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Netlify Article

It’s an AI Agent world. Is ‘Agent Experience’ the secret weapon for controlling the chaos?

matt-garrepy

<hr /> AI is still raging like a fever – even if the temperature isn’t spiking quite as high as a year ago. Don't get me wrong: the market's still being greeted with a healthy dose of daily innovation. We're even seeing up-and-comers like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.artificialintelligence-news.com/news/cerebras-vs-nvidia-inference-tool-promises-higher-performance/">Cerebras challenging the Goliath Nvidia</a>. And while opportunities persist, some of the future potential is also clouded by the murky waters of an evolving regulatory landscape. Europe has been the most audacious on the policy front with the shaping of its signature <a target="_blank" href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20230601STO93804/eu-ai-act-first-regulation-on-artificial-intelligence">EU AI Act</a>. But just last week, California Governor Gavin Newsome announced <a target="_blank" href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/2024/09/29/governor-newsom-announces-new-initiatives-to-advance-safe-and-responsible-ai-protect-californians/">a spate of new initiatives</a> to advance safe and responsible AI – which will likely give way to similar manifestations in other states. This makes it all a moving target.Despite the legislative barriers, one can’t refute the impact that Generative AI has had on almost every application in the technology ecosystem. In our corner of the CMS and DXP verses, content creators have benefitted from enhanced productivity and efficiency with the introduction of in-app tools and workflows powered <a target="_blank" href="https://openai.com/">primarily by OpenAI</a>.But it’s not just the foundational tools. The entire spectrum of plugins, extensions, and even dev environments have integrated some measure of GenAI into their offerings. Even elemental WYSIWYG editors <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/tinymce-brings-advanced-ai-to-cms-text-editing-interview-with-fredrik-danielsson-elise-bentley">like TinyMCE</a> – used by several CMSes – have woven GenAI capabilities into their offerings.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.netlify.com/">Netlify</a> – the modern web development platform – has also joined the automation chorus, announcing the addition of an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.netlify.com/blog/introducing-ai-assisted-publishing">AI-Assisted Publishing</a> feature for marketers and content creators that simplifies the tedious task of managing adjustments to headless or even traditional CMSes.  Part of the solution rests with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.netlify.com/platform/create/">Netlify’s Visual Editor</a>, which further codifies the expansion of these tools for composable architectures. I’ve written extensively about the rampant <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/optimizely-introduces-new-saas-cms-with-visual-builder-for-marketers">rise of visual editors and builders</a> in previous articles, and Netlify sites are another example of where users are able to work with structured content in an easy-to-use visual context.Along with the new AI capabilities, the company also introduced <a target="_blank" href="https://www.netlify.com/blog/launching-async-workloads">Netlify Async Workloads</a> for streamlining a host of processes, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.netlify.com/blog/introducing-netlify-extensions">Netlify Extensions</a> – which makes customizing workflows and personalizing the interfaces within the Netlify app even easier. The cohort of new capabilities reflects the market’s continued drift towards more composable web architectures, giving developers greater choice and control.The enhancements were all unveiled during the keynote address at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.netlify.com/compose/">Netlify Compose 2024</a> in San Francisco by the platform’s CEO and co-founder, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathias-biilmann-christensen-a5a3805/">Mathias Biilmann Christensen.</a> The Compose conference also gives Netlify’s ecosystem of partners the opportunity to showcase innovation. Example: players like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7247676894051999744/">Jamsocket launched its new partner extension</a>, offering a ready-made connection for <a target="_blank" href="https://jamsocket.com/y-sweet">Jamsocket and Y-Sweet</a> services for the Netlify ecosystem.<h3 id="turning-unstructured-content-into-ready-to-publish-pages">Turning unstructured content into ready-to-publish pages</h3>Netlify’s AI-Assisted Publishing addresses the continued pressure on content teams to provide high-quality, high-volume content at breakneck speed. Now, armed with Netlify’s AI-powered capabilities, marketers and creatives can move quickly and seamlessly from ideas to publishable content.Netlify’s use case is simple: content creators often start outside a CMS, using tools like <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/google-cloud-platform">Google Docs</a> or <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/notion">Notion</a>. Converting their creative work into something “suitable” for web publication is still a tedious task, requiring hands-on adjustment of their headless CMS or even legacy, template-based CMS to meet their requirements. AI-Assisted Publishing automates the rigors of moving content from its outside source to a site, transforming unstructured elements into something that works for a production page. It automates the conversion of (for example) your Google Doc for a blog post into web pages – retaining the formatting and links and maintaining corporate brand guidelines and components to keep things cohesive.  <figure class="media"><div data-oembed-url="https://youtu.be/YndziNqJaKw?si=8P0n0bjXzWovKGYW"><div style="position:relative;padding-bottom:100%;height:0;padding-bottom:56.2493%"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YndziNqJaKw" style="position:absolute;width:100%;height:100%;top:0;left:0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></div></figure> AI-Assisted Publishing effectively mitigates the complexities of managing multiple tools. It transposes content into a polished, web-ready first draft that can be edited and published without the hassle of supporting yet another CMS integration – and instead relies on Netlify’s Visual Editor to shape experiences with structured content. At its core, Visual Editor is designed for composable architectures and is compatible with any site framework and API-enabled content source. Netlify’s Visual Editor provides some decent flexibility. Users can choose a template designed to work with a <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">headless CMS</a> like <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/contentful">Contentful</a> or <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/sanity">Sanity</a>, or even without one – instead relying on Git to manage content versions (sometimes referred to as a Git CMS).AI-Assisted Publishing is ideal for things like blog posts, company announcements, product updates, and other use cases. It effectively reduces the time from ideation to publication, allowing teams to focus on strategic goals rather than tedious and repetitive tasks, which are common across content ops that rely on Google Docs or Notion as a source. <figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:88.26%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/10/netlify-image-1.jpg" alt="" /></figure>Netlify's AI-Assisted Publishing offers personalization with custom audience personas Along the same lines, AI-Assisted Publishing is a great way to develop and manage critical marketing touchpoints like landing pages, streamling page creation with pre-designed components that are on-brand. It also provides some slick personalization capabilities that go beyond the typical A/B testing paradigms, allowing users to tailor content for multiple audiences and personas from a single source. Just select a target audience from the built-in picker or configure a specific audience persona, and you're off to the races. AI-Assisted Publishing is currently available in a private beta, but you can <a target="_blank" href="https://www.netlify.com/ai-assisted-publishing-private-beta/">sign up for it here</a>.<h3 id="sustaining-business-operations-with-durable-workloads">Sustaining business operations with durable workloads</h3>As mentioned, Netlify also introduced a few other surprises at its Compose conference, including the new <a target="_blank" href="https://www.netlify.com/blog/launching-async-workloads">Async Workloads</a> service. This nifty innovation empowers developers to construct durable, event-driven workflows seamlessly on any Netlify site.Why does durability matter? Quite simply: stuff breaks. APIs go down. Systems time out and yes, people screw up. Durable workloads enable businesses with more confidence around continuity, offering unparalleled reliability without the hassle of managing additional infrastructure, such as queues, workers, or state management.Async Workloads brings durability to serverless runtimes on Netlify, providing greater resiliency to business operations. Developers can write functions in the same manner as other serverless functions to initiate processes. Netlify takes care of the scaling, retries, future scheduling, and the other morass that can tie things up – ensuring your workloads run seamlessly. As systems get more complex, reliability becomes a precious commodity. Async Workloads helps mitigate this by letting developers build workloads and focus on critical tasks while the underlying system orchestrates everything with durability as a cornerstone. That bridges the reliability gap – and delivers value from end to end. <h3 id="create-more-powerful-customized-workflows">Create more powerful customized workflows</h3>Like a marketplace for added functionality, the new crop of Netlify Extensions allows users to choose from a growing library of ready-made integrations and specialized features that extend the value of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.netlify.com/platform/">Netlify platform</a>. It also provides developers and partners with a sandbox to build their own extensions using Netlify’s SDK.What’s great about the Netlify Extensions is how seamless they are. With a single click, you can integrate with popular tools like <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/digitalocean">DigitalOcean</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://supabase.com/">Supabase</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://launchdarkly.com/">LaunchDarkly</a>, or Contentful. You can also leverage new platform features such as Async Workloads, Skew Protection, or Edge-Side Includes.You can explore all the available extensions in Netlify’s in-app Extensions Directory. Once installed, all your sites can take advantage of a given extension’s capabilities – and if it includes a connector, it’s ready to configure through <a target="_blank" href="https://www.netlify.com/platform/connect/">Netlify Connect</a>, allowing you to integrate with your data sources with ease.  <figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:84.19%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/10/netlify-image-2.jpg" alt="" /></figure>Netlify Extensions offers a library of integrations and connectors Another cool feature: the Extension UI also enables developers to build on top of the Netlify platform to create immersive experiences for users and teams. The SDK also allows users to build extensions for a host of other applications, including an OAuth component that streamlines authentication.<h3 id="why-it-matters">Why it matters</h3>A frequent topic at the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/groups/cms-experts">Boye &amp; Company CMS Experts Group</a> meetings is where and how content is created. It’s true that many CMS platforms have conquered the mystical barrier of providing a delightful editing experience. But not all content is created equally, nor does it start life in the same place. Many of us still begin outside the CMS, using more foundational authoring tools to write press releases or blog posts before moving into an environment that allows formatting and publishing as a web page. As such, Netlify is further bridging the gap between ideation and publication. By eliminating the tedious task of moving from Google Docs or Notion to a finished page – and applying GenAI to further streamline the process – it’s doubling down on its value to developers and marketers. On top of that, the addition of intuitive personalization capabilities is further upping the ante on its extensibility. We’ve talked a lot about visual editors over the last few months, and having a dynamic tool in its development environment is extending Netlify’s value in multiple directions for both developers and content creators. Add in its Async Workloads and Extensions, and the platform is demonstrating the real scope of its innovation as it looks to build more meaningful partnerships in a competitive and composable landscape. To that end, Netlify is further broadening its extensibility by integrating with more traditional DXPs <a target="_blank" href="https://www.optimizely.com/apps/netlify/">like Optimizely</a>, providing a pathway to run its SaaS CMS on Netlify. It codifies how composable architectures are becoming more widely adopted and accelerated by best-of-breed platforms – enabling the transformation to a more strategic and modular stack. Netlify's philosophical foundation of composable MACH principles is what earned it an inaugural role as a <a target="_blank" href="https://machalliance.org/newsroom/mach-alliance-announces-mongodb-and-netlify-as-first-members-of-new-enabler-category">MACH Alliance Enabler</a> in 2021.It's worth reminding that Netlify was an early advocate of separating frontend design from backend business processes. Its vision of uniting components of the modern decoupled web and accelerating the development of scalable websites and apps has proven effective, helping them raise significant funding to power the growth of its Jamstack ecosystem. Today, that translates into nearly limitless choices for designing rich web apps and customer experiences – and these new features represent the next wave of innovation along that vision. <hr /> <img style="width:29.58%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-kickoff-2025-logo.png" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-2025"><a href=" https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff25">CMS Kickoff 2025</a></h4>January 14-15, 2025 – Tampa Bay Area, FloridaJoin us next January in the Tampa Bay area of Florida for the third annual CMS Kickoff – the industry's premier global event. Similar to a traditional kickoff, we reflect on recent trends and share stories from the frontlines. Additionally, we will delve into the current happenings and shed light on the future. Prepare for an unparalleled in-person CMS conference experience that will equip you to move things forward. This is an exclusive event – space is limited, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff25/tickets">so secure your tickets today.</a>

Netlify Unveils AI-Assisted Publishing and Other Enhancements at Netlify Compose 2024 Conference

<hr /> One of the key advantages of the <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/mach-alliance-publishes-first-annual-report-showcases-industry-impact-and-plans-for-2024">MACH Alliance’s</a> best-of-breed open ecosystem is the propensity for like-minded composable systems to join forces – and together, bring unified solutions to market.The latest heroic team-up: <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/agility">Agility CMS</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/netlify">Netlify</a>. The duo just introduced an enhanced integration that harnesses the robust features of Agility’s headless CMS with <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.netlify.com/connect/overview/">Netlify Connect</a> – a data unification layer designed to give teams greater freedom and control when creating websites, online stores, and applications with data from any new or existing content source. According to Agility’s press release, this collaboration sets out to redefine how enterprises manage their content and modernize their web architecture, bridging the gap between legacy content and modern <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">Content Management Systems (CMS)</a>. "Bringing Agility CMS and Netlify Connect together is a game-changer for enterprises looking to embrace the future of content management and modern web architecture," said <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/playing-to-win-in-the-headless-cms-game-interview-with-joel-varty-cto-at-agility">Joel Varty</a>, CTO at Agility CMS. “This approach not only streamlines content integration but also ensures that organizations can easily adapt and evolve their digital strategies with a phased approach that leads to fast ROI.”The general availability of the Agility CMS Connector with the Netlify platform is a significant step forward for both MACH vendors, giving enterprises a more agile and future-proof approach to content management and web architecture.<h3 id="netting-an-integration-with-netlify">Netting an integration with Netlify</h3>Agility, a cloud-based, API-first headless CMS, has been blazing trails with its built-in layout management capabilities. By giving users a clear visual “blueprint,” they have greater control and confidence over their content placement. At the same time, Netlify Connect has gained traction as a go-to solution for integrating content from multiple sources into a single data unification layer – one that’s easily accessible through a <a target="_blank" href="https://graphql.com/">GraphQL API</a> (another fixture that’s become increasingly popular). Netlify Connect is particularly ideal for enterprises that have data spread across multiple data sources, enabling updates to sync websites and web apps automatically with the latest content. Connect’s scalable, no-code approach to content integration also makes it an attractive play. This is where the impact can be felt with a robust headless CMS that’s designed as the next step in a stack’s composable modernization. And while Netlify Connect supports multiple data sources on the CMS level, it’s worth noting that this new integration represents the first Partner Developed Connector with Netlify – a real feather in Agility’s cap, and a clear commitment to its shared innovation with its development platform partner. “This integration is remarkably similar to the integration we previously developed for <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/gatsby">Gatsby</a>,” said Varty. “It’s built on top of our Sync SDK, and provides incredibly fast access to your content, now with the framework of your choice. We’re expecting folks will appreciate the unified data access experience.”As Varty further pointed out, Netlify Connect is one way to solve the “many data sources” conundrum in a way that assures fast access to data, given that Netlify caches it in their layer. “Depending on your solution, this can help solve a lot of problems, especially if you have private connectors accessing data that’s previously been locked away somewhere without a decent API, or maybe your API just doesn’t perform well under load. Netlify Connect can really help there.”<h3 id="what’s-next-for-agility-and-netlify">What’s next for Agility and Netlify</h3>Part of the secret sauce for Agility and Netlify is having a shared vision. Both companies empower enterprises on their journey to manage and migrate from legacy monolithic systems to composable, cloud-native solutions – but doing so in a systematic, phased approach. The benefit is clear: enterprises want to remain in control, and being forced to immediately adopt a completely new ecosystem is counterproductive.Along with Connect, Agility is looking ahead to additional opportunities with Netlify. This includes aligning with <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.netlify.com/create/overview/">Netlify Create</a>, a visual experience platform for building and operating enterprise websites with a decoupled architecture.“Netlify has expanded its product ecosystem with both Connect and Create,” Varty shared. “I think Connect is the most compelling piece of the puzzle for organizations that want to unify how they bring content and data to their web properties, so I’m hoping the Agility integration – which is open source – can serve as an example for others on best practices here. As for Create, we’re working with Netlify closely on an Agility solution that brings the best of both platforms to the forefront.”I asked Varty about the reaction from Agility’s partners and customers, and if any feedback had emerged during the beta phase of the connector’s development. It’s clear that it’s still early days, but he’s bullish about the potential – and Agility is gearing up to support its channels with the right resources, including additional web frameworks that are amplifying site performance.“We’re actually working on updates to our reference solutions for <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/nextjs">Next.js</a> to provide examples for our partners to get started with this, as well as new starters for <a target="_blank" href="https://remix.run/">Remix</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://astro.build/">Astro</a>,” he explained. “There’s been a ton of requests for those updated starters, so we’re expecting lots of folks will either migrate existing solutions there, or use these references packages on new solutions and rebuilds."<h3 id="why-it-matters">Why it matters</h3>As many vendors look for terra firma in a rapidly evolving marketplace, alliances are being forged up and down the stack to deliver greater value. For headless CMSs facing an increasingly competitive and commoditized ecosystem of offerings, intangibles like MACH Alliance certification are helping to up the ante and create differentiation.Still, the biggest challenge is the buyer. While the addressable US market looks more promising in 2024, enterprises are focusing on optimization – vis-à-vis speed and performance – to enhance the customer experience and improve outcomes. They’re also impeded by a growing cache of data and content sources from a myriad of places, including legacy systems, that must be harmonized. Agility’s headless features and novel layout capabilities are a boon to teams, but the Netlify Connect integration gives them an edge in addressing the “many data sources” conundrum that Varty referenced, helping to further optimize and accelerate access to data. This also gives organizations greater choice and flexibility as they expand their digital strategies.  <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-conferences">Upcoming conferences</h3> <img style="width:29.67%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-connect-2024-logo.png" alt="CMS Connect 24 logo" /><h4 id="cms-connect-24"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect24">CMS Connect 24</a></h4>August 6-7, 2024 – Montreal, CanadaWe are delighted to present our first annual summer edition of our prestigious international conference dedicated to the global content management community. Join us this August in Montreal, Canada, for a vendor-neutral conference focused on CMS. Tired of impersonal and overwhelming gatherings? Picture this event as a unique blend of masterclasses, insightful talks, interactive discussions, impactful learning sessions, and authentic networking opportunities. <img style="width:29.58%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-kickoff-2025-logo.png" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-25"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff25/tickets">CMS Kickoff 25</a></h4>January 14-15, 2025 – Tampa Bay Area, FloridaJoin us next January in the Tampa Bay area of Florida for the third annual CMS Kickoff – the industry's premier global event. Similar to a traditional kickoff, we reflect on recent trends and share stories from the frontlines. Additionally, we will delve into the current happenings and shed light on the future. Prepare for an unparalleled in-person CMS conference experience that will equip you to move things forward. This is an exclusive event – space is limited, so secure your tickets today.

Agility CMS and Netlify Connect Launch New Unified Content Integration Solution

<hr /> There's no question that <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/netlify">Netlify</a> can “amplify” how brands build, deploy, and scale their apps. Since 2014, it's been one of the leading platforms for running modern <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/top-jamstack-static-site-generators-for-2021">Jamstack</a> web applications in production. Developers love it because it's powerful yet simple, making it easy to integrate their choice of tools and collaborate with their teams in a more composable world.Now, the renowned cloud computing and hosting platform is partnering with <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/crownpeak">Crownpeak</a> – a digital experience platform (DXP) solutions provider – to empower businesses to deliver exceptional digital experiences effortlessly.Here's how: Crownpeak and Netlify will offer an end-to-end web development and deployment solution with accessible, optimized content at its core. Leveraging Crownpeak's DXP solutions, teams will be empowered to rapidly create and distribute compliant, personalized content across digital touchpoints. Meanwhile, Netlify will effectively “supercharge” the development process to support customer engagement and conversion through lightning-fast speeds and reliable web performances."Crownpeak and Netlify are joining forces to empower businesses to deliver exceptional digital experiences that drive growth and engagement," said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/christoph-feddersen-218388a/">Christoph Feddersen</a>, VP of Technical Product Management at Crownpeak. "Our partnership reflects our shared commitment to simplifying digital experience management and hosting while fostering a composable approach for enterprise organizations to build powerful digital experience platforms."<h3>Powering content with innovative web hosting and deployment</h3>Over the years, Crownpeak has built a strong reputation in <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">web content management</a> and digital experience solutions. A globally recognized player, the company continues to chart on the <a target="_blank" href="https://wire19.com/digital-experience-platform-vendors/">Gartner Magic Quadrant for DXPs</a> in a leading position amongst Niche players. With a focus on enabling organizations to create, manage, and optimize content across various digital channels, Crownpeak has proven itself a trusted partner for enterprises worldwide.Netlify, on the other hand, has revolutionized web hosting and deployment, offering an all-in-one solution that simplifies the process of building and delivering modern web projects. Its global content delivery network (CDN), serverless functions, and continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) capabilities have made it a go-to option for developers seeking efficiency and scalability.The partnership between Crownpeak and Netlify represents a convergence of strengths. Together, they aim to provide businesses with the tools and capabilities to enhance digital experiences and drive engagement across the web. From a technology integration perspective, Crownpeak's CMS – <a target="_blank" href="https://community.crownpeak.com/t5/FirstSpirit/ct-p/FirstSpirit">FirstSpirit</a> – seamlessly integrates with Netlify's hosting and deployment platform, enabling businesses to manage content, deliver personalized experiences, and deploy web projects more efficiently. Bolstered by Netlify, FirstSpirit ensures websites and applications can handle traffic spikes while maintaining fast load times and low latency. Both companies also prioritize security and compliance, providing customers with robust protection for their digital assets and customer data.In addition, the new partnership streamlines the development and deployment process, allowing users to harness the combined capabilities of Crownpeak and Netlify – resulting in faster time-to-market for digital initiatives. Businesses can also leverage Crownpeak's personalization and optimization features alongside Netlify's CDN, delivering optimized website performance and better user experiences. <h3>Future-proofing for composability</h3>Crownpeak and Netlify share a common vision for a <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/the-future-is-composable-a-conversation-with-new-mach-alliance-president-casper-rasmussen">composable future</a> – one where developers and marketers alike enjoy unmatched agility when bringing unique customer experiences to market. Netlify also met and exceeded several requirements Crownpeak was looking for in a progressive web app (PWA) development and deployment infrastructure.By harnessing the combined strengths of Crownpeak and Netlify, organizations can innovate at the speed of the business with unmatched flexibility rooted in its <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/top-free-headless-cms-platforms">headless</a> approach. Brands can deliver consistent, high-performing experiences, no matter the customer’s channel or location. "We're excited to partner with Crownpeak to bring together our composable web platform with their content management solution," said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenvlarsen/">Steven Larsen</a>, VP of Partnerships and Ecosystems at Netlify. “Together, we're enabling businesses to create, deploy, and scale their digital projects with ease, ensuring they can deliver the exceptional experiences their customers expect.”The two also provide a future-proof, scalable architecture, enabling teams to create content once and repurpose it for any channel on an infrastructure that meets your growth, traffic, and performance demands. The combined solutions unify cross-functional teams on automated workflows – with all your integrations and APIs together on one powerful, serverless platform.

Crownpeak and Netlify Partner to Combine Web Platform Features with DXP Solutions

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<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

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

Wix Headless Offers Developers Composable, API-First Solutions

Wix logo with image of a headless man's torso and floating bowler hat

CMS Summit 25

Find out at CMS Connect 25, August 5 - 6 in Montreal, Canada. Seats are limited.

CMS. Content. AI. Where is it all headed?

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<a href="https://www.netlify.com/" target="_blank">Netlify</a> has netted another competitive catch.
The leading web development platform announced today that it has acquired Gatsby Inc., provider of an advanced cloud platform for web delivery and content orchestration. It's also the company behind the popular open source framework <a href="https://www.gatsbyjs.org/" target="_blank">Gatsby</a>, a static site generator built on top of Node.js using React and <a href="https://graphql.org/" target="_blank">GraphQL</a>.
The San Francisco-based startup has been something of a wunderkind in the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-jamstack-static-site-generators-for-2021/">Jamstack</a> space and the toast of the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-free-headless-cms-platforms/">headless CMS</a> community. In addition to a strong initial round of funding, Gatsby most recently closed on a <a href="https://www.gatsbyjs.com/blog/2020-05-27-announcing-series-b-funding/" target="_blank">$28 million Series B</a> in 2020 to grow its offerings. That said, Gatsby has been trailing behind its larger former rival, which pioneered the space and has been doubling down on composable – as signaled by its membership in the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/the-future-is-composable-a-conversation-with-new-mach-alliance-president-casper-rasmussen/">MACH Alliance</a>. 
The acquisition of Gatsby is Netlify’s latest move to support its vision of empowering developers at companies such as <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/twilio-acquires-segment-for-3-2b-adds-market-leading-cdp-for-building-data-driven-apps/">Twilio</a>, Mattel, and Verizon to build a better web and comes on the heels of surpassing 3M+ developers on the Netlify platform.
“The future of the web is composable architectures," said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathias-biilmann-christensen-a5a3805/" target="_blank">Matt Biilmann</a>, CEO of Netlify. "The acquisition of Gatsby not only accelerates our product roadmap, but more importantly, allows us to provide developers with increased flexibility and choice in building composable web experiences. We’re excited to integrate Gatsby’s cloud innovations into the Netlify platform and open up Gatsby’s content hub and source plugin ecosystem to the diverse world of modern frontend frameworks like Astro, Next, and Remix.”
<h2>The rise of "The Great Gatsby"</h2>
Gatsby first became known for its high-performance, open source, frontend framework that featured a powerful data layer and an ecosystem of high-quality content management system (CMS) plugins. On top of the framework, Gatsby built a cloud platform for building, deploying, and previewing large enterprise content sites and has since been growing revenue at more than 100% year-over-year.
To keep the power in the hands of developers and honor its deep roots in open source, Netlify is committed to being good stewards of the Gatsby open-source project, and the maintainers will join the open source group together with the creators of frameworks like Solid JS and <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-jamstack-static-site-generators-for-2021/">Eleventy</a>.
Gatsby’s source plugin ecosystem – originally targeted primarily to content management systems – is also accessible to any data source that exposes an API (such as e-commerce systems like <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>), enabling teams to easily adopt composable architectures without having to write glue code. The company has been working closely with partners and enterprise customers to deliver the new <a href="https://www.gatsbyjs.com/products/valhalla-content-hub/" target="_blank">Valhalla Content Hub</a>, which builds upon their data layer and delivers a hosted, fault-tolerant, edge-first <a href="https://graphql.org/" target="_blank">GraphQL API</a>.
“After years of partnering with Netlify, we are thrilled to join forces,” said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/zurlocker/" target="_blank">Zack Urlocker</a>, CEO of Gatsby. “We share a belief in the future of composable architecture, and together, we will better be able to bring our cloud solution to enterprise teams and accelerate the adoption of composable.”
<h2>Additional Resources</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.netlify.com/enterprise/" target="_blank">Netlify for enterprises</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.netlify.com/careers/" target="_blank">Learn about careers at Netlify</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.netlify.com/jamstack/" target="_blank">Learn about Jamstack</a></li>
</ul>
<h2>About Netlify</h2>
Netlify is the platform your developers love for building 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. As pioneers of the Jamstack movement, Netlify brings together all modern web frameworks, serverless functions and edge computing into one platform to deliver unmatched user experiences. Millions of developers and businesses build with Netlify, from Fortune 500 companies like Unilever and Verizon to companies changing our digital experiences like Peloton and Twilio. Get started for free at <a href="https://www.netlify.com/enterprise/" target="_blank">netlify.com</a>.
<h2>About Gatsby</h2>
Gatsby is a web development framework that brings together all the best, modern ways to build on the web. Specifically designed to help frontend engineers leverage the advantages of cloud native architecture, Gatsby provides the most collaborative, secure, and performant way to build websites with access to a broad ecosystem of tools and enhancements via easy to setup integrations. Used by Fortune 500 companies including ButcherBox, Capital One, DraftKings, IBM, and Impossible Foods, the company is backed by Index Ventures, CRV, Trinity Ventures, Dig Ventures, Mango Capital, Fathom Capital, and prominent angel investors.

Netlify Acquires Gatsby, Aims to Accelerate Adoption of Composable Web Architectures

The "Muskavation" of <a href="https://twitter.com/cmscritic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a> continues, and the social media giant's newly anointed King is forcing many tech companies to reassess their remote work strategies.
Could this mean the end of <a href="https://zoom.us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Zoom</a> calls in pajamas and board meetings interrupted by cats?
And who, exactly, is resuming their commute back to the office?
While the remote work phenomenon might be in the rearview for many employees, it seems that developers will continue to drive the trend – and even shape its future. This is according to a recent survey published by <a href="https://www.netlify.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Netlify</a>, a buzzworthy platform that's powering modern web development.
The company announced the findings last week from its third annual <a href="https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3700082-1&amp;h=3410126094&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fjamstack.org%2Fsurvey%2F2022%2F&amp;a=%C2%A0Jamstack+Community+Survey" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Jamstack Community Survey</a>, the definitive pulse on global trends across the Jamstack web developer ecosystem. An acronym for Javascript, APIs, and Microservices (the "JAM"), <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-jamstack-static-site-generators-for-2021/">Jamstack</a> is an architectural model that decouples the web experience layer from the data and business logic – improving the flexibility, scalability, performance, and maintainability of modern apps. 
"The Jamstack Community Survey is created by the community, for the community," said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathias-biilmann-christensen-a5a3805/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Matt Biilmann</a>, co-founder and CEO of Netlify. "The findings will not only help developers learn from their peers but also help business leaders better understand how developers can be change makers within their organizations. They can learn about what tools and processes they need to be most impactful."
Along with prognosticating the future of remote work, the survey also revealed interesting data from developers about Web3, the growth of serverless and edge computing, and where content management systems fit in the mix.
<h2>For developers, remote work isn't going away </h2>
As Covid-19 lockdowns become a footnote in recent history, the impact of remote work is undeniable. In the last two years, it has cemented itself as "the new normal." 83% of developers claim to be working more than half the time remotely, while 76% say they've maintained or increased their frequency of working remotely in the last year.
What's clear in the survey results is that remote has become the preferred way of working for developers. In fact, 87% say they enjoy remote work – and an astounding 55% said they would quit their jobs if forced to return to an office. Someone should send Musk the memo. 
According to the survey, 33% of respondents have already changed jobs in the last year, increasing the likelihood that developers will not hesitate to "job-hop" if they need to. It's worth noting that remote work flexibility and career growth opportunities were the most frequently cited reasons for leaving a job, followed by compensation.
Clearly, developers value freedom a little more than finances. At least right now. 
<h2>Web3 hope... or hype?</h2>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Web3</a> has captured the tech zeitgeist throughout 2022, with <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-18/bitcoin-responds-to-ftx-contagion-by-heading-for-a-weekly-gain" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bitcoin</a> starting the year at around $50,000 to the beleaguered <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/15/ftx-says-could-have-over-1-million-creditors-in-new-bankruptcy-filing.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FTX exchange just declaring bankruptcy</a>. 
While the concept of a new web composed of decentralized blockchains (DeFi) is intriguing, Web3 has also been the target of mistrust and skepticism. According to the survey, 7% to 10% of developers have tried technologies like cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), but only 3% report using them regularly.
To help gauge the hope and the hype for the future, Netlify also asked developers to share their general attitudes toward Web3. The findings were mixed: 42% of developers either don't know what Web3 is (or don't care), while 31% had negative feelings about it.
Bottom line: the survey shows that Web3 is still a long way from mass adoption, and developers continue to be slow and cautious about embracing it. 
<h2>Building better web experiences with serverless and edge </h2>
Jamstack is continuing to evolve the modern web by helping developers build more dynamic websites. Developers are relying on cutting-edge cloud technologies to achieve this, including <a href="https://goserverless.solodev.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">serverless computing</a>.
To that end, Netlify's 2022 Jamstack report found that serverless is now officially mainstream: 70% of developers report using it, up from 46% last year – a jaw-dropping adoption rate. Meanwhile, some 47% of developers are experimenting with edge dynamic sites, a sign of the continued innovation happening at the network edge.
Serverless technology is enabling Jamstack websites to grow their capabilities while maintaining the simplicity of development and deployment that is the hallmark of the platform.
<h2>Web frameworks and programming languages </h2>
To build dynamic web apps, developers require flexibility. They want to choose whichever web framework best suits their needs, and they now have plenty to choose from.
Among the landscape of options, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/uxpin-merge-review-sync-react-components-with-prototypes/">React</a> continues to be the overwhelming favorite, with 71% of developers reporting they build with it – 3% more than last year.
Riding React's popularity is <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-jamstack-static-site-generators-for-2021/">Next.js</a>, which uses React and is the overall most popular web framework. In fact, 1 in 2 developers (47%) say they have built sites using Next.js in the last year. However, competition remains strong: newer entrants like Astro (11%) and SolidJS (6%) have had promising starts, and Remix (10%) and Sveltekit (15%) have grown steadily year over year. Vite saw an 18% increase since 2021, with a third (32%) of developers using it.
"We're thrilled that a third of the Jamstack community is embracing Vite as they build for the modern web," said Matias Capeletto (aka Patak), from the Vite Core Team. "Vite's usage more than doubled in a year, thanks to being adopted by many modern app frameworks and web tools. The pace of innovation continues to accelerate. Vite's Rollup-based Plugin API allows the ecosystem to share solutions and collaborate in ways we haven't seen before."
Regarding programming language preferences, the great <a href="https://www.typescriptlang.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TypeScript</a> migration continues, with usage growing 110% in the last two years. 21% of developers now call TypeScript their primary programming language, while the number of developers who say the same about JavaScript has dropped from 63% to 53% in the same timeframe. However, JavaScript isn't going anywhere soon: 96% of developers say they use it, even if it isn't their primary choice.
<h2>The CMS of choice is still WordPress, but... </h2>
In the world of Content Management Systems (CMS), things continue to evolve. <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/wordpress-keeps-classical-editor-alive-acquires-frontity-to-expand-headless-capabilities/">WordPress</a> is still by far the biggest winner, with 37% of devs saying they use it – even though their reported satisfaction with it is lower than many alternatives.
Interestingly, WordPress as a stand-alone CMS is losing share. At the same time, 22% of respondents said that they're using WordPress as a headless API to power a Jamstack website – and that number is growing.
<a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/storybloks-cms-report-shows-enterprises-are-still-scared-of-omnichannel-content-experiences/">Storyblok</a>, a newcomer to the survey, reached 9% usage amongst respondents, a strong showing for the up-and-coming <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-free-headless-cms-platforms/">headless CMS</a>. 
"More and more developers realize the potential of headless architecture in building and deploying better web experiences," said Dominik Angerer, CEO and founder of Storyblok. "At the same time, we believe that the content team utilizing the power of Jamstack with a headless CMS like Storyblok gets the content tools they need and love for creating great experiences on the frontend."
To explore the findings in more detail, you can view the <a href="https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3700082-1&amp;h=4098052836&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fjamstack.org%2Fsurvey%2F2022%2F&amp;a=full+methodology+of+the+survey" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">full methodology of the survey</a>.
<h2 class="wcag-arialevel-3">About Netlify</h2>
Netlify is the platform your developers love for building 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. As pioneers of the Jamstack movement, Netlify brings together all modern web frameworks, serverless functions and edge computing into one platform to deliver unmatched user experiences. Millions of developers and businesses build with Netlify, from Fortune 500 companies like Unilever and Verizon to companies changing our digital experiences like Peloton and Twilio. Get started for free at <a href="https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3700082-1&amp;h=2291442546&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.netlify.com%2F&amp;a=netlify.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">netlify.com</a>.

Netlify Publishes Jamstack Community Survey, Shows Developers are Driving the Future of Remote Work

Image of the Netlify logo with the icon and text against a dark blue background.

<a href="https://www.netlify.com/" target="_blank">Netlify</a>, a modern hosting and development platform for web applications and static websites, <a href="https://www.netlify.com/blog/announcing-headless-commerce-summit-2022" target="_blank">announced</a> its third annual Headless Commerce Summit in London on May 23-24, 2022. The big news: this year's event will be live and in-person. But even if you can't make it in the realverse, you can also <a href="https://headlesscommercesummit.com/" target="_blank">register for free</a> and attend virtually. 
The Headless Commerce Summit will take a deep dive into the fast-growing <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-headless-commerce-platforms/#:~:text=Headless%20Content%20Management%20Systems%20(CMS,and%20services%20in%20digital%20storefronts.">headless commerce</a> ecosystem. Featured speakers – including digital leaders, web development experts, and top agencies – will share real-world case studies of how the headless commerce model has transformed their organizations. They will also provide tactical advice about building world-class e-commerce sites using a headless architecture.
Netlify was an early advocate of separating frontend design from backend business processes. By unifying the elements of the modern decoupled web, Netlify enables a 10X faster path to more secure and scalable websites and apps. 
As further evidence of the company's drive towards a composable, API-first future, Netlify <a href="https://machalliance.org/newsroom/mach-alliance-announces-mongodb-and-netlify-as-first-members-of-new-enabler-category" target="_blank">joined the MACH Alliance</a> as one of the first members of the organization's new "Enabler" category.
<h2>Headless Commerce: e-commerce on the Jamstack</h2>
So, what exactly is this headless commerce thing? We'll cover it at a high level below, but <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-headless-commerce-platforms/">we've got a great article</a> that goes deeper – and includes some of the top platforms on the market. 
Headless commerce is an architectural approach where, much like <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-free-headless-cms-platforms/" target="_blank">headless CMS platforms</a>, the frontend "head" is separated from the backend "body." Content in a headless platform is delivered through APIs, displaying it across different devices and endpoints. A headless architecture enables teams to build and deploy faster, increase conversions, and differentiate their brand by decoupling backend services such as product information from the frontend experience.
<img style="max-width:555px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/10/headless-commerce-platform-digital-experience-platform.png" alt="headless commerce platform-digital experience platform diagram" />
 
<a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-jamstack-static-site-generators-for-2021/">Jamstack</a> is a modern web architecture pioneered specifically as a companion to headless backend systems. It focuses on three core components: Javascript, APIs, and Markup (the "Jam" in Jamstack). For commerce companies, the benefits of a Jamstack architecture can include improved personalization and customer experience, better site performance, and the ability to iterate faster.
Originally coined in 2015 by Mathias Biilmann, CEO of Netlify, Jamstack has changed the trajectory of the web. Jamstack technologies provide nearly limitless choices to developers for designing rich customer experiences in web applications. Netlify unites different services to deliver MACH solutions, making it an ideal fit as an Enabler within the organization's ranks – delivering the workflow, expertise, and choice of tools for building solutions that reflect the MACH principles. 
<h2>Speaker lineup</h2>
At the upcoming event, speakers will discuss risks, concerns, and opportunities that commerce teams face today and use real-world case studies and stats to share best practices for shifting to and operating a headless commerce site using the latest technology. Sessions will explore modern headless journeys of famous brands, including <a href="https://www.prettylitter.com/" target="_blank">PrettyLitter</a>, <a href="https://en-us.sennheiser.com/" target="_blank">Sennheiser</a>, and others – including a noteworthy session given by  <a href="https://www.bigcommerce.com/" target="_blank">BigCommerce</a>, <a href="https://www.akqa.com/" target="_blank">AKQA</a>, and Netlify on "The Business Case for Headless Commerce."
Here are a few of the speakers on the agenda:
<ul>
<li>Chris Bach – co-founder, Chief Strategy and Creative Officer, Netlify: "The Rise of Composable Commerce"</li>
<li>Debbie Ellison – Chief Digital Officer, VMLY&amp;R Commerce: "The Future of Brands"</li>
<li>Steve Jenkins – Tech Lead, Tile: "How Tile's Migration to Headless with Netlify Enabled them to Customise the Customer Experience"</li>
<li>Nicolas Le Pallec – Executive Technology Director, Europe, AKQA: "Sennheiser's Large-Scale Migration to Headless Commerce"</li>
<li>Massimo Pegoraro – Technical Director, Atoms Studio: "How Salvatori Internationalised Their E-Commerce Store with Headless Commerce”</li>
</ul>
The Headless Commerce Summit is designed for anyone interested in building or learning about the future of e-commerce. Netlify will be joined by a number of industry-leading sponsors including Algolia, BetterCommerce, Builder.io, Commerce Layer, commercetools, Crystallize, Kin+Carta, Last Rev, Magnolia, Shogun, Storyblok, Swell, and Uniform.
You can register for the event at <a href="https://headlesscommercesummit.com/?utm_source=press-release&amp;utm_medium=press&amp;utm_campaign=hcs" target="_blank">headlesscommercesummit.com</a>. Also, if you're curious about what to expect from this year's shindig, you can check out a summary of <a href="https://www.netlify.com/blog/2021/06/16/e-commerce-jamstack-stories-from-headless-commerce-summit-2021/" target="_blank">the 2021 Summit.</a>
<h2>About Netlify</h2>
Netlify is the platform for building highly-performant and dynamic websites, e-Commerce stores, and applications. By uniting an extensive ecosystem of technologies, services, and APIs into one workflow, Netlify unlocks new team productivity levels while saving time and money while improving sustainability. 
As pioneers of the Jamstack movement, Netlify brings together all modern web frameworks, serverless functions, and edge computing into one platform to deliver unmatched user experiences. Millions of developers and businesses build with Netlify, from Fortune 500 companies like Unilever and Verizon to companies changing our digital experiences like Peloton and Twilio.

Netlify to Host Headless Commerce Summit for Talks on Building World-Class E-Commerce Experiences

paris-tuzun

Netlify Headless Commerce Summit featured image

It would be impossible to cover any news this month without acknowledging <a href="https://www.economist.com/ukraine-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the crisis in Ukraine</a>. 
As many CMS and DXP vendors rely on the incredible talent and resources of the people in this region, the events of the last few weeks have hit especially close to home. Even as we publish our February recap, things continue to unfold – and our hearts go out to the people of this magnificent country.
Of course, this tragedy is evolving just as many countries are emerging from the worst of the <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare-systems-and-services/our-insights/when-will-the-covid-19-pandemic-end" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Covid-19 pandemic</a>, with many businesses poised for a return to normalcy (what that looks like still remains to be seen). Still, the lasting impact of the omnichannel revolution is being felt across all digital transformation strategies, giving way to more headless, composable, API-driven solutions as companies plan for a more digital future.
When it comes to movers and shakers, 2022 is starting much the same way as 2021: with big investments.
<a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/bloomreach-reaches-2-2-billion-valuation-following-175-million-investment-from-goldman-sachs/">Bloomreach</a>, a leading content and search platform focused on commerce, announced a $175 million round of funding – exploding its valuation to $2.2 billion. <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/elastic-path-secures-60m-in-funding-for-composable-commerce-growth/">Elastic Path</a> also made waves by securing $60 million in financing to grow its composable commerce solutions. We also saw <a href="https://www.pymnts.com/acquisitions/2022/ecommerce-platform-bigcommerce-acquires-software-firm-b2b-ninja/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BigCommerce</a> purchase B2B Ninja, an e-commerce platform, in an effort to energize quoting and other commerce services in their ecosystem. (Hint: we have more investment news below...)
As always, we try to recap some of the news you might have missed this month. There's a lot happening across our industry, and on a brighter note, we'll be announcing the winners of the CMS Critic Awards next week – both the People's Choice and Editor's Choice categories. We had a lot of great engagement over the last month across our social channels, and we're looking forward to sharing the results. 
<h2>Twilio Segment releases its 2022 CDP Report, finds CDPs booming as businesses look beyond cookies</h2>
We're all asking the same question: what happens to data in a post-cookie world?
Segment – a leading customer data platform (CDP) purchased by Twilio<a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/twilio-acquires-segment-for-3-2b-adds-market-leading-cdp-for-building-data-driven-apps/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> in November of 2020</a> – is helping to shed some light on that query with the release of its third annual <a href="https://segment.com/the-cdp-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Customer Data Platform Report </a>(CDP).
Based on anonymized platform usage data of Segment's 25,000+ customers between 11/1/2020 to 11/1/2021, the report finds aggressive adoption of CDPs over the past year as businesses build digital-first customer engagement strategies and reduce their reliance on third-party data. 
Covid-19 shifted consumer behavior on a number of levels. In response, organizations changed how they interacted with their customers. As more digital engagements ensued, so too did the amount of data being generated. This spurred an explosive demand for CDP layers, particularly as it related to the broader CMS and DXP ecosystems.
Along with the unimaginable growth in data, the volume of API calls has also skyrocketed. <a href="https://www.postman.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Postman</a> – a leading application platform for API testing – conducted a <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/postman-releases-2021-state-of-the-api-report-shows-global-trend-towards-api-first-digital-era/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">survey</a> last year that showed the world is moving to an "API-first era" as integrations and endpoints expand exponentially. As an example, the API calls through Segment have been growing steadily year-over-year since 2017, but 2020-2021 was an inflection point – with API calls in their system reaching over 1 trillion per month. 
Another reason CDP popularity has rapidly exploded is the impending "death" of third-party data. With increasing privacy regulations and the shift to a cookieless future across apps and browsers, businesses are embracing first-party data as a focal point. 
Segment's findings validate that customer data has become an integral part of how organizations are powering their digital experiences. The report also lists 2021's fastest-growing apps. For more details, you can access the full report at: <a href="https://segment.com/the-cdp-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://segment.com/the-cdp-report</a>.
<h2>Headless commerce provider fabric announces $140 Million Series C funding led by SoftBank</h2>
<a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-headless-commerce-platforms/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fabric</a>, the fast-growing headless commerce platform, announced the closing of a Series C funding round of $140M led by Softbank, with participation from Forerunner Ventures, Glynn Capital, and existing investors Redpoint Ventures Norwest Ventures, and Stripes. 
This latest round of funding closes a mere 219 days after its Series B – and now positions fabric's value at approximately $1.5B.
"Retailers need to meet modern consumers wherever they are – whether online, offline, mobile, social, or any future entry point. This means merchants of all sizes, and especially mid-market and enterprise, need the right commerce platform to keep pace with evolving trends," said Robert Kaplan, Investment Director at SoftBank Investment Advisers. "We believe that fabric has built the industry's best API-first modular commerce platform and accompanying commerce applications to give merchants unrivaled power and flexibility, all in a manner that reduces the pain of migrating over from legacy, outdated commerce platforms."
Funds from the Series C round will be utilized for accelerating product development largely through automation and intelligence and geographic expansion. 
<h2>Netlify announces Netlify Graph: A faster way for teams to develop web apps with APIs</h2>
Netlify, a Git-powered static site generator and headless CMS that's all the rage in the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-jamstack-static-site-generators-for-2021/">Jamstack</a> community, has <a href="https://www.netlify.com/blog/announcing-netlify-graph-a-faster-way-for-teams-to-develop-web-apps-with-apis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced Netlify Graph:</a> a GraphQL-powered experience designed to help developers build interactive and connected web applications faster.
The shift to API-first development has created an ecosystem where apps are modular and reusable. While the API-first approach is developer-friendly, it has also introduced new complexities such as discovering, securing, learning, and governing APIs. Netlify's Graph is designed to make this experience easier for developers, allowing them to use APIs without writing undifferentiated glue code, learning every API's unique structure, or composing endless amounts of endpoints to get data from various APIs into your app.
Netlify Graph is in public beta and available globally. It starts with a catalog that includes some of the most frequently requested APIs that development teams use, such as GitHub, Stripe, and Salesforce. The company plans to add more in the coming months. The Netlify Graph beta is available to all Netlify users and can be accessed from your <a href="https://app.netlify.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Netlify team dashboard</a>. Once logged in, simply select "Graph" from your Netlify site dashboard menu.
To learn more, head over to the <a href="https://github.com/netlify/labs/tree/main/features/graph/documentation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Netlify Graph docs.</a>
<h2>BigCommerce acquires B2B Ninja to make online selling easier for B2B merchants</h2>
<a href="https://www.bigcommerce.com/?utm_source=Business+Wire&amp;utm_medium=press+release&amp;utm_campaign=BigCommerce+Invests+in+Becoming+World%E2%80%99s+Most+Powerful+B2B+Ecommerce+Platform+with+Acquisition+of+B2B+Ninja" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BigCommerce</a>, a leading cloud e-commerce platform, <a href="https://www.bigcommerce.com/press/releases/bigcommerce-invests-in-becoming-worlds-most-powerful-b2b-ecommerce-platform-with-acquisition-of-b2b-ninja/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> the acquisition of <a href="https://www.b2bninja.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">B2B Ninja</a> (formerly Quote Ninja) – an enterprise software solution that provides leading business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce capabilities for merchants of all sizes.
<a href="https://www.forrester.com/playbook/The+B2B+eCommerce+Playbook+For+2018/-/E-PLA370" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to Forrester</a>, U.S. B2B e-commerce transactions are expected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2023. This is creating a groundswell of opportunity for e-commerce platform providers to deliver focused solutions to this segment of the market. A longtime BigCommerce partner, B2B Ninja brings its best-in-class quoting solution to help streamline transactions by delivering powerful e-commerce functionality to B2B merchants.
"B2B Ninja is an excellent addition to our already strong B2B capabilities," said Brent Bellm, CEO of BigCommerce. "Complementing our recent launch of B2B Edition, this is the next big step in providing a platform that is easier to use and faster than legacy B2B solutions and more flexible and powerful than other SaaS platforms. We continue to invest in ways that make BigCommerce the best platform for merchants of all sizes regardless of who or where their customers are or where merchants are selling."
B2B Ninja is available to any BigCommerce merchant on any plan to enhance the customer experience and easily manage quotes online.

CMS Monthly Recap: Big Investment News, Segment Releases 2022 CDP Report, Netlify Graph Launches and More

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