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From Accessibility to AI and Beyond: Five Key Takeaways from Acquia Engage Boston

matt-garrepy

<hr /> “I feel the need… the need for speed…”It's not easy earning “Top Gun” status in the website performance game. But <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/zengenti-expands-focus-on-higher-education-brings-contensis-cms-to-heriot-watt-university">Zengenti</a>, the pilots behind <a target="_blank" href="https://www.contensis.com/">Contensis CMS</a>, know exactly which industries and organizations flew higher – and faster – in 2023.The company just rolled out its annual “<a target="_blank" href="https://www.contensis.com/content/ftse-2023-report?pr=&amp;utm_source=Press+release&amp;utm_medium=Organic&amp;utm_id=FTSE2023">Big Players, Slow Web Pages</a>” campaign, which analyzed all <a target="_blank" href="https://www.londonstockexchange.com/indices/ftse-100">FTSE 100 and 250</a> homepages to determine which industries and organizations had the best online presence this year – and which lagged.But there's more to it than speed, Maverick. Zengenti's rubric also included the average accessibility score, providing a well-rounded review of the overall “flight performance” of each contender. So who has bragging rights in this year's showdown? Strap in – and keep reading. <h3>Utilities rise while media falls</h3>In a dramatic swing from <a target="_blank" href="https://www.contensis.com/community/blog/ftse-website-performance">last year's</a> rankings, Zengenti's research shows that the Utilities sector delivered the best website performance across the FTSE 100 and 250 sites, climbing 12 places with an overall score of 269.  That's a big shift from 2022, when Media and Publishing took the top spot. This year, the former leader fell 14 places, putting it in the bottom three of 2023’s rankings with an overall score of 234. Despite the major swap for the crown, the race at the top was tight – with Utilities narrowly outperforming the Sports and Entertainment industry in second place with a score of 268, and the Food and Beverage sector in third with a score of 261. <h3>How was the research conducted?</h3>For this year's website performance analysis, the Zengenti team examined the overall performance, accessibility, and speed scores for each of the FTSE 100 and 250 companies. The results were tabulated and averages were calculated for each sector. The complete list of the performance results based on industry can be found in the league table below. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.contensis.com/content/ftse-2023-report?pr=&amp;utm_source=Press+release&amp;utm_medium=Organic&amp;utm_id=FTSE2023">Click here</a> for more details:<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:72.4%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/12/zengenti-performance-table-b.png" /></figure><h3>The urgency to improve website performance, speed, and accessibility</h3>“This research shows how important it is to pay attention to and maintain your business’ website performance," said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-chivers-34a36b11/">Richard Chivers</a>, co-founder of Contensis and chief executive officer of Zengenti. “Last year, Media and Publishing topped the list, yet the industry has fallen a staggering 14 places to the bottom three in this year’s ranking.”As Chivers noted, if a company's website doesn't load quickly or is inaccessible, it will inevitably lose engagement and sales – and the lack of performance can potentially damage a brand or organization's reputation in the process. For FTSE 100 and 250 companies, this could have a critical impact.  But getting things right isn't just important for business performance – it's also key to delivering digital equality for all users. “At Zengenti, we’ve always been a big advocate for improving online accessibility,” Chivers explained. “We work closely with the Digital Accessibility Centre (<a target="_blank" href="https://digitalaccessibilitycentre.org/">DAC</a>) to ensure our clients’ sites meet and go beyond accessibility requirements.” According to Chivers, the company's research shows that many industries still have significant room for improvement, specifically around accessibility. One in particular that he pointed out: Travel, Hospitality and Leisure, which scored near the bottom of the pack. With the DAC revealing that 90% of disabled users click away from a website rather than report accessibility issues in 2023, he said there's no excuse not to improve. “As leaders in their sectors, FTSE 100 and 250 companies have a real opportunity to lead the conversation and ensure online accessibility becomes an integral part of website performance in every industry.”You can learn more about the importance of online accessibility and view the top five FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 performers on the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.contensis.com/content/ftse-2023-report?pr=&amp;utm_source=Press+release&amp;utm_medium=Organic&amp;utm_id=FTSE2023">company's website</a>.  <hr /><figure class="image"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/11/cms-kickoff-2024-banner.jpg" /></figure><h3>Join us at CMS Kickoff 2024 - January 16-17</h3>CMS Critic is a proud conference partner at this second annual edition of the prestigious international Boye &amp; Co conference, dedicated to the global CMS community. This event will bring together top-notch speakers, Boye &amp; Company's renowned learning format, and engaging social events.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. Prepare for an unparalleled in-person CMS conference experience that will equip you to move forward in 2024. Hear from leading voices across the industry on a wide range of topics, including:<ul><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/speakers/andrew-kumar">Andrew Kumar</a>, GVP at Uniform</li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/speakers/becky-brown">Becky Brown</a>, Content Strategy Lead at Johnson &amp; Johnson</li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/speakers/marli-mesibov">Marli Mesibov</a>, Content Strategy at Verily</li></ul><h4> </h4><img style="width:39.13%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/11/don-cesar-hotel.jpg" /><h4>The Don CeSar: a world-class venue</h4>Is there a better location for a winter kickoff than Florida's beautiful, sugary sand beaches? CMS Kickoff 2024 will be held at the iconic Don CeSar, just steps from the Gulf of Mexico. Dubbed the “Pink Palace,” this majestic hotel and resort provides a stunning backdrop to the conference, along with access to the local food and culture of St. Petersburg Beach.  <h4>Get your tickets today</h4>CMS Kickoff offers an intimate, highly focused experience. Space is limited, and only a few seats remain. Don't miss this exclusive opportunity!<a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff24/tickets">Purchase tickets now &gt;</a>

Which industries on the FTSE have the best-performing websites in 2023? You might be surprised

cms-critic-staff

<hr /> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.crownpeak.com/homepage/">Crownpeak</a> is unwrapping an early gift this holiday season: a dynamo CEO who's ready to tackle growth in 2024. The digital experience platform (DXP) just announced that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuel-monti-159aa03/">Samuel Monti</a> – a seasoned industry veteran and former CFO of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.epicor.com/en-us/">Epicor Software</a> – has assumed the mantle as Chief Executive Officer. The news comes at a pivotal moment for Crownpeak, which continues to hold a steady position in the Niche category of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.gartner.com/reviews/market/digital-experience-platforms">Gartner Magic Quadrant for DXPs</a>. As the competitive field becomes more crowded and features commoditized, DXPs are looking for new ways to enhance their marketability – namely, with AI and composable solutions.This is where Crownpeak is leveraging its legacy of innovation to drive future success. Evidenced by its recent <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/crownpeak-and-netlify-partner-to-combine-web-platform-features-with-dxp-solutions">partnership announcement with Netlify</a>, the company is tapping the fabric of Netlify's cloud-based web hosting and deployment capabilities – and building on a shared vision for delivering composable solutions. “In the past three years, Crownpeak has undergone a major global expansion that included three successful acquisitions and tripling the company’s size,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikelipps/">Michael Lipps</a>, Chairman of the Board at Crownpeak. “Samuel Monti, with his deep background working in financial markets, experience leading operational scale and strong track record of successful private equity outcomes, is well-positioned to drive this next, exciting phase of Crownpeak’s continued market expansion.”  <h3>A finance pro with software chops</h3>Monti is an accomplished leader with nearly three decades of experience in finance, operations, and C-suite leadership in both public and private equity companies. Prior to Crownpeak and Epicor, he served as CFO at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/khoros/">Khoros</a>, a customer engagement platform, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/mitratech/">Mitratech</a> – a software service provider specializing in compliance, risk, legal, and enterprise HR.According to the press release, Monti will be tasked with expanding the company’s successful growth, driving operational excellence, and cultivating technological innovation to deliver greater value for customers. “This is an exciting time to be joining Crownpeak,” said Monti. “Enterprises around the globe are making critical investments in digital experience platforms, and Crownpeak has experienced unprecedented growth and transformation as a company. As CEO, my mission is to continue that exceptional growth trajectory by expanding our product portfolio, advancing customer-centric innovation, and establishing the kind of strong community among our customers, prospects and partners that will drive future growth and success.” Monti received a BS in Accountancy from Miami University and an MBA in Finance from Case Western Reserve University.

Crownpeak Appoints Samuel Monti as Chief Executive Officer 

<hr /> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.acquia.com/">Acquia</a>, a leading digital experience platform (DXP) provider, recently announced new capabilities for its <a target="_blank" href="https://www.acquia.com/drupal/site-studio">Acquia Site Studio</a>, the low-code <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/drupal">Drupal</a> website builder. With Acquia's new features, both developers and marketers can now create and manage digital experiences for traditional Drupal websites and headless applications using the same content. This will also allow marketers to create engaging digital experiences from a single content platform, reducing demands on development and IT resources. “As more teams adopt a hybrid approach combining headless and traditional applications, we’ve created a way to easily leverage the same content everywhere” said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbpshaw/">Jim Shaw</a>, SVP and General Manager, Drupal Cloud at Acquia. “This new capability will make it easier for both developers and digital marketers to create and manage content across multiple digital channels.”<h3>Scaling success with Acquia Site Studio</h3>Acquia Site Studio is known across the industry as a leading low-code website builder. Part of the Acquia ecosystem, Site Studio offers one of the most intuitive experiences for visual page-building and content-authoring in Drupal. Site Studio allows non-technical users to create components, layouts, and content in a traditional website build – without needing PHP and JavaScript. Now, with the launch of the new JSON:API for Site Studio, JavaScript and front-end developers can easily access the content and layouts created via Site Studio in decoupled or headless apps to create more engaging, interactive digital experiences.The new feature requires Acquia Site Studio 7.4 and above and a modern version of Drupal. <h3>Responding to demand in a growing headless market</h3>As enterprises and organizations look to build more composable stacks, headless apps are presenting a high-value solution for powering omnichannel strategies. Many businesses have already been using Drupal to drive headless apps, and that demand is increasing. With Acquia Site Studio, developers can now leverage headless capabilities while giving marketers access to low-code site building and editing features – all in one place. This will also reduce the burden on IT and development resources. “Globally, the headless CMS market is worth approximately $300 million per year and Acquia customers like the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority have long been using Drupal in a headless or decoupled scenario,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/craighanna22/">Craig Hanna</a>, Product Director, Acquia Site Studio and Acquia CMS. "With this announcement, we're both supporting our existing headless/decoupled customers as well as potential new ones with the power of our low-code/no-code site builder and editor for Drupal, Acquia Site Studio."Organizations such as Bayer Consumer Health, Hologic, Paramount, and Zscaler leverage Acquia Site Studio to create Drupal applications that meet custom business needs and take advantage of the advanced functionality of Drupal, yet are easy for marketers and content creators to use.

Acquia Site Studio Introduces Capabilities to Create Drupal and Headless Applications from a Single Platform

<hr /> This week, <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/sitecore">Sitecore</a> – a leading digital experience platform (DXP) – welcomed <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathiecjohnson/">Kathie Johnson</a> to its leadership team as Chief Marketing Officer. Johnson assumes the new role at a pivotal time for Sitecore as the company rides a wave of growth and product innovation. In early October 2023, the company announced the launch of <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/sitecores-accelerate-and-xm-cloud-plus-promise-brands-a-faster-path-to-cloud-transformation">XM Cloud Plus</a>, an extended digital experience solution that combines <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">content management</a>, AI-powered search, personalization, customer data management, and analytics. This followed the unveiling of XM Cloud, the industry's first fully-native cloud CMS solution, which quickly became the company's fastest-selling SaaS product with over 100 major brand adoptions. As the company looks to mine continued growth in key areas, marketing will be central to the strategy – which is where a strong CMO comes in. With over 25 years of experience building brands in the B2B technology sector, Johnson brings deep knowledge and insight from an industry perspective. This will undoubtedly benefit Sitecore as it looks to unlock the full potential of a composable, SaaS-based future."Kathie's track record as a marketing leader speaks for itself," said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tzikakis/">Steve Tzikakis</a>, CEO of Sitecore. "Her formidable background securing brand expansion and delivering incredible digital experiences will massively contribute to Sitecore's efforts to disrupt, accelerate and innovate digital experience delivery. Sitecore's compelling message offering SaaS-based, composable solutions will be greatly aided by this wonderful addition to our leadership. On behalf of Sitecore, we are thrilled to welcome Kathie to our team."Johnson will drive Sitecore's marketing efforts from the company's San Francisco headquarters. <h3>A marketing leader with proven industry experience</h3>Johnson's marketing chops are second to none, honed over decades of focus in the digital space. Most recently, she served as CMO for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.talkdesk.com/">Talkdesk</a>, a leading global contact center platform. During her tenure, Johnson led the firm's marketing organization through a transformative growth period, taking the company from #66 in the Forbes Cloud100 list in 2019 to #8 in 2022 and 2023. As Talldesk's first CMO, Kathie helped create and launch a vertical approach as part of the company's evolving marketing strategy. She also supported its expansion into EMEA, APAC, and Latin American countries while extending the product portfolio.Prior to her time at Talkdesk, Johnson spent almost four years at CRM giant <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/salesforce">Salesforce</a> as Senior Vice president of Marketing. In this role, she was responsible for driving significant gains in revenue across the full marketing funnel for seven key industries, including Financial Services, Healthcare Life Sciences, Retail Consumer Goods, Manufacturing, Automotive &amp; Energy, Public Sector, Communications &amp; Media, and Travel, Transportation &amp; Hospitality – which were also comprised of 18 subverticals. Before leading industries for Salesforce, Johnson also served as VP of Marketing for Salesforce's Commerce Cloud."I am excited to join Sitecore because of its innovative technology that is a true game changer for CMOs and CDOs who seek to differentiate their companies through superior digital experiences," said Kathie Johnson, CMO of Sitecore. “Sitecore is a leader in its space and continues to innovate by prioritizing a roadmap focused on SaaS-based, cloud native tools built on composable architecture. I am thrilled to be part of Sitecore's journey and look forward to working with our customers, partners, and employees around the globe.”

Sitecore Names Kathie Johnson as CMO, Focuses on Growth in Composable and Commerce Offerings

<h4>Snapshot:</h4><ul><li>Acquia announced today that it will acquire Monsido from CivicPlus.</li><li>The acquisition will bring enhanced accessibility and optimization capabilities to Acquia DXP.</li><li>Acquia is also partnering with Conductor and VWO to enhance organic marketing and experimentation.</li><li>The announcements were made at the opening of Acquia Engage Boston 2023</li></ul><hr /> Acquia wasted no time engaging the DX world this morning. Just before the official start of its <a target="_blank" href="https://www.acquia.com/engage/boston">flagship conference in Boston</a>, the industry-leading DXP made two splashy announcements – each reinforcing a more complete vision for digital experience optimization.Let's break down the news.<h3>Acquia to acquire Monsido from CivicPlus</h3>Topping the headlines is Acquia’s announcement that it will purchase <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/civicplus">Monsido</a>, a leading SaaS platform for monitoring and managing website accessibility, content quality, and SEO. Acquia will acquire Monsido from <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/civicplus">CivicPlus</a>, an integrated technology solutions platform focused on the public sector. CivicPlus inherited Monsido as part of its broader <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/civicplus-enters-into-agreement-to-acquire-optimere">Optimere acquisition</a> in 2022, a trifecta that also included <a target="_blank" href="https://archivesocial.com/">ArchiveSocial</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nextrequest.com/">NextRequest</a>.At the time, the move seemed a logical growth strategy for CivicPlus, which had built a strong portfolio of government and municipal agencies looking to track, remediate, and secure their ADA accessibility as part of an integrated and inclusive digital strategy. Monsido continued to maintain its brand under the CivicPlus umbrella, a testament to the trust it has built in the marketplace as a go-to solution for accessibility.Now, Acquia is adding the accessibility gem to its crown, further evolving its charter as a digital optimization platform – and helping to scale adoption for Monsido’s bench of solutions. According to the company’s press release, the acquisition not only expands the capabilities of its open <a target="_blank" href="https://www.acquia.com/products">Acquia DXP</a>, but also supports its mission to “help build a better digital future” that’s more inclusive, accessible, and sets new benchmarks for performance and innovation. “Acquia’s vision is to deliver the most open DXP to enable our customers to improve their businesses by creating superior experiences,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-reny-0a2a0a163/">Steve Reny</a>, President and CEO of Acquia. “Monsido empowers digital marketers and website owners with an all-in-one suite of capabilities for website optimization and compliance. Used with any website or as part of Acquia DXP, Monsido helps make digital experiences more optimized, accessible, and inclusive, so organizations can fulfill legal and regulatory requirements, uphold social responsibility, and expand market reach.”From a product, market, and channel perspective, both companies will maintain interests in Monsido through a strategic partnership. Following the close of the acquisition, CivicPlus will retain and continue to support U.S. local government customers using the Monsido platform and become a reseller of Monsido to the U.S. local government territory and market. U.S. state and federal government – and all other Monsido customers – will become Acquia customers. It’s also worth noting that Monsido will be available as part of Acquia DXP or as a standalone offering. “As the leading provider of accessibility solutions in the U.S., CivicPlus remains deeply committed to bringing accessible and inclusive technology to local governments,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-rempe-765bb01/">Brian Rempe</a>, CEO of CivicPlus. “Through this partnership with Acquia, we will continue to make the Monsido solution and its accessibility, quality assurance, and web governance capabilities available to U.S. communities. At the same time, we recognize that accessible digital experiences are critically important for every interaction with every digital property, and we're pleased to know that Acquia's leadership of the Monsido solution will bring this powerful tool to more entities in more markets around the world. By forming this partnership, CivicPlus and Acquia will lead and empower greater adoption of accessible technology that creates positive digital interactions for all technology users.”The transaction is expected to close in early Q1 2024. <h3>What’s driving Acquia’s purchase of Monsido</h3>At the center of the push for digital optimization is consumer expectations. Users demand fast, intuitive, more productive online experiences and interactions – and brands that deliver on these expectations will have a decidedly competitive edge in a crowded, fragmented market. With the acquisition of Monsido, Acquia is now positioned to deliver a complete solution for building, managing, and delivering digital experiences that are fully optimized to meet modern website standards and digital content guidelines. This includes the vital role of accessibility, helping organizations ensure that they comply with the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/">W3C's WCAG</a> standards and web accessibility legislation such as the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ada.gov/">Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)</a>.Thousands of organizations worldwide use Monsido for website optimization, including national and local governments, financial institutions, non-profits, culture and arts organizations, educational institutions, healthcare organizations, utilities, and transportation services. Along with this embedded customer base, Acquia now has a key component to offer customers when managing their accessibility and digital optimization strategies – and a means to do it all at scale. <h3>Enhancing content accessibility for everyone</h3>The addition of Monsido will help Acquia customers achieve even better business outcomes by helping every user – regardless of their abilities – to navigate the web more freely. In addition to enhancing website content accessibility and compliance, Monsido helps organizations improve performance by identifying and fixing website quality issues. This includes common errors like broken links and slow load times. It also supports brand reputation by ensuring website content meets specific brand guidelines. One other advantage is Monsido’s user consent capabilities. The platform enables organizations to manage user consent for cookies and other tracking technologies, supporting compliance with privacy regulations like <a target="_blank" href="https://gdpr-info.eu/">GDPR</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://oag.ca.gov/privacy/ccpa">CCPA</a>.Monsido is also designed to work with any <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">content management system (CMS),</a> including <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/drupal">Drupal</a>, the open source CMS that provides the foundation of Acquia DXP. When combined, users can navigate from a flagged issue in Monsido directly to the flagged page in their CMS with a click – or use the Monsido Browser Extension while browsing their website to highlight issues directly on the page. <h3>Expanding digital optimization with Conductor and VWO</h3>Today, Acquia also announced strategic partnerships with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.conductor.com/?utm_medium=press&amp;utm_source=external&amp;utm_campaign=2023_q4_acquia_press_release">Conductor</a>, the leading organic marketing platform, and <a target="_blank" href="https://vwo.com/">VWO</a>, the leading experimentation and conversion optimization platform. Along with the acquisition of Monsido, these partnerships create one of the most complete solutions for digital experience optimization.According to the company’s press release, combining these tools now addresses all facets of optimizing an organization’s online presence, which most modern DXPs can’t fully deliver. By enhancing digital presence, organizations can directly influence user satisfaction and engagement, brand perception, and business success – translating into growth. “Today's DXPs fall short in providing a comprehensive offering for digital experience optimization,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/buytaert/">Dries Buytaert</a>, Creator and Project Lead of the Drupal content management system and Co-founder, Chief Technology Officer, and Chief Strategy Officer at Acquia. “Acquia already provides the best platform for building and operating digital experiences. With the acquisition of Monsido and strategic partnerships with VWO and Conductor, we now offer the industry’s best platform for creating inclusive and optimized experiences.”The Conductor partnership will support SEO and content marketing through its comprehensive organic marketing platform that increases organic web traffic from search engines. Leveraging cutting-edge AI, Conductor helps brands identify new keyword opportunities, develop and execute content strategy, optimize content and technical site health, and report on organic search performance.VWO will expand Acquia's capacity to enhance every aspect of the digital experience, introducing a range of advanced functionalities for both Drupal and non-Drupal sites. This includes running A/B tests or creating personalization campaigns using an inline WYSIWYG editor, generating AI-driven content testing ideas, and more. VWO's comprehensive toolkit, including multi-platform testing and personalization capabilities, server-side testing, surveys, session recording, heatmaps, feature experimentation and rollouts, unlocks new avenues for Acquia DXP customers to optimize every facet of the digital journey.<h3>Why it matters</h3>Acquia has long established itself as one of the leading DXPs on the market. Its open source heritage has been a source for innovation – and as platforms pursue digital optimization as the next frontier, that innovation will be key to Acquia’s success.The acquisition of Monsido addresses several gaps in the completeness of vision, and Acquia appears to be taking a more composable route with this feature set. As noted, the product will be available not only as part of Acquia DXP, but as a standalone solution that will continue to serve the CivicPlus ecosystem and the broader market. Accessibility is central to creating inclusive digital experiences. Acquia’s core acquisition of Monsido underscores its roadmap around the importance of digital equality and its confidence in scaling commercial adoption. The additional partnerships also demonstrate the commitment to enhancing optimization with more advanced, AI-powered testing capabilities that give users greater choice as they expand their optimization practices.  Competition at the top of the enterprise DXP market is fierce, and Acquia remains one of the leading platforms vying for dominance on the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.acquia.com/blog/acquia-named-leader-2023-gartner-magic-quadrant-digital-experience-platforms">Gartner Magic Quadrant</a>. While rivals like Adobe and Optimizely have been doubling down on digital optimization, Acquia is gaining ground with these moves – enhancing its competitive posture and giving the market more of the tools it needs.

Acquia to Acquire Monsido, Expands Partnerships to Offer Complete Digital Experience Optimization

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Analysts and customers recognize Kentico DXP in Gartner Reports.

Kentico has been recognized by Gartner.

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<hr /> The Milwaukee <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/kentico">Kentico</a> User Group – known under the handle of “MKE KUG” – has some big plans for 2024. While the community has been dormant, two local agencies – <a target="_blank" href="https://lightburn.co/">Lightburn</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://cidesigninc.com/">CI Design</a> – are reinvigorating the group, which will assemble local members to collaborate, learn, share, and network around everything related to the Kentico ecosystem. In a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kentico.com/discover/newsroom/lightburn-cidesign-reignite-milwaukee-kentico-user-group">press release</a> from Kentico, the plan outlines that leaders will furnish guidance to members while inviting input to shape its future. Using <a target="_blank" href="https://www.meetup.com/">Meetup</a>, their teams will engage participants, sponsors, and Kentico channel partners via real-world and virtual events, plus discussion threads and resources.  “At Kentico, we actively seek ways to expand user support from the ground up," said <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/kentico-appoints-bill-cunningham-as-chief-revenue-officer">Bill Cunningham</a>, CRO at Kentico. "We are excited to invest in local tech-driven events like these with two of our partners. We are looking forward to being an active part of the MKE KUG and seeing Kentico users come together.” MKE KUG is open to all who interact with Kentico, not just agency employees. In-house corporate teams that use Kentico for their customers’ digital experiences are encouraged to join, as is anyone interested in learning more about the platform.  The new cadence of the group is designed to deliver intrinsic value for its attendees. Each month, agency group leaders will share Kentico-related news, moderate conversations, and share partner DXP info directly with group members. MKE KUG will gather downtown or in the nearby suburbs for a quarterly live meetup. <h3>A broad range of Kentico-focused content</h3>During events, front- and back-end developers can collaborate in a hands-on workshop to talk through current setup issues or discuss their best practices. Marketing professionals and administrators can learn about the latest apps, tools, and use cases impacting websites, management, personalization practices, and digital marketing ROI. Agency marketing leaders and platform developers will host and attend each event to offer real feedback and support for users and businesses who need a Kentico partner or whose in-house team could use additional guidance.  Topics may include: <ul><li>Product updates from Kentico partners </li><li>Real-world use cases (agency client interviews, Q&amp;As) </li><li>Consolidating your martech ecosystem </li><li>Setting up and using personalization strategies  </li><li>Training and certification workshops </li><li>Live technical issues/troubleshooting </li><li>Setting up and using page types and components  </li><li>How to use AI with Kentico </li><li>How to create gated content </li><li>Tips and tricks for email marketing </li><li>A deep dive into application best practices  </li><li>Where to find support with Kentico </li><li>Managing third-party integrations </li><li>Migrating from Kentico Xperience 13 to Xperience by Kentico  </li></ul><h3>Serving the Kentico community</h3>The new MKE KUG group is part of a larger Kentico initiative, one where the company delivers better service to its community of developers and non-technical users. As part of this collaboration, Kentico's channel owners and product evangelists will actively support, host, or attend in-person events. A bit of background on the partners behind the effort: CI Design is an Emmy award-winning Milwaukee marketing agency with full-service digital capabilities from website and mobile apps to brand strategy, SEM, video, and more. Lightburn is a customer experience agency that empowers organizations to reach their full digital potential to better engage, attract, and retain customers. Both CI Design and Lightburn attended the recent <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/kentico-connection-2023-nashville-focuses-on-innovation-partnerships-ai-and-the-future-of-dxp">Kentico Connection</a> conference in Nashville in October. As an additional bonus for its members, the group organizers – in conjunction with Kentico’s product evangelist, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-g-wright/">Sean Wright</a> – will host a conference recap and panel session this Wednesday, November 8, from 1 PM to 2 PM (CDT) via the Meetup group and Zoom. This discussion will feature an open conversation discussing event topics and takeaways with time for Q&amp;A. The session will also be recorded.Visit <a target="_blank" href="https://www.meetup.com/mkekug/">https://www.meetup.com/mkekug/</a> to join the MKE KUG Meetup group.

Lightburn Partners With CI Design to Reignite Milwaukee Kentico User Group

<hr /> Today's marketers have tight schedules and a ton of complexity to wrestle with. Creating campaigns across multiple formats, geographies, channels, and languages – and managing them securely and efficiently – demands a lot of time and resources. On top of that, there are the rigors of running omnichannel marketing campaigns, where speed and agility are an absolute must for delivering fresh and relevant content. But fear not:<a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/coremedia"> CoreMedia</a>, a leader in <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">Content Management (CMS)</a> and Digital Experience Platform (DXP) solutions, has a solution. Recently, the company launched what it calls <a target="_blank" href="https://www.coremedia.com/press/coremedia-campaigns-coremedia-launches-solution-for-smarter-omnichannel-campaign-management-">CoreMedia Campaigns</a>, a new cloud-native SaaS application that can deliver consistent content across a wide range of channels, all while minimizing administrative overhead and dependency on development teams."Our goal was to make the content planning processes as well as the campaign management of demanding omnichannel campaigns as simple and efficient as possible for marketing teams," says <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/soerenstamer/">Sören Stamer</a>, Co-Founder and CEO CoreMedia. “Our cloud-based solution ensures a seamless, hassle-free operation, allowing marketing teams to fully focus on creating exceptional experiences.”<h3>Simplifying the campaign experience with powerful tools </h3>There are several key benefits to CoreMedia Campaigns. First and foremost, it maximizes user-friendliness through an intuitive user interface that's easy to use. With its multi-asset planning tool, marketing teams can implement campaigns in a targeted and secure manner with less friction and greater speed.  <figure class="image image_resized" style="width:80.13%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/11/coremedia-campaigns.png" /></figure> Additionally, CoreMedia Campaigns gives creators a reliable tool that helps avoid errors when setting up campaigns while ensuring a consistent user experience. A calendar provides a holistic view of all campaigns, making management easier and more effective.  <figure class="image image_resized" style="width:80.36%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/11/coremedia-calendar.png" /></figure> A set of APIs enables communication with CoreMedia's repositories, allowing campaign managers to access all the content they want for their campaigns. This makes the application highly flexible and extensible.  <figure class="image image_resized" style="width:79.61%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/11/coremedia-media.png" /></figure> Finally, as part of the scheduling, users can select a target locale from a simple dropdown picker and assign content items based on the current campaign.  <figure class="image image_resized" style="width:78.97%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/11/coremedia-localization.png" /></figure><h3>Future-proofing with CoreMedia Campaigns</h3>Modern marketing teams expect continuous innovation from technology platforms. CoreMedia Campaigns helps meet this demand by delivering a dynamic user experience with solutions that augment the marketer's toolkit.For more than 27 years, customers worldwide have relied on CoreMedia's content management system and digital experience solutions. With decades of experience and a customized, hybrid headless approach based on a composition-enabled DXP, CoreMedia helps organizations overcome the limitations of traditional content management. Now, with CoreMedia Campaigns, global B2C and B2B brands have access to future-proof technology to deliver personalized and engaging digital experiences across multiple real-time digital channels.

CoreMedia Launches Solution for Smarter Omnichannel Campaign Management

<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

Kentico Connection 2023 Nashville Focuses on Innovation, Partnerships, AI, and the Future of DXP

<hr /> <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/sitecore">Sitecore</a>, a global leader in end-to-end digital experience software, recently unveiled some new offerings as part of its robust, cloud-based digital experience platform. The new solutions, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sitecore.com/products/xm-cloud-plus">XM Cloud Plus</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sitecore.com/knowledge-center/digital-marketing-resources/introducing-sitecore-accelerate">Sitecore Accelerate</a>, are designed to help brands speed up and simplify their move to the cloud by making it easier than ever before to embark on the journey to SaaS and leverage solutions with robust enterprise capabilities.According to the company's press release, cloud-based solutions deliver faster integrations, regular technology updates with little downtime, and more engaging customer experiences. Yet, there remains a perception that switching is both complex and challenging. XM Cloud Plus and Sitecore Accelerate are specifically designed to help remove these obstacles by providing the knowledge, tools, and support needed to make it easier to migrate to Sitecore’s leading cloud-based composable offerings.Both solutions were announced at the company's Sitecore DX 2023 conference in Minneapolis. <h3>XM Cloud Plus builds on SaaS success</h3>In 2022, Sitecore launched its XM Cloud, the industry’s first fully-native cloud CMS solution – and it quickly became the company’s fastest-selling SaaS product with over 100 major brand adoptions. Today, Sitecore is expanding the capabilities of XM Cloud with the launch of XM Cloud Plus: an extended digital-experience solution that brings together content management, AI-powered search, personalization, customer data management, and analytics.XM Cloud Plus is designed to answer the needs of Sitecore XP customers who have enjoyed a powerful solution in a single product and are ready to make their transition to the cloud, and for brands that want to leverage a composable technology stack but use a proven product combination to simplify deployment and accelerate time to value.“XM Cloud marked a significant moment in Sitecore’s journey when we launched it a year ago," said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tzikakis/">Steve Tzikakis</a>, CEO of Sitecore. "Our first-to-market experience offering a cloud-based composable solution resulted in rapid adoption and was the culmination of three years of development with extensive customer input. Today, we expand the XM Cloud offering with XM Cloud Plus, bringing together a proven set of products that gives brands broader capabilities to offer an unrivaled customer experience, while simplifying and accelerating their move to the cloud, and delivering a powerful solution for the thousands of Sitecore XP customers that want additional enterprise capabilities.”Key features of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sitecore.com/products/xm-cloud-plus">XM Cloud Plus</a> include:<ul><li>Content Creation and Management: User-friendly tools allow teams to efficiently produce, optimize, and deliver captivating content to the right audience at the right time.</li><li>AI-Powered Search and Content Recommendations: Includes dynamic personalization and targeting strategies, offering omnichannel personalization, intelligent search recommendations, and access to an extensive array of personalization development tools.</li><li>Omnichannel Content Center: Teams can now efficiently manage all digital customer touchpoints from a single, unified content repository that ensures brand consistency and streamlined workflows.</li><li>Seamless Integrations and Connectivity: XM Cloud Plus can be easily implemented within an existing tech stack to create connected, immersive customer experiences across all channels.</li><li>Intuitive Form Builder: Our drag-and-drop form builder for XM Cloud and XM Cloud Plus, provides customers with an easy way to add data capture forms to their pages and components.</li></ul><h3>Speeding brands to the cloud with Sitecore Accelerate</h3>Companies often retain on-premises solutions due to the perceived difficulty of moving to the cloud. To address this, Sitecore has launched Sitecore Accelerate, a dedicated program to guide Sitecore XM and Sitecore XP customers to either XM Cloud or XM Cloud Plus and XC customers to OrderCloud. Sitecore Accelerate gives teams the knowledge, resources, tools, and human support needed to unlock the full potential of a SaaS-based future.“We are at an inflection point where mature cloud technology is combining with AI computing to empower brands like never before,” added Tzikakis. “To leverage this opportunity, brands need guidance, reassurance and actual step-by-step, proven assistance from knowledgeable peers and partners to make their DXP stack operate to full capacity and capability.” By giving brands the support they need with Sitecore Accelerate, they can tap into the full power of Sitecore’s solutions simply and easily. It is such a critical moment for online experiences, and we want to be the partner brands turn to when they want to build a better proposition.”<h3>Generative AI comes to Sitecore's composable DXP</h3>At DX Minneapolis 2023, new Generative AI features were announced that enhance content creation, management, and delivery of digital experiences. “Sitecore introduced native machine learning features across our platform and composable DXP in 2019," said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/daveof/">Dave O’Flanagan</a>, Chief Product Officer, Sitecore. "With our ongoing focus on R&amp;D, we are excited to bring the next level of AI to our customers. These additions accelerate the speed at which brands build content and experiences with Sitecore solutions, open new ways to empower marketing, and heighten the level of insight brands get from their data."With Accelerate, brand marketers can:<ul><li>Generate text and images in Content Hub One that are consistently on-brand to achieve a new level of hyper-personalization for customer-facing content</li><li>Author and edit brand content in Content Hub DAM (Digital Asset Management) to ensure it aligns with content models and brand consistency</li><li>Deploy advanced Search that understands user intent to answer queries faster</li><li>Leverage Visual Search from Content Hub to easily discover content and incorporate images into brand assets via similar image suggestions</li></ul>“This is only the first step to embed AI deep into our SaaS DXP so our customers can continue to build better experiences for their customers," O'Flanagan added. "We are actively working on new ways to improve marketer workflows through automatic improvements, and further down the line, AI will be able to optimize the digital experience with limited manual oversight.”Sitecore will begin rolling out its new AI capabilities in the coming weeks.

Sitecore's Accelerate and XM Cloud Plus Promise Brands a Faster Path to Cloud Transformation

<hr /> <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/optimizely">Optimizely</a>, a digital experience platform provider, just announced a new operating system for marketing practitioners built on its industry-leading DXP: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.optimizely.com/products/">Optimizely One</a>. Comprised of Optimizely’s seamlessly integrated, best-of-breed capabilities – all built with modern SaaS – Optimizely One offers a highly composable architecture, giving organizations the flexibility to choose exactly what they need in their marketing ecosystem. Optimizely One is enriched through a single, unified workflow accelerated by AI, making it simple for marketers to create, manage, deliver, and optimize content all in one place. Secure and scalable, Optimizely One provides teams with the future-proof stack they need to create and optimize digital experiences for their customers.“Marketing is the only remaining enterprise function that doesn’t have a go-to platform, so we designed Optimizely One to be the operating system for marketers,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/aatzberger/">Alex Atzberger</a>, CEO of Optimizely. “Content is at the core of every digital experience, and Optimizely One provides exactly what marketers need to orchestrate their content, monetize experiences and experiment across all touchpoints – all enriched through smart workflows and accelerated by AI. The time is now for companies to seize the opportunity to reinvent how marketing, product and growth teams work together to create content-driven digital experiences.”The announcement was made during <a target="_blank" href="https://www.optimizely.com/opticon/">Opticon 2023</a>, the company's annual conference, which is being held this week in San Diego.<h3>Creating choice in a composable world</h3>Up until now, the market has had to make a difficult choice: build a stack that caters more to developers (think open and highly customizable but complex) or practitioners. This challenge has resulted in disparate point solutions that create a lot of overhead costs and disjointed workflows. Additionally, with AI rapidly evolving and its value exponentially growing, it has never been more important to streamline the way content gets created and data gets actioned.   With Optimizely One, customers now have the ability to build a truly composable stack. The platform is fully SaaS, fully decoupled, and highly composable – empowering teams to compose what they need on their own terms. One of the new capabilities is a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.optimizely.com/insights/blog/unveiling-optimizelys-fully-composable-solution-for-content-orchestration/">CMS SaaS Core</a> for designing entire web experiences with a low/no-code interface. Users benefit from automatic upgrades, SLAs, and managed services. Optimizely One also features <a target="_blank" href="https://www.optimizely.com/insights/blog/content-graph-announcement/">Graph</a> capabilities for aggregating content from any source, managing it from a single hub, and delivering it to any channel, app, or device.Additionally, users will have access to a Visual Experience Builder, where they can apply pre-built templates and customer data to create and preview engaging experiences via an all-new, user-friendly editor. A Unified Workflow also connects teams via a fully integrated workflow – from planning to analysis – all based on a single, unified platform. This allows users to log in once and seamlessly navigate across all Optimizely applications. The new Workflow features <a target="_blank" href="https://www.optimizely.com/insights/blog/announcing-experiment-collaboration/">Experiment Collaboration</a> for managing every aspect of your testing and optimization programs with a purpose-built tool, and Omnichannel Authoring for creating content once and pulling it into multiple content types and formats for delivery across channels. <h3>Accelerating digital experiences with the power of AI</h3>While AI has been weaving its way into Optimizely over the last year, it's making a big splash in Optimizely One. The platform embeds both native and external AI capabilities into the entire marketing lifecycle, helping teams work faster and make better decisions. One of the big reveals in Optimizely One is the introduction of Opal, a new identity for Optimizely's AI. By engaging with this service, users can surface insights, review recommendations, create new content, and leverage an AI co-pilot when needed. Optimizely also announced a solution partnership with <a target="_blank" href="https://writer.com/">Writer</a>, a full-stack generative AI platform for enterprises. Combined with the Optimizely Content Marketing Platform (CMP), Writer will provide customers with sophisticated language learning models (LLMs) within the context of their existing marketing workflows. With a strong AI offering that meets B2B needs, the partnership will allow joint customers of Optimizely and Writer to finally harness the power of AI by leveraging the Writer platform to develop content that is relevant, compliant, and consistent with their existing brand tone and voice. <h3>Expanding leadership in experimentation and optimization </h3>Optimizely leverages powerful experimentation capabilities, comprehensive digital commerce tools, and intuitive content management to enable exceptional customer experiences for over 10,000 of the world’s top brands. Proven by its 8 leader recognitions from analyst firms in the last 24 months, Optimizely continues to deliver the industry’s best digital experience solutions With the addition of Optimizely One – and the introduction of new AI capabilities – the company sees tremendous potential for customers across the marketing and digital lifecycle.“We’re continually reinventing the way marketers work, so they can more easily deliver exceptional digital experiences to their customers and drive maximum business impact without having to make any tradeoffs,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/rupali/">Rupali Jain</a>, Chief Product Officer at Optimizely. “Optimizely One is a shared operating system that gives teams unprecedented levels of transparency, flexibility, and simplicity to manage their entire marketing lifecycle. With the guidance of Opal and the power of experimentation data, every part of the lifecycle is rooted in science.”

Optimizely Debuts Industry-First Marketing Operating System At Opticon 2023

Power your CMS on AWS

Manage your websites & apps in the most trusted cloud.

<hr /> Global business transformation agency <a target="_blank" href="https://usw2.nyl.as/t1/154/29ddxp9gsglii7j8p6mnwli8g/3/b2c82cff406369556a3108d566bce2ae32384d8263ed2551e674dfd054ba5201">Valtech</a> today announced it has developed the first connector to act as a bridge between <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/salesforce-unveils-composable-storefront-a-digital-commerce-solution-to-help-retailers-go-headless-fast">Salesforce Commerce Cloud</a> and leading experimentation and digital experience platform <a target="_blank" href="https://usw2.nyl.as/t1/154/29ddxp9gsglii7j8p6mnwli8g/4/82e0e9974cb7f5ba9f69d8830a681273ea0299dd8bdd3a46bbcd62caf449f268">Optimizely</a>. The new connector allows businesses within B2C retail commerce to easily synchronize their products, catalogs, content, and other relevant information between the two platforms. By integrating the connector, businesses eliminate the need for manual data transfers and ensure real-time data consistency, leading to faster time-to-market and the ability to deliver personalized e-commerce experiences to customers. "We’re seeing businesses in B2C retail commerce face various challenges," said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/janaka-fernando-omvp/">Janaka Fernando</a>, Director of Optimizely Practice at Valtech. “They’re reaching a marketing and merchandising dead-end, hitting a wall when it comes to personalization and experimentation, and dealing with lengthy upgrades or migrations of existing Commerce Cloud implementations. The market is changing at an accelerated speed as consumer expectations rise. We launched this connector with Optimizely to help businesses maintain pace with these changes and truly elevate their customer experiences. Our partnership shows that when industry technology players work together, they enable an exciting future for experience innovation."<h3>Increased demand for personalization </h3>According to Salesforce’s <a target="_blank" href="https://usw2.nyl.as/t1/154/29ddxp9gsglii7j8p6mnwli8g/5/bdeffd47c9295c8f8febf849f84c7d733a6286340a8e3e51e1a01f13b9cc2e44">State of the Connected Customer</a> report, 52% of customers expect offers to always be personalized – up from 49% in 2019. As a result, <a target="_blank" href="https://usw2.nyl.as/t1/154/29ddxp9gsglii7j8p6mnwli8g/6/775a7837875a417c5d72d0b2766fbe85cc9b782c9badd2a8dfe93b84a727cced">most retailers</a> (56%) are prioritizing technology that enables customized experiences. With the help of the connector, businesses can leverage advanced <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">CMS</a>, experimentation, targeting, and personalization capabilities to optimize their websites or apps, drive better customer experiences, and improve business outcomes. "Valtech's Optimizely to Salesforce Commerce Connector seamlessly unifies two powerful platforms, offering our joint customers an unparalleled blend of capabilities,” said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/anielsud/">Aniel Sud</a>, Chief Technology Officer at Optimizely. “Valtech has created an exceptional opportunity for Salesforce Commerce clients, addressing challenges related to customer data activation, personalization, experimentation, and marketing agility, while harnessing the added value of Optimizely. We’re excited to see how this new offering will streamline processes, elevate customer experiences, and drive revenue growth for our clients."  <h3>Powering commerce with CMS</h3>Interestingly, the connector was born from Valtech’s work with a global fashion footwear brand. At its core, the technology enables merchandising opportunities via the CMS by syncing the Salesforce product catalog with Optimizely. It also gives editors rich and highly flexible digital experience management by effortlessly serving Optimizely CMS content through Salesforce Commerce Cloud. All of these benefits provide businesses with the ability to personalize their engagements using real-time customer segments and achieve faster time-to-market.In terms of performance, the connector accelerates a typical project from start to dev completion within 60 days. Once deployed, it synchronizes a typical 4,500-product catalog in 5 minutes and keeps it up to date so marketers can focus on merchandising. Content from Optimizely to Salesforce Commerce Cloud can be loaded in milliseconds, providing a fast response to optimize performance. Real-time personalization can also be delivered using ODP segments to the client – without any performance costs. The development of the connector was a joint venture between Optimizely and Valtech, and has been validated by their internal SMEs. It complements other accelerators that Valtech is developing for Salesforce. While Valtech will be performing customer implementations, they are currently verifying it through Optimizely’s Marketplace.The accelerator is currently accepting early access participants and will be available for GA by the end of this year. <h3>Announced at Opticon 2023</h3>The new connector was announced today at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.optimizely.com/opticon/">Opticon San Diego 2023</a>, where Valtech is conducting live demos. According to Fernando, the company is bullish about the connector's potential to help both existing customers and new prospects – not just in B2C, but B2B as well.“This is a tremendous opportunity for Valtech to grow its footprint in the market. It will of course be beneficial for existing customers, but will also be an excellent way to help us improve the customer experience and increase conversion and operational efficiency for new Salesforce customers.”There's also a plan to make the connector available to other CMS platforms in the future. Valtech's marketing science practice is already implementing Optimizely experimentation with other platforms. “We’re driven to continue to innovate in this space and use our learnings across all platforms,” Fernando said, “and we expect to do so with this accelerator as well.”In addition to demoing the connector at Opticon San Diego, Valtech will also be presenting at Opticon London and Opticon Stockholm. More details can be found <a target="_blank" href="https://usw2.nyl.as/t1/154/29ddxp9gsglii7j8p6mnwli8g/7/f3f26b20b817b396c425a51f43389be1a7e708a9e2a210f66856b9bef9f55ece">here</a>.

Valtech Launches First Connector to Seamlessly Integrate Salesforce Commerce Cloud with Optimizely

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