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In recent years, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-headless-commerce-platforms/">headless commerce</a> – or the separation of the frontend and backend of an application – has emerged to offer e-commerce sites greater freedom of expression and the ability to enrich the customer experience. In spite of these advantages, maintaining a headless architecture comes with several challenges, including the need for additional resources to keep content and features updated and the risks of decreased site speed and increased security vulnerabilities. And, of course, there are additional costs for building infrastructure and testing.So you need to ask: is going headless the right move for your organization? The alternative (supposedly) is to stick with the more traditional, all-in-one, "monolithic" platform approach. One key benefit of doing so is the built-in frontend that makes it easy for non-technical users to launch an online storefront quickly.However, monolithic systems can lock an e-commerce company into one vendor’s pre-existing development environment and limit its developers to the most common use cases. In sum, the monolithic approach tends to work better for new businesses that wish to get a website launched quickly. But, our experience is that it’s not long before these businesses begin to feel restricted by their platform’s templates and tools. <h2>Are You Really Ready?</h2>Making the decision to jump to a headless architecture can be scary. Migrating an entire frontend is hard, and more often than not you’ll also choose to migrate the backend, and it will most likely take longer than planned. Moreover, e-commerce organizations get absolutely none of the headless benefits until the migration is completed.Under this scenario, the existing site is kept on life support for the months or years the development team is focused on building the new headless frontend. And even if a development team hits all its key project dates and goes live, it’s still hard. There may still be many capabilities and features that can’t be included in that initial launch, which leaves the newly created frontend in catch-up mode.<h2>You Can Go Halfway</h2>The good news is that going headless does not have to be all or nothing. It’s possible to achieve many of the benefits of going headless without taking the full plunge.  Here’s how:<ul><li>Don’t take on more than you can handle. Especially in the current market, where every second counts and organizations likely have fewer engineers than they did last year, expecting a resource-strapped development team to rebuild an entire frontend is unrealistic, and would likely take too much time and upfront investment.</li><li>Implement a supplemental strategy where, instead of replacing a monolithic frontend in one big project, the organization chooses one critical headless capability at a time to add to the frontend. For instance, instead of replacing the whole site, e-commerce marketers could replace an element in product pages that isn't helping shoppers convert to buyers. This cumulative approach focuses the team on achieving meaningful short-term milestones. In this way, an e-commerce organization can continuously add new capabilities and progressively evolve from a monolithic system until the entire backend is segmented into microservices or different best-of-breed vendors. This approach also means that business value will be delivered throughout the migration.</li><li>Consider dedicated frontend composition platforms that implement additive strategies while allowing all business users - including developers, marketers, and designers - to help bring new functionality to the site. This can help overstretched development teams avoid becoming a bottleneck so the broader organization can deliver new experiences to the existing site more quickly. Reducing handoffs and eliminating the build step enables quicker content creation, which allows for more experimentation and, ultimately, a faster path to optimization and revenue-driving conversion improvements.</li></ul><h2>Open the Doors to Experimentation</h2>Let’s look at a common scenario. If an organization’s team does a quick analysis of its product pages and evaluates where the most underutilized real estate is on those pages, they will be able to translate that deficit into an opportunity and make that real estate more effective. For example, on many product pages, there are large swaths of whitespace and then a related product carousel tucked down at the bottom of the page where customers rarely venture. In this case, moving those related products up on the page is a good way to drive up average order value.In addition, the organization can choose to take it a step further and turn that related products carousel into a "build a bundle" offer where shoppers can attach three additional items to purchase all at once - with just one click. Ultimately, the organization can quickly and easily test anything - including the page layout and adaptive experience options, without needing weeks of lead time for planning and development. It's all about picking one’s opportunities and providing the desired experience built with the technology that gets you the shortest time to value and responsibly balances business success.The decision to go headless (or not) certainly does not need to be an all-or-nothing event. It’s possible to go halfway or to dip your toes in just a little bit. Don’t try to do everything at once; instead, focus on doing a little at a time, and take advantage of new design tools that unleash frontend creativity and agility while transitioning to your ideal e-commerce stack at a gradual pace.<hr /><a href="/critics/ryan-breen">Ryan Breen</a> is Chief Technology Officer at Zmags and a CMS Critic contributor.

Dipping Your Toes into the Headless Waters - Why Jumping Into the Deep End May Not Be the Best Bet

ryan-breen

It's "wheels up" this week for <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/?utm_source=prnewswire&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=2021_07_bigcommerce_press_release">Contentstack</a><a href="https://www.bigcommerce.com/">,</a> a composable Digital Experience Platform (DXP) provider.
The company just announced that it has been selected by European airline group <a href="https://www.airfranceklm.com/en" target="_blank">Air France-KLM</a> to support its new digital transformation initiative: a composable solution that aims to provide seamless and curated omnichannel experiences to its customers worldwide.
According to the press release, Air France-KLM sought a composable DXP that could be integrated with its existing technology stack – specifically with a new CMS.
Contentstack was selected for its expertise in composable architecture and its easy-to-use interface. Along with its headless CMS, the platform offers a range of capabilities, all of which align with the composable principles of <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/the-future-is-composable-a-conversation-with-new-mach-alliance-president-casper-rasmussen/">MACH</a> (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, and Headless).
“For enterprises like Air France-KLM, speed and agility are critical to efficiently managing content processes as well as customer demand,” said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramonweterings/" target="_blank">Ramon Weterings</a>, VP Sales EMEA at Contentstack. “By harvesting the power of composable, headless technology, Air France-KLM is now better equipped to adapt to change without having to compromise on quality. In partnership with Contentstack, they’re able to continue delivering superior digital experiences while benefiting from rapid, agile, and reliable internal workflows. Our goal is to help our partners set up for success and we’re excited to be working with Air France-KLM on their composable adoption.”
The partnership will enable Air France-KLM to benefit from a more agile journey while working with Contentstack to improve and update its technology capabilities.     
<h2>Taking flight with composable </h2>
Contentstack will be part of a composable digital strategy that empowers Air France-KLM to create seamless and personalized customer journeys, with streamlined publishing processes for e-commerce developers, content creators, and SEO specialists.
Contentstack’s extensive API library will also allow applications to be easily integrated into the Air France-KLM technology ecosystem while offering the agility required to support growth channels and adapt to changing customer needs.
“Whether it’s onboard our aircraft or on our digital touchpoints, we aim to offer unique experiences to our customers," said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/hugorousset/" target="_blank">Hugo Rousset</a>, VP Digital Products &amp; Services at Air France-KLM. "We needed a solution that allows us to get ahead of customer needs, providing them a personalized user journey. Migrating to Contentstack contributes to delivering more consistent content across all our touchpoints and all markets. At the same time, it enables us to integrate our existing tech stack and adapt quickly to the changing landscape.”
Contentstack is being implemented to integrate with Air France-KLM’s consumer websites, powering the next generation of digital experiences, with additional websites to follow later this year.
<h2>About Contentstack</h2>
<a href="https://www.contentstack.com/?utm_source=prnewswire&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=2019_06_19_contentstack_comes_to_europe">Contentstack</a> – the leading composable digital experience platform (DXP) provider – empowers marketers and developers to deliver digital experiences at the speed of their imagination. Companies such as ASICS, Chase, Express, Holiday Inn, Icelandair, Mattel, McDonald's, Mitsubishi, Riot Games, and Shell trust Contentstack to power their most critical content experiences with uncompromising scale and dependability. Famous for its Care without Compromise™, Contentstack has achieved the industry's highest customer satisfaction rating. Contentstack is also a founding member of the MACH Alliance, setting the industry agenda for open and composable technology that is Microservices-based, API-first, Cloud-native SaaS, and Headless. Learn more at <a href="http://www.contentstack.com">http://www.contentstack.com</a>.

Contentstack Selected by Air France-KLM to Support Composable Digital Experience Transformation

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<a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/uniform-raises-28m-in-series-a-funding-round-for-composable-dxp/">Uniform</a> continues to drive innovation in the digital experience composition platform (DXCP) space.
As a leading provider in the emerging category, the company just announced a series of enhancements to its <a href="https://uniform.dev/canvas">Uniform Canvas</a> and <a href="https://uniform.dev/mesh">Uniform Mesh</a> products. The new features round out Uniform's DXCP as the most robust visual workspace, empowering digital teams to deliver winning multichannel experiences.
The new product releases also complete Uniform's original promise of headless technologies. Now, brands can visually weave multiple API-powered technologies together to create high-performance digital experiences quickly and with greater agility. 
According to Uniform's press release, the new functionality will allow marketers to create web and app experiences faster and more flexibly. The enhanced features will also give developers broader scope for building lightning-fast experiences with innovative technology.
Below are some of the technical highlights and enhancements of Canvas and Mesh.
<h2>Putting power back in the hands of marketers </h2>
Canvas comes equipped with two new enhancements: Uniform Dynamic Pages and Uniform Redirect Manager. These powerful additions to the visual experience builder will offer marketers and merchandisers greater control over product-based experiences.
<ul>
<li>Dynamic Pages: Enables business users to efficiently adapt and iterate across thousands of webpages, such as product detail pages, to build visual experiences at scale without developer support. No-code templates and custom page creation drive seamless content updates, consistent branding, and improves speed to market.</li>
<li>Redirect Manager: Simplifies URL management through the creation of vanity URLs, activation of fast redirects using a modern content delivery network (CDN), and reliable page access. A visual tool helps business users quickly identify browser errors, improving accuracy and ensuring a smooth customer experience.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Freedom to innovate with best-of-breed tools</h2>
Mesh’s enhanced features underpin Uniform's DXCP capabilities by removing silos, eliminating weeks of manual coding, and freeing developers to work with their tools of choice. Features will allow users to: 
<ul>
<li>Utilize any data source: Build and reuse front-end components to boost implementation speed and flexibility.</li>
<li>Leverage no-code connections to any API: This includes headless services, legacy platforms, and single-use data sources, along with pre-built connectors for key services.</li>
<li>Use Edgehancers to enable cutting-edge performance: Automatically push content to a CDN’s edge to enhance page speed, user experience, and SEO performance – all without any custom code.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Accelerate time to market</h2>
Uniform is also launching a Component Starter Kit – an open-source and fully customizable collection of front-end components to streamline ideation for testing and production. Users can easily add these to a component development system like <a href="https://storybook.js.org/">Storybook</a> and connect to content sources using Mesh.
“The excitement surrounding the new release comes from its ability to empower digital teams and tackle the challenges marketers encounter when delivering high-performing digital experiences,” said <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/is-the-birth-of-dxc-the-death-of-dxp-a-conversation-with-darren-guarnaccia-president-at-uniform/">Darren Guarnaccia</a>, president, Uniform. “These latest capabilities elevate the visual workspace, enabling true enterprise scalability and seamlessly blends content, data, and technology at remarkable speeds. With enhancements to Canvas, Mesh, and the introduction of the Component Starter Kit, we’re fulfilling the promise of what headless tools initially aimed to achieve. The envisioned future is one where marketers can focus on storytelling and audience engagement, free from the constraints of traditional platforms and processes.”
<h2>About Uniform</h2>
Uniform DXCP speeds up time to value for composable experience architecture, lowers development costs, and makes it easy for business users to build digital experiences. A composable orchestration layer for legacy and modern headless systems or any API in Uniform DXCP eliminates the need for complex custom integration code. Instead, available for marketers, merchandisers, and other business users are no-code tools to build digital experiences with content from any source—without submitting developer tickets. Furthermore, Uniform DXCP’s high-performance personalization capability, delivered at the edge, raises conversion and CX for all channels.

Uniform Adds New Visual Editing and Integration Features to Enhance DXCP

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This week, <a href="https://uniform.dev/" target="_blank">Uniform</a> launched a new <a href="https://uniform.dev/resources/composable-cms-evaluation-guide" target="_blank">Composable CMS Evaluation Guide</a>, geared to help brands evaluate, compare, and better understand the options for leading headless CMS solutions.
Uniform, a digital experience composition platform (DXCP), composed the evaluation guide with the help of an experienced team of marketers and developers who have worked with many headless CMS vendors when integrating their software through Uniform.
In a <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230605005064/en/Uniform-Releases-Composable-CMS-Evaluation-Guide-To-Educate-and-Ease-Headless-Integration" target="_blank">news release</a> announcing the evaluation guide, Uniform noted a rapidly growing interest in composable tech stacks to avoid vendor lock-in while acknowledging the complexity of going headless.
“Over the last several years, the CMS marketplace has expanded exponentially, so has the architecture, making it harder for brands to track the differences between solutions and to know what to look for when evaluating solutions,” said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mdemeny/" target="_blank">Mark Demeny</a>, Uniform's head of product strategy. “Our guide describes the modern functional and nonfunctional criteria for evaluating headless CMS and walks planning teams through each step of the process.”
<h2>What’s in the guide?</h2>
Uniform helps to simplify the process of implementing a composable CMS by helping define the fundamentals, benefits, and differences between a composable and a traditional system. The guide also helps teams determine their CMS goals and compare the options available that align with those goals.
The guide is broken down into five sections designed to assist in the decision to go composable:
<ul>
<li>Introduction: explaining the basics</li>
<li>Background analysis and planning</li>
<li>Advice for meeting strategic goals</li>
<li>Vendor evaluation</li>
<li>Considerations for composable stacks</li>
</ul>
<h2>Uniform acts as a bridge to safer integrations</h2>
As a digital experience composition platform, Uniform helps companies bridge the gap between legacy systems and integrated composable solutions. It offers greater flexibility to companies currently locked into a monolithic system.
Uniform is also on a mission to eliminate glue code that presents issues when implementing new software. It recently launched a <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/uniform-launches-component-starter-kit-with-latest-product-release/">Component Starter Kit</a> that helps marketers and content creators to use RESTful API integrations to connect content from a headless CMS or commerce system with no glue code or developer tickets.
The new Composable CMS Evaluation Guide follows Uniform's <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/uniform-releases-comprehensive-cms-comparison-guide/">CMS Comparison guide</a>, launched early this spring. Both guides promise to help ease decision-making for those considering a new CMS, eliminating some guesswork through detailed explanations.
To download the Composable CMS Evaluation Guide, <a href="https://uniform.dev/resources/composable-cms-evaluation-guide" target="_blank">click here</a>.
<h2>About Uniform</h2>
Uniform DXCP speeds up time to value for composable-experience architecture, lowers development costs, and makes it easy for business users to build digital experiences. A composable orchestration layer for legacy systems and headless APIs in Uniform DXCP eliminates the need for complex custom integration code, which delivers no business value. Instead, available for marketers, merchandisers, and other business users are no-code tools with which to build digital experiences with content from any source—without submitting developer tickets. Furthermore, Uniform DXCP’s high-performance personalization capability, delivered at the edge, raises conversion and CX for all channels.
Learn more at <a href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Funiform.dev%2F&amp;esheet=53412657&amp;newsitemid=20230605005064&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=uniform.dev&amp;index=6&amp;md5=8de62c9041bb971931f2dbe29e50fdb0" target="_blank">uniform.dev</a> and follow us on <a href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fcompany%2Funiformdev%2F&amp;esheet=53412657&amp;newsitemid=20230605005064&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=LinkedIn&amp;index=7&amp;md5=f7401f00f4c02f49db054ae471cf62c3" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> and <a href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FUniformDev&amp;esheet=53412657&amp;newsitemid=20230605005064&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=Twitter&amp;index=8&amp;md5=2040781de4ed11c82eeb1d52b6ea38c1" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.

Uniform Publishes Composable CMS Evaluation Guide for Navigating Headless Integration

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<a href="https://the.machalliance.org/" target="_blank">The MACH Alliance</a> has announced the finalists of its <a href="https://machalliance.org/mach-impact-awards" target="_blank">2023 MACH Impact Awards</a>, highlighting innovative and impactful technology projects that utilize a MACH (microservices-based, API-first, Cloud native SaaS, Headless) strategy.
The finalists were narrowed down from hundreds of entries and judged by an independent panel of judges with expertise in applying MACH technologies.
The awards finalists represent global brands that impact thousands of consumers across various industries. The winners will be announced at the MACH Alliance annual <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/mach-alliance-announces-speakers-for-mach-two-conference-in-amsterdam-june-13-14/">MACH TWO</a> conference in Amsterdam on June 13 - 14.
<h2>2023 MACH Impact Awards Finalists</h2>
Best Retail Project
<ul>
<li>Primark</li>
<li>John Lewis Partnership</li>
<li>River Island</li>
</ul>
Best B2B Project
<ul>
<li>Wavin</li>
<li>MKM Building Supplies</li>
<li>Sonepar</li>
</ul>
Best Digital Experience
<ul>
<li>Paul Smith</li>
<li>Anheuser Busch</li>
<li>Dutch Railway</li>
</ul>
Best Health/Pharma Project
<ul>
<li>Bulk Nutrients</li>
<li>Thommen Medical</li>
<li>Integria Health</li>
</ul>
Best Hospitality Project
<ul>
<li>Just Eat</li>
<li>Gordon Ramsay Restaurants</li>
</ul>
Best Overall Change Project
<ul>
<li>American Bath Group</li>
<li>WWF</li>
<li>Mars</li>
<li>Primark</li>
<li>Belcorp</li>
<li>Alamy</li>
</ul>
Contributor of the Year
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulhornby/" target="_blank">Paul Hornby</a>, The Very Group</li>
<li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-thomas8/" target="_blank">Justin Thomas</a>, Kraft Heinz</li>
</ul>
Team of the Year
<ul>
<li>TaxFix</li>
<li>Mars</li>
</ul>
<h2>Register for MACH TWO</h2>
If you’d like to get a closer view of the MACH Impact Award finalists, it’s not too late to register for <a href="https://the.machalliance.org/machtwo/#about" target="_blank">MACH TWO</a> at the DeLaMar Theater in Amsterdam on June 13 and 14. The conference is free to attend and promises 48 hours of solid instruction, workshops, speakers, and more all centered around MACH technologies.
With multiple tracks that fit your goals, chances to network with like-minded peers and plenty of opportunities to hear from the brightest MACH practitioners in the game, MACH TWO is the premier annual event of the year.
<a href="https://the.machalliance.org/machtwo/#register" target="_blank">Register here</a>
<h2>About the MACH Alliance</h2>
The MACH Alliance is a [501(c)(6)] non-profit organization governed by an independent board and does not endorse specific vendors, members, or otherwise. The Alliance was formed in June 2020 to help enterprise organizations navigate the complex modern technology landscape. It aims to guide and show the business advantage of open tech ecosystems that are Microservices based, API-first, Cloud-native SaaS, and Headless. All MACH Alliance members meet certification principles that are published on the website. The MACH Alliance welcomes technology companies and individual industry experts with the same vision for the future. Learn more at machalliance.org, read here about MACH certification, and follow us on <a href="https://twitter.com/MACHAlliance" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/machalliance/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a>.

MACH Alliance Announces 2023 MACH Impact Awards Finalists

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This week, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/uniform-raises-28m-in-series-a-funding-round-for-composable-dxp/">Uniform</a> – a digital experience composition platform (DXCP) – announced its latest product release, which promises to help simplify <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-free-headless-cms-platforms/">headless</a> architecture for the modern user. This includes a new <a href="https://components.uniform.app/" target="_blank">Component Starter Kit</a> that complements its Mesh layer and additional enhancements to its Edgehancers. 
Uniform has been evangelizing the benefits of slaying the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/is-the-birth-of-dxc-the-death-of-dxp-a-conversation-with-darren-guarnaccia-president-at-uniform/">“glue code monster”</a> through a clever marketing campaign. With its newest release, they’re endeavoring to create easier processes for connecting data from any source to any front-end component – without the painful rigors of producing and managing integration code. 
<h2>Does headless mean harder? </h2>
When companies are operating a headless system – or even considering a new one – they might hit a few roadblocks. One of the most common examples is managing multiple content silos that must be coded into one central CMS. If the systems are difficult to integrate, content teams must rely on developers throughout the process and for future changes.
Uniform believes this is the opposite of “composable,” where developers and marketers find themselves limited by systems and processes that aren’t agile or easy to maintain. This has made the headless journey harder.
<h2>Composable is key</h2>
Uniform tackles these issues head-on, promising to reduce or eliminate glue code from the equation. With its newest feature release, the DXCP is aiming to deliver a “new headless paradigm,” outlined by Uniform co-founder <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lars-birkholm-petersen/" target="_blank">Lars Birkholm Petersen</a> in a <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/evolution-headless-from-glue-code-composable-lars-birkholm-petersen%3FtrackingId=AelqHfr4TSKkqU0RPHDyXw%253D%253D/?trackingId=AelqHfr4TSKkqU0RPHDyXw%3D%3D" target="_blank">blog post</a> announcing the launch this week.
As he noted, the new headless paradigm includes these core tenants:
<ul>
<li>Make solutions composable instead of composed</li>
<li>Optimize workflows and aim for the shortest time to market</li>
<li>Connect data and content across technologies</li>
<li>Enable marketers and merchants to do their jobs independently, freeing developers from having to maintain glue code</li>
<li>Give brands an unfair competitive advantage to launch new initiatives faster</li>
<li>Boost agencies’ competitiveness through the elimination of custom code</li>
</ul>
<h2>Open source Component Starter Kit</h2>
Uniform’s Component Starter Kit gives users the flexibility to create dynamic web experiences quickly and easily. The open source Kit is built on a TNT stack – <a href="https://www.typescriptlang.org/" target="_blank">TypeScript</a>, <a href="https://nextjs.org/" target="_blank">Next.js</a>, and <a href="https://tailwindcss.com/" target="_blank">TailwindCSS</a> – making it extremely adaptable to build with.
With the Component Starter Kit, users can easily clone, run locally, and customize based on their specific needs. By leveraging lightweight React components, it also helps keep Core Web Vitals in the green. And because the whole library is open source and based on TailwindCSS and <a href="https://daisyui.com/" target="_blank">DaisyUI</a>, it makes it easy for users to adapt their brand style.
With these component tools, marketers and content creators can use RESTful API integrations to connect content from a headless CMS or commerce system with no glue code or developer tickets.
<a href="https://components.uniform.app/" target="_blank">Browse components and learn more</a> about the Component Starter Kits from Uniform.
<h2>Mesh and Edgehancers</h2>
Uniform’s Mesh – its API integration layer – connects data or content sources with the user’s preferred design system in just a few clicks and zero coding. Marketers can enjoy total flexibility in how they build and connect their content without wasting precious developer time and resources.
When connecting to sources or on-premise APIs as a step for creating digital experiences, performance can be a bottleneck. With Uniform’s latest release of Edgehancers, users can cache data from any API on its global distributed edge, which makes sites run lightning fast – rendering in under 50 milliseconds – while supporting surgical cache invalidation from the underlying technologies.
<h2>Composable, not coded</h2>
With this latest launch, Uniform has gone above and beyond to save users from the hassle of integrating software. These new capabilities empower content creators and developers to focus on what’s important – so going headless doesn’t have to be harder.
“With the launch of these new capabilities, Uniform is taking how brands and agencies build digital experiences to the next level,” said Petersen. “With orchestration at each layer of the digital experience composition platform (DXCP), it’s easy to get the job done in minutes instead of days.”
The frightening glue code monster may be on his way out, but what’s coming next might be scary, scary good.
<h2>About Uniform</h2>
Uniform's digital experience composition (DXC) solution turns headless and legacy stacks into a seamless end-to-end digital delivery pipeline. Uniform transforms the approach to digital delivery by empowering developers, content creators, and marketers to easily create and deliver amazing experiences while allowing the tech stack to evolve with your brand. Several top brands use Uniform to power their digital experiences, including Cobham Satcom, Cirque du Soleil, Life Extension, Sunweb and Trimble. Learn more at uniform.dev and follow on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/uniformdev/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/UniformDev" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.

Uniform Launches Component Starter Kit with Latest Product Release

When I first hopped on Zoom with <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/deannaballew/" target="_blank">Deanna Ballew</a>, Senior Vice President of Product at <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/acquia-upgrades-open-dxp-capabilities-to-expand-composable-enterprise-features/">Acquia</a>, we bantered casually about her home near Madison, Wisconsin – and the dark beauty of Midwestern thunderstorms.
At the time, we were both being treated to unstable spring weather, mine of the Southeastern U.S. variety but equally temperamental. It was an apropos reflection of what’s happening in the technology market as fears of recession and the specter of AI loom menacingly across the horizon.
But there's opportunity in that tornadic frenzy. As composable strategies continue to rain across the legacy landscape, DXPs have been repositioning their offerings in a bid to be more, well… composable in an increasingly omnichannel world. Heck, last year, Salesforce unveiled a new service called <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/salesforce-headless-commerce-composable-storefront/" target="_blank">Composable Storefront</a> – a fully headless commerce solution that features an ecosystem of integrations.
Does this make Salesforce a “composable” platform? Maybe. Maybe not. But it’s a bit of a misnomer, really, when you consider that all DXPs were essentially composed to begin with.
Such is the case with Acquia. Over the years, it has expanded beyond its <a href="https://www.drupal.org/" target="_blank">Drupal</a>-powered CMS to comprise an ecosystem of integrated technologies, including cloud services, CDP, a marketing studio, and other goodies. By all accounts, the company fits the monolithic bill.
But as co-founder and CTO <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/buytaert/" target="_blank">Dries Buytaert</a> described in his <a href="https://www.acquia.com/blog/composable-digital-experience-manifesto" target="_blank">Composable DXP Manifesto</a>, Acquia has been evangelizing modular architectures that align with Drupal’s concept of the <a href="https://dri.es/the-assembled-web" target="_blank">Assembled Web</a> for over a decade. In that sense, they’re not newcomers to the composable game. In fact, in 2021, the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/acquia-upgrades-open-dxp-capabilities-to-expand-composable-enterprise-features/">company expanded</a> its open capabilities by introducing a set of composable enterprise features.
Still, Acquia seems focused on the sum of its DXP parts to help customers grow. Most recently, it purchased <a href="https://www.widen.com/plans?utm_term=widen%20dam&amp;utm_campaign=US+-+Brand+-+New&amp;utm_source=adwords&amp;utm_medium=ppc&amp;hsa_acc=4148602931&amp;hsa_cam=19965617942&amp;hsa_grp=151430066111&amp;hsa_ad=656770360925&amp;hsa_src=g&amp;hsa_tgt=aud-2053871145734:kwd-23382924646&amp;hsa_kw=widen%20dam&amp;hsa_mt=e&amp;hsa_net=adwords&amp;hsa_ver=3&amp;gad=1&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjw04yjBhApEiwAJcvNoRz0NfJzgGc3qeATnNzF5WrjQs4GtIXBa8j5R7dCSXE3d_haybCWyhoCIi4QAvD_BwE" target="_blank">Widen</a>, a digital asset management (DAM) solution that is proving to be a key activator in its completeness of vision (it’s worth noting that the service can be procured separately). Deanna, who came along for the ride from Widen as its Chief Innovation Officer, is now working across the Acquia portfolio on the company’s vision and M&amp;A strategy.
Given all this, where does Acquia fit on the composable spectrum? Lately, I’ve been listening to many voices across the industry use this term in different ways, and I wanted to hear from a platform with a long-established leadership role in the DXP topology – and one striving to be more modular than monolithic. 
Deanna and I were also joined by <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaretschroeder94/" target="_blank">Maggie Schroeder</a>, Acquia’s Director of Product Marketing. We talked at length about composable, the hyperbolic explosion of AI, and the importance of their “Acquian” community as accelerators of innovation and success.
<h2>Finding growth as a Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader </h2>
For those who don't consult the analyst reports, Acquia held firm to its Leader position in the 2023 <a href="https://www.acquia.com/blog/acquia-named-leader-2023-gartner-magic-quadrant-digital-experience-platforms" target="_blank">Gartner Magic Quadrant for DXPs</a>, trailing only behind <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/optimizely-partners-with-google-cloud-to-take-experimentation-to-the-next-level/">Optimizely</a> and <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/adobe-experience-cloud-adds-new-headless-cms-capabilities-updates-to-commerce-integration/">Adobe</a>. The triad has persistently battled it out over several cycles in a bid to dominate the space, although Adobe – a much larger competitor – continues to wear the crown. 
So how did Acquia join this exclusive league of leaders? It's been a long road, and community and innovation played a big part. But it doesn't hurt that the company was <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2019/09/24/vista-equity-partners-buys-acquia-for-1b/" target="_blank">purchased by Vista Equity Partners</a> in 2019 for $1 billion, boosting its quest to build market presence. 
While these rivals all deliver industry-leading foundational technologies (CMS, CX, CDP, analytics, personalization, customer journey management, and more), Gartner highlighted Acquia’s synergy between its product innovations and acquisitions, as well as its uncommon support for intranet and employee portal applications. There was also a footnote about Acquia’s <a href="https://www.acquia.com/products/acquia-site-factory" target="_blank">Site Factory</a> toolset, which eases the burden of scaling deployments.
Analyst observations aside, I asked Deanna what was putting the wind in Acquia’s sails (or sales, n'est-ce pas?) in 2023.
“One of the core pieces to why we’re winning is that we continue to thrive and focus on content and data,” she said. “The foundation and flexibility of Drupal as our CMS delivers us over 46,000 modules, and by combining our CMS with Acquia Cloud, we can now give our customers the ultimate balance of enterprise security, stability, and scalability. And that's kind of the sweet spot where they can start small and grow, or they can start big and really scale up. So that's where we've grown.”
Deanna also underscored the impact of the Widen acquisition, and how pairing an award-winning DAM with Acquia’s ML-powered CDP – formerly <a href="https://www.acquia.com/newsroom/press-releases/acquia-acquire-agilone-deliver-powerful-customer-experiences" target="_blank">AgilOne</a> – is at the heart of the company’s composable promise to provide an open set of solutions that play well with other technologies.
“I think that's really key to what we're seeing with composability,” she explained. “You can't do everything with a single vendor. It has to work within our customers’ current systems and technologies when they need it and scale and grow as it goes.”
Maggie also touched on Acquia’s commitment to helping customers make technology work for them, suggesting it all comes back to the ease of use the company is building into its products.
“We’re providing low code capabilities for marketers, but also really advanced tools for our developers who we know are at the core of creating experiences – so those who are less technical and those who are very technical can work together to create experiences that are outcome-driven.”
<h2>What’s the best roadmap? Open source, of course</h2>
As a well-established open source vendor, Acquia’s community has been a wellspring for continuous innovation. I asked Maggie how the heritage of Drupal is impacting the company’s plans for the future.
“Drupal is at our core, and it’s part of the beginnings of Acquia,” she said. “We've really stayed true to that, throughout the duration of Acquia’s existence.”
But enhancing that legacy has been a key focus, and Maggie noted a series of very strategic acquisitions and innovations that have complemented the open source engine. For example, the <a href="https://www.acquia.com/newsroom/press-releases/acquia-acquires-cohesion#:~:text=BOSTON%20and%20BRIGHTON%2C%20England%20%E2%80%93%20September,low%2Dcode%20Drupal%20website%20builder." target="_blank">purchase of Cohesion</a> in 2019 and its subsequent transformation to Site Studio has made Drupal more accessible to low-code business users – what Dries calls an “ambitious site builder.” As Deanna echoed, the goal has been making things easier for users across the collective community.
“We put a lot of emphasis into content and really making that experience as seamless as possible. And then of course, giving our customers that foundation helps them get even closer to leveraging data and more complex use cases as well.”
As for that community, it’s quite expansive: <a href="https://www.acquia.com/drupal/why-drupal" target="_blank">according to the company’s website</a>, Acquia boasts more than 800 customers and over a million users worldwide, buoyed by a Drupal footprint that includes one in eight enterprise websites and over 10,000 active community contributors. Oh, and there’s also those 46,000 modules to boot.
While open source brings its own set of challenges from security to stability, it offers key benefits that are attractive in a composable world – like no vendor lock-in. But there’s more to it: this open community is helping Acquia and its customers jump ahead and drive delivery on their own terms.
“They don’t have to wait for our roadmap,” Deanna said. “And that's a really key thing to be able to do what you need to on your own timeline.”
<h2>AI: Acquia Intelligence</h2>
It’s a no-brainer to ask about the new brain driving this hype cycle: <a href="https://chat.openai.com/" target="_blank">ChatGPT</a>. It’s undeniable. In less than six months, countless platforms across the digital experience and martech stack have harnessed <a href="https://www.openai.com/" target="_blank">OpenAI’s</a> generative service to improve content operations and workflows.
While Acquia is already leveraging machine learning and predictive models in its CDP, I asked how this latest permutation of AI is transforming the strategy. Once again, it came back to the community.
“We see that even with all the AI stuff going on right now, our community and customers are doing it themselves,” Deanna said. “They're making it work when they want to do it.”
To that end, the Drupal community has already launched an <a href="https://www.drupal.org/project/openai" target="_blank">OpenAI initiative</a> that aims to provide a suite of modules and an API foundation for ChatGPT, <a href="https://github.com/features/copilot" target="_blank">GitHub CoPilot</a>, and more. This would include a bevy of features for powering generative text, content editing, audio transcribing, text prompts, and more.
“All of our sales engineers are enabled to leverage the Drupal OpenAI module as part of their demo to show ‘the art of the possible’ with ChatGPT,” Maggie explained. “It can create anything from text content, images, content analysis – there’s a lot. And this goes back to having the power of the Drupal community behind us, really helping our customers get ahead of the trends. So while others in the market are waiting for additions or integrations to ChatGPT, the Drupal community was, I'd say, first to market with the ChatGPT integration.”
<h2>A hybrid approach to omnichannel and headless</h2>
During my recent trip to the <a href="https://www.boye-co.com/groups/cms-experts/" target="_blank">Boye &amp; Company</a> CMS Experts summit in New York City, there was an epic debate about headless CMS and the challenges that exist with visualization. While <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/wrestling-with-category-confusion-in-the-dxc-slackdown/">DXC platforms</a> like <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/is-the-birth-of-dxc-the-death-of-dxp-a-conversation-with-darren-guarnaccia-president-at-uniform/">Uniform</a> are providing an answer for pure headless solutions, traditional CMS platforms are espousing the value of their APIs to reinforce the value of a hybrid play. This comes at a time when even WordPress is offering a <a href="https://wpengine.com/resources/headless-cms-and-wordpress/" target="_blank">headless backend</a> to power any kind of frontend framework.
With Acquia’s Drupal CMS falling into the traditional CMS and DXP column, I asked Maggie how omnichannel fits into Acquia’s strategy, and how it stacks up to purely headless contenders.
“First of all, I love that you're saying ‘omnichannel’ and you're not leading with headless, because headless is the technology that makes omnichannel possible,” she said. “However, something I want to acknowledge is that not all experiences we talk about are truly omnichannel, right? Omnichannel implies these experiences are connected and they're consistent across all the channels where you're delivering content. And I think that is where we've really stepped in to provide differentiation.”
As Maggie explained, business users are often seen as a “pain point” for pure-play headless competitors in the market. Acquia’s ability to supply both low code business features – as well as a completely headless experience to frontend developers – gives users the freedom to choose whatever framework they prefer.
“We see a lot of our customers adopting a hybrid approach to omnichannel,” Maggie said. “They’re asking, ‘What is the outcome we're looking to drive with the experience? Is it really going to be content dependent? And is it owned by, say, a marketing team?’”
A great example she cited: marketing campaign pages. A stakeholder probably doesn’t want to be dependent on a developer to update the content, especially if it needs to be changed frequently. This is different from a digital sign, which is highly dependent on a frontend developer to create.
“We want to give freedom to all the different contributors who are working on the same team to deliver experiences. I think those are really the two key differentiating factors for us: enabling the whole team and then also having the ability to provide low code and headless.”
<h2>Partnering on the composable journey </h2>
Dovetailing on the hybrid versus headless discussion, Maggie shared the importance of aligning with a customer’s goals and growing with them over time. Having a more composable approach seems to benefit this on multiple levels, particularly when a large migration or transformation is part of the program. But it also requires the right mindset – which Acquia champions for its users.
“Instead of painting this picture of ‘oh, you have to rip and replace everything,’ we say, ‘let's do this one at a time, let's focus on content first,” or ‘let's focus on your digital assets first,’ or ‘let's focus on product inventory first.’ I think that’s a huge benefit for our new and existing customers.”
From a roadmap perspective, Maggie said the various products and capabilities that Acquia offers can be rolled out over time, making the journey less overwhelming. For example, year one could include CMS, followed by year two with DAM, and year three with CDP and personalization. This is where the benefits of a composable DXP come into play.
Maggie also shared a customer use case for Anheuser-Busch/InBev, which pushed the limits of a composable approach to create new experiences. Working with Acquia, they created decoupled components for a game application, allowing any marketer to add it to new sites. The entire experience is low code and completely composable.
I asked Maggie where these high-touch professional services fit in the business model, and if Acquia plans to invest more in that level of relationship.
“I think being consultative is kind of end-to-end for Acquians,” she said, conjuring the mantle reserved for its team and community members. “Our sales team is very well versed in having those conversations. We try to go in as more of a trusted advisor.”
<h2>Consulting the crystal ball for 2023</h2>
In today’s macroeconomics, there’s no telling if we’re at the precipice of a global recession or knee-deep in a soft landing. While the pandemic resulted in a buying spree for Acquia and its contemporaries, the last 12 months have seen a softening in IT budgets and <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2023/01/30/the-real-reasons-for-big-tech-layoffs-at-google-microsoft-meta-and-amazon/?sh=1218f5612b67" target="_blank">layoffs</a> from the likes of Google, Meta, and Amazon. 
So does Acquia see 2023 through rose-colored glasses? I asked Deanna to weigh in.
“In the environment we’re in with the recession – are we in it or are we not – we’re really leaning into our existing customers to ensure they have great CX,” she said. “We’re seeing an increased focus on the customer journey, on CDPs. Focusing on customer retention and customer upsell has been a key trend.”
“I think we’re in a really great position because we’re empowering teams,” Maggie added. “I think the question that everyone is asking themselves is, ‘how do we do more with the same?’ Or maybe even ‘more with even less’ budget or team resources. We’ve really maximized what their team can do instead of bogging them down with maintenance and other types of menial tasks. They can get straight to the value and the mission they set forth.”
As we rounded the corner to the end of our conversation, I asked what’s on the horizon – and what gets this team excited about the prospects ahead. Deanna jumped in, and once again focused on the importance of community.
“I think about 40 percent of our customers now have a TAM – technical advisor manager – to help them grow in year one, year two, year three, and advise them along the way,” she said enthusiastically. “But I’m most excited about launching a broader Acquia community. Not only do we help them, but our customers help each other, giving [each other] ideas and advice to help them grow along the way. That’s really exciting for me.”
Exciting indeed. And even if 2023 turns into a Midwestern thunderstorm, Acquia seems well positioned to ride it out.

Acquia Taps its Modular, Open Source Legacy to Drive the Composable Future

matt-garrepy

Acquia logo with inset images of Deanna and Maggie in shapes of the Drupal logo icon - a water droplet.

Big news from <a href="https://www.wix.com/" target="_blank">Wix</a> today as it enters the headless game. The leading global SaaS platform for creating, managing, and growing online presence just announced the launch of Wix Headless, which enables developers to implement Wix's array of business solutions in new ways.
With Wix Headless, users can leverage composable APIs and software development kit (SDK) with any tech stack across different platforms and devices. Developers can use a variety of <a href="https://www.wix.com/app-market/collection/wix-business-solutions" target="_blank">Wix Business Solutions</a> that can all be accessed from the SDK and managed from within Wix's comprehensive management platform. These APIs are in sync and can be used out of the box with Wix's additional solutions, such as contacts and checkout.
"Wix Headless enables developers to use Wix in ways that weren't previously possible, from scaling their online presences to managing multiple complex projects in one place," said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/shahartalmi/" target="_blank">Shahar Talmi</a>, GM Developer Platform at Wix. "We're constantly advancing our business solutions on Wix, and by providing developers  access to these APIs, with the ability to incorporate them into projects built on other platforms, we're accelerating the endless possibilities presented in the web development industry." 
<h2>New framework options and integrations</h2>
Wix Headless opens the door for using Wix Business Solutions with leading web frameworks, including React, Vue, Svelte, Qwik, and others – enabling more partnerships with leading full-stack solutions.
<a href="https://www.netlify.com/integrations/wix/#main" target="_blank">Netlify</a> is the first platform to partner with Wix in offering a quick start integration with Wix's <a href="https://www.wix.com/scheduling-software" target="_blank">Bookings</a>, <a href="https://www.wix.com/event/website" target="_blank">Events</a>, <a href="https://www.wix.com/ecommerce/website" target="_blank">eCommerce</a>, <a href="https://www.editorx.com/features/cms" target="_blank">CMS</a>, and Pricing Plans APIs. Some of the capabilities of these APIs include booking services for classes, courses, appointments, and subscriptions, managing events to create RSVPs, guest lists, selling tickets, and operating eCommerce businesses.
Wix has worked to develop products that enable more capabilities within the Wix platform. These tools include <a href="https://www.wix.com/velo" target="_blank">Velo</a>, which allows developers to use custom code, and <a href="https://support.wix.com/en/wix-blocks" target="_blank">Wix Blocks</a> – which enables the creation of highly customizable and reusable applications and widgets. It also includes the recent beta launch of <a href="https://www.codux.com/" target="_blank">Codux</a>, enabling designers to work directly on React code.
The launch of Wix Headless marks the first time the company is opening the backend to work outside the Wix platform, creating an even more robust portfolio of developer-centric solutions that enable easier scalability, more customization, and faster delivery of projects.
<h2>What can users expect?</h2>
According to the company's press release, Wix Headless will enable developers to:
<ul>
<li>Create custom solutions: Using APIs to access and manage business data in Wix's platform, developers can create custom solutions that integrate seamlessly with Wix Business Solutions, even if their delivery layer, site or app is not on Wix.</li>
<li>Multiple lines of business from one dashboard: Utilize Wix Business Solution APIs that are all integrated with Payments by Wix and can all be managed within the Wix dashboard.</li>
<li>Power multiple front-ends: Maximize how customers interact with a business by connecting multiple clients to a single Wix backend. For example, multiple websites, a mobile app, and a smartwatch app can all offer services for the same Wix backend business.</li>
<li>Connect additional sites or apps to existing projects on Wix: Developers with an operational Wix site can take advantage of the headless functionality without starting from scratch by keeping their existing Wix site and adding new sites or apps that access and service the same business.</li>
<li>Take advantage of a global payments infrastructure: Streamline payments with Payments by Wix to accept payments worldwide. Through Wix's provider platform, developers can connect to payment providers located in South America, North America, Europe, and more, without integrating multiple payment gateways.</li>
</ul>
Find out more information about Wix Headless <a href="https://www.wix.com/developers/headless" target="_blank">here</a>.
<h2>About Wix</h2>
<a href="https://www.wix.com/" target="_blank">Wix</a> is a leading platform to create, manage and grow a digital presence. What began as a website builder in 2006 is now a complete platform providing users with enterprise-grade performance, security, and a reliable infrastructure. Offering a wide range of commerce and business solutions, advanced SEO and marketing tools, Wix enables users to have full ownership of their brand, their data and their relationships with their customers. With a focus on continuous innovation and delivery of new features and products, anyone can build a powerful digital presence to fulfill their dreams on Wix.

Wix Headless Offers Developers Composable, API-First Solutions

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Today, <a href="https://conscia.ai/" target="_blank">Conscia.ai</a>, the Digital Experience Orchestration (DXO) platform, announced <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bartomlo/" target="_blank">Bart Omlo</a> as its new Global Head of Sales. 
According to its <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/consciaai-the-pioneer-of-digital-experience-orchestration-dxo-appoints-bart-omlo-as-global-head-of-sales-301812271.html?tc=eml_cleartime" target="_blank">news release</a>, Omlo will be responsible for driving Conscia.ai's revenue growth and expanding its customer base by leveraging his knowledge and expertise in an evolving digital experience space. He will work closely with the executive leadership team to identify new market opportunities, develop partnerships, and build a world-class sales organization.
"We are beyond excited to have Bart join our team at Conscia," said <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/from-legacy-to-composable-whats-the-best-way-forward/">Sana Remekie</a>, CEO of Conscia.ai. "We are truly impressed with his track record of building world-class sales organizations, his in-depth understanding of the evolving digital experience space, and [we] are confident about his ability to help scale our business globally. We look forward to reaching new heights together and taking the headless and composable industry by storm."
<h2>Deep experience in enterprise content management, headless, and more</h2>
Omlo brings nearly two decades of experience in enterprise content management to his new role at Conscia. Most recently, he served as vice president of sales at <a href="https://www.kentico.com/" target="_blank">Kentico</a> and later as CEO at <a href="https://kontent.ai/" target="_blank">Kontent.ai</a> – where he was integral to <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/kontent-ai-raises-40-million-to-bring-the-power-of-ai-to-content-management/">raising $40 million</a> in Series A funding for the startup.
<h2>A bright outlook at Conscia.ai</h2>
With Omlo’s experience and Conscia’s movement to build best-of-breed architectures to deliver connected, omnichannel digital experiences for customers, Conscia believes they can take DXO to new heights. Conscia.ai's zero-code, API-first, DXO platform empowers businesses to orchestrate consistent and connected user experiences throughout the customer journey.
Conscia says organizations that have taken the first step towards modular and headless architectures are grappling with a lack of business user control to orchestrate experiences – and wish to reduce their day-to-day reliance on IT teams to deliver personalized customer experiences.
"I am excited to join Conscia and work with such a talented and passionate team to drive growth in the Digital Experience Orchestration space," said Omlo. "Composability is the future and I am thrilled to be a part of a company that is at the forefront of this trend by offering an innovative solution which allows organizations to stay in control of their omnichannel digital experiences while future-proofing their tech stacks."
<h2>About <a href="https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3852302-1&amp;h=3995890254&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fconscia.ai%2F&amp;a=Conscia.ai" target="_blank">Conscia.ai</a></h2>
Conscia is the pioneer of the Digital Experience Orchestration (DXO) platform that facilitates assembly of intelligent, data-driven experiences within a composable tech stack. It provides a centralized UI to manage personalized, omnichannel experiences with intuitive control for A/B testing, performance tracking, and integration with best-of-breed tools for business teams. For IT teams, Conscia offers a frontend and backend-agnostic, zero-code API 'Orchestration as a Service' that simplifies the frontend code and enables a truly headless architecture. With powerful features like a universal backend API connector, a native decision engine, observability, monitoring, analytics, and legacy modernization, Conscia.ai offers the most comprehensive solution on the market to accelerate the move to and adoption of composable architectures for business and digital teams.
Conscia has created 'Composable Recipes' showcasing connections to Contentstack, Contentful, Storyblok, Kontent.ai, Agility CMS, Segment, Talon.One, Cloudinary, Commercetools, BigCommerce, AWS Opensearch, Elasticsearch and many more best-of-breed solutions over the last few months. Conscia is a validated partner of AWS and now available for purchase on AWS Marketplace.

Conscia.ai Appoints Bart Omlo to Global Head of Sales

Conscia.ai logo with a black-and-white headshot of Bart Omlo

Things are heating up for the <a href="https://machalliance.org/">MACH Alliance</a> as it prepares to host its annual global conference in Amsterdam. 
Kicking off the summer season, <a href="https://the.machalliance.org/machtwo/" target="_blank">MACH TWO</a> will be held June 13-14, 2023, and promises “48 hours of solid MACH” for attendees at the <a href="https://delamar.nl/en/" target="_blank">DeLaMar Theater</a> – located in the heart of one of Europe's most iconic cities.
MACH TWO will focus on the "art &amp; science" powering the future of business. The event will feature keynotes, workshops, and networking opportunities focused on MACH principles – and practical applications for executive leaders, technology decision-makers, and MACH practitioners.
The two-day event will offer a range of speakers across a variety of industries, each sharing examples of successfully “MACHifying” their tech stacks.
<h2>Meet the speakers</h2>
While more presenters are expected to be announced, the MACH Alliance has released the bios of five technology and business leaders speaking at the conference.
<h4><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffdesandre/" target="_blank">Jeff DeSandre</a> – Chief Information Officer, AmerCareRoyal</h4>
Jeff is a results-driven technology executive with 15+ years of experience leading complex IT transformations. As CIO of <a href="https://amercareroyal.com/" target="_blank">AmerCareRoyal</a>, Jeff spearheads innovative digital transformation initiatives that optimize operational efficiency and enhance customer experience. With a strong background in consumer goods, Jeff's strategic direction and technology solutions ensure alignment with business objectives. Jeff also sits on the advisory board for UCX.
<h4><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/anca-iordanescu-3756971/" target="_blank">Anca lordanescu</a> – VP of Engineering, IKEA Retail</h4>
Anca is an award-winning engineering leader. As the VP of Engineering at <a href="https://www.ikea.com/us/en/" target="_blank">IKEA</a> Retail, Anca is leading the charge to transform IKEA into a retailer that provides products to consumers wherever and whenever they want by implementing agile, simple, and future-focused technologies. With a Ph.D. in Computer Science, Anca previously modernized the IT landscape at Maersk Line from a monolithic to a decoupled, microservice-based architecture. Actively involved in the "Women in Tech" community in Sweden and various programs around mentorship, diversity, and uplifting women and girls in the technology sector, Anca has been recognized as a top 100 Woman in Tech – and winner of the Digital Transformation Leader award 2022.
<h4><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mjmontgomery/" target="_blank">Mindy Montgomery</a> – Associate Director of Product Marketing, ASICS Digital</h4>
Mindy has 20 years of experience in IT, strategy, and product/business management. As Associate Director of Product Marketing at <a href="https://www.asicsdigital.com/" target="_blank">ASICS Digital</a>, she leverages her expertise in delivering innovative solutions across various industries and focuses on developing foundational infrastructure that advances ecosystem-wide solutions and creates exceptional customer experiences.
<h4><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmnotenboom/" target="_blank">Hans Notenboom</a> – Tribe Leader B2B Platform Experience &amp; Conversion, Philips</h4>
Having spent the past 30 years working at the intersection of IT, innovation, marketing, new media, and digital technology, Hans is responsible for delivering the <a href="https://www.usa.philips.com/" target="_blank">Philips</a> global platform experience for healthcare customers – connecting digital marketing, eCommerce, and self-service portals. By decoupling internal complexity and technology from external customer experiences, Philips’ goal is to increase speed and agility and improve its ability to personalize the customer experience and create internal efficiencies. 
<h4><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylan-valade/" target="_blank">Dylan Valade</a> – Head of Global eCommerce Technology, PUMA</h4>
Dylan is a technology leader with 20 years of experience defining digital transformation strategies and rolling out systems worldwide. He's a survivor of crises, mentoring teams through recessions, a bull market, and the pandemic-fueled e-commerce growth spree. At <a href="https://us.puma.com/us/en" target="_blank">Puma</a>, Dylan takes charge of budgets, infrastructure, applications, and business processes, serving millions of users on the web, apps, and marketplaces. He expanded PUMA's direct-to-consumer business from 7 to 25 markets and provided management consulting for digital transformation with packaged and custom software. Previously, Dylan created a SaaS content management system and multi-tenant hosting platform, leveraging it to start five businesses. 
<h2>MACHing your way to Amsterdam? </h2>
Fantastische! CMS Critic will see you there.
If you haven’t registered for MACH TWO, it’s not too late. Find logistics details, conference insights, and more when you <a href="https://the.machalliance.org/machtwo/" target="_blank">register here</a>.
<h2>About the MACH Alliance</h2>
The MACH Alliance is a [501(c)(6)] non-profit organization governed by an independent board and does not endorse specific vendors, members, or otherwise. The Alliance was formed in June 2020 to help enterprise organizations navigate the complex modern technology landscape. It aims to guide and show the business advantage of open tech ecosystems that are Microservices based, API-first, Cloud-native SaaS, and Headless. All MACH Alliance members meet certification principles that are published on the website. The MACH Alliance welcomes technology companies and individual industry experts with the same vision for the future. Learn more at machalliance.org, read here about MACH certification, and follow us on <a href="https://twitter.com/MACHAlliance" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/machalliance/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a>.

MACH Alliance Announces Speakers for MACH TWO Conference in Amsterdam, June 13-14

MACH Alliance MACH Two logo against geometric background

What's the story with CMS in 2023? Ask <a href="https://www.storyblok.com/" target="_blank">Storyblok</a>.
The headless CMS vendor just published a compelling set of <a href="https://www.storyblok.com/lp/state-of-cms-2023-global" target="_blank">reports</a> about the current state of CMS, reflecting respondents' opinions across 7 countries.
The studies offer interesting data on the most popular content management systems, the pain points and features driving users to new systems, and how organizations plan to change and improve their CMS.
Storyblok published "The State of CMS 2023" global report in February, featuring survey data from 1,639 respondents. Last week, it offered <a href="https://www.storyblok.com/lp/state-of-cms-2023-united-states" target="_blank">a focused US edition</a> reflecting the opinions of 624 respondents. Both samples shed light on various topics, including how users leverage their CMS, which teams represent the largest portion of users, and whether they anticipate using their CMS in the future.
<h2>Monoliths are still winning the popularity contest</h2>
Based on Storyblok's research, platforms like <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/adobe-experience-cloud-adds-new-headless-cms-capabilities-updates-to-commerce-integration/">Adobe</a>, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/wordpress-keeps-classical-editor-alive-acquires-frontity-to-expand-headless-capabilities/">WordPress</a>, and <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/reviews/webflow-review-hybrid-website-builder-and-cms-bridges-the-design-code-chasm/">Webflow</a> remain the leading CMS choices among respondents. It's worth noting that while WordPress continues to own the largest market share as an open source CMS, other vendors like Adobe are considered DXPs – which include CMS as part of their stack. 
In the research, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-free-headless-cms-platforms/">headless</a> accounted for 36% of CMSes. Headless architecture is still a much newer application of content management, and Storyblok hypothesized that lower adoption rates might be due to a lack of knowledge – particularly in the US.
Storyblok also noted that there had been a marginal increase in the percentage of those surveyed using a headless CMS and a marginal decrease in those using a monolithic CMS since its previous <a href="https://www.storyblok.com/lp/state-of-content-management" target="_blank">2022 State of CMS</a> report.
Other data pointed to US respondents as being more receptive to trying a new CMS for proof of concept – suggesting that headless adoption rates might change if they received more exposure to headless concepts. 
Also worth noting: users seem to be "keeping the faith" in their current CMS. Accoring to the research, 87% percent of respondents believe their current system will be effective in the coming years.
<h2>Omnichannel is driving a multi-CMS model</h2>
In the U.S. data, 42% of respondents reported utilizing more than one CMS, indicating that one system might not meet the needs of different departments or functions within a company. However, 44% said they utilized only one CMS – nearly an even split. 
Of those utilizing only one CMS, most respondents indicated two to three teams within their organization are using the same CMS, with marketing and sales dominating that usage.
Because there was a strong quotient of organizations using more than one CMS, the study's analysis contends that one CMS cannot satisfy the needs of each department, and functionality might be limited with a monolithic approach.
Respondents to the study said their CMS is used most prolifically for websites, mobile apps, and eCommerce. In a change from <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/storybloks-cms-report-shows-enterprises-are-still-scared-of-omnichannel-content-experiences/">last year’s study</a>, the third most listed reason for organizations to use more than one CMS was to satisfy the need for omnichannel content – a decisive indication that additional multimedia channels are gaining importance in traditional marketing strategies.
<h2>Customers using headless CMS reported satisfaction</h2>
Those surveyed who had switched to a headless CMS overwhelmingly reported satisfaction with their choice. The leading reason: headless CMS is “time-saving." Increased ROI and traffic were also listed as top reasons (among others).
While monolithic platforms may still have the upper hand, headless is clearly gaining ground. The need for omnichannel content has also crept up as the role of marketing to consumers continues to shift. With headless CMSes promising great opportunity in this space, it’s something to watch before the next State of CMS drops.
"The State of the CMS 2023" reports offer relevant and revealing data about the trends in the CMS market – and are well worth a read. You can download them at the links below:
<a href="https://www.storyblok.com/lp/state-of-cms-2023-global" target="_blank">The State of the CMS 2023 Report</a>
<a href="https://www.storyblok.com/lp/state-of-cms-2023-united-states" target="_blank">The State of the CMS 2023: United States Report</a>
<h2>About Storyblok</h2>
Storyblok is a next-generation headless content management system revolutionizing how storytelling scales. With an API-first approach, it helps users create and scale content to any digital channel. Features like the visual editor and digital asset manager mean content creators can work independently. The power of headless’s best-of-breed approach also means that developers can build a perfectly customized tech stack, all protected by Storyblok’s ISO 27001 security certification. Add the benefit of Storyblok’s advanced collaboration suite, and all these teams can come together to work together directly within the CMS. In a constantly changing world with more user experience demands than ever before, brands such as Netflix, T-Mobile, and MindValley trust Storyblok to provide secure, personalized experiences to their users.

Storyblok Publishes Reports on the State of CMS in 2023, Reveals Insights on US and Global Markets

Storyblok State of CMS 2023 graphic and logo

Over the last two years, we've covered a lot of insights published by the <a href="https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3749828-1&amp;h=1474142029&amp;u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.machalliance.org%2F&amp;a=MACH+Alliance" target="_blank">MACH Alliance</a> as it continues to chart the course for composable.
While the Alliance represents a group of independent tech companies advocating for open, best-of-breed technology ecosystems, it has also become a trusted source for data and trends impacting the trajectory of MACH (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native SaaS, Headless). This is driven by a cabal of thought leaders and industry experts tracking the movement of everything from <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-free-headless-cms-platforms/">headless CMS</a> to the emergence of <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/is-the-birth-of-dxc-the-death-of-dxp-a-conversation-with-darren-guarnaccia-president-at-uniform/">DXC</a>.
This week, the MACH Alliance published the results of its third-annual <a href="https://machalliance.org/assets/pdf/mach-global-research%202023.pdf" target="_blank">Enterprise MACHified research</a> conducted by independent firm <a href="https://melresearch.co.uk/" target="_blank">MEL Research</a> in December and January. The charter was clear: gain a deeper understanding of how MACH investments have accelerated over the past 12 months and how these investments impact organizations as they face the headwinds of a challenging economy – or even the specter of a global recession.  
The study surveyed 500 tech leaders from Australia, France, Germany, the U.K., and the U.S. The research indicates an urgency to innovate in a rapidly changing business environment – with MACH as a key mechanism for responding to economic volatility.
<h2>MACH-advanced companies move faster</h2>
According to the research, four in five decision-makers state that economic volatility has impacted their organizational attitudes toward MACH. This has been a key driver behind a major shift in planning and technology investments, with 85 percent of organizations increasing their MACH infrastructure in the past 12 months.
These companies cite multiple benefits to MACH, including the ability to respond to market changes faster, build and implement new functionality quicker, and reduce costs. The study also reveals that they’re more likely to say their infrastructure is keeping up with customer demands and that they’re ahead of their competition than those with lower MACH adoption rates.
<h2>The US is catching up with Europe</h2>
Regarding MACH adoption, there has been an established disparity between the European and United States markets – but that appears to be shifting as the US gains ground. 
According to the research, a lack of board or leadership support is more likely to be a barrier to MACH adoption in the US than in the overall sample (32% versus 27%). This could signal that MACH faces a perception challenge in the US among non-IT professionals, indicating the need for education and awareness to highlight its value and benefits.
At the same time, US organizations that believe they are significantly ahead of their competition are more likely to have increased the proportion of MACH within their infrastructure (47 percent) than those who haven’t (26 percent).
While the survey shows a decline in the proportion of budgets that are being spent on technology upgrades since 2022 in the UK and Germany (from 39 percent to 32 percent in the UK, and from 36 percent to 31 percent in Germany), this has increased in the US (from 37 percent to 41 percent).
Companies in the US also report the largest proportion of legacy tech. On average, 41 percent of IT ecosystems are still considered legacy, establishing a clear need for tools enabling them to improve and upgrade infrastructures at greater speed.
<h2>Time and money spent on upgrades is an expensive ongoing problem</h2>
In the economic vein, the new research uncovered that not much has changed from a year ago regarding the time and money spent on upgrade projects.
Upgrading is a burden that organizations are struggling to solve, and over a quarter are running over 20 projects each year. One in five spend over half of their IT budget on upgrades, and the same number say upgrades take up over half of their IT teams’ time.
In 2021, respondents said 40 percent of their teams’ time was spent delivering front-office upgrades, indicating that the impact of operating with outdated tech is snowballing.
<a href="https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2023-01-18-gartner-forecasts-worldwide-it-spending-to-grow-2-percent-in-2023" target="_blank">Gartner has forecast that</a> global enterprises will spend about $856 billion on software in 2023. If a quarter of that was spent on upgrades, it would represent more than $200 billion that could be spent on innovation and improvement of digital experiences. 
<h2>Investment is increasingly moving from front-end to back-end</h2>
The research also found front-end solutions are still receiving the most focus for investment. However, this is changing year over year. While 54 percent prioritized front-end investment in the 2022 report, just 39 percent stated this in 2023.
“The data tells us that too many companies are stuck keeping the upgrade wheel turning," said <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/the-future-is-composable-a-conversation-with-new-mach-alliance-president-casper-rasmussen/">Casper Rasmussen</a>, MACH Alliance President. "If you add the cost of time and business stands still, the absolute cost is much higher. At the same time, fewer companies see themselves as agile early adopters, and fewer also see themselves as being ahead of the competition compared to our research a year ago."
In countries interviewed in the 2022 and 2023 reports, the proportion that believe their front-office infrastructure is ahead of the competition has fallen from 75 percent to 68 percent. Organizations with 25,000 or more employees also have the lowest adoption of MACH in their front-end infrastructure – and take a more long-term view on making MACH investments.
“The pace of transformation is relentless, but the cost of not innovating is much higher," said Rasmussen. "While transitioning to MACH is no small undertaking, continuing the status quo is an ongoing, big undertaking, especially for larger organizations, which needs addressing. We’re not going to wipe legacy out of the picture overnight. However, those moving toward MACH are better equipped to mitigate future obstacles.”
<h2>What’s ahead and methodology </h2>
The report was executed by independent market research leader MEL Research. Respondent titles included CIO, CTO, Vice President, Senior Vice President, and Senior Manager. All represent organizations with at least 5,000 employees and have a revenue of at least $500 million annually.
You can <a href="https://machalliance.org/assets/pdf/mach-global-research%202023.pdf" target="_blank">download the full report</a> and review a detailed <a href="https://machalliance.org/assets/pdf/2023-annual-research-infographic.pdf" target="_blank">infographic</a> that covers the findings.
You can also schedule a meeting with MACH Alliance leadership at <a href="https://shoptalk.com/" target="_blank">ShopTalk 2023</a> in Las Vegas to learn more about the research. The Alliance will be hosting several days of networking, educational sessions, podcasting, and more at the <a href="https://machalliance.org/machevents/mach-haus-las-vegas" target="_blank">MACH HAUS</a> located in the Delano Hotel, adjacent to Mandalay Bay where ShopTalk will take place.
Email press team member Megan Lampros to arrange a meeting: <a href="mailto:megan.lampros@machalliance.org">megan.lampros@machalliance.org</a>.
<h2>About the MACH Alliance</h2>
The MACH Alliance is a [501(c)(6)] non-profit organization, governed by an independent board and does not endorse specific vendors, members or otherwise. The Alliance was formed in June 2020 to help enterprise organizations navigate the complex modern technology landscape. It aims to guide and show the business advantage of open tech ecosystems that are Microservices based, API-first, Cloud-native SaaS and Headless. All MACH Alliance members meet certification principles that are published on the website.
The MACH Alliance welcomes technology companies and individual industry experts who share the same vision for the future. Learn more at <a href="https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3749828-1&amp;h=349526954&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fcts.businesswire.com%2Fct%2FCT%3Fid%3Dsmartlink%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fmachalliance.org%252F%26esheet%3D52478831%26newsitemid%3D20210818005487%26lan%3Den-US%26anchor%3Dmachalliance.org%26index%3D5%26md5%3Ddb9d7bdff8c8646152c1923d3ff4adc2&amp;a=%C2%A0machalliance.org" target="_blank">machalliance.org</a>, read here about <a href="https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3749828-1&amp;h=1674984232&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fcts.businesswire.com%2Fct%2FCT%3Fid%3Dsmartlink%26url%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fmachalliance.org%252Fblogdetail%252Fbltfc0a3afbca44303e%26esheet%3D52478831%26newsitemid%3D20210818005487%26lan%3Den-US%26anchor%3DMACH%2Bcertification%26index%3D6%26md5%3Dba1c5d6e1bf42963a3a8bb59771d09da&amp;a=%C2%A0MACH+certification" target="_blank">MACH certification</a> and follow us on <a href="https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3749828-1&amp;h=3336969077&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fcts.businesswire.com%2Fct%2FCT%3Fid%3Dsmartlink%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.twitter.com%252Fmachalliance%26esheet%3D52478831%26newsitemid%3D20210818005487%26lan%3Den-US%26anchor%3DTwitter%26index%3D7%26md5%3Ddfeea3f8422d14d51b860d90329a6837&amp;a=%C2%A0Twitter" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/machalliance/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a>.

MACH Alliance Releases Survey from Global IT Leaders Analyzing Impact from MACH Investments

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Is the Birth of DXC the Death of DXP? A Conversation with Darren Guarnaccia, President at Uniform

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