Critics

Critic: Michael Lukaszczyk

michael-lukaszczyk

Hygraph

michael-lukaszczyk Profile

<hr /> In today’s competitive business environment, delivering dynamic experiences across multiple digital channels is becoming increasingly important. In the past, a traditional monolithic CMS was the go-to solution for managing website content in bulk, offering a comprehensive approach with integrated frontend and backend functionalities.However, as the importance of web channels for media distribution grew, developers within larger enterprises recognized the limitations of monolithic solutions in managing complex, structured content or delivering unique frontend capabilities. This led to the rise of custom, internal CMS solutions. Performance and extensive customization were possible but at huge engineering costs and time pressure to plan, develop, and uphold these systems.Since 2007, the rise in smart devices has welcomed a new era of content consumption across diverse channels. The move significantly burdened both monolithic CMS technology and content teams.The need for a multi-channel content strategy and a modern tech stack made the limitations of traditional CMS more apparent. Even today,<a target="_blank" href="https://hygraph.com/resources/future-of-content"> 8 in 10 tech leaders</a> think their current CMS holds them back with inefficient developer or editorial experiences.<h3 id="elevating-tech-teams-with-cms-modernization">Elevating tech teams with CMS modernization</h3>The heavy burden developers face with maintaining custom CMS platforms not only leads to burnout – <a target="_blank" href="https://blog.jetbrains.com/team/2023/11/20/the-state-of-developer-ecosystem-2023/">experienced by nearly 73% of developers</a> at some point in their careers – but also acts as a significant restriction. Consequently, organizations are increasingly looking to modernize their CMS to alleviate these pressures.An in-house CMS requires ongoing maintenance, like keeping an orchestra in tune and ensuring all musicians play harmoniously. It’s also less scalable as it’s often built by a small group of people, so they are the only ones who can access and make changes to the system. Subsequently, it’s hard to manage as the project scales, and the small group of developers who built the solution will be stuck maintaining the code base. Modern headless CMS platforms can greatly enhance the capabilities and efficiency of tech teams, freeing them from the constraints of maintenance around custom platforms and empowering them to focus on driving innovation. There are many other benefits to consider, too: <h4 id="1.-increased-developer-velocity">1. Increased developer velocity</h4>Accumulated technical debt from maintaining custom middleware can reduce developer velocity, slow release cycles, and hinder an organization's ability to maintain a continuous release schedule. <h4 id="2.-improved-app-performance">2. Improved app performance</h4>Performance is a key indicator of your project's success. It's also closely connected to your business since you lose revenue when your performance is poor. A CMS failure can be detected by business metrics such as lost revenues, which are influenced by poor performance indicators such as slow page load speed and low core web vitals. <h4 id="3.-stay-current-with-the-latest-tech">3. Stay current with the latest tech</h4>The technology landscape is ever-evolving. Naturally, some of the latest technologies work better than outdated ones. The advantage of a headless CMS is that you can choose any technology you like and easily switch the front end without changing your CMS. <h4 id="4.-future-proof-technology-strategy">4. Future-proof technology strategy</h4>A tech leader should choose IT vendors that can adapt quickly to an unknown future. A headless architecture with content federation puts data in one place so teams can scale the digital experience. Developers get all the flexibility of headless without having to build, host, secure, and ensure the performance of custom middleware.   <h4 id="5.-talent-acquisition">5. Talent acquisition</h4>Legacy systems are hard to understand, making developers less productive and less attractive when recruiting new team members. It’s much easier to handle things in-house if everything needed to work with the CMS can be easily found in any tech stack. <h4 id="6.-heightened-security">6. Heightened security</h4>Unlike a traditional CMS, a modern headless CMS decouples the backend content repository layer from the frontend presentation layer. This separation allows for greater security because the content management layer is isolated and can be protected independently.<h3 id="why-headless-is-the-way-forward">Why headless is the way forward</h3>Adopting a headless CMS with content federation can offer flexibility, scalability, and streamlined content distribution across multiple channels. Furthermore, by separating the frontend and backend, this approach lays the foundation for organizations to meet their technical and content requirements swiftly, allowing technology teams to develop with any technology for any platform.At a time when content is king, your CMS needs to be a gateway to digital transformation rather than a barrier. <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-conferences">Upcoming conferences</h3> <img style="width:29.67%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-connect-2024-logo.png" alt="CMS Connect 24 logo" /><h4 id="cms-connect-24---sold-out"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect24">CMS Connect 24</a> - SOLD OUT</h4>August 6-7, 2024 – Montreal, CanadaWe are delighted to present our first annual summer edition of our prestigious international conference dedicated to the global content management community. Join us this August in Montreal, Canada, for a vendor-neutral conference focused on CMS. Tired of impersonal and overwhelming gatherings? Picture this event as a unique blend of masterclasses, insightful talks, interactive discussions, impactful learning sessions, and authentic networking opportunities. <img style="width:29.58%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-kickoff-2025-logo.png" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-25"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff25/tickets">CMS Kickoff 25</a></h4>January 14-15, 2025 – Tampa Bay Area, FloridaJoin us next January in the Tampa Bay area of Florida for the third annual CMS Kickoff – the industry's premier global event. Similar to a traditional kickoff, we reflect on recent trends and share stories from the frontlines. Additionally, we will delve into the current happenings and shed light on the future. Prepare for an unparalleled in-person CMS conference experience that will equip you to move things forward. This is an exclusive event – space is limited, so secure your tickets today.

 Roadmap to Digital Experience Success: Six Ways to Future-Proof Your CMS While Elevating Your Tech Teams

<hr /> Technical debt is a challenge that increases as digital business gets more complex. This debt accumulates when companies opt for quick-fix solutions or continue to rely on outdated systems, sacrificing long-term efficiency for short-term gains. As the digital world accelerates, technical debt compounds, leading to increased costs and reduced agility.A recent study revealed<a target="_blank" href="https://www.protiviti.com/uk-en/global-technology-executive-survey-tech-debt-major-burden#:~:text=As%20organizations%20strive%20to%20increase%20their%20focus%2C%20and,level%20of%20impact%20on%20their%20ability%20to%20innovate."> more than 70% of businesses</a> report that technical debt is significantly impeding their ability to innovate. With technological advances rapidly outpacing the ability of companies to adapt, the issue of technical debt has never been more pertinent.When migrating to a new <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">Content Management System (CMS)</a>, reducing, and mitigating technical debt should be front of mind. Proactively managing debt as part of your migration strategy will lead to a smoother transition and lower the <a target="_blank" href="https://hygraph.com/blog/content-management-system-cost">total cost of ownership (TCO)</a> of the new solution. What’s more, development teams can focus on innovation rather than simply keeping the lights on.<h3 id="the-cost-of-neglect:-when-technical-debt-spirals">The Cost of Neglect: When Technical Debt Spirals</h3>Several factors contribute to technical debt during CMS migrations. For instance, insufficient communication between teams leads to rushed fixes and missed opportunities. Effective communication channels should be established to facilitate seamless collaboration. By doing so, insights and concerns on a project can be shared easily and addressed in a timely manner rather than six months down the line.Organizations should also ensure they aren’t just “lifting and shifting” problems from one platform to the next. Too many teams waste time and resources moving outdated assets, duplicate data, and unused features. This coupled with time pressures and skills gaps means some organisations end up moving to new platforms without fully capitalising on what they have to offer.Lastly, if training and employee adoption are treated as an afterthought, transitioning to a new CMS will be a painful process. In the worst-case scenario, all the migration work is done just for people to default back to old working methods. Having an effective change management program is essential.<h3 id="ensuring-your-migration-is-a-success">Ensuring Your Migration is a Success</h3>To make any CMS migration a success, businesses should follow five steps to reduce technical debt:  <h4 id="1.-set-up-an-internal-migrations-team">1. Set Up an Internal Migrations Team</h4>This team should comprise representatives from various departments, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of how content is used across the organization. Their role includes planning the migration, identifying challenges, allocating resources, and ensuring smooth knowledge transfer. For example, the team can establish global standards for content governance and documentation, and train colleagues in new operational methods. This ensures that all perspectives are considered, leading to a migration that aligns with the needs of the entire organization.<h4 id="2.-conduct-a-content-audit">2. Conduct a Content Audit</h4>A thorough content audit is essential to identify redundant, obsolete, or trivial data that need not be migrated. This process involves mapping out where data lives, who owns it, the content types used, and interrelationships between datasets. Particularly when moving from a monolithic to a headless CMS; understanding the support structure of different processes is critical, as legacy data models may not directly translate to a headless approach and may require adjustments during migration.<h4 id="3.-consolidate-and-simplify-workflows">3. Consolidate and Simplify Workflows</h4>This step involves identifying overlapping capabilities, pinpointing outdated tools causing frustrations, and determining how processes can be streamlined with the new CMS. For example, German food and beverage maker, Dr. Oetker, is using a headless CMS to manage digital experiences across 40 countries from a single platform, allowing for consistent branding, streamlined processes, and rapid global updates.<h4 id="4.-design-a-composable-content-strategy">4. Design a Composable Content Strategy</h4>Adopting a composable content strategy is key for maximizing the benefits of a headless CMS. This strategy involves defining reusable content models, such as “blog post models” or “call to action models,” that can be displayed across various channels. This modular approach enables quick solution development for current use cases, with the flexibility to adjust models for future needs. It also empowers business users to create unique experiences without developer assistance, exemplifying the shift from a page-based to an omnichannel business mindset.<h4 id="5.-federate-your-content-sources">5. Federate Your Content Sources</h4>As digital experiences expand, content often relies on data from multiple applications and external sources. Federating content sources is about integrating these sources in a way that minimizes maintenance-heavy integrations and resource-intensive processes.The demand for connected digital services shows no sign of slowing down, so organizations’ content strategies are increasingly under the microscope. For those looking to migrate their CMS, now is the opportunity to proactively take measures to reduce technical debt, meaning they can focus on future innovation rather than have one eye on their rear-view mirror. <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-conferences">Upcoming conferences</h3> <img style="width:29.67%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-connect-2024-logo.png" alt="CMS Connect 24 logo" /><h4 id="cms-connect-24"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect24">CMS Connect 24</a></h4>August 6-7, 2024 – Montreal, CanadaWe are delighted to present our first annual summer edition of our prestigious international conference dedicated to the global content management community. Join us this August in Montreal, Canada, for a vendor-neutral conference focused on CMS. Tired of impersonal and overwhelming gatherings? Picture this event as a unique blend of masterclasses, insightful talks, interactive discussions, impactful learning sessions, and authentic networking opportunities. <img style="width:29.58%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-kickoff-2025-logo.png" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-25"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff25/tickets">CMS Kickoff 25</a></h4>January 14-15, 2025 – Tampa Bay Area, FloridaJoin us next January in the Tampa Bay area of Florida for the third annual CMS Kickoff – the industry's premier global event. Similar to a traditional kickoff, we reflect on recent trends and share stories from the frontlines. Additionally, we will delve into the current happenings and shed light on the future. Prepare for an unparalleled in-person CMS conference experience that will equip you to move things forward. This is an exclusive event – space is limited, so secure your tickets today.

Overcoming CMS Migration Technical Debt

We live in a content economy. There <a href="https://linktr.ee/creator-report/static/Linktree-CreatorReport-2022-02f3aa05a27be6fecb3537b13d5ec9de.pdf" target="_blank">are an estimated</a> 200 million creators on the internet, and upwards of four billion social media users. If organizations want to tap into this burgeoning economy – set <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/02/08/2380564/0/en/Global-Digital-Content-Creation-Market-Growth-at-CAGR-of-9-5-by-2022-2027-Research-Report-by-Absolute-Reports.html" target="_blank">to be worth</a> over $24bn in the next four years – they must expand their capabilities beyond serving customers basic text and images.
Consumers want connected digital experiences that draw from multiple content sources. However, many organizations risk being held back by their current CMS, as customization and integration challenges slow the creation of new or complex digital services at scale.
The result? Innovation happens at the pace that back-end architects and developers want, not the speed the business demands. If organizations are to unlock full value from content, an alternative approach is needed. Enter – content federation.
<h2>The evolution of the CMS</h2>
The CMS as we know it has evolved before. Two decades ago, things were much simpler. Organizations wanted merely to post text and images to a single website. Providers like <a href="https://www.drupal.org/" target="_blank">Drupal</a>, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/adobe-experience-manager-evolves-franklin-launches-next-gen-composability-feature/">AEM</a>, and <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/wp-engine-releases-worlds-first-study-of-the-wordpress-economy-cites-awe-inspiring-numbers/">WordPress</a> emerged to provide CMS platforms to meet this demand. They continue to have a huge market share today.
An explosion in the volume and variety of devices and content raised new questions about how businesses could deliver this content to channels beyond the browser. It was no longer a case of managing a one-to-one relationship between CMS admin portal and website, but rather a one-to-many relationship between CMS and smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, voice assistants, and more.
What emerged was the headless CMS: enabling platform-independent content distribution via APIs. It’s a model that has stood the test of time. And it continues to be a highly popular approach as organizations embrace composable architectures that enable developers to be more agile in creating new applications and services from reusable components.
From a CMS perspective, many organizations have needed to build and manage custom software to connect multiple content sources to their headless CMS. These could be anything from legacy CMSs, SaaS tools, and e-commerce components like <a href="https://blog.hubspot.com/website/digital-asset-management" target="_blank">Digital Asset Management Systems </a>(DAMs), to Product Inventory Management Systems (PIMs) and public/private APIs that link third-party data sources. As demand for connected experiences grows, IT teams must build and maintain more of these custom middleware connections, risking amassing technical debt in the process.
Ultimately, custom building everything is an innovation bottleneck. It’s not only expensive but time-consuming and really difficult to do well.
<h2>Unlocking the power of composability</h2>
Having transitioned from a one-to-one to a one-to-many approach, organizations now need technology to support a many-to-many architecture without adding cost and complexity. They not only need to serve content to multiple devices but also to serve content that lives within their software stack.
This is where federated content platforms offer an opportunity to evolve the market once more, just as it changed when headless CMS disrupted the space 10 years ago. The premise is simple: organizations can federate multiple content sources into a single universal API so developers that build connected digital services only have to develop with one API to serve content from very diversified back-end systems. This also removes the need to centralize dynamically changing data into a content hub and eliminates the risk of inconsistent and outdated data, as the federated API acts as the single source of truth. From a development perspective, this approach also accelerates innovation by enabling product teams to compose services significantly faster than existing methods.
<h2>The future’s federated</h2>
In a content-first world, the question for today’s businesses is whether they want to persist with the status quo, characterized by excessive innovation bottlenecks, costs, and mounting technical debt. Or, by combining composability with a federated content approach, organizations can choose to future-proof their CMS investments and significantly reduce their integration costs.
Content federation is the next major leap forward in CMS development. The improved integration of content and data will enable the creation of new digital services and business models in the content economy, so organizations can ill afford to stand still.
<hr />
<a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/critics/michael-lukaszczyk/">Michael Lukaszczyk</a> is CEO and Co-Founder of <a href="http://www.hygraph.com">Hygraph</a> and a CMS Critic contributor.

Michael Lukaszczyk

Articles by Michael

Articles by Michael

Hygraph