strategic goals, and enhance other facets of your business operations.<h3 id="why-is-this-important?">Why is this important?</h3>You may already intuitively think about your operation in this way. However, this structure provides a clear path for continuing to optimize your operation over a longer period. It also gives your team and your broader organization a clear language to articulate where and how work gets done today and a roadmap to get it to where it should be in the future. While I’ve framed this concept in the context of content operations, most of it likely applies to any service delivery operation across a wide range of processes and industries.  <h3 id="what-is-it?">What is it?</h3>This model provides a clear set of options for how work gets done, where it gets done, and who does it – with a focus on ensuring that the how, where, and who is fit for purpose based on the nature of the work. Here is an example of a tiered operating model: <ul><li>Tier 1 – Stays with the business<ul><li>Mostly strategic work that requires a high level of business or product subject matter expertise</li><li>Highest cost tier </li></ul></li><li>Tier 2 – Centralized content services<ul><li>Mix of tactical and strategic, requires moderate level of business or product subject matter expertise, significant content strategy expertise, and proximity to business stakeholders in tier 1</li><li>Lower cost tier</li></ul></li><li>Tier 3 – Outsource/Offshore<ul><li>Mostly transactional, requires low level of business or product subject matter expertise but still requires human intervention</li><li>Low-cost tier</li></ul></li><li>Tier 4 – Automate<ul><li>Transactional, repeatable and requires minimal human intervention</li><li>Lowest cost tier </li></ul></li></ul><h3 id="how-do-you-do-it?">How do you do it?</h3>It’s worth mentioning at this point that all the steps below shouldn’t be done in isolation; they should all be done in partnership with business stakeholders who currently own and interact with these processes. <ol><li>Start by defining the tiers in your model. Determine which tiers already exist and then consider tiers you need in the future that you may not have today.</li><li>Document processes, activities, and tasks that are done in each tier today. It’s up to you how granular you get. If your processes are complex, you’re going to need more granularity. If you plan to split certain activities across tiers, you’re going to need more granularity to understand which parts of the process should sit in different tiers. </li><li>Estimate your cost for each tier. This can be as simple as an average hourly rate by tier.</li><li>Based on cost and complexity of the work in each tier today, consider where you have opportunities to centralize, optimize and move work down the tiers. Work can move down the tiers over time, or it can skip tiers depending on the nature of the work. </li></ol><h3 id="how-might-this-help-you?-">How might this help you? </h3>It provides a roadmap to take in new work in a structured way, and it shows your business partners that you’re willing to collaborate in a way that acknowledges what they value, their pain points, and their appetite for change. In the beginning, you may be focused on work that’s perceived as tactical or tedious that you don’t want to do, but that gives you an opportunity to centralize, standardize and optimize it. This opens the door to begin a conversation about taking on more strategic and impactful work. This doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a journey.  <h3 id="watchouts">Watchouts</h3>Here are some common pitfalls to be aware of as you consider implementing your version of this model:<ul><li>Don’t create unnecessary handoffs. Be thoughtful about splitting up related activities across different tiers. Sometimes it makes sense to keep certain activities together.</li><li>As you implement, you’re moving work between teams, between vendors, and maybe between countries. This is a delicate process that requires a focus on managing and leading through the change.</li><li>While there will be challenges and a learning curve, once a process moves from one tier to another and is stabilized, it should be better than it was before. This isn’t just about cost; it’s about optimization of both the process and the experience of everyone who interacts with that process.</li><li>Make sure your lower-cost tiers (especially automation) actually cost less. If it costs you millions of dollars to build an AI to do a task that a human can do for a few thousand dollars per year, it may not be worth it – at least not yet. As AI becomes more advanced and cheaper, that time will come.</li><li>If you come across activities that just don’t make sense, always question it. Don’t try to optimize something that shouldn’t be done at all.    </li></ul> <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, CanadaWe are delighted to present 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>

Michael Spenceley of Johnson & Johnson has a blueprint for improving performance on multiple levels.

Griddo DXP Powers University Websites and Digital Experiences with a PhD in Performance

matt-garrepy

<hr /> Umbraco is opening a new gift in this post-holiday season: a new office in Melbourne, Australia.This is just the latest in the open source CMS vendor’s global ambitions, beginning with the opening of a US office in Charlotte back in August of 2020. Since then, the company has expanded its regional hosting for <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://umbraco.com/products/umbraco-cloud/">Umbraco Cloud</a> users in both Australia and Canada – and most recently established a UK office in September of 2025.This is another big move, demonstrating Umbraco’s confidence as it looks to grow across multiple markets in the Asia-Pacific region. To get the job done, the company has tapped <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmanueltissera/">Emmanuel Tissera</a> to create and lead a team of dedicated professionals tasked with supporting Umbraco’s partners and enterprise customers in Australia, New Zealand, and the APAC territory. <figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:37.85%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/01/image-1767719899828.png" /></figure>Umbraco's Head of APAC Emmanuel Tissera. Source: Umbraco Tissera comes from solid Umbraco stock. As the previous Technical Director at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.luminary.com/about">Luminary</a>, the first of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://umbraco.com/partners/find-a-solution-partner/?skill=&amp;sector=&amp;country=australia&amp;level=platinum">three digital agencies in Australia</a> to achieve Umbraco Platinum Partner status, he led and grew a team of developers building digital experiences for enterprise clients. He was also instrumental in establishing Umbraco’s regional hosting in 2023 to provide data residency for Umbraco Cloud users in Australia and New Zealand.“I’m genuinely excited about taking on this new role, which is the culmination of fifteen years working with the Umbraco CMS on both the client and agency side,” Tissera said. As the company framed in its announcement, a growing number of APAC partners are building highly scalable digital experiences on the Umbraco CMS platform for a wide range of organizations with enterprise-grade requirements. This includes <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.calicoagency.com.au/our-work/zoos-victoria/">Zoos Victoria</a> (which serves 2.25 million visitors a year), <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.koben.com.au/projects/australia-for-unhcr">Australia for UNHCR</a>, and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.remade.org.au/">ReMade in Australia</a>. To provide partners with essential local support for RFPs, technical demos, and PoCs, Umbraco decided to open an office in Melbourne's central business district.According to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mats-persson-296a66/">CEO Mats Persson</a>, the addition of Tissera is a key part of the success quotient, providing seasoned leadership and broad industry expertise – all underscored by a strong Umbraco foundation.“We are thrilled to have someone with Emmanuel’s depth of technical expertise, business acumen, community involvement, and interpersonal skills to lead, grow, and strengthen the Umbraco APAC team,” Persson said. “He brings more than two decades’ experience of guiding strategy, implementing technology, and shaping solutions architecture for leading enterprises. Clients, colleagues and the community can be reassured that they are in safe hands.<h3 id="a-deep-heritage-of-cms-expertise">A deep heritage of CMS expertise</h3>As a member of Umbraco's Management team reporting directly to Persson, Tissera will lead the strategy and execution for growing the Umbraco footprint across the Asia-Pacific region, focusing on the development of high-value relationships with partners, clients, and the open-source community. Leveraging his breadth of hands-on experience – crystallized by earning Umbraco MVP status six years in a row – Tissera plans to demonstrate the power of Umbraco as a scalable, performant, and friendly CMS for businesses and developers in the region. During his decade-long tenure at Luminary, he built enterprise-scale websites for leading Australian brands, including Snooze, Metricon, and the Melbourne Airport. He also provided solutions architecture for Schneider Electric and Netwealth, and led discovery projects for the New South Wales Government and UNICEF.Tissera brings proven insight to this new role. For the last 23 years, he has worked as a software engineer, building experience across the market’s leading content management systems. From the client perspective, he has worked with a bevy of notable organizations, including Emirates in Dubai and the Australian Associated Press. Tissera’s success is built on a solid Umbraco foundation, and he credits the company for helping to unlock his personal journey into the development field. He continues to pay that forward as a highly regarded contributor to the open source community, organizing regular meetups with fellow Umbraco developers across the APAC region. “My Umbraco expertise helped me to land my first web developer role in Australia, and I’ve been organizing developer meetups for the past eight years,” Tissera said. “The opening of the Melbourne office demonstrates Umbraco HQ’s commitment to APAC. I’m proud to be leading and growing the team to provide boots on the ground for Umbraco partners, enterprise customers, and the wider Umbraco community in Australia, New Zealand, and the Asia-Pacific region.”<h3 id="the-verdict-">The verdict </h3>Umbraco is opening 2026 with a strong commitment to its global strategy, building methodically and mindfully. By tapping a proven talent with Tissera, the company is leaning on a local expert with a worldwide reputation – someone who can help frame the benefits of the open source platform and its roadmap as it edges further into AI, orchestration, MCP, and other initiatives. There’s wind in Umbraco’s sails, and for good reason. In my <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/the-right-person-to-lead-umbraco-appoints-mats-persson-as-ceo-reflecting-growth-ahead">previous conversations</a> with Persson – including a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3EYipUWEPc&amp;t=102s">recent webinar we co-hosted</a> on the future of composability – the company is harnessing its differentiated value to enable enterprises with a complete ecosystem of capabilities. Much of the innovation and traction is coming from its highly engaged community of more than 250,000 open-source contributors and an international network of digital agency partners, with trust being reinforced by the Umbraco commercial organization – which ensures the platform remains supported, updated, and resilient.As 2026 blossoms, agentic AI will undoubtedly be a critical requirement for enterprises. But it must demonstrate value. Umbraco’s roadmap continues to drive innovation in key areas, and its open source posture gives it a unique angle when it comes to customization and experimentation. Further, as digital sovereignty becomes a more central topic for organizations, having options for localized cloud hosting provides an added dimension of confidence and trust. These are all points in its value equation. Umbraco has always been smart, patient, and intentional with its strategy, and this latest expansion demonstrates an intelligent focus on reinforcing support for people and partnerships – which is always the best place to activate growth. <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-events">Upcoming Events</h3> <img style="width:31.44%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/08/cms-kickoff-2026-logo.png" alt="" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff26">CMS Kickoff 2026</a></h4>January 13-14, 2026 – St. Petersburg, FLMeet industry leaders at our fourth annual CMS Kickoff – the industry's premier global CMS 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" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff26">so secure your tickets today.</a> <img style="width:30.13%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/12/image-1765546475634.png" /><h4 id="umbraco-codegarden-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://codegarden.umbraco.com/">Umbraco Codegarden 2026</a></h4>June 10–11, 2026 – Copenhagen, DKJoin us in Copenhagen (or online) for the biggest Umbraco conference in the world – two full days of learning, genuine conversations, and the kind of inspiration that brings business leaders, developers, and digital creators together. Codegarden 2026 is packed with both business and tech content, from deep-dive workshops and advanced sessions to real-world case studies and strategy talks. You’ll leave with ideas, strategies, and knowledge you can put into practice immediately. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://codegarden.umbraco.com/">Book your tickets today.</a>

Umbraco Accelerates Global Growth with New Melbourne Office, Appoints Emmanuel Tissera Head of APAC

cms-critic-staff

In 2025, it wasn’t just AI that made CMS shine. It was love, actually

Key Trends for 2026: What’s Ahead for Content Management, CX, and AI with CoreMedia’s Sören Stamer

What is a CMS in 2026? Mark Demeny on AI, Content Supply Chains, and the Future of Content Management

Step into the AI ‘Time MACHine’: Jason Cottrell of MACH Alliance on what’s ahead in 2026

Shopify - The global commerce platform

Build your business with Shopify to sell online, offline, and everywhere in between.

The global commerce platform

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Brightspot Illuminates the Future of CMS with Human-Controlled, AI-Powered Storytelling 

Agentic panic? New study finds AI agents in production face infrastructure and reliability challenges 

Kentico Achieves Big Milestones in 2025, Citing AI Innovation and Xperience by Kentico as Key Drivers

<hr /> <ul><li>Storyblok surveyed 200 senior IT and procurement professionals regarding their AI strategies</li><li>90% of businesses plan to increase their AI investment in 2026</li><li>61% cited data privacy and regulatory concerns as the biggest challenges to successful AI adoption</li><li>91% indicated that AI will improve content management within their organization</li><li>Only 23% have fully integrated GEO-related strategies</li></ul> It’s true: bad news sells. And when it comes to AI, the negative vibes can be particularly potent. Look no further than the often-referenced MIT report that cites a whopping <a href="But%20the%20lesson%20isn’t%20that%20GenAI%20is%20broken.%20It’s%20that%20companies%20are%20trying%20to%20erase%20the%20very%20drag%20that%20creates%20value.">95% of GenAI pilots at companies are failing.</a>Of course, it’s all about context. And if you read more deeply into the research, the MIT study suggests that it’s not AI that’s broken – it’s that businesses and stakeholders are trying to avoid the essential “drag” that creates value. They’re relying on generic, brittle tools that aren’t designed with memory or learning loops.There’s also been <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/open-questions/is-ai-actually-a-bubble">talk of an “AI bubble”</a> that continues to permeate the zeitgeist. Based on past tech cycles, it’s not out of step to forecast an epic “burst” given the billions poured into the sector since 2022. We’re subjected to a regular dose of fear-mongering around this topic, but there's evidence that some of the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://fortune.com/2025/09/03/what-previous-ai-winters-can-tell-investors-and-executives-about-what-might-be-coming-next-for-ai/">M&amp;A moats could be drying up.</a>Before you start chanting about the coming AI winter – buoyed by the notion that just 5% of GenAI pilots are yielding tangible results – many businesses still seem bullish about AI. That’s the sentiment reflected in new research from <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.storyblok.com/">Storyblok</a>, which analyzed the field through the lens of content management. Recently, the CMS vendor surveyed 200 professionals at large-scale enterprises, targeting IT and procurement roles responsible for AI decision-making. The research focused on their 2026 planning, the hurdles faced in successfully adopting these technologies, their views on the major benefits of AI, and how it’s affecting their content management strategies. <figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:28.6%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/12/dominik-angerer.jpg" alt="Dominik Angerer headshot" /></figure>Storyblok CEO and Co-founder, Dominik Angerer Storyblok uncovered several notable nuggets from the survey, chiefly surrounding budgets and spending. According to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominikangerer/">Dominik Angerer,</a> CEO and Co-Founder of Storyblok, companies seem poised to dedicate more funding to their AI initiatives despite any prognostications about an AI bubble bursting. “Our research paints an overwhelmingly positive business view of AI adoption as we look ahead to 2026,” he said. “Budgets look set to continue to grow robustly, and we have seen a significant increase in the number of businesses that say their adoption of AI is mature or fully integrated. There is also growing confidence that AI can and will deliver great ROI."I certainly noted this abundance of enthusiasm at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/joy-to-the-content-world-storyblok-brings-ai-innovation-and-human-connection-to-joyconf-2025">Storyblok's JoyConf event</a> back in October, and the company is building momentum as it introduces more AI features and capabilities in this burgeoning field of AI-enhanced content management. Here are some highlights from the report that are putting wind in its sails. <h3 id="content-management-leads-the-pack-for-genai-impact">Content management leads the pack for GenAI impact</h3>Bullish is the word, and businesses seem prepared to put their money where their mouths are, with the majority leaning into more activity than the previous year.When asked about their AI investment plans for 2026, 57% said they expected it to “significantly increase,” 33% cited a “slight increase,” and 9% believed budgets would remain flat. Only 2% said they expected a reduction in their AI budget. But that’s predicting what’s ahead. For many, the optimistic forecast is built on previously successful outcomes or positive signals coming from existing pilots. For example, respondents said they have seen significant benefits from implementing AI technology, with 54% noting “operational efficiency gains” as the biggest ROI. This was followed by 48% citing a “faster time to value,” 43% noting “enhanced employee productivity,” and 41% stating “streamlined decision making” was the big benefit.Within the pantheon of targeted business applications, content management was cited as one of the top functions that generative AI would impact, with 91% saying it would improve this function within their organization. This makes sense given the strong adoption of AI across CMS tooling and workflows, presenting businesses with proven product features and solutions that already utilize AI to power workflows, drive personalization, orchestrate agents, and other AI-enabled capabilities that are fast becoming requirements of modern content management strategies. “Content management is one of the areas where there seems to be near-complete consensus on the transformational impact of AI,” Dominik said. <h3 id="geo-adoption-is-still-lagging">GEO adoption is still lagging</h3>As consumers shift their search behavior towards answer engines like <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chatgpt.com/">ChatGPT</a> or <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://search.google/ways-to-search/ai-mode/">Google’s AI Mode,</a> the harsh realities of decaying website traffic and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://searchengineland.com/zero-click-searches-up-organic-clicks-down-456660">“zero-click searches”</a> are settling in. How bad is it? <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://searchengineland.com/search-engine-traffic-2026-prediction-437650">Gartner predicts</a> that by next year, traditional search engine volume will drop by a breathtaking 25%, with search marketing losing its share to AI chatbots and other virtual agents.To combat this phenomenon, brands are building beyond their current SEO strategies and embracing <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generative_engine_optimization">Generative Engine Optimization, or GEO</a> – the practice of adapting digital content and online presence management to improve visibility in results produced by <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generative_artificial_intelligence">generative artificial intelligence</a>. While GEO strategies present a real opportunity for addressing these realities, businesses are still behind. Acccording to Storyblok’s research, 41% had either not started or were in the early stages of adopting GEO, with only 23% saying they had a full strategy implemented. “With less than a quarter of businesses saying they have adapted to these changes,” Dominik codified, “it’s clear there’s a lot of work to be done to ensure businesses can regain confidence in their content.”Without a robust GEO strategy, businesses will struggle to fully optimize their content strategy in an AI-first world of consumer search habits. Clearly, organizations are lagging in this category, but there’s a growing awareness – and a compelling rationale – for getting on board quickly. <h3 id="security-and-data-privacy-are-top-concerns">Security and data privacy are top concerns</h3>AI might be the shining city on the hill, but it’s vulnerable – and that truth is being proven out on a regular basis. Along with performance-based risks relative to guardrails and policy issues, bad actors are exploiting flaws in frameworks and leveraging prompt injections to break walled gardens and elicit brand-damaging behavior. This can range from minor headaches to major security breaches.We’ve also reached a major inflection point in cybersecurity, where AI models have become powerful tools for safeguarding data privacy, but also for conducting state-sponsored attacks. In September, agentic capabilities were <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.anthropic.com/news/disrupting-AI-espionage">used to manipulate Claude Code</a> and infiltrate global targets that included tech companies and financial firms.As such, it’s not surprising to learn that safety was the central concern for respondents in Storyblok’s survey. On a granular level, 61% cited data privacy and regulatory concerns as the biggest challenge in adopting or scaling AI solutions. This was followed by security risks at 58%, and legacy system restrictions at 43%.These hurdles were also reflected in how IT and procurement professionals felt AI adoption could become more successful. 62% said data governance and quality assurance needed to be improved. Meanwhile, 54% wanted better integration with existing systems, and 42% cited increased “vendor transparency.”Notably, only 12% of respondents mentioned “cost-effective pricing” as an area for improvement. This might further underscore that businesses aren’t yet concerned about the cost of AI – or letting the overall price tag stymie their progress.Security is a moving target. As Dominik also noted, despite positive traction, concerns regarding governance and regulatory compliance are likely to grow – and may inhibit AI adoption over the short and medium term. “However,” he said, “it is good news that the professionals in charge of AI procurement have these concerns top of mind.”<h3 id="why-it-matters">Why it matters</h3>As we roll into 2026, Storyblok’s survey provides a glimpse of AI sentiment – and, perhaps, a hopeful one. There are no crystal balls (or at least no reliable ones), and AI’s path has been difficult to gauge on both the foundational and emotional scale. Given the astounding growth and tumultuous rollercoaster of economic and legislative policy headwinds, the last year has proven just how unpredictable things can be.What’s encouraging is to see where the opportunities are for content management, and how stakeholders view it as an area for continued impact. With its intrinsic connection to search, this should light a fire under vendors and agencies to further augment their value and practices regarding GEO, which, based on the data, is not a fully-adopted strategy.Security should be foremost on everyone’s mind. As we rush to drive new AI-powered products and experiences to market, we could potentially expand the surface area for vulnerabilities. Like APIs, this also applies to the fabric of third-party solutions used to compose solutions. The latest example of this came just a few weeks ago, when a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://openai.com/index/mixpanel-incident/">security incident</a> occurred with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://openai.com/">OpenAI</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://mixpanel.com/home/">Mixpanel</a>, a data analytics provider. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.globaldata.com/store/report/agentic-ai-market-analysis/">According to GlobalData,</a> we've now entered the hyper-growth stage of agentic AI. That means everything is accelerating, and that includes the propensity for problems. As the earlier MIT report indicated, friction is a necessary component for assuring the performance of AI – and the same holds true for data privacy and governance. This is not a time to rely on generic, unproven tools; we need performant, well-maintained solutions from trusted sources. This is where vendors like Storyblok are positioning themselves not just as AI-powered platforms – but AI partners in success. <hr /><h4 style="text-align:center" id="looking-for-more-guidance-on-storyblok?-talk-to-an-expert.">Looking for more guidance on Storyblok? <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:31.44%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/08/cms-kickoff-2026-logo.png" alt="" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff26">CMS Kickoff 2026</a></h4>January 13-14, 2026 – St. Petersburg, FLMeet industry leaders at our fourth annual CMS Kickoff – the industry's premier global CMS 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" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff26">so secure your tickets today.</a> <img style="width:30.13%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/12/image-1765546475634.png" /><h4 id="umbraco-codegarden-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://codegarden.umbraco.com/">Umbraco Codegarden 2026</a></h4>June 10–11, 2026 – Copenhagen, DKJoin us in Copenhagen (or online) for the biggest Umbraco conference in the world – two full days of learning, genuine conversations, and the kind of inspiration that brings business leaders, developers, and digital creators together. Codegarden 2026 is packed with both business and tech content, from deep-dive workshops and advanced sessions to real-world case studies and strategy talks. You’ll leave with ideas, strategies, and knowledge you can put into practice immediately. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://codegarden.umbraco.com/">Book your tickets today.</a>

Are businesses bullish on AI in 2026? New research says yes, but security is a top concern

<hr /> The content experience platform category is a bit of a conundrum. While not a CMS, there are certainly content management systems that lay claim to being a “CXP” – which is also an acronym synonymous with “customer experience platform.” That, too, is a horse of a different color.There are also DXPs, which are markedly different beasts. And just like that, you begin to see the problem: between the acronyms and abject confusion, this region of the contentsphere still struggles from a lack of clarity. Even though <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://aragonresearch.com/the-rise-of-content-experience-platforms/">Aragon Research</a> put its stamp on the silo way back in 2021, the idea of a content experience platform has been around for quite some time, and appropriated in different ways. But forget about the category. What’s really important isn’t what a product is, but what it can do for its customers. If there’s been one consistent thread with vendors in this content experience arena, it’s the focus on serving dynamic content and personalizing it with speed and efficiency. That said, there are lots of digital touch points, and lots of content living in different places like CMSes, DAMs, PIMs, and more. With all this siloed stuff, marketers are struggling with brand management, making it a challenge to be fast, nimble, and responsive when creating personalized experiences using all of these disparate assets. This is where <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.smint.io/">Smint.io</a> has established itself as a sort of “portal powerhouse” in the content experience pantheon. The Linz, Austria-based vendor is doing some novel work to help brands and marketing teams publish existing content from where it lives, and do it through fast, easy-to-deploy portals that can be for public, private, or fully authenticated use.And these portals kind of rock. You can check out a mock example of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://brand.oochiali.com/en/?culture=en">Smint's brand portals here. </a> <figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:89.32%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/12/portal_logo_colors-scaled.jpg" /></figure>Source: Smint.io website Smint’s breed of no-code portals enable real-time synchronization of assets and product data from a multitude of sources – places like Microsoft SharePoint, Google Drive, Box, and more. It also includes pure-play DAM systems like Cloudinary or even DXP-based services within platforms like <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/sitecore">Sitecore.</a>The use cases for Smint.io’s platform run the gamut, from brand portals, press and media download portals, and product information portals. They even specialize in <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.smint.io/portal-templates/content-buying/">content buying portals,</a> where you can access images from various sources like stock photography platforms – and set up centralized lightboxes and shopping carts while handling licensing in one place. Smint’s model might seem niche, but it’s exactly the kind of service marketing teams crave to handle large quantities of overloaded content. It makes cross-department collaboration a little easier and breaks down content silos by connecting content sources in one place. That translates into brand consistency and faster time to market for global enterprises like Mattel, Synchrony, and BNP Paribas Real Estate. Now, Smint.io has launched a new OEM partnership with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.censhare.com/en">Censhare</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.marmind.com/">Marmind</a>, founding partners of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://entirely.com/">Entirely</a> – the world’s first open, AI-native marketing technology ecosystem. If you’re not familiar, Entirely is an open, personalized, compliant, and composable solution set of flexible tools designed for collaboration and orchestration and powered by AI. It’s like a cabal of best-of-breed technologies for composable martech, with human guidance and ingenuity as part of the recipe. Some of the other platforms include <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://entirely.com/solutions/adverity?hsLang=en">Adverity</a> for process automation, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://entirely.com/solutions/solutions-elaine?hsLang=en">Elaine</a> for smart growth and marketing automation, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://entirely.com/solutions/zeotap?hsLang=en">Zeotap</a> for CDP-powered data insights, and more.Launched in November, the partnership with Censhare and Marmind merges Smint’s content experience expertise with Censhare’s proven PIM, DAM, and CMS capabilities – and amps it up with Marmind’s marketing resource management features. The integration enables businesses to seamlessly create highly personalized and branded content experiences, allowing them design and manage custom-tailored portals to meet their needs.<h3 id="building-a-‘portal-powerhouse’">Building a ‘portal powerhouse’</h3>According to Smint.io, this trifecta provides a module of functionality, delivering sophisticated branding tools and CMS capabilities. With it, brands can design bespoke portal applications, contextualize assets, and integrate with minimal effort with various platforms via custom components. By creating more compelling content experiences, they can activate both internal and external audiences.“Partnering with Censhare brings our content experience platform directly into an open, AI-orchestrated marketing ecosystem,” said <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/reinhardholzner/">Reinhard Holzner, </a>CEO of Smint.io. “Together, we’re empowering brands to deliver personalized, contextual, and on-brand experiences faster and smarter.”CMS Critic connected with Smint.io about how this partnership will potentially impact its go-to-market strategy. As the company told us, it will enable the further expansion of its enterprise customer segment. They see the open-minded, best-of-breed collaboration with both Censhare and Marmind as a game-changer, one that will stymie isolated solutions from competing with the combined offering.I asked Smint about their focus on personalization, and how they might compare in a market of choices – particularly where AI is acting as a force multiplier. They take a direct page from each specific target group on what they need or expect, be it a very specific content portal or an information stream for AI consumers. Smint’s software is flexible enough to meet a range of use cases and be implemented in a very short timeframe.Some of Smint’s customers are already using the joint offering to power brand portals, as well as product information and marketing portals that are fed by assets and data located in Censhare and/or Marmind. The partnership delivers a unified solution that bridges the gap between content creation and personalized delivery. For Censhare, Smint.io provides a no-code solution that transforms a company's Censhare content into on-brand, client-facing portals, like partner or media hubs.“Smint.io adds powerful branded content experience portals to our ecosystem,” said <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tobiasackermann/">Tobias Ackermann,</a> CEO of Censhare and Entirely. “This partnership boosts our clients’ capability to combine creativity with the flexibility to integrate the various Censhare applications into a single, seamless frontend – setting new standards for speed, scale, and personalization.”<h3 id="pricing">Pricing</h3>Smint.io doesn’t offer fixed pricing, but it does offer a transparent method for calculating costs based on specific parameters. This includes the number of portals, the audience (internal, external, authenticated), the number of users, and the data sources – of which Censhare is an option.There are also some add-ons for analytics, video support, custom forms and pages, and even dynamic content routing. All of this can be tabulated into a total annual cost.Smint does offer a free 21-day trial, which kicks off with an introductory session with a Customer Success Expert. You can learn more about <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.smint.io/pricing/">the details here. </a><h3 id="the-verdict">The verdict</h3>Portals are a unique form of content experience. And Smint.io is more than just a content experience platform – it’s content activation, enabling organizations to seamlessly publish content directly from their DAM, SharePoint, OneDrive, Google Drive, and PIM systems without creating another dreaded content silo. With Smint.io, businesses can deliver engaging, personalized content experiences tailored to specific audiences. Whether for brand management, media distribution, or sales enablement, it helps ensure that content is always accessible, up-to-date, and on-brand. What’s great about Smint is its simplicity. Marketers have enough cognitive overload to manage, and this portal solution eliminates the complexity in a single hub. Deployment is easy, out-of-the-box, and uniquely catered to the collaborative needs of teams, agencies, retailers, and other organizations where nimble marketing solutions are a must. It also eliminates the need for additional asset storage.For Smint.io, Censhare, and Marmind, it represents a strategic alignment to serve global enterprises with scalable, future-proof technology. It has the potential to boost creativity and flexibility for customers by harnessing the combined powers of all three solutions to deliver faster, scalable personalization.Our recommendation: If portal experience management is part of your integrated marketing and content strategy, Smint.io’s new partnership looks promising, and offers a potentially powerful augmentation with Censhare and Marmind – which benefit from the Entirely ecosystem. You can visit the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.smint.io/pricing/">Smint.io website</a> for details on pricing, support, and other resources.   <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-events">Upcoming Events</h3> <img style="width:31.44%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/08/cms-kickoff-2026-logo.png" alt="" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff26">CMS Kickoff 2026</a></h4>January 13-14, 2026 – St. Petersburg, FLMeet industry leaders at our fourth annual CMS Kickoff – the industry's premier global CMS 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" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff26">so secure your tickets today.</a>

Portal Powerhouse: Smint.io, Censhare, and Marmind Partner to Evolve Content Experiences for Brands

Treasure Data Brings AI Marketing Cloud and ‘Super Agent’ Capabilities to AWS Marketplace

<hr /> If you haven’t already heard the React shot heard ‘round the world, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/carapace-nz/posts/?feedView=all">Carapace Security’s</a> Innovation Lead <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lachlan-s-davidson/">Lachlan Davidson</a> discovered a critical vulnerability in components of the popular and widely used <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://react.dev/">React library.</a> It allows unauthenticated remote code execution by exploiting a flaw in how React decodes payloads sent to React Server Function endpoints.How back is it? Using the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Vulnerability_Scoring_System">Common Vulnerability Scoring System</a> (CVSS), it was disclosed as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-55182">CVE-2025-55182</a> and is rated CVSS 10.0. That’s as severe as it gets. Where is it, exactly? According to sources, the vulnerability is present in versions 19.0, 19.1.0, 19.1.1, and 19.2.0 of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.npmjs.com/package/react-server-dom-webpack">react-server-dom-webpack</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.npmjs.com/package/react-server-dom-parcel">react-server-dom-parcel</a>, and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.npmjs.com/package/react-server-dom-turbopack?activeTab=readme">react-server-dom-turbopack</a>.While it was first detected on November 29th, it wasn’t publicly disclosed until December 3rd. That’s when the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/security/china-nexus-cyber-threat-groups-rapidly-exploit-react2shell-vulnerability-cve-2025-55182/">AWS threat intelligence teams</a> observed active exploitation attempts by multiple China state-nexus threat groups, including Earth Lamia and Jackpot Panda. For detailed upgrade and mitigation instructions, read the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://react.dev/blog/2025/12/03/critical-security-vulnerability-in-react-server-components">React blog</a> and check back regularly for additional updates.<h3 id="don’t-panic,-but-act-quickly">Don’t panic, but act quickly</h3>A fix was introduced in versions <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://github.com/facebook/react/releases/tag/v19.0.1">19.0.1</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://github.com/facebook/react/releases/tag/v19.1.2">19.1.2</a>, and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://github.com/facebook/react/releases/tag/v19.2.1">19.2.1</a>. Even if your app doesn’t implement any React Server Function endpoints, it might still be vulnerable if it supports React Server Components. The bottom line is that you should upgrade immediately.A key point: if your app’s React code does not use a server – or a framework, bundler, or bundler plugin that supports React Server Components – it’s not impacted by this vulnerability. That said, certain React frameworks and bundlers might have dependencies or include vulnerable React packages, such as:<ul><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://nextjs.org/blog/CVE-2025-66478">Next.js (versions 14.x canary, 15.x, 16.x)</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://reactrouter.com/how-to/react-server-components">React Router (RSC preview versions)</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://waku.gg/">Waku (minimal React framework)</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.npmjs.com/package/@vitejs/plugin-rsc">@vitejs/plugin-rsc </a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://parceljs.org/recipes/rsc/">@parcel/rsc </a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.npmjs.com/package/rwsdk">RedwoodJS (rwsdk) </a></li></ul>According to the React blog, there are temporary hosting provider mitigations in place, but you shouldn’t rely on these to performantly secure your app. So roll with that update. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/vercel">Vercel</a>, the company behind the incredibly popular <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/nextjs">Next.js,</a> is also taking proactive steps. Any new deployment containing a vulnerable version of the framework will automatically fail to deploy on its platform. <h3 id="what-the-heck-happened?">What the heck happened?</h3>As Lachlan said in his <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/lachlan-s-davidson_critical-security-vulnerability-in-react-activity-7402099900987142144-65Kz/">recent LinkedIn post,</a> there's more nitty-gritty to unpack with all of this, and we’re sure to get more details regarding the vulnerability after the rollout is considered complete and the dust settles.Currently, here’s the gist of it: As we know, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://react.dev/reference/rsc/server-functions">React Server Functions</a> allow a client to call a function on a server, providing integration points and tools that frameworks and bundlers use to help React code run on both the client and the server. React then translates requests into HTTP requests, which are forwarded to a server, moved into a function call, and returned to the client.According to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://thehackernews.com/2025/12/critical-react2shell-flaw-added-to-cisa.html">The Hacker News,</a> the real problem stems from <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.rapid7.com/blog/post/etr-react2shell-cve-2025-55182-critical-unauthenticated-rce-affecting-react-server-components/">insecure deserialization</a> in the library's RSC Flight protocol, which React uses to enable that server/client communication. With this vulnerability, an unauthenticated remote attacker could fashion a malicious HTTP request or arbitrary commands to any Server Function endpoint. When deserialized by React, it could enable remote code execution on the server. And that’s where the trouble starts. <h3 id="why-it-matters">Why it matters</h3>React has been a game-changer in the digital landscape, specifically through the rise of headless CMSes and Jamstack architectures. There are a lot of fuzzy numbers out there, but most reputable estimates suggest that React is used by millions of websites globally. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://w3techs.com/technologies/details/js-react">W3Techs reports that React is used by 7.7%</a> of all websites whose JavaScript library is known, which translates to 6.2% of all websites.That’s not the lion’s share, but when you consider the notable enterprises utilizing it within their workloads, the scope feels even bigger. Major brands like Facebook, Netflix, Airbnb, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Shopify utilize React or React Native in various parts of their platforms, demonstrating its widespread adoption in both web and mobile development.Security is job zero for everyone, and no system or framework will ever be beyond a vulnerability at some point in its lifecycle. And the more dependent we are on open source libraries and composable, interoperable architectures, the more likely it is that we’ll see a growing surface area of failure points.From a “fix” perspective, transparency is key. We need to shorten the response time and the gap to action, so stakeholders can “react” as quickly as possible and minimize the impact. Obviously, having performant packages in place to upgrade was a key part of the solution, but I think it was smart to enable the hosting resources as a temporary measure of defense. As we learn more, we'll dig into it. For now, the best advice? Stay vigilant. And stay updated, my friends… <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-events">Upcoming Events</h3> <img style="width:31.44%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/08/cms-kickoff-2026-logo.png" alt="" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff26">CMS Kickoff 2026</a></h4>January 13-14, 2026 – St. Petersburg, FLMeet industry leaders at our fourth annual CMS Kickoff – the industry's premier global CMS 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" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff26">so secure your tickets today.</a>

React Now: Why a Major Security Vulnerability in React Server Components is a Severe Threat

Call Tracking + AI 

Call Tracking + AI that Turns Calls into Leads

<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/critics/dominik-angerer">Dominik Angerer</a> is the founder and CEO of Storyblok and a CMS Critic Contributor.<hr /> For decades, marketers have competed to secure a coveted page-one spot on the search results. But today that landscape has shifted. As AI-driven search experiences dominate, brand discovery is no longer about ranking for blue links; it’s about appearing in AI-generated answers.This shift is rewriting the rules of online strategy. Not too long ago, getting your website noticed revolved around a careful balance of keywords and backlinks. Now, to appear in AI-generated responses, brands need content that machines can interpret as easily as humans. The reality is that many are not prepared.The result? Traffic is declining. Zero-click answers are overshadowing genuine human expertise. Many brands are also finding outdated website content resurfacing inside AI-generated responses. The outcome is a loss of credibility and diminished ownership of their narrative long before a customer even reaches their site.This has led some experts to predict the so-called “death of the website,” envisioning an internet overrun by AI-generated content and bots, where quality information and genuine human interaction are all but extinct.The truth, however, isn’t nearly so grim. As we see it, AI isn’t killing websites; it’s exposing longstanding weaknesses in how organizations manage content. In this light, it should be seen not as an ending, but as a crucial turning point in terms of the way brands create and manage content online. <h3 id="relevance-before-rankings">Relevance before rankings</h3>Previously, brands could get away with a content ecosystem that was outdated and internally inconsistent. Take a look at any one site, and chances are you’re guaranteed to find some old news releases or dusty product specs. But while humans might overlook a stale blog post from 2018 or incorrect pricing buried three levels deep, AI systems do not. Algorithms now crawl and compare information at a scale and speed no person can match. They evaluate how current your content is, whether your messaging stays consistent across pages and channels, and how authoritative your knowledge base looks against competitors. In other words, AI is no longer just reading what you publish – it is judging whether your entire digital presence adds up.Generative Experience Optimization (GEO) is the roadmap for this new landscape. At its core, GEO is about ensuring that content is relevant, coherent, and authoritative so that AI can accurately interpret and surface it. For marketers, this translates into designing content that prioritizes clarity, consistency, and authority: clear language, cohesive messaging, and demonstrable expertise that generative AI can reliably recognize and elevate in its responses.Crucially, GEO also shifts the focus from individual pages to the overall logic of your digital estate. It asks whether every touchpoint, including product pages, help centres, blogs, and social media copy, tells the same story and uses the same definitions. When that ecosystem hangs together, AI systems can more easily map questions to your answers, quote you as a primary source, and elevate your brand in aggregated, AI-generated experiences.<h3 id="legacy-limitations--">Legacy limitations  </h3>This shift, in turn, is placing a sharpened focus on content governance. Across many organizations, individual channels still operate in isolation. Web teams publish one thing, marketing says another, or brand information is fragmented. AI interprets this inconsistency as a lack of authority and reduces trust accordingly. All of this is compounded by legacy CMS systems that were never designed for the dynamic, multi-channel, AI-driven environment we now inhabit, making timely updates slow and consistency nearly impossible.To remain visible and trusted in this new discovery environment, brands need content systems that are flexibly structured and built for speed. This makes the case for composable, API-driven architectures – technology stacks made from interchangeable, best-in-class components rather than rigid, all-in-one systems – even more compelling. This is because composable CMS platforms allow marketers to update information once and distribute it everywhere, ensuring that every channel, region, and touchpoint reflects the same up-to-date source of truth. They also encourage more thoughtful content modelling and governance, which is essential for maintaining accuracy and coherence across increasingly complex digital ecosystems. What’s great, too, is that a composable stack makes it easy to introduce new tools, such as personalization engines, automation layers, AI assistants, or creative workflows, without disrupting the entire system. This granular level of flexibility gives marketing teams the agility they need to operate confidently in an AI-first discovery landscape, where freshness, structure, and adaptability determine relevance.<h3 id="evolve-or-risk-extinction">Evolve or risk extinction</h3>Ultimately, the internet isn’t going anywhere. Take a closer look, and you’ll likely find that smartphones, apps, and social media platforms are doing better than ever. What is changing though is the way people access and interpret information, as the rise of AI causes brands to rethink how they structure, maintain, and distribute content. Those that adapt and seize the opportunity to reclaim control of the narrative will find that the web isn’t dying at all; it’s simply evolving into something more dynamic, more decentralized, and more dependent on the quality and consistency of the content that fuels it. Those that fail to evolve risk being defined by outdated information circulating through systems they can no longer influence. <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-events">Upcoming Events</h3> <img style="width:31.44%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/08/cms-kickoff-2026-logo.png" alt="" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff26">CMS Kickoff 2026</a></h4>January 13-14, 2026 – St. Petersburg, FLMeet industry leaders at our fourth annual CMS Kickoff – the industry's premier global CMS 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" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff26">so secure your tickets today.</a>

AI didn't kill the website: it exposed how broken it was

dominik-angerer

<hr /> When <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/umbraco">Umbraco’s</a> community talks, its HQ listens – and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bolette-kern-2436ab57/">Bolette Kern</a> helps turn those transactions into action. As Senior Product Manager for the legendary open source vendor, Bolette is at the front line with users, embodying what makes Umbraco “The Friendly CMS.” In fact, when news broke that <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://umbraco.com/blog/umbraco-17-lts-release/">Umbraco 17</a> was being released last week, she joined me for a call from a partner summit. She’s busy. And rightly so. Umbraco has been blazing trails recently, going back to this year’s <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/sowing-the-seeds-of-love-umbracos-codegarden-2025-celebrates-20-years-of-community-and-innovation">CodeGarden event</a> – where everything from a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://umbraco.com/blog/unveiling-umbraco-mcp-server/">new MCP server</a> to orchestration features via <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://umbraco.com/products/umbraco-compose/">Umbraco Compose</a> were unveiled.But one of the jewels in the crown has been the hotly anticipated, long-term supported (LTS) version 17 of Umbraco, which Bolette calls a “major and milestone release.” As she noted, it follows the predictable six-month cadence for releases. But it’s also the realization of a two-year journey that began with its new backoffice architecture in Umbraco 14. Now, all of the pieces have aligned in this latest LTS, including a mature backoffice experience, a modernized content platform, and a concurrent ecosystem – from extension APIs to package compatibility. As Bolette said, this LTS version is an ideal fit for agencies and organizations craving stability, longevity, and growth. Making the move will give developers a host of new capabilities and essential updates, which is what makes this leap so critical.“It's really important that we have people moving forward with us on this new LTS, because we’ve introduced quite a lot of necessary changes in 14,” she said. “Going from 13 up to 17, we have a job of making sure that people are joining us on this journey into a more modern platform that also supports what Umbraco is best at, which is being the most extendable and ‘Friendly CMS’ that's out there.”While Umbraco sees this LTS as evolutionary, it still reflects the core pillars of freedom and flexibility, allowing developers to work with their preferred technologies and frameworks to build and customize their digital experiences. It’s the embodiment of a truly composable posture, allowing its community to build in almost any direction.One of the big benefits of this LTS is the glide path to upgrade, and how Umbraco has reduced the friction associated with the move. “Organizations that have built projects on Umbraco 13, our previous LTS version, will have a direct upgrade path to Umbraco 17,” Bolette said. Customers upgrading to Umbraco 17 LTS will also benefit from its new backoffice architecture, extensibility, security, headless capabilities, scalability, and performance enhancements brought into the core CMS over the past two years.Part of the impetus for upgrading is having a future-proofed foundation. As Bolette pointed out, the underlying <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/core/whats-new/dotnet-10/overview">.NET 10</a> is also an LTS version of Microsoft’s software. As such, customers will be on the latest .NET version – ensuring that any optimizations and improvements at the Microsoft layer are also reflected in Umbraco 17. “Both are LTS versions, which means that your Umbraco 17 projects will be future-proofed for at least three years,” she stated.One really great attribute worth elevating: Umbraco has been focused on delivering an accessible backoffice throughout 2025, engaging with an accessibility consultant to review and improve its editor-facing workflows against <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.w3.org/WAI/">WCAG standards.</a> According to Bolette, most issues flagged in the audit have been remediated in 17, or are targeted for 17.1.<h3 id="what’s-new-in-umbraco-17">What’s new in Umbraco 17</h3>Overall, there’s a lot. And if you’re up for a deeper technical review of repository caching or system date migration, I suggest reviewing this <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://umbraco.com/blog/release-candidate-umbraco-17/">Release Candidate blog post</a>. It’s a fantastic granular accounting of everything, from small upgrades to big features. Here's a video segment that unpacks the biggest improvements in Umbraco 17, featuring <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lottepitcher/">Lotte Pitcher,</a> Head of Developer Relations, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/niels-lyngs%C3%B8-01b159272/">Niels Lyngsø,</a> Technical Product Manager, and Senior Developers on the CMS team – <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-neto/">Laura Neto</a> and Nikolaj E. Lauridsen: <figure class="media"><div data-oembed-url="https://youtu.be/EfC9jWUaIXk"><div style="position:relative;padding-bottom:100%;height:0;padding-bottom:56.2493%"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EfC9jWUaIXk" style="position:absolute;width:100%;height:100%;top:0;left:0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></div></figure> What really stands out in Umbraco 17 is the introduction of comprehensive backoffice load balancing and enhanced search functionality. While both features will appeal to a range of use cases, they further reflect Umbraco’s tacit focus on growing its enterprise portfolio, especially in the addressable North American market. As Bolette explained, many of the new features in Umbraco 17 are tailored to enterprises, offering advanced capabilities that are fit for large-scale organizations and global teams.“There’s wind in the sails for moving upmarket right now,” she said. “So everything we do, including some of the features that we’re introducing in Umbraco 17, is catering to the more enterprise-scale projects. For example, load balancing in the backoffice really caters to projects that have 100-plus editors.” <h4 id="backoffice-load-balancing">Backoffice Load Balancing</h4>Without question, the ability to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://docs.umbraco.com/umbraco-cms/fundamentals/setup/server-setup/load-balancing">load balance the backoffice</a> in Umbraco is a major step forward – and a big win for enterprise workloads. Previously, only a public-facing website could run across multiple servers, while the backoffice was restricted to a single machine. This killed performance for larger teams that swarmed one server for all content creation and media management, severely impacting scalability and resilience.Now, with Umbraco 17, you have one unified application that can scale horizontally to meet your needs. Effectively, your entire backoffice can run across multiple servers – just like a front-end website. This gives content teams greater confidence over performance, improved resilience by eliminating a single point of failure, and a simpler infrastructure to worry about.Load balancing provides the elasticity that enterprises rely on for performance, particularly in high-volume editorial workflows. The benefit to large, distributed teams and organizations is clear, hence why <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/critics/filip-larsen">Umbraco CTO Filip Bech Larsen</a> called it a “game-changer for enterprises” that have multiple content editors working on their website at the same time. <h4 id="enhanced-search">Enhanced Search</h4>Semantic search is driving a large share of the customer engagement across digital experiences. By some accounts, as much as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.coveo.com/blog/what-is-site-search/">43% of website visitors opt for the site search</a>, with a clear preference for natural language.Umbraco’s enhanced search is helping to meet this demand. The feature arose from digital agency partners who were tasked with adding semantic search to customer sites. Obviously, there are numerous tools across the market that provide site search, and with Umbraco 17, you can plug in abstractions that deliver those capabilities via your preferred search provider. <h4 id="mcp,-cloud,-and-more">MCP, Cloud, and more</h4>I already alluded to the additional granular features of the updated backoffice, specifically as it relates to the new load balancing capability. On top of that, the Umbraco 17 LTS also benefits from a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/aspnet/core/performance/caching/hybrid?view=aspnetcore-10.0">HybridCache feature</a> that optimizes content loading and multi-site support features introduced in Umbraco 15. Further reflecting the enterprise focus, there are Block Level Variations that enable global organizations to make local language content changes while maintaining their core brand standards with consistency. There’s also role-based permissioning that’s accessible via the Client Credentials feature.Another big change worth noting is the replacement of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/tinymce">TinyMCE</a> with a new open-source rich text editor, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://tiptap.dev/product/editor">TipTap</a>. The transition is designed to improve not only the content editing experience, but also handle license compliance out of the box. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/tinymce-releases-2025-state-of-rich-text-editors-report-and-cms-use-cases-are-fading-why-it-matters">I recently wrote</a> about how CMS use cases for RTEs are diminishing, and open source options like this do offer clear advantages.I mentioned MCP earlier, but it’s a vital part of the growing agentic strategy for Umbraco. The final version of the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://umbraco.com/blog/umbraco-cms-developer-mcp-for-umbraco-16/">Developer MCP is live,</a> which delivers full API parity with Umbraco’s Management API and a host of refinements. While the Developer MCP is largely designed for technical folks, forthcoming capabilities will be focused on weaving AI across everyday editorial workflows. This includes enhancements like Tools Collections, an Editor MCP, and more.With the rebrand of uMarketing Suite complete, 17 now aligns its backoffice experience with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://umbraco.com/blog/introducing-umbraco-engage/">Umbraco Engage,</a> which introduces Deploy support – making it easier to transfer configs like segments, personas, and more while maintaining analytics data in each environment. Umbraco 17 is also available on <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://umbraco.com/products/umbraco-cloud/">Umbraco Cloud</a> immediately and provides some key enhancements for enterprises. This includes a Custom Identity Provider support for the Cloud Portal that centralizes authentication and daily bandwidth insights to improve operational visibility and capacity planning.<h3 id="maintaining-openness">Maintaining openness</h3>Umbraco 17 might be a technical evolution, but the company hasn’t changed its fierce commitment to community. Maintaining engagement and supporting open source contributions remain at the heart of Umbraco’s strategy, which firmly roots the trust that users and enterprises rely on. I asked Bolette how the changes in this latest version – or any version for that matter – are telegraphed with the community to build consensus and adoption. “I think it really comes down to being very honest and transparent about what it is that we see as the key benefits,” she said. “When we say we’re the most friendly and most extensible CMS, that’s really true to the bone. Being very transparent about what we do is helping us along the way to get this message out.”The last few years have seen solid growth and expansion for Umbraco. As it looks ahead, partnerships will be a critical ingredient in the recipe for success. As such, the company is focused on reinforcing its relationships to fuel innovation and opportunities.“It’s really been such a great experience seeing how this started in the community,” Bolette said. “Now, we’re sitting in conversations with partners that are building things on top of MCP, and they’re just so proud of showing off what they have built. Having that super close connection to what our ecosystem and what our partners and the community are doing is key.”Like all software, CMS platforms are in a constant state of improvement. What makes Umbraco different is its open source community and the ideation and innovation it brings to the evolutionary track. The resulting DNA offers stronger bonds, passing down the best traits of human thinking, connection, and inspiration – even as technology continues to change. With Umbraco, you're not just leveraging a product or an LTS. You're investing in the people behind it. And that core of community is one of its greatest assets. You can get more details on <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://umbraco.com/blog/umbraco-17-lts-release/">Umbraco 17 here.</a>  <hr /><h4 style="text-align:center" id="looking-for-more-guidance-on-umbraco?-talk-to-an-expert.">Looking for more guidance on Umbraco? <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:31.44%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/08/cms-kickoff-2026-logo.png" alt="" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff26">CMS Kickoff 2026</a></h4>January 13-14, 2026 – St. Petersburg, FLMeet industry leaders at our fourth annual CMS Kickoff – the industry's premier global CMS 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" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff26">so secure your tickets today.</a>

Umbraco 17 Energizes Digital Experiences with Enterprise Load Balancing, Enhanced Search, and More

Progress Powers Its Vision for ‘Generative CMS’ with Agentic RAG and a Legacy of Innovation

TinyMCE releases 2025 ‘State of Rich Text Editors’ report, and CMS use cases are fading. Why it matters

Forrester DXP Wave 2025: Welcome to 'The Agent Hunger Games.’ Are the odds in your favor?

<hr /> There’s a SCORM brewing, and a hard rain a-fallin’. While we do cover Learning Management Systems (LMS), we don’t talk as much about the content types or operations, which can be anything across the courseware category. Think of training modules that an enterprise might produce for its products, or videos for its “Day One” employee onboarding. Teams still need to create, edit, and publish this content with centralized control.But those modules often need to be shared across systems and platforms – and that’s where <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://scorm.com/scorm-explained/one-minute-scorm-overview/">SCORM</a> comes in. And if you’re like most folks outside the confines of the learning and training fields, it’s a bit of an enigma.The acronym stands for Shareable Content Object Reference Model, and it’s effectively a set of technical standards that allows online or website learning content – as well as LMSes – to communicate with each other. It helps govern things like tracking a learner's progress, completion status, and scores.Before SCORM, content created for one LMS or website module might not work on another. It’s like the USB standard for hardware, ensuring that eLearning courses are portable, trackable, and compatible across different platforms, allowing you to create a course once and use it on any SCORM-compliant system. They’re typically packaged up as a ZIP file that can be uploaded to and tracked, which is essential for modern online training. But what about translating this content? Localizing for different markets? To put it lightly, it’s been a complex and manual process. Learning and development teams have to balance spreadsheets, vendors, and separate workflows for each asset. This approach slows the delivery of essential training, stymying go-to-market readiness. Now, you can find shelter from the SCORM, courtesy of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.smartcat.com/ai-agents/elearning-software/">Smartcat</a> – a leading AI platform for global content creation, localization, and automation that serves hundreds of global companies, including a quarter of the Fortune 1000. The company recently unveiled its new Learning Content Agent, which unifies all translation tools and workflows into a single platform, handling all assets with one workflow and zero manual effort. With the Learning Content Agent, L&amp;D teams can translate every asset within a course – including text, images, videos, and documents – in a single, automated process. This allows global enterprises to deliver high-quality, multilingual training faster and at a greater scale than ever before. The agent handles every course asset, from text and images to video and audio, in over 280 languages, with quality assurance available from Smartcat's marketplace of 500,000 professional linguists. <figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:69.36%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/11/smartcat-screenshot.jpg" /></figure>Source: Smartcat website Smartcat’s new agent is the first solution on the market to automate every step involved in SCORM translation. The game-changer is its ability to translate and rebuild courses without the original project, unlocking years of legacy content that was previously impossible to update. <h3 id="complementing-lms-with-cms-and-dxp-translations">Complementing LMS with CMS and DXP translations</h3>Along with its learning content solutions, Smartcat offers a broader agentic platform, which features specialized AI agents that automate complex enterprise workflows across learning, marketing, and content operations. They also sport solutions for document, image, software, PDF, website, and media translation. According to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/claireafoster/">Claire Foster</a>, Director of Content and Product Marketing at Smartcat, the Learning Content Agent now expands their capabilities, bringing powerful new functionality to Smartcat’s enterprise AI platform.“SCORM packages are notoriously complex, combining multiple file types like images, documents, and text that have traditionally required individual localization,” she said. “The Learning Content Agent now automates this process end-to-end in one simple flow, producing fully translated, LMS-ready packages.”Clair also shared how this is complemented by Smartcat’s <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.smartcat.com/website-translator/">Website Translation Agent</a> by integrating with CMS and DXP environments to translate and update website content as part of a holistic learning strategy. Within many organizations, content teams that need to localize websites containing text, documents, and media face similar issues as learning teams managing SCORM files. They can leverage a similar workflow through Smartcat’s broader platform, which connects its agents across learning, marketing, and content operations. “Smartcat’s Website Translation Agent integrates with CMS and DXP environments to translate and update website content in multiple languages while preserving formatting and brand consistency,” she explained. “Together, they allow teams to maintain consistent terminology, style, and brand elements across training materials, websites, and other digital experiences. This integrated workflow makes it easier for organizations to manage multilingual content at scale while keeping learning and marketing content aligned.”<h3 id="powering-content-ops-for-learning-and-development-teams">Powering content ops for learning and development teams</h3>Smartcat’s Learning Content Agent delivers a comprehensive suite of features designed for global enterprise L&amp;D needs. This includes full SCORM automation, where you can extract, translate, review, and rebuild all assets within a SCORM package for direct publishing into any LMS.To simplify course management, L&amp;D practitioners no longer need to juggle multiple files for each language. The agent achieves this by exporting a single, multilingual SCORM package that contains all languages, ready for direct upload to any Learning Management System (LMS). Ongoing updates are also simplified; a single change in the source language is automatically synced across all translated versions.As previously stated, you can revive legacy content, allowing you to localize SCORM files without having to locate the original source files or access the source authoring tool. This enables in-context review and repackaging without being harangued by the legacy source.Smartcat also provides AI‑Powered quality and human expertise to help ensure consistent, compliant translations across all languages using glossaries, translation memory, and domain‑tuned AI, all enhanced by in‑context review and access to professional linguists. This is a key advantage when it comes to delivering trusted translations.Finally, Smartcat makes it easy with its multilingual packages and seamless updates. You can export a single multilingual file for all languages and automatically sync updates across all versions, making the whole process effortless. "Global enterprises can no longer afford to have employee expertise siloed by language. Our Learning Content Agent addresses this directly by transforming SCORM localization from a complex operational cost into a driver of business growth,” said <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/fgottlob/">Falk Gottlob</a>, Chief Product Officer at Smartcat. “By automating the entire workflow, Smartcat enables global teams to accelerate time-to-competency, ensuring every member can perform at their best, from day one." <h3 id="pricing">Pricing</h3>Smartcat offers plans for organizations and agencies with different features. Both provide Basic and Enterprise tiers, with prices starting at $1,200/year for individual users and small teams. Jump up to Enterprise for global teams – where you start with six agents – and you’ll need to call for custom pricing. There are some nice granular benefits on the agency side of the ledger for multi-lingual content generation, AI human workflows, procurement capabilities, and API access. Definitely worth a tour as part of a demo to see how these features might suit your agency model for services across areas like marketing, e-commerce, and more. <h3 id="the-verdict">The verdict</h3>Smartcat is a great platform for turning content in any format into any language, from docs to video to complex websites and software. This makes it super extensible – and given its core agentic capabilities, it’s providing a solid platform for simplifying what used to be incredibly complicated processes for corporate teams that crave control, accuracy, and governance.To that end, Smartcat’s new Learning Content Agent is further evidence of its mission to streamline the complex topology of managing SCORM translations. Combined with its Website Translation Agent, L&amp;D teams can facilitate the translation of their learning content across all facets of their operations, from LMSes to website pages – all through one agentic resource.  According to Smartcat, its Learning Content Agent is already delivering solid results relative to speed and cost. Companies like <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.smith-nephew.com/en/">Smith+Nephew</a> are using it to achieve 4X faster translation turnaround time for their highly regulated medical content, shrinking the SLA-mandated localization workflow from ten days to just two. Pretty impressive.Reliable translation is essential for global brands, and in a multi-channel world, Smartcat is making it easier and more predictable to deliver with precision while maintaining control and governance. You can check out Smartcat’s Learning Content Agent by requesting a demo, or you can <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.smartcat.com/l/scorm-translation/">learn more here.</a> <hr /><h4 style="text-align:center" id="looking-for-more-guidance-on-smartcat?-talk-to-an-expert.">Looking for more guidance on Smartcat? <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:29.67%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/10/image-1761136749603.png" /><h4 id="live-webinar:-can-we-ever-get-composable-without-complexity?"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://umbraco.com/webinar-cmscritic">Live Webinar: Can We Ever Get Composable Without Complexity?</a></h4>November 20, 2025 – 6 PM (CET) / 5 PM (GMT) / 12 PM (EST)Composable architecture promised to simplify digital experience creation by giving organizations the flexibility to combine the technologies that met their needs. But for many enterprises, it’s done the opposite, which has led to complex integrations, spiraling costs, and what some are now referring to as composable regret. In this live conversation, Umbraco CEO Mats Persson joins Matt Garrepy, Chief Content Officer at CMS Critic, for a candid exploration of what went wrong in the first wave of composable and what needs to change. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://umbraco.com/webinar-cmscritic">Register for the webinar.</a> <img style="width:29.08%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/10/image-1761594434824.png" /><h4 id="typo3-conference-2025"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://t3con.typo3.com/">TYPO3 Conference 2025</a></h4>November 25–27, 2025 – Düsseldorf, GermanyT3CON is the premier annual event for web professionals, developers, marketers, and decision-makers. Much more than just a TYPO3-focused conference, T3CON spotlights the latest trends, innovations, and leaders shaping the future of content management, covering everything from grassroots initiatives to new technologies, strategies, and success stories. The event is designed to empower businesses and organizations with the knowledge and tools they need to thrive in the evolving digital landscape. The conference culminates in an awards ceremony celebrating the best TYPO3 projects across various industries. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://t3con.typo3.com/">Get your ticket.</a> <img style="width:31.44%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/08/cms-kickoff-2026-logo.png" alt="" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff26">CMS Kickoff 2026</a></h4>January 13-14, 2026 – St. Petersburg, FLMeet industry leaders at our fourth annual CMS Kickoff – the industry's premier global CMS 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" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff26">so secure your tickets today.</a>

Cat got your tongue? Not with Smartcat’s AI Agent for SCORM multilingual course translation

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