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<hr /> As omnichannel continues to evolve digital strategies for brands, composable and <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/top-free-headless-cms-platforms">headless</a> solutions are finding growth opportunities across a multitude of industries. This includes the healthcare technology marketplace, where digital experiences and e-commerce are critical to the business imperative. This week, <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/contentstack">Contentstack</a> amplified that growth in the hearing care vertical. The composable digital experience platform (DXP) provider announced the<a target="_blank" href="https://report.sonova.com/2020/en/audiological-care-business/"> </a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.sonova.com/en/audiologicalcare-us">Audiological Care division of Sonova</a> – a global leader in innovative hearing care solutions – has selected Contentstack to power its migration to a <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">headless CMS</a> solution. This is part of a broader digitalization strategy for Sonova, one that positions omnichannel at the forefront. “Our digital transformation goals required a solution that allows us to get ahead of the market changes and cater to the unique needs of our customer base,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/varungupta85/">Varun Thunuguntla</a>, Digital Marketing Director for Sonova's Audiological Care business. "Contentstack gives us the flexibility to create more content with speed and deploy a number of personalized features to improve our customers' experience. At the same time, it enables us to improve internal collaboration across markets whilst providing the structure we need to scale our business, quickly integrate new and emerging tools, and future-proof our operations.” Futureproofing appears to be a key element in the decision-making for Sonova's selection of Contentstack. According to the company's press release, Contentstack will power web and digital experiences within Sonova’s Audiological Care division across its global markets. As part of its omnichannel strategy, additional touchpoints will follow in later phases. <h3>Powering omnichannel experiences with headless CMS</h3>Sonova’s Audiological Care business required a modern content management system to support content creation and improve collaboration with its new website. The company also sought a solution that enabled it to respond quickly to evolving business needs. With Contentstack’s headless CMS behind its websites, Sonova can now realize these goals. According to the press release, the move to Contentstack will help ensure consistency, improve internal workflows, and enhance content output speed and sharing across markets. By taking a composable, <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/the-future-is-composable-a-conversation-with-new-mach-alliance-president-casper-rasmussen">MACH-based approach</a>, Sonova's Audiological Care division will be able to accelerate the deployment of new features to its websites and deliver more personalized experiences across all channels. In addition, Contentstack’s extensive API library will enable Sonova to deploy and demote applications per their business needs with greater ease.    “Sonova Audiological Care business is a perfect example of how composable technology can empower businesses for years to come,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramonweterings/">Ramon Weterings,</a> VP Sales EMEA at Contentstack. “Through the power of MACH, businesses can benefit from the latest best-of-breed solutions to continue to innovate and accelerate growth at the speed of their imagination. Contentstack’s 'Care Without Compromise' initiative ensures the successful migration into composable whilst working closely with Sonova Audiological Care to introduce new tools to support their evolving business goals.” Sonova’s Audiological Care business chose Contentstack for its leading position in the composable digital experience space. With Contentstack, Sonova is now armed with the latest technology to manage organic growth and adapt more quickly and easily to the ever-evolving needs of its customers.

Contentstack Powers Growth in Hearing Care with Sonova

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<hr /> The category of <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">headless CMS</a> is very much a developer-led technology. Visit the websites of any leading vendors, and it is clear who the primary buyer persona is. The content is targeted at technical leaders – those who understand architectures like the <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/top-jamstack-static-site-generators-for-2021">Jamstack</a>, and how to manage APIs. In marketing terms, these are the key buyer personas and are those who need to be convinced that a switch to headless is the right move. References to <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/the-future-is-composable-a-conversation-with-new-mach-alliance-president-casper-rasmussen">composable architecture</a>, data lakes, and webhooks abound – the language of the main buyer, but not that of the main user.Here lies a crucial issue: the buyer and primary users are not one and the same.I should know. I’ve sat on the user side of the fence for many years, leading marketing teams responsible for “the website.”Despite websites being one of the most important areas modern marketers are responsible for, many struggle. It is, after all, a very broad function, where marketers are required to lead on everything from demand generation to brand management, field marketing to content creation. Layer on top a MarTech stack with over <a target="_blank" href="https://martech.org/scott-brinker-unveils-2023-martech-landscape/">11,000 software applications</a> vying for attention, and is it any wonder marketing teams can struggle with their CMS?But here’s the thing: a lot of the focus on websites is the initial build, with a lot less attention paid to the ongoing management. Those familiar with WordPress will recognize this inherent tension. For mature websites, it is common to have a freelancer on retainer to keep the lights on and manage updates and conflicts. As for the user experience in WordPress, I’d argue it is clunky and downright scary on occasion. Do I accept this plugin update or not? What if I press this, and it knocks the site off?<h3>The Emergence of Headless</h3>In many respects, headless created the opportunity to provide a better user experience for the actual content and marketing people responsible for the site. Decoupling the front end from the back end, in theory, should lead to a cleaner interface. However, I’d argue that the developer-centric nature of many of the leading headless CMSes means that the opportunity was missed. It is one of the key things we are trying to achieve at <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/contento">Contento</a> – a modern headless CMS focused 100% on websites. It is incumbent on all of us working in the broader CMS space to elevate the needs of the junior marketer responsible for managing the website. They may not represent the commercial buyer, but making their lives a misery is one sure way to ensure when they finally reach a leadership position, they’ll be keen to adopt a CMS that does not neglect the needs of their users.<hr />Alan Gleeson is CEO of <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/contento">Contento</a>, and a CMS Critic contributor.

Are Headless CMS Platforms Neglecting Their Users?

alan

In a recent interview, I invoked the original Star Wars film as a thematic backdrop. It seemed an apropos analogy for exploring the galactic frontier of composable – and, hopefully, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cmscritic.com/the-heros-journey-to-composable-a-conversation-with-uniforms-mark-demeny/">made for a fun read</a>.Now, at great risk of crossing my sci-fi streams, I’m going to channel Star Trek.I know, I know. What is he thinking? These are distinct mythologies, each with a fiercely devoted fan base. But rest assured, my goal isn’t to stir up debate over <a target="_blank" href="https://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/star-wars-vs-star-trek-which-one-is-better/">which is better</a> – I’ll leave that to you. Think of me as Switzerland… if it was a planet in the Dagobah system.So why am I doing this?Because every time I read the words “content federation,” I can’t help but think of Star Trek’s unmistakable “United Federation of Planets.” Key to the franchise canon, this futuristic authority has unified species and cultures across the expanse, enabling a utopian coexistence built on collaborative exploration and the betterment of humanity.In so many ways, this mirrors the mission of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cmscritic.com/graphcms-rebrands-to-hygraph-launches-new-federated-content-platform/">Hygraph</a> – a headless CMS designed for the purpose and promise of content federation. Its captain, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cmscritic.com/critics/michael-lukaszczyk/">Michael Lukaszczyk</a>, is seeking out ways to chart this frontier by uniting content data from different sources with one universal API.It’s not science fiction. Much like Star Trek’s Federation, Hygraph is pioneering a new quadrant of headless space as the first “Federated Content Platform,” ushering in a new reality for content management. It’s a strange new world where a headless platform is both frontend and backend agnostic, and data can be joined across multiple sources using a single <a target="_blank" href="https://graphql.org/">GraphQL</a> query.With so much change and commoditization in the headless category, I connected with Michael to learn more about the benefits of Content Federation, why he’s betting the future on it, and how it's powering the warp drive behind Hygraph’s market acceleration.<h2>A digital experience explorer</h2>For some DX professionals, the path to a platform is often incongruous. But for Michael, it seemed his destiny was always in the stars.Joining me from his home base in Germany, about an hour north of Frankfurt, he chronicled his origin story. At age 11, he was already adopting the mantle of a digital wunderkind, building websites for friends and family. He pursued this passion at the university level, studying abroad in Spain and Sweden.After completing his master’s degree, he began his career at a company called <a target="_blank" href="https://www.canto.com/">Canto</a>, a digital asset management (DAM) vendor. While challenging, it wasn’t entirely his cup of early grey tea.“I was in professional services, but I didn’t enjoy it,” he confessed unabashedly. “I was building integrations, but I always wanted to work on the core product and in distribution.”It was at Canto in 2015 that Michael met <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-winter-403059118/">Daniel Winter</a>. The two would become thick as thieves – much like Kirk and Spock – sharing a common sentiment on architecting and delivering software. By early 2016, the pair had already built a prototype for their own DAM solution.“But then, on a Friday night,” Michael recalled vividly, as if only yesterday, “I was scrolling through my Twitter feed before going to sleep, and I stumbled onto a post called <a target="_blank" href="https://css-tricks.com/what-is-a-headless-cms/">‘What is a Headless CMS’</a> by Chris Coyier from CSS Tricks. I didn’t know what a headless CMS was. No one did [in those days]. But as I read the post, I was impressed.”As Michael shared, the durability and sustainability of the headless CMS product model is what really appealed to him. “Whatever comes next in terms of digital channels, wherever you want to distribute your content to – AR, VR – you’re already set. Headless lets you build a sustainable content strategy.”After sharing the article with Daniel, they took a risk and pivoted from DAM to headless CMS, with one unique etch: the introduction of <a target="_blank" href="https://graphql.org/">GraphQL,</a> a new query language for APIs. They had already been experimenting with it in their DAM prototype and knew its potential for improving the developer experience. The rest, as they say, is history.“The next day, we started to build the first GraphQL native CMS out there,” he said. “[We introduced] the product in early 2017, got some angel funding, and grew to a company of 90 people across the globe, from San Francisco to Manila.”What followed can only be described as a meteoric rise. After an initial raise of $13 million, the company closed on a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cmscritic.com/hygraph-secures-30-million-in-series-b-funding/">Series B of $30 million</a> in March of this year. They christened the vessel “GraphCMS,” but later rebranded to “Hygraph” to avoid any confusion or biases around page-building capabilities or publishing workflows. It also sounds cool and futuristic – exactly where the company wants to be. <h2>The voyage from headless CMS to federated content platform</h2>Over the last few years, Michael and his team have been chasing the answer to a very simple question: what will the next generation of CMS actually look like?As you might guess, that question isn’t so simple to answer. The evolution of CMS has been a long one – and with the explosion of the device ecosystem, things changed significantly. Demands shifted from a single web channel to multiple channels. This paradigm gave rise to the headless CMS, rendering the CMS frontend agnostic and turning it into a one-to-many relationship of content sources and destinations.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/hygraph-diagram-1024x432.png" alt="Hygraph diagram of content federation evolution" />“What we launched last year – what we call the federated content platform – is turning the promise of the headless CMS around,” he said. “Now, it’s not just frontend agnostic, but also backend agnostic, meaning you can source the content and data that lives in your backend stack on the other side of the API.”Bottom line: Hygraph has transformed the headless CMS from one-to-many to many-to-many across content sources and destinations. Developers and product builders can turn all backend systems into one universal API, allowing users on the frontend to work in any way with their data.This plays directly into the concept of federation. As Michael pointed out, the term originated in the GraphQL community, with the basic idea of merging multiple APIs together in a sort of “Super API” (powered by dilithium crystals?)“It was a very easy progression to being a GraphQL headless CMS to adding federation capabilities to the mix,” he added. “We were already so strong on GraphQL that it just made sense.”I asked Michael what else was driving this change, aside from the obvious. That brought us back to the core question about the next generation of CMS, and a key word: composable.<hr /><h4 style="text-align:center">We’re adapting to a new reality where content and data aren’t residing in one source anymore... content federation is content management for a new reality.</h4><hr />“We’re adapting to a new reality where content and data aren’t residing in one source anymore,” he professed. “The typical stack now is modular. With composability, the monolith is going away, and companies are establishing more modular architectures in their tech stack and picking the best tool for the job.”While building so-called “best-of-breed” stacks sounds great, composable has its share of side effects. As Michael reinforced, things aren’t integrated as tightly, and this can cause huge problems and delays. Enterprises are left tending to these integrations, and man… it’s hard.“Before content federation, the biggest challenge we saw was building middleware,” he said. “It’s really expensive and painful to develop. You have to design, maintain, authorize, secure, make fast, wire up with CDNs. Each time there’s a new component or system coming in or new business requirement, you have to adapt the code base. It’s an innovation bottleneck.”This is where Hygraph fires its photon torpedoes to eliminate that bottleneck, allowing you to configure all your systems downstream and easily tap all content sources and destinations with a single API. It solves the customization and integration challenges that hold back innovation or slow time to market.As Michael punctuated, “Content federation is content management for a new reality.” And it certainly feels like a Star Trek-level next generation of headless CMS.<h2>Charting the composable frontier</h2>Hygraph is a member of the <a target="_blank" href="https://machalliance.org/members">MACH Alliance</a>, a not-for-profit organization focused on open, best-of-breed technology ecosystems – and the defacto voice of the composable movement. As I shared in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cmscritic.com/mach-two-conference-wrap-six-takeaways-from-the-composable-event-of-the-year/">previous posts</a>, I had the opportunity to judge entries in the MACH Two Impact Awards this past June.During our conversation, I shared with Michael how inspiring and intimidating some of the project examples were. The system integrators behind these transformations were creative and ambitious. In some cases, the resulting stacks felt a bit like Frankenstein’s monster coming to life – miraculous, but potentially scary. Could content federation help change this?“I actually think Frankenstein is a good term for it,” he replied. “What led us to content federation is that we would see the integration requirements and what kinds of Frankensteins [our customers] would build. One reason why it’s hard to maintain is that very often, the people who can build these Frankensteins can be strong characters – very experienced enterprise architects. There’s a human factor, and there can be a lot of arguing about how things are built.”The human factor. Of course. One of the biggest risks to the success of a modular, composable architecture is the mindset – which, by its very nature, is about people and processes. Larger organizations have the resources to support both, but I wondered if Hygraph might be looking downstream as it removes many of the challenges from going composable.“We want to make complex architectures feasible, not just possible,” he said. “Even for the mid-market. A lot of vendors in the MACH space address [that segment], so there has to be some way to get those technologies together more easily.”<h2>A warp engine for content-rich applications</h2>In the expanding universe of digital experiences, content is fueling opportunity – hence the continued explosion of CMS, DXP, and other technologies in the ecosystem. Some estimates put the market potential at over <a target="_blank" href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/04/11/1802414/0/en/Global-Content-Management-Software-Market-Will-Reach-USD-123-500-Million-By-2026-Zion-Market-Research.html">$123 billion by 2026</a>, with a CAGR of 17 percent.At the same time, the headless CMS market is approaching a Neutral Zone of commoditization, with composable forcing greater downward pressure on price and parity. Most platforms provide similar functionality, and some are feeling the pinch to add new features that challenge their MACH posture as pure-play composable solutions.I asked Michael what gives Hygraph an edge in this battle.“A lot of CMS vendors focus on websites and marketing personas. But we’ve built powerful capabilities that have attracted different kinds of use cases to our platform, the kind that we were surprised to see a CMS being used for and not a database.”Michael referred to these as content-rich applications, where the content itself is the main asset of the product being sold. Like Netflix for streaming movies or Peloton for workout classes, content creators only need tools to maintain those experiences. In these cases, it’s not marketers using Hygraph, but domain experts that don’t require page builders or WYSIWYGs.On the channel side, Hygraph is partnering with SIs and collaborating with other MACH vendors to build deeper API-based integrations. While much of this attention is focused on enterprise, there’s some solid mid-market in the mix, where it’s easier to find early adopters of their technology. Regardless, organizations stand to gain significant benefits from content federation.“It can help consolidate the legacy stack within an organization,” he explained. “You integrate all the services under the hood, and you get a fresh façade, like a renovation for all the APIs you have. All of a sudden, a company can attract better developers because they can work with modern tools. If you want top talent, you have to keep iterating.”Content-rich applications are one dimension. Enterprises are also wrestling with multiple CMSes under on roof. “We’ve seen enterprises have as many CMSes as teams or divisions, and they need to stay there for a couple of years. Content federation is enabling this to work, making it easy to consolidate and build new digital experiences.”<h2>Phasers locked on growth</h2>As Michael noted, the biggest challenge to growth in composable is that no one knows how to Google the problem they have. It’s a bit like being trapped on an alien planet with no universal translator.“Headless CMS is mature, and people are aware, but we are so early with composability and building the tooling that a lot of education still needs to happen,” he proclaimed. “I’m happy the MACH Alliance is around, as it’s a joint effort to educate and position to other vendors. It’s the category creation process that needs to be innovated.”For Michael, the role of the MACH Alliance can’t be understated. I recall <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellygoetsch/">Kelly Goetsch</a>, one of its co-founders, saying that if the Alliance does its job, it might become less necessary in the future. That said, the rise of new certifications brings greater certainty and confidence to technology buyers.Michael said he wouldn’t be surprised if the MACH Alliance became a marketplace to bundle those services under one umbrella. Driving that belief is the challenge of procurement.“With monolithic vendors, you have all the tools with one vendor, one renewal process, one customer success manager. In a composable stack, you have ten solutions you have to deal with ten times a year. At some point, market consolidation may happen – and the MACH Alliance might be in the best spot to do this.”There are a lot of challenging headwinds, to be sure. Composable is growing, perhaps more in Europe right now, but I asked Michael how his approach to growth as a leader is setting Hygraph up for success.“It’s challenging economically, but we’re still growing at a good pace,” he said confidently. “We’ve built four strong pillars of growth: product-led strategy, a good sales team and quotient, the right ecosystem partners, and a commitment to customer success – so our customers buy again. It’s important to go the extra mile to make sure they implement successfully. Otherwise, after three or four months, it’s a safe churn.”<h2>Scotty, beam me up…</h2>Whether you’re a Star Trek fan or not (and really, who isn't?), you can’t argue its impact on pop culture. Content federation might be on a similar trajectory within the CMS industry as it evolves the composable landscape.  As Michael reflected on our conversation, he returned to that tipping point of opportunity and the importance of having a solid vision and a good story to pitch. “Innovation and differentiation are so important. If we hadn’t pivoted to GraphCMS, we wouldn’t be here. Everyone told me not to go fundraise for a Series B, but the whole process took 90 days to being at the notary and signing the round. A differentiated, unique story is incredibly important in that aspect.”I asked what’s ahead for Hygraph as 2023 warps toward a new year. I also inquired about AI, as peer platforms continue to add functionality to their toolsets.“We’re very focused on federation and larger releases, but what we see with a lot of vendors is that they’re wrapping ChatGPT around a UI plugin and giving you ChatGPT tools in their CMS. Is there a real value add? In reality, you can say you’re a CMS with AI capabilities, but you’re just copying and pasting from ChatGPT with better integration.”Michael suggested there are stronger use cases for AI in content management. For example, in the future, companies may be able to define schema and allow AI to build out the rest of an application – reducing the fail rate for software projects. There are clearly boundless opportunities for automation that still put users in control.As Hygraph continues to explore the DX galaxy under Michael's leadership, it’s clear that content federation is the prime directive. It’s the kind of innovation that could very well shape the next generation of content management and drive significant growth.I’m betting it will live long and prosper.

Content Management for a New Reality: A Conversation with Hygraph CEO Michael Lukaszczyk

matt-garrepy

<a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/what-contentfuls-175m-investment-round-means-for-the-future-of-cms/">Contentful</a> – a leading composable content platform for digital-first businesses – recently announced that its <a href="https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3935553-1&amp;h=844066638&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fstore.sap.com%2Fdcp%2Fen%2Fproduct%2Fdisplay-0000061320_live_v1&amp;a=Contentful+Composable+Content+Platform" target="_blank">Contentful Composable Content Platform</a> for SAP Commerce Cloud is now an <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/sap-drops-8-billion-to-buy-qualtrics/">SAP</a> Endorsed App. 
With Contentful’s Composable Content Platform, SAP customers can easily transition to a modern composable content approach without having to re-platform. Marketing and content teams can also make changes in minutes rather than days, leading to faster commerce experiences that increase conversions and profit. 
SAP Endorsed Apps are a category of solutions from SAP's partner ecosystem that help customers become best-run, intelligent enterprises. Endorsed apps are meant to deliver value with desired outcomes.
In its press release, the company stated that the app is now available online on the <a href="https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3935553-1&amp;h=829085887&amp;u=http%3A%2F%2Fstore.sap.com%2F&amp;a=SAP" target="_blank">SAP</a><a href="https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3935553-1&amp;h=756995666&amp;u=http%3A%2F%2Fstore.sap.com%2F&amp;a=%C2%A0Store" target="_blank"> Store</a>.
<h2>Composing the perfect partnership</h2>
Contentful's app endorsement builds on the Contentful/SAP partnership, which was <a href="https://martech.org/sap-moves-to-a-composable-commerce-offering/" target="_blank">announced in March</a> of this year. Contentful was selected as the content management partner for <a href="https://help.sap.com/docs/SAP_COMMERCE_COMPOSABLE_STOREFRONT" target="_blank">SAP’s Composable Commerce Cloud</a>, allowing customers to build commerce experiences that best suit their individual needs easily.
"We are thrilled to bring the power of a modern, composable content platform to businesses that use SAP Commerce Cloud through our SAP Endorsed App," said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-sloan-213515/" target="_blank">Steve Sloan</a>, CEO of Contentful. "This is a natural next step in Contentful's partnership with SAP, and we look forward to empowering customers to create lightning-fast commerce experiences on any channel to help increase sales and maximize their investment in SAP Commerce Cloud."
<h2>Joining a premium portfolio of SAP Endorsed Apps </h2>
SAP Endorsed Apps are premium certified by SAP with added security, in-depth testing, and measurements against benchmark results. With Contentstack, customers can now maximize their SAP Commerce investments by building a rich, integrated set of customer experiences without a costly re-platform, driving incremental revenue, and building customer loyalty through consistent, personalized content across the entire marketing and transaction experience.
"Ecosystem innovations are essential to SAP's vision and delivery of the intelligent enterprise for SAP customers," said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrylwgray/" target="_blank">Darryl Gray</a>, Global Vice President, Software Partner Solution Monetization &amp; Success at SAP. "We applaud Contentful on achieving SAP-endorsed app status for its composable content solution for SAP Commerce Cloud. Partners like Contentful are positioned to help us deliver a cloud-first strategy with integrated innovations, proven to provide value while solving key business challenges."
The Contentful Composable Content Platform is available for digital discovery and purchase on SAP Store – the digital marketplace for solutions from SAP and its partners. SAP Store provides customers with real-time access to more than 2,000 innovative solutions from SAP and partner solutions that complement and extend their SAP applications, enabling digital transformation of their business.
For more information about Contentful's partnership with SAP, visit <a href="https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3935553-1&amp;h=4167297217&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.contentful.com%2Fpartners%2Ftechnology%2Fsap%2F&amp;a=www.contentful.com%2Fpartners%2Ftechnology%2Fsap%2F" target="_blank">www.contentful.com/partners/technology/sap/</a>.
<h2>About Contentful</h2>
The Contentful Composable Content Platform brings the building blocks of content together to create once and reuse for any digital experience. The API-first platform integrates easily with data sources and new functionality as digital experiences and technology evolve. With built-in orchestration, a robust app ecosystem, and app framework to easily extend the platform, Contentful frees teams across the business to work together to connect, create, and extend content more efficiently. Contentful helps companies unlock the power of digital content so they can build faster and deliver at scale, making their content a strategic business asset. Nearly 30% of the Fortune 500 and thousands of companies worldwide rely on Contentful to help them bring their best ideas to life.

Contentful Composable Content Platform for SAP Commerce Cloud Now an SAP Endorsed App

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Getting to the top level is what <a href="http://www.hygraph.com/" target="_blank">Hygraph</a> does best. 
Today, the next-generation headless CMS announced a major update to its enterprise-grade federated content platform by introducing <a href="https://hygraph.com/blog/introducing-top-level-remote-fields" target="_blank">top-level remote fields.</a>
The new capability is a significant part of Hygraph’s overall <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/why-content-federation-represents-the-next-evolution-of-the-cms/">federated content vision</a> to power a many-to-many relationship between content sources and devices as organizations look to create new digital services and business models at scale.
“Top-level remote fields empower enterprises to unify distributed content from across multiple systems, to deliver to any destination and without duplication,” said <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/critics/michael-lukaszczyk/">Michael Lukaszczyk</a>, CEO and Co-Founder, Hygraph. “For example, in the context of e-commerce, organizations can now fetch data from their commerce, digital asset management, and CRM systems from Hygraph’s content API in one single query. This promises to be a real game changer.”
<h2>Evolving the headless CMS landscape</h2>
Hygraph’s federated content platform allows organizations to innovate faster and at lower cost, replacing tedious custom software development associated with many of today’s headless Content Management Systems (CMS).
With the recent proliferation of composable architectures, federated content enables enterprises to seamlessly develop and run content-rich features. Top-level remote fields further enable the advantages by streamlining and modernizing content connections. Rather than making multiple API calls to different systems, top-level federation capabilities allow users to fetch all content and data from a single Hygraph GraphQL endpoint.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/07/top-level-remote-fields-press-release-image-1024x576.png" alt="Diagram of Hygraph top-level remote fields capability" />
Consider an e-commerce use case where you might want to fetch product data from your commerce system (e.g., <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/cms-monthly-recap-shopify-invests-in-sanity-dotcms-updates-content-authoring-experience-wp-engine-acquires-plugins-and-more/">Shopify</a>), digital assets from your DAM (e.g., <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/cms-monthly-recap-acquia-gets-feature-boosts-cloudinary-and-contentful-partner-big-acquisition-updates-and-more/">Cloudinary</a>), and rich content stored in Hygraph. You can now fetch all this data from Hygraph's content API in one query.
The key benefits of the new top-level remote fields capability include:
<ul>
<li>Simplified tech stack: All frontend applications query data from one universal Hygraph API.</li>
<li>Ease of management: All backend APIs are managed in one place.</li>
<li>Simplified authentication and authorization: One API simplifies the authentication and authorizing front-end applications.</li>
<li>Quicker application integration: Low-code tools eliminate the need to write and maintain middleware code to stitch multiple systems together.</li>
<li>Improved content integrity: Eliminate duplicates and ensure that changes are consistently reflected across all front-end applications using the data.</li>
<li>Enhanced performance: Querying content from a single API and Hygraph’s advanced caching capabilities allow for high-performance content distribution.</li>
</ul>
“Organizations are currently unable to unlock full value from their content, as custom software and integration challenges slow the creation of new digital services at scale," added Lukaszczyk. "Top-level remote fields capabilities represent a powerful next step for enterprises to dramatically streamline and modernize content connections and drive the next generation of customer experiences."
For more information on top-level remote fields, visit <a href="https://hygraph.com/blog/introducing-top-level-remote-fields" target="_blank">Hygraph's website.</a>
<h2>About Hygraph</h2>
Hygraph (formerly GraphCMS) is the enterprise-grade federated content platform that enables content and engineering teams to rapidly build and deliver tomorrow’s connected digital experiences at scale. As the next generation of CMS, Hygraph powers a many-to-many relationship between different content sources and devices. Hygraph’s modern API approach allows organizations to innovate faster and at lower cost, whether building content-rich applications or managing large product catalogs or internal knowledge management systems. Hygraph is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, and works with 400+ customers globally, including Dr. Oetker, Shure, Samsung, and Philips.

Hygraph Introduces Major Update to Federated Content Platform with Top-Level Remote Fields

This week, <a href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fkontent.ai%2F&amp;esheet=52780079&amp;newsitemid=20220713005621&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=Kontent.ai&amp;index=1&amp;md5=c56e95cdd90647703ac78689ada036c6">Kontent.ai</a> – a <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-free-headless-cms-platforms/">headless CMS</a> – announced the expansion of its Most Valuable Professional (MVP) program, which recognizes the contributions of industry experts who have worked to support the Kontent.ai community.
The expansion features two new categories: Strategy MVP and Ambassador MVP. These join Kontent.ai's existing Technical MVP program, which has successfully operated for several years and elevated technical personas and developers in the company's community.
Along with the expansion, Kontent.ai announced seven new MVPs joining the new Strategy &amp; Ambassador programs. According to the company, these individuals will play a crucial role in shaping the future of Kontent.ai's platform and help drive innovation in the field. 
<h2>Strategy MVPs</h2>
The Strategy MVP category recognizes and celebrates valuable members of the Kontent.ai community who demonstrate a strong understanding of modern digital strategies. These individuals highlight how Kontent.ai can deliver successful outcomes for brands in an evolving technological landscape by sharing their technical knowledge and consultative expertise with the market. The new MVPs include:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamgriffith/" target="_blank">Adam Griffith</a> (Luminary - Australia)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/akshaysura/" target="_blank">Akshay Sura</a>* (Konabos - United States)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianmckeiver/" target="_blank">Brian McKeiver</a>* (Bizstream - United States)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/katywhitedept/" target="_blank">Katy White</a> (DEPT® - United Kingdom)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/klaasjanmeijer/" target="_blank">Klaas-Jan Meijer</a> (ACTUM Digital - Netherlands)</li>
</ul>
*Transitioned from the Technical MVP Program
<h2>Ambassador MVPs</h2>
In addition, the newly formed Ambassador MVP category recognizes Kontent.ai customers that are considered experts in the deployment, management, and orchestration of Kontent.ai’s headless CMS. This category focuses on how the platform delivers superior content management experiences in a highly-competitive digital landscape. Ambassador MVPs are champions of Kontent.ai and advocate for what brands can achieve in their own complex digital and content management journeys. The new MVPs include:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-lamothe-87b78686/" target="_blank">Marc Lamothe</a> (American Bath Group - United States)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/hiremebecause/" target="_blank">D’Arcy Heath</a> (UNUM - United Kingdom)</li>
</ul>
It's worth noting that Akshay Sura and Marc Lamothe were part of the team that received a 2023 MACH Impact Award for the American Bath Group project – a composable solution that featured the Kontent.ai headless CMS. The project featured the migration of 10 websites with over 50,000 products in only 8 months.
The award was announced in June during the MACH Alliance's <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/mach-two-conference-wrap-six-takeaways-from-the-composable-event-of-the-year/">MACH Two event</a> in Amsterdam. 
<h2>About Kontent.ai</h2>
Kontent.ai is a leading modular content platform that enables marketers and developers to plan, create, and deliver content at scale. Business teams collaborate daily in the intuitive authoring experience designed for governed content production and management, real-time reviewing and approvals, and modular content reuse. In parallel, developers leverage the total flexibility of the headless solution, best-of-breed technologies, and composable AI to deliver digital experiences via API to any channel. With hubs in New York, London, Amsterdam, Brno, and Sydney, Kontent.ai helps companies like Zurich Insurance, Algolia, Vogue, AC Milan, and Oxford University unlock the full potential of their content and connect with customers worldwide.

Kontent.ai Expands its MVP Program with Two New Categories

Kentico - Gartner

Analysts and customers recognize Kentico DXP in Gartner Reports.

Kentico has been recognized by Gartner.

#ffffff

In any industry, buzzwords abound! 
In the Digital Experience (DX) landscape, it is no different – and you will hear a handful of terms that seemingly set the standard for the ecosystem.
However, you might not know what they all mean and how they are different from one another. That could pose a major problem, particularly as a technology, marketing, and/or business leader in the enterprise who is expected to be at one with the trends and best practices while leading their organization to digital glory.
I recently sat down for an hour during a<a href="https://www.youtube.com/live/tDAVv1VwHgU?feature=share"> DX Café interview with Andrew Kumar,</a> VP of Customer Solutions at <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/uniform-adds-new-visual-editing-and-integration-features-to-enhance-dxcp/">Uniform</a>, and we talked about four of the oft-heard concepts around the DX industry “watercooler.”
Uniform is an interesting company to start with as a frame of reference for much of this headless and composable DXP and product industry. As Kumar noted in the discussion, Uniform is “a rapidly evolving product set, but it is very much this visual workspace for digital teams.” 
One of our first orders of business was to define four specific terms within DX architecture: Monolithic, Headless, MACH, and Composable.
<h2>Monolithic: "All your software embedded into one application"</h2>
Kumar discussed the transition from monolithic systems to more modular, composable systems in enterprise technology. Traditionally, monolithic systems encapsulated all software functions in one application, which led to challenges due to the complexity of enterprises. Companies often had to adapt their processes to the monolithic system or spend significant resources to adapt them to their business.
Kumar suggests that enterprises' complexities arise due to their constant need to meet customer demands, leading to diverse offerings. When enterprises attempt to fit monolithic systems into their complex business operations, they often encounter difficulties.
In response to these challenges, monolithic platforms decompose into modular structures to support these complex business needs.
“I am starting to shy away from the term monolithic,” said Kumar. “And I'm shying away from that because the historical monolithic platforms are decomposing themselves.”
However, Kumar mentions that businesses often underestimate their complexity until they have analyzed their operations. Only when the complexities are fully understood can technology be molded around the business rather than vice versa.
He uses the term "all in one" rather than monolithic, as the platforms are becoming more modular and adaptable to fit the needs of the business. However, these all-in-one systems often do not integrate well with external modules, akin to battery packs that only fit one brand of tools.
While all-in-one solutions can be beneficial due to their convenience, speed to market, and easier vendor management, they often do not excel in any particular area, only offering adequate solutions for various functions. This can be a drawback for businesses requiring a specific solution or the best feature. Despite these shortcomings, it can prove valuable if the out-of-the-box solution fits an enterprise's needs.
Kumar concludes that the move away from monolithic systems is largely based on the level of complexity and customization that a business requires. The more complex and custom a business needs, the more likely a monolithic system is to be an impediment.
<h2>Headless: "Kind of a hot keyword"</h2>
Kumar talked about the concept of "<a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-free-headless-cms-platforms/">headless</a>" systems, which are becoming popular in the tech industry. Headless systems offer more flexibility than traditional "all-in-one" systems, as they separate the content from how it's presented to the customer. This decoupling allows for easier content distribution across various channels.
In an all-in-one system, content creation and presentation are intertwined. For instance, a Content Management System (CMS) creates webpages and websites. However, presenting the same content on a mobile app or other platforms like email channels, digital displays, or VR headsets requires significant effort to untether the content from its original presentation.
“An all-in-one CMS builds webpages and websites,” said Kumar. “(but) then if you try to build a mobile app with the all-in-one, you have to untether. You have to undergo a lot of effort to create flexibility. If you try to put that content into an email channel, or a digital display or a VR, like an Apple VR headset, it's a lot of work. It's feasible, but it's a lot of work.”
Conversely, headless systems don't know or dictate where the content will end up. The content is consumed through an API and can appear on a website, an app, or other platforms. This gives tremendous flexibility and allows reusing content across various touchpoints and channels.
The challenge with headless systems is that they do not inherently provide a way to preview how the content will appear in different consuming applications. Over the past six to seven years, Kumar has been developing tools to enable such previews.
The appropriateness of headless systems depends on the industry and the nature of customer interactions. Headless systems make sense in industries like telecom, where most customer interactions are through mobile devices or chatbots. Some organizations start by using headless for a single website before expanding to multiple websites, thereby beginning to take advantage of the system's flexibility. However, it's a different paradigm with a lean, out-of-the-box solution.
<h2>MACH: "Very high bar for standards of quality"</h2>
Kumar noted that the MACH in the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/the-future-is-composable-a-conversation-with-new-mach-alliance-president-casper-rasmussen/">MACH Alliance</a> stands for Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, and Headless. The MACH Alliance sets high standards for vendors in the tech industry, and not every vendor meets these standards. 
Like Kumar's company Uniform, those who receive approval can assure prospective buyers that their platform has been audited and meets specific technical standards. This approval can help support both the buyers' previous and future investments.
Kumar acknowledges criticism that the MACH Alliance is not inclusive but argues that maintaining high standards is necessary to push the industry forward. The high bar for entry ensures that the MACH Alliance seal retains its value and is not awarded to companies that do not meet its stringent criteria. Therefore, he views the exclusivity of the Alliance as a potential strength rather than a weakness, ensuring that only vendors that meet the highest standards are admitted.
<h2>Composable: "The way it's being defined is learning the lessons from the previous three terms"</h2>
Kumar lastly broke down the concept of "composable" systems, stating that this is the latest term in the tech industry. He sees it as a natural evolution from monolithic to all-in-one to headless systems and now to composable systems.
Traditional monolithic systems are now decomposing into composable systems. They're breaking down into smaller, more manageable modules that can be reconfigured per business needs.
“Headless tools are generally composable by default,” asserted Kumar. “Because they're unique, like ring-fenced capabilities that can be plugged and played as necessary.”
The MACH Alliance's standards, Kumar explains, push the needle on what it means to be truly composable. Having APIs on top of any software does not make it headless or composable. He highlights the importance of having clean, well-defined microservices to manage the platform's infrastructure. He also emphasizes the necessity of being "API first," where APIs get published concurrently with features.
Moreover, he addresses the importance of the Cloud in the MACH model. While one might have a headless system hosted locally, it would not meet the requirements of being self-serve, auto-updating, and cloud-native. In a cloud environment, the vendor takes care of security patches, reducing the maintenance burden on users.
Finally, he highlights the value of being composable for complex business enterprises. Adapting technology to business needs is vital in a rapidly changing business environment. While "composable" hasn't gained much search volume or intent yet, he anticipates it may become the next hot keyword in the industry.
Education is paramount in the ever-shifting DX industry. We hope you have gained a better understanding of some of the key principles that are frequently raised in conversations. 
<hr />
<a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/critics/matthew-mcqueeny/">Matt McQueeny</a> is part of the leadership team at <a href="https://konabos.com/" target="_blank">Konabos</a> and a CMS Critic contributor.

Exploring DX Architecture

mattmcqueeny

Content continues to be a crucial marketing strategy for any organization. In fact, <a href="https://www.searchenginejournal.com/content-marketing-statistics/475206/#close">over 70% of B2B and B2C marketers</a> utilize content marketing as part of their overall marketing goals. Couple this with the fact that content marketing has been found to generate three times as many leads as traditional marketing, and you can see why taking a strategic approach is so vital.
Central to a company’s content marketing strategy is its ability to manage its own website content in an efficient and effective manner. A reliable and flexible content management system (CMS) allows you to create, scale, and enhance any piece of content.
Here’s what you need to know about content management systems and how to choose the right type of CMS.
<h2>What is a CMS?</h2>
A CMS is software that gives you the ability to create, manage and publish content for your website. Traditional CMS platforms, like WordPress, are considered monolithic, meaning everything is packaged together, with the front-end design and layout directly tied to the back-end code and database.
Another type of CMS solution is known as a headless CMS. Designed as a back-end only CMS, content is accessible for display on any device using an API. The result is a content-first approach to your CMS platform.
<h2>Differences Between WordPress and Headless CMS</h2>
Traditional CMS options like WordPress are built to display content through a single application, primarily a website. A <a href="https://buttercms.com/blog/what-is-headless-cms/">headless CMS</a>, on the other hand, is designed for content displays across a number of presentations, not just your website.
The differences between monolithic and headless CMS ultimately affect the content creation, operations, management, consistency, integration, and front-end execution of your content.
<h4>Content Creation</h4>
When it comes to creation and structuring of content in WordPress, information is managed through posts and pages. Posts are added to an existing blog and displayed with the newest at the top. Content is tagged into categories as a method of classification. These pages are considered static with the goal of providing information about one particular subject.
In a headless CMS environment, content and structuring are done through a web-based interface. The interface is accessible by content editors and authorized users who can create, edit, organize, and tag specific content. Content is generally stored in a database and available through API, so it can be displayed appropriately on any device.
Some headless CMS platforms, also have the<a href="https://buttercms.com/kb/category/content-modeling-basics/"> option of content modeling</a>, which allows for custom fields and creation of dynamic content and personalization.
<h4>Content Operations</h4>
Once the content is created and structured, it needs to be organized and produced to meet the needs of the target audience – also known as content operations.
In a monolithic environment, content management and organization involve scheduling, automatic notifications when new content is published, and configuring user permissions. Often, this occurs through third-party plugins, which can increase compatibility issues, security vulnerabilities, and more.
In a headless CMS, web-based interfaces can be accessed by any user on any device. WYSIWYG editor options, custom page types, workflow creation, and localization all provide a flexible and dynamic solution to content creation for a wide variety of audiences.
<h4>Content Management</h4>
Content management can be<a href="https://buttercms.com/blog/enterprise-content-management-challenges/"> your ultimate competitive edge</a>, increasing lead generation and conversion. This only happens, however, when you strategically plan your publication calendar.
In WordPress, content management includes SEO optimization tools (typically plugins) as well as automated publishing and scheduling processes.
In a headless CMS, content management is more agile because of the dynamic experience. Based on what device the content is viewed on, a headless CMS can allow for different structures and presentation styles.
<h4>Content Consistency</h4>
In WordPress, content consistency happens through a variety of templates and themes. The standardized look of your website is coupled with specific templates for individual pages and sections. While plug-ins, custom post types, and other items can help aid consistency, there are also several challenges.
Many legacy CMS platforms give users very specific features and functionalities, making it difficult to personalize the experience. In addition, any amount of edits can be time-consuming and difficult to scale.
In a headless CMS environment, content consistency is guided by a set of clear standards for structure, writing, language, tone, and formatting. For instance, a headless CMS could provide custom content types, fields, and typeforms, all centrally located and accessible through APIs.
<h4>Integrations</h4>
Because content does not exist in solely written words, it is important for content teams to pay attention to how content types integrate with one another. In WordPress, this typically happens through third-party plug-ins and themes.
In a headless CMS, things like Rest API, webhooks, CDNs and microservices all handle integration and functionality based on the needs of a particular application. APIs can retrieve and utilize content in the CMS regardless of technology stack or programming language to create a unique, functional user experience.
<h4>Front-end Execution</h4>
In WordPress, front-end rendering is done through code and WordPress templates. Through a system of templates and template tags, you can control the execution of the pages, their structure and layout. In a headless CMS, front-end rendering happens through a separate application that takes the content and places it in an API, resulting in the rendering the user sees.
<h2>The Use of Headless WordPress</h2>
WordPress does have a headless option. However, technically, it’s decoupled, rather than truly headless. That’s because the head is still attached to the backend. In other words, when you use Headless WordPress, you still have to deal, at least partially, with the UI when installing things like main plugins and performing the setup. 
Drawbacks to a decoupled WordPress environment include increased maintenance, need for heightened development experience, plugin dependency, and potential increased cost to get what other truly headless CMS options give you right out of the gate. 
Headless WordPress has several options that could <a href="https://buttercms.com/blog/headless-wordpress-how-to-use-their-blog-data-in-your-app/">benefit</a> organizations who are looking to test a headless approach. However, there are important limitations to consider as you look to align your CMS with long term strategies. 
<h2>How to Decide Which CMS is For You </h2>
There are a number of options to consider when it comes to the use of content for social, web, advertising, internal and more. That’s why it’s important to start at the beginning and develop your digital strategy. Honing your digital strategy will allow you to define your target audiences, set clear goals, audit existing resources, and create a proactive content approach. By understanding what you’re hoping to achieve, you’ll know what the best programs and tools are.
It’s also important to think about where you’re at now and where you’re hoping to go. While a certain product might meet your current needs, looking to the future will help you choose platforms that will grow with you and your company’s content goals.
The best future-proof technology tools will allow you to:
<ul>
<li>Increase productivity and efficiency</li>
<li>Improve the user experience</li>
<li>Allow you to scale</li>
<li>Give you advanced analytics to drive decisions</li>
<li>Enhance search engine optimization</li>
</ul>
Ultimately, understanding your present and future state will help determine the CMS that’s right for you. It’s an exercise that’s worth the time and effort as your website and its content is crucial to success in today’s digital climate. 
 
<hr />
Jake Lumetta is CEO and Founder of ButterCMS, and a CMS Critic contributor.

Marketing 101: Managing Website Content on WordPress vs. Headless

jake-lumetta

There’s a little-known psychological condition called footballis doldrumus that affects millions of people each year.
This peculiar phenomenon strikes around mid-July – the “dog days,” as we say – causing North American football fans to incessantly pine for the pigskin. The hotter the summer, the more intense the craving. And this has been a hot one.
Symptoms include (but are not limited to): listing the season opener as a holiday on your Outlook calendar, leaving messages on refrigerator wipe boards that read “6 weeks left ‘til kickoff,” and waking up from a deep sleep and shouting first and ten for no apparent reason.
It’s a sinister malady that Joel Varty is undoubtedly familiar with, given his own experience on the field. When we met in New York City this past May, he told me about his son’s goal of playing football at the collegiate level, and perhaps one day in the NFL. I learned later that Joel played during college, and has a passion for coaching. 
As a victim myself of footballis doldrumus, talking with Joel was a bit like a support group on multiple levels. I resisted any mention of Tom Brady for fear of getting too off-topic (or sounding like an insipid fanboy), and we focused instead on the real-world challenges impacting the content management game.
In his role as Chief Technology Officer at <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/agility-cms-introduces-simplified-pricing-tiers-for-headless-content-management/">Agility</a> – <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-free-headless-cms-platforms/">a headless CMS</a> – Joel is facing a deep bench of competitors with similar strengths on the field. As many platform features become commoditized, executing the right plays to differentiate is essential to win.
When I learned that Agility was releasing new updates to its UI, I caught up with Joel to learn more about his company’s strategy and get his perspective on the marketplace. We talked about how composable is changing the game, why trust is critical to customer experience, and how he’s quarterbacking his own way to victory.
<h2>Coaching the long game in CMS </h2>
Like most content management veterans, Joel’s path to product was circuitous. While playing football at the <a href="https://www.uoguelph.ca/" target="_blank">University of Guelph</a> in Ontario, he parlayed a love of prose into programming and graduated with honors in English and Computer Science.
It’s not an uncommon story in the development world. Some of the best coders I’ve ever worked with started analyzing James Joyce before JavaScript.
Guelph is also where Agility’s CEO, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonvoigt/">Jon Voigt</a>, attended – and the two have been teaming up ever since. They both endured the rise and fall of the dot.com era, and that lead to a stint of website consulting gigs that encompassed the buildout of their own CMS.
“[I think] everyone has said, ‘hey, I can build my own CMS’ at some point,” he recalls with laughter. “We started ours around 2005 and kept doing it because we really like working together. But by 2017, we decided we didn’t want to build websites anymore – we just wanted to build a CMS, and we think headless CMS is the way to go.”
Joel also said that one of the catalysts for this shift in priorities was the maturity of the Agility CMS itself. Not only was it stable and trusted at a foundational level, but it now had enough customers running on it to make financial sense. As a totally bootstrapped company with solid profitability, they were able to sell off some of their existing contracts in 2018 and go all-in on the CMS.
<hr />
<h4>“I think where Agility shines isn't in a specific vertical market. It's with folks who have complex, unique needs – and you have to approach those in a special way. We love to teach our partners how to do that.”</h4>
<hr />
“It was really hard to let go,” Joel admitted. “Giving [our business] to partners was a double-edged sword, but it was great to stop competing with our partners. We were always the first party vendor building stuff, so we didn't feel it was fair to have a product we have an upper hand with.”
I asked Joel how they made the transition successful, particularly around client care. I’ve heard this projects-to-products story many times, but the failures often come from a lack of top-down leadership and cultural investment – like a self-inflicted form of pass interference. 
“We actually looked at our core values as a company, and really focused on teaching,” he said, “so we took the lessons we’ve learned and started teaching our partners how to do things. I think where Agility shines isn't in a specific vertical market. It's with folks who have complex, unique needs – and you have to approach those in a special way. We love to teach our partners how to do that.”
Teach... or coach? Either way, Joel and his team have made the knowledge transfer a big part of the Agility experience. This includes clear documentation, tutorials, transparent practices, and regular communication with their community of users. 
<h2>Outplaying sameness with service </h2>
At a recent event, I was discussing the headless CMS category with several attendees, and the subject of commoditization came up (as it frequently does). One of the pedaled analogies was that DXPs are akin to “apples and oranges” based on their feature sets, while headless CMSes are more like red apples versus green.
I asked Joel about this swelling box of apples and how he views the commoditization challenge.
“It’s interesting because there's almost more of a move to be enough of the same so that you're recognizable across vendors – like things have to be ‘same enough,’” he observed. “If you're too different, that's not actually a good thing, because it's hard to compare in a DX or composable space. So we strive to be ‘same enough’ while being unique.”
Commoditization is a real threat, but Agility is rising above the challenge by investing in its customer experience. This is embodied by its “White Glove Service,” which assures each client receives human interaction – which Joel admits is a challenge for most vendors as it inhibits scalability. But when the average lifetime of an Agility customer is eight to ten years, there’s value in this hands-on approach.
This felt like a key differentiator to me, so I asked if it was a key selling point for Agility.
“We haven't been using it enough,” Joel said. “We need to listen more to that part of our customers’ reactions. Our product was built based on customer feedback, and that's how we decide what we're going to do. It's 100% customer driven. We spent a lot of time and effort tracking what people say and want regarding features. And that's how we decide what we build into the product.”
To that end, Agility continues to provide transparency around its roadmap, engaging with its users via <a href="https://roadmap.agilitycms.com/tabs/3-launched" target="_blank">roadmap.agilitycms.com</a> around ideation. Joel said developers are very vocal within their community, but Agility strives to ensure that marketers and business decision-makers have a voice. That’s important, given the critical role of content operations within most enterprises.
“Our ideal customer needs to understand the value of content,” he explained. “Sometimes it's the developer, an information management role, a head of marketing, a CTO – maybe even the CEO of a smaller company. But if they can get the value of that content… then that’s going to be a good fit for Agility.”
<h2>Tackling the composable hype-cycle with trust</h2>
As a headless CMS, I asked Joel what he thought about the growth of composable and the advent of <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/wrestling-with-category-confusion-in-the-dxc-slackdown/">DXC (digital experience composition)</a> and other categories emerging in the space. On the one hand, DXC vendors like <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/uniform-raises-28m-in-series-a-funding-round-for-composable-dxp/">Uniform</a> are solving the visualization challenges for headless CMSes. But are these TLAs (or “three-lettered acronyms” for the unindoctrinated) helping or hindering our understanding of the composable space?
“My opinion is those acronyms are holding us back as much as they bring us forward,” he said. “They give us something to talk about, but you always have to go beyond that. There's always some explaining that has to happen when you're talking to someone who actually wants to use this in their business. I think it comes down to having more trust between people.”
That trust is hard-earned, as Joel explained. <a href="https://www.cineplex.com/" target="_blank">Cineplex</a>, one of Agility’s customers since 2007, has relied not just on its CMS, but on the expertise of a team that understands their business imperatives. Over the years, trust in Agility has guided the cinema giant’s digital transformation, from site rebuilds to infrastructure changes. This ingredient of trust has shaped Joel’s perspective on composable, which is as much about the business considerations as the technology posture.
“I think the idea of enterprise software should mean long-term ROI, not just fast ROI,” he said. “How can you take a piece out and put it back in, or fix something that you don't like? That, to me, is like the best of composable.”
I probed further about the importance of composable standards and the rise of the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/the-future-is-composable-a-conversation-with-new-mach-alliance-president-casper-rasmussen/">MACH Alliance</a> over the last few years. The organization has advocated for best-of-breed technologies that meet the rigid standards of MACH (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native SaaS, Headless). Are relationships with vendors in DXC, e-Commerce, search, and other categories becoming an important growth channel for headless CMS?
“Yes, and the long-term goal is to have a combination of technology and relationships accelerated, where it's like a pre-built stack or grid that everyone knows works,” he said. “So CMS is going to be hosted here, and it will have this for search, this personalization, and this for commerce. We know how it all works together – and everyone trusts it.”
Joel admitted that we might be three or four years away from any broad market buy-in, suggesting that it’s still a hard sell given the institutional culture of some IT departments. This is why the efforts of thought leaders within the MACH Alliance community have been key to advancing the growth of composable.
“They won’t get it until they trust it,” Joel punctuated.
<h2>Agility’s new UI delivers more than a fresh uniform</h2>
I heard Agility’s plans for its new user interface some time ago, well before its scheduled GA. While modernizing a UI is an accepted part of any software lifecycle, it offers as many opportunities as challenges. Most people loathe change – so any modification can be met with temperamental responses. That’s why this UI "refresh" is as much about empathy and sentiment as it is about systems and processes.
I wanted to hear how Agility approached this undertaking, and what stood out for Joel.
“Interestingly enough, we started this new UI project about 18 months ago,” he revealed. “The last time we redid our UI was in 2015, and Jon [our CEO] and I knew that you always do it once and then refresh it after everyone's already had a chance to see it. We started base testing with cohorts of new or existing users, and we actually brought design in-house – which, for a smaller company, was a big deal. We also have this amazing person who A/B tested different things and conducted interviews to determine what makes [users] feel better. And we focused as much on that as we could and tried to be very consistent about how we handled content.”
As Joel detailed the process, it was clear his team didn’t cut things out or remove extraneous elements just to satisfy the simplification goal. To his point, CMS users claim to want all the features – even if they won’t be using them.
“There's a real balance there,” he continued. “But overall, we wanted things to be faster and easier across the board and ultimately make people feel better.”
I had a chance to peruse the new UI while comparing it to the classic version (which will continue to be available to users). Right off the bat, the visual design system is cleaner and more streamlined, offering a modern lightweight experience that feels more like an app. The main navigation panel provides more contrast, aimed at reducing eye strain during prolonged use. The authoring tools are still intuitive and familiar, a staple of Agility's previous UI. 
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/07/agility-new-ui-2023-1024x692.jpg" alt="New Agility software UI" />
You can read about the full scope of features <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/agility-unveils-refreshed-design-system-in-ui-delivering-enhanced-user-experience-and-accessibility/">in our previous post</a>, but a few stand out, including new filters that offer augmented search. Users will find the new org selector handy, and there’s a slick heartbeat indicator coming that will provide greater visibility around specific events and tasks. Also noteworthy are the drag-and-drop model editor and the table column reordering, both designed to simplify and accelerate tasks.
You can check out the UI for yourself by creating an Agility account at <a href="http://www.agilitycms.com">www.agilitycms.com</a>. While Joel and his team are still fine-tuning some details, scope creep has pushed the original launch date into late July – a frustrating reality of software launches.
“But I think it will be worth it,” he said. “Our company anniversary is July 19, so I'm kind of thinking maybe that's a good day.”
<h2>Keeping the game fun – even with AI on the field</h2>
I’ve already waxed extensively about Joel’s affinity for football. But that affection is grounded by a deep gratitude for his family and their shared pastimes. Much like his dual pursuits of literature and computer science, he blends a love for athletics and a passion for art and scholarship in his life outside Agility.
“I am super blessed with two really, really cool kids,” he said glowingly. “My son plays football, and I've been a dedicated ‘dad coach’ for that. But my daughter is super into theater, and I love directing, being on stage, or getting involved from a community standpoint. It's got nothing to do with technology – it's just having fun.”
As we rounded out our time together, the subject of AI meandered into the conversation. What does Joel think about the advent of this technology and its impact on content? He has, after all, helped shape the CMS space over the last two decades. What does the world look like now that ChatGPT is a growing fixture in the creative process?
“I look at it like this: ChatGPT needs us,” he said. “It copies ideas. Nothing comes out of thin air, and someone has to come up with the ideas.”
Kind of like a quarterback audibling on the field. Sometimes, human instinct takes over – no matter how rehearsed the play might be. And while AI may prove its worth as a key automation tool, it’s heartening to hear from a content veteran that people are still core to the process.
As a headless CMS in a densely-packed market, Agility is executing in all the right ways. And with so many seasons under its belt, the platform and its people have proven resilient in the face of change. That speaks volumes about its vision and go-to-market strategy, which gives it a strong position in the new composable game. 
I still reserve the mantle of GOAT for Tom Brady, but Joel definitely has my vote for the “CMS Hall of Fame.”

Playing to Win in the Headless CMS Game: Interview with Joel Varty, CTO at Agility

<a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/netlify-to-host-headless-commerce-summit-for-talks-on-building-world-class-e-commerce-experiences/">Netlify</a> continues to net more of the composable ecosystem.
Yesterday, the web hosting and development platform announced the purchase of <a href="https://www.stackbit.com/" target="_blank">Stackbit</a> – a visual editor that empowers enterprises to build and manage composable websites more efficiently with a key feature: live previews.
"This acquisition brings the power of Stackbit's visual editor to our product portfolio, expanding our offerings to now empower marketers and non-developers to rapidly create, innovate, and iterate," said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathias-biilmann-christensen-a5a3805/" target="_blank">Matt Biilmann</a>, CEO at Netlify.
The Stackbit news follows Netlify's purchase of <a href="https://www.gatsbyjs.org/" target="_blank">Gatsby</a> earlier this year, a popular open source static site generator built on Node.js using <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/netlify-publishes-jamstack-community-survey-shows-developers-are-driving-the-future-of-remote-work/">React</a> and <a href="https://graphql.org/" target="_blank">GraphQL</a>. Gatsby had cultivated a strong reputation in the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-jamstack-static-site-generators-for-2021/">Jamstack</a> community, becoming a preferred frontend library for building composable architectures with a headless CMS. With Stackbit, Netlify aims to bring visual editing to its toolkit, providing a more complete platform for users. 
<h2>Powerful visual editing for composable websites</h2>
Over the last few years, web development platforms have focused on improving enterprise tools with a focus on developer productivity. Now, companies are looking for ways to deliver unparalleled value to marketers and product managers by leveraging collaboration orchestration. This has been reflected by the growth of digital experience composition (DXC) – an emerging category within the broader digital experience space. 
The acquisition of Stackbit expands Netlify's product portfolio, empowering users to design, create, and edit experiences within composable platforms. According to Netlify's announcement, Stackbit will deliver a range of tools and features that simplify the web development process and enable deeper collaboration between developers, marketers, and other stakeholders.
With Stackbit, users can connect any content source and use any tech stack. It also supports key tenants of composable architectures by eliminating bottlenecks and lock-ins around specific vendors or frameworks. For customers like Telus, one of Canada's largest telecommunication companies, Stackbit enables marketers, product managers, and project managers to create and update new and existing websites and applications.
Based on Netlify's press release, Stackbit is easy to use and can aggregate content from any <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-free-headless-cms-platforms/">headless CMS</a>, content source, or custom data source – creating a singular, streamlined workflow for front-end content changes. Stackbit can also update objects within a UI and write changes automatically to the originating source.
<h2>Key benefits of Stackbit and Netlify</h2>
With Stackbit, Netlify plans to empower enterprise teams to build best-in-class websites, online stores, and applications. According to Netlify's website, Stackbit will expand Netlify’s product portfolio, providing a variety of benefits for enterprise teams, including:
<ul>
<li>No-code website editing: Using Stackbit, marketers, product managers, and non-developers can easily update and edit their websites in real time. They can also create pages, drop in components, and adjust layouts and styles on demand.</li>
<li>Design flexibility: With Stackbit, teams can easily customize the design and layout of websites using themes or create their own designs. This flexibility allows marketers to maintain consistent branding and improve the user experience.</li>
<li>Streamlined collaboration: Stackbit reads and writes content to and from your CMS, database, e-commerce catalog, or custom data source – making collaboration more efficient. </li>
<li>Compatible with any tech stack: Stackbit works seamlessly with any CMS application, content source, headless frontend platform, or framework.</li>
</ul>
To learn more about Netlify and the Stackbit acquisition, visit <a href="https://www.netlify.com/blog/netlify-acquires-stackbit-to-bring-no-code-creation-to-its-platform/">netlify.com</a>
<h2>About Netlify</h2>
Netlify is the platform for enterprises to build highly-performant and dynamic websites, e-commerce stores, and web apps. By uniting an extensive ecosystem of technologies, services and APIs into one workflow, Netlify unlocks new levels of team productivity, while saving time and money. With more than 4M developers and over 475 Enterprise customers, Netlify is the creator of the Jamstack movement, bringing together all modern web frameworks, serverless functions and edge computing into one platform to deliver unmatched user experiences, serving the needs of developers, architects, and marketers.

Netlify Acquires Stackbit, Adding No-Code Visual Editing to Its Platform

If <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/vojtechboril/" target="_blank">Vojtech Boril</a> has a crystal ball in his possession, it’s time to come clean.
Maybe it was sheer luck that his company, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/kontent-ai-introduces-industrys-first-headless-cms-with-native-ai-capabilities/">Kontent.ai</a>, would embrace the “AI” domain in 2022. Or was their official <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/taking-kentico-kontentai-next-generation-digital-petr-palas/">spinoff from Kentico</a> some mystical prognostication of things to come?
I wasn’t sure, but Vojtech settled the question for me.
“Bringing AI into the CMS world has been part of our vision for a long time,” he said. “Our company name – which we chose a year ago – is good proof that this launch is not just a quick reaction to the new ChatGPT trends.”
Tarot cards and tea leaves aside, this is an exciting time for Vojtech and Kontent.ai. Since introducing <a href="https://openai.com/" target="_blank">OpenAI’s</a> large language model late last year, many content management vendors have entered the AI race. In several cases, they leverage ChatGPT as a basic plugin or integration.
But last week, Kontent.ai announced the early availability of the first native AI capabilities to a headless CMS.
Native, you say? How so? I had a thousand questions – none of which <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/from-chatbots-to-contentops-how-ai-is-coming-to-your-cms-whether-you-like-it-or-not/">ChatGPT</a> could answer.
Thankfully, <a href="https://kontent.ai/events-and-webinars/first-look-at-native-ai-capabilities-in-kontent-ai/" target="_blank">during a recent webinar</a>, Kontent.ai offered an informative first look at these AI features. This filled in many blanks, but I still connected with Vojtech to ask why he thinks these new capabilities are game-changers. As the Vice President of Growth &amp; Marketing, he combines content and platform POVs into one brain. He's also an avid runner with some intimidating pace times – so he's accustomed to staying ahead of the pack. 
<h2>A first look at native AI capabilities</h2>
One would assume that a content management vendor would produce quality content to promote its products and services. That’s not always the case, but Kontent.ai has consistently delivered the goods. Last week’s webinar on its native AI was no exception and provided a solid overview of the new features.
The session – hosted by <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/hrubytomas/" target="_blank">Tomas Hruby</a>, Lead Product Manager, and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-torpy-82087b4a/" target="_blank">Jordan Torpy</a>, Product Marketing Manager – opened on the new “Gold Rush” into the AI market, and how ChatGPT has ignited every CMS vendor to jump on the bandwagon. Both commented on seeing many different approaches across the digital experience market, which has undoubtedly informed their innovation.
According to Tomas, ChatGPT seems easy to repurpose, but in reality isn’t that simple. Large language models become challenging to master for prompt creation and obtaining accurate results. He called these skills more of an “art,” contrary to the promise of automation.
In the webinar, the duo focused on three key challenges with current AI solutions: understanding context, composing AI, and integration. Jordan provided an example of how large language models struggle to incorporate brand guidelines, tone of voice, and other factors exclusive to a given company. This training is time-consuming and difficult to orchestrate for content creation.
One of the big concerns for enterprises is around the unknowns of integration. For example, does the customer or vendor maintain the AI capabilities? Is it a plugin built by an open source community? They also discussed the increased API surface area that may be vulnerable to attacks – and that many enterprises are reluctant to share proprietary content with public models.
In each case, it’s clear there are gaps with current AI solutions – and Kontent.ai’s native capabilities promise to bridge those gaps to usability.
<h2>The vision for AI in a headless CMS</h2>
Given the challenges that AI presents when integrating into a CMS, what was the vision guiding Kontent.ai’s native capabilities? Tomas and Jordan boiled it down to a couple of key pillars during the webinar.
First, Kontent.ai is a fully integrated experience designed for what they call “fluent content creation.” As a native set of platform features, the AI respects internal formatting across your work, making it all more conformant. Content creators will also find the AI tools highly intuitive from a UI perspective, and available where they would expect them to be.
The second pillar is delivering accurate suggestions. This is a big one, as most large language models provide questionable results. Much of this concerns prompt design, or the ability to feed the AI with the proper context. With Kontent.ai, the native capabilities are built with context in mind, so it respects your company’s brand guidelines or tone of voice, and doesn’t “hallucinate” as it often does with open learning models.
Kontent.ai also provides what Tomas calls a “hidden sophistication” driven by complex pipelines designed to streamline tasks like converting notes into formatted content.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/06/kontent-image-3-1024x620.jpg" alt="Composite of Kontent.ai native AI user experience with multiple windows of functionality" />
<h2>What really sets native AI apart?</h2>
First and foremost: Kontent.ai’s native capabilities are not a plugin. This is a marked difference from other platform strategies that leverage basic connectors to ChatGPT. Tomas states this distinction will allow users to work more efficiently and effectively as part of a CMS toolkit.
Another big difference is that the solution is fully GDPR compliant. This is achieved in large part by the <a href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us">Azure</a> backbone. Kontent.ai has a strong Microsoft relationship and is leveraging its AI services stack via ChatGPT 4 and a new service called <a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/semantic-kernel/overview/">Semantic Kernel</a> – an open source SDK for building custom AI apps and orchestrating complex pipelines.
Finally, Kontent.ai delivers peace of mind around privacy and control. Enterprise users can be assured that their sensitive content and data is secure and not publicly available to any OpenAI learning pipelines. The native AI capabilities are aware of content and context only within your system, and it’s not even used to train future LLM iterations.
I asked Vojtech to give me the big picture around these key differentiators through the content creator’s lens. What really stands out?
“A key difference is that our AI capabilities are native to our platform and provide a fully integrated experience for content creators,” he said. “We’re not adding a prompt window to our CMS. Instead, we’re adding new capabilities that perfectly fit with the tasks a content creator does on a daily basis.”
He cited an example: “We have a skill called ‘Improve writing.’ To use it, you select some text you want to improve to better suit your tone of voice, style guide, or other similar criteria. Then, you choose a piece of content already in your Kontent.ai project that meets your standards. Kontent.ai will then adjust your original text to match the style and tone of your chosen text.”
During the webinar, there was a great demo of this feature. The use case featured a single paragraph with a noticeably sarcastic tone of voice compared to the rest of the article. The native AI was asked to improve the writing by injecting prompts for a more professional tonality, as required by brand guidelines. It did – in minutes. The entire process was convenient, accurate, and a huge time saver.
As Vojtech further noted, what’s great is that content creators don’t need to fiddle around with making the right prompt, or string several different prompts together. Everything they need is in Kontent.ai, and it’s all a natural extension of the work they already did in the platform.
<h2>What’s the price tag for native AI?</h2>
Currently, Kontent’s new AI capabilities are fully functional, but only available to early adopters via a special access program – and seats are limited. The company is interested in collaborating with enterprise customers, so they’re inviting companies to provide their use cases.
The solution isn’t quite out of the box (yet). According to the webinar, most users can be up and running in roughly two weeks. The services should be generally available later this year.
Regarding cost, that’s still unknown – but the company seems to be focused on aligning it with real utility and value. As Vojtech pointed out, “We know everyone can go and use ChatGPT for free, so we didn’t just add a prompt window to Kontent.ai. Instead, we created tailor-made capabilities that solve real problems content creators face.”
The Kontent.ai team is working on pricing models, which will hopefully be available before the service is in GA. If you’re interested in early access, visit the <a href="https://kontent.ai/events-and-webinars/first-look-at-native-ai-capabilities-in-kontent-ai/">Kontent.ai</a> website for more details.
<h2>What other AI features can we expect?</h2>
There were some interesting questions about Kontent’s AI roadmap during the webinar. The hosts discussed the current advantages of reducing time and research. But they also described how AI might be capable of assisting with tedious, large-scale CMS tasks such as mass migrations.
One area where ChatGPT and other large language models are still struggling is translation. With accuracy being such a critical requirement, it’s still reliant on other workflows to deliver quality results. Still, this seems to be an area ripe with opportunity.
I asked Vojtech if other capabilities might be more near-term on the roadmap, and what the process looks like for onboarding new AI features.
“We've been working on [the capabilities that are part of this launch] for the past couple of months, but simultaneously we're working on many other prototypes,” he said. “Anything that reaches our development team through prioritization typically goes through a thorough research phase. We even have a dedicated UX research team, which is not always the norm in companies of our size.”
I also wanted to know how customers have responded in the rollout's early phases.
“We are absolutely thrilled with how the AI launch has been received,” he said. “We have some great initial feedback from existing customers, prospects, and major analysts. I've also had the chance to talk to some of our existing enterprise clients in person already, and there are specifically two main areas they appreciate the most. One, that our AI capabilities are fully native to the product, which currently makes us very unique in the CMS market. And two, the security aspect of being GDPR-compliant and knowing their content is not populated into global GPT environments.”
He also said that the webinar has resulted in registrations going through the roof – a clear sign that interest is swelling into action.
<h2>Consulting the crystal ball about the future of AI</h2>
As informative as the webinar was, I wanted to know how important the AI investment was to Kontent.ai. We might still be early in the hype cycle, but what does the future look like?
“This AI launch is only the beginning of our AI product focus,” Vojtech said. “As I mentioned, our rebranding to Kontent.ai a year ago was not just a coincidence, and we are serious about pioneering fully native AI capabilities as part of the CMS user experience.”
Vojtech also shared that the company is working on further improvements to contextualizing AI-generated content. They're also exploring how to improve navigating, creating, reviewing, and categorizing content.
“I believe AI has the potential to revolutionize content operations by streamlining processes, automating tasks, and enabling users to do more and faster,” he explained. “However, ‘more and faster’ should not be the only goal. Ultimately, it's rather about creating more contextualized, meaningful, and relatable content than just producing more. That's exactly how we envision our customers to benefit from our AI. We're not trying to replace their content contributors. Instead, we're on a mission to help them be more productive and be able to focus on the work they love while utilizing AI to do repetitive tasks for them.
Wrapping things up, I got a bit existential about AI’s impact on people. As Vojtech pointed out, only the future will show whether it’s good for humanity. In the meantime, he said, it’s important to think critically about the ethical implications as AI becomes a normal part of life. This includes data privacy, security, and other factors that must be carefully addressed.
“I am an optimist,” he added, “and I believe that humanity can strike a balance in the development of AI – harnessing its benefits while ensuring it does not pose a threat to our well-being.” 
I hope that optimism is coming from the same crystal ball.

Kontent.ai Pioneers Native AI in Headless CMS: Interview with Vojtech Boril

Kontent.ai logo with headshot of Vojtech Boril

A lot of things happen under the hood when modernizing software. As the saying goes, we aren't always privy to how the sausage is made. But when it comes to UI, everything's above the fold, making it one of the most important expressions of a platform's evolution.
Yesterday, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/agility-cms-introduces-simplified-pricing-tiers-for-headless-content-management/">Agility</a> – a headless CMS that positions itself as the premium content platform – announced the completion of a comprehensive design system refresh in its new user interface. The company is "putting the finishing touches" on its new UI, and plans to have it fully running on June 30th. Until then, the classic UI will be available to current users.
According to the company's press release, Agility's design, product, and customer success teams spent the last three months listening to customer feedback and implementing improvements to elevate the design and accessibility of its platform UI.
"The design system refresh in our new UI is a reflection of our dedication to listening to our customers' needs,” said  <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelvarty/" target="_blank">Joel Varty</a>, CTO of Agility, emphasizing the company's commitment to innovation and customer-centric solutions.
<h2>A refreshing refresh of UI and enhanced CMS features</h2>
Agility's design system refresh is more than just a visual upgrade – it introduces a number of new features and enhancements aimed at empowering users with increased efficiency and an upgraded user experience. This comes a few weeks before the new UI will have full feature parity and become the default within the platform.
"The implementation of these new features is a direct response to our customers' needs," said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jina-zohori/" target="_blank">Jina Zohori,</a> Head of Customer Experience at Agility. "Our goal was to improve the overall accessibility and usability of the UI design system, and we are confident that the enhancements we've made will have a significant positive impact on our users' workflows."
Here are some of the highlights users can expect from the new UI:
<ul>
<li>New Filters: The interface now boasts enhanced filters, allowing users to precisely search content items, pages, assets, and more. This feature significantly improves efficiency and user experience.</li>
<li>New Advanced Global Search: The upgraded global search functionality offers users a powerful and flexible data searching and filtering experience within a single component, enabling swift access to the desired information.</li>
<li>New Org Selector and Instance Manager: Simplifying navigation and management across multiple instances and organizations, the new org selector and instance manager streamline user workflows and enhance overall usability.</li>
<li>Navigation Panel Enhancement: Responding to user feedback, Agility has introduced a darker, high-contrast navigation panel, reducing eye strain and improving focus during prolonged usage.</li>
<li>Heartbeat Indicator: With a new heartbeat indicator, users now receive visual updates on ongoing events and tasks, ensuring they remain informed and engaged with key activities.</li>
<li>Collapsible Properties and Activity Feed Sidebar: The refreshed UI features collapsible properties and an activity feed sidebar, maximizing screen space for the main content and providing users with a more immersive experience.</li>
<li>Pagination instead of Infinite Scroll: Agility has replaced infinite scroll with a pagination feature, resulting in improved navigation, reduced lag, and easier return to specific content points.</li>
<li>Horizontal Breadcrumb Navigation: The introduction of horizontal breadcrumb navigation enhances tracking and navigation within complex directory structures, simplifying user journeys.</li>
<li>Table Column Reordering: Users can now effortlessly reorder table columns, significantly enhancing data analysis and comprehension capabilities.</li>
<li>Visual Model Editor with Drag-and-Drop: Agility's updated visual model editor empowers users to create and edit models interactively through an intuitive drag-and-drop interface, further enhancing usability and productivity.</li>
<li>New Asset Manager: The newly integrated asset manager significantly improves the organization and accessibility of digital assets, ensuring efficient project resource utilization and seamless collaboration.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Leveraging customer feedback to build a more effective UI</h2>
According to the company's press release, Agility remains committed to continuously enhancing its product offerings based on user feedback and evolving market demands. The UI refresh is a testament to Agility's dedication to delivering exceptional user experiences and ensuring maximum accessibility for all users.
"We are excited to unveil the design system refresh in our new UI, which is a result of intensive collaboration with our customers," said According to <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/dluxdesign/" target="_blank">David Babijaev</a>, Product Designer of Agility's new UI. "By incorporating their feedback, we have created a more intuitive and user-friendly experience that will empower our users to achieve their goals efficiently and effectively."
If you're interested in learning more about Agility's new UI, the company is offering a session entitled "Unleash the Power of Agility: Mastering the New UI" on July 26th at 12 PM EDT. Users can sign up through their Agility account.
<h2>About Agility</h2>
Agility is a leading provider of Headless CMS solutions, offering businesses an ultimate content management system that is personalized, scalable, and future-proof. With its API-first approach and flexible architecture, Agility enables brands to effortlessly create and distribute captivating content across various channels. Their commitment to delivering personalized white-glove service and addressing unique challenges makes them the top choice for enterprise-level businesses in need of composable solutions. Experience the transformation of your content management strategy and the achievement of your business goals with Agility: Your Voice, Your Way.

Agility Unveils Refreshed UI, Delivering Enhanced User Experience and Accessibility

Agility logo against a digital wave background

CMS Kickoff 24

Don't miss CMS Kickoff 2024, January 16-17 in St. Petersburg, Florida. Seats are limited.

The #1 global event dedicated to CMS

It's impossible to deny the impact of AI on the CMS industry. As platforms race to add new features that leverage <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/from-chatbots-to-contentops-how-ai-is-coming-to-your-cms-whether-you-like-it-or-not/">ChatGPT</a> and other generative technologies, few have incorporated AI beyond some basic integrations. 
But that's starting to change. This week, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/kontent-ai-raises-40-million-to-bring-the-power-of-ai-to-content-management/">Kontent.ai</a> – an industry-leading headless CMS – announced a new set of native AI capabilities that will give users complete control to create and manage content across their organization.
According to the company's press release, Kontent.ai will now deliver the first and only context-aware AI that is fully integrated into its CMS product. This provides control from ideation to editing to customer experience in real time, displaying how content will look on websites and applications.
In addition to improving efficiency and productivity, the new AI will provide a layer of content governance – a unique advantage in the CMS landscape of AI capabilities. 
“Native AI skills inside Kontent.ai leverage the power of artificial intelligence while minimizing the risks often associated with it,” said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/petrpalas/">Petr Palas</a>, Founder, Kontent.ai. “Content management challenges will only increase as more content is generated with the adoption of AI. However, we anticipated this and built a solution that works across the organization for the marketer, the developer, and the content creator."
<h2>Delivering real value to content creators with AI</h2>
As demand for content across organizations increases, teams are struggling to manage, maintain, and govern content at scale. Kontent.ai says that building these native AI-powered skills into its headless CMS is an evolution of its platform, designed to meet this challenge in a single solution.
Some benefits of Kontent.ai's native AI skills include:
<ul>
<li>Increased efficiency: Improve all stages of the content management process from creation to review with the power and speed of artificial intelligence.</li>
<li>Faster time to value: Leverage native AI skills immediately without the need for external integrations, plug-ins, or development resources within a headless CMS.</li>
<li>Consistency at scale: Develop core content, versions, style, tone of voice, and more – instantly.</li>
<li>Simplified content governance: Safeguard brand and content guidelines seamlessly using AI.</li>
</ul>
“The vision and innovation of Kontent.ai is what makes them a trusted partner,” reports <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-d-orio-22a32517/" target="_blank">Michael D'Orio</a>, VP of Marketing from American Bath Group. “As a long-term customer, who just won the MACH Impact Awards for Best Overall Change Product by the MACH Alliance, we’ve reached new levels of success with Kontent.ai and look forward to the newest solution.”
Learn more about the native AI capabilities of Kontent.ai on the <a href="https://kontent.ai/events-and-webinars/first-look-at-native-ai-capabilities-in-kontent-ai/" target="_blank">upcoming webinar</a> on June 20, 2023.
An <a href="https://kontent.ai/specials/introducing-native-ai-capabilities/" target="_blank">early access program</a> for current customers is also available.
<h2>About Kontent.ai</h2>
Kontent.ai is the headless CMS that gives organizations complete control over content to speed up time to market and engage meaningfully with audiences across channels. In the Kontent.ai platform, governance underpins all operations and workflows. Content creators collaborate in real time, making it easier to land on the best ideas, reduce bottlenecks, and maximize the impact of everything that’s created. Kontent.ai is an API-first cloud-native solution, so developers can use their favorite technologies, languages, and frameworks to deliver seamless experiences that look and feel great on any channel. With offices in New York, London, Amsterdam, Brno, and Sydney, Kontent.ai supports global customers, including Zurich Insurance, Algolia, and Oxford University. Kontent.ai is a Microsoft partner and MACH Alliance member, recognized by both Gartner and Forrester.

Kontent.ai Introduces Industry’s First Headless CMS with Native AI Capabilities

Kontent.ai logo against a tech background

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