Sebastian Gierlinger, VP of Engineering at enterprise CMS Storyblok, explains why tech consolidation should be at the top of the martech to-do list in 2024:

We recently surveyed 1,719 businesses – predominantly technical users – across the US and Europe to gauge current CMS patterns and the wider trends that follow their usage. Its purpose was to assess whether existing CMS solutions are delivering in terms of overall functionality and user experience. The results proved rather revealing.

Half (47%) stated they are still using 2-3 CMSs in their organisation. A further third (27%) said they are now using 4 to 5 CMSs, representing a significant leap on the 11% stated in our 2023 version of the same report. Moreover, only one in five (19%) said they are currently using just one CMS – a figure which stood at 24% in 2023 and 43% in 2022. The inference of this insight is that organisations are turning to multiple CMSs to address modern content requirements rather than centralising with one system that can handle it all.

Why does this matter? Recession, inflation, high borrowing costs and pressure on consumer budgets all combine to impact every type of enterprise. This is seen as experts predict that even more big companies around the world will go bust this year.¹ Building resilience amid these tough economic conditions requires new focus on reducing costs and increasing efficiencies.

At the same time, reduced opportunity makes it even more important for businesses to deliver on the digital experience. Indicative of this, our research found half (53%) stated omnichannel is the most important CMS feature. Game-changing technologies will continue to have an impact on CMS too, with respondents forecasting marked increases in AR/VR (20%), voice-activated speakers (13%) and smartwatches (12%) in the near future. To stay ahead of these trends and create truly immersive user experiences, businesses must leverage the most effective tools and strategies. Yet, almost half (43%) admitted they crave easier/improved content scaling from their current CMS and a further 43% stated adding new technology is their biggest CMS pain point. Arguably then, the current approach of relying on multiple CMSs is clearly not working – but how can we fix it?

When less is more

It begins with a change of mindset. Our study is indicative of a common misconception that multiple CMSs are needed to orchestrate content experiences across different channels and markets. This is no longer the case. However, it has created a legacy of firms paying above the odds for a variety of platforms and being tasked with managing an assortment of pieces.

The end result is a myriad of potential issues. Fundamentally, with so many moving parts it can be incredibly complex to keep on top of everything. This type of approach doesn’t scale well either and can make it difficult to adapt to new requirements, such as integrating new services or delivering content to new touchpoints. Cost of ownership is a factor too, and not just in terms of the cost of having multiple software packages, but increased management and maintenance requirements too. But, perhaps, an even more important consideration is the workflow and collaboration challenges associated with multiple CMS use. Most companies are increasingly seeking to adopt agile frameworks that not only improve the overall digital experience development effort but encourage the involvement of content teams and developers from the very beginning. Those using multiple CMSs are more likely to run into communication issues and misalignments which can slow down the overall process. This can lead to pitfalls in cost overruns, issues in going to market quickly, and limited scope for customer acquisition, SEO and other marketing efforts.

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Change is coming

But, with economic difficulty resulting in renewed focus on the tech stack and opportunities to improve economies of scale and user experience, this can and must change. Cue an increasing shift towards tech consolidation. This continues to be seen as more projects where multiple CMS systems were in play are combined into one single system resulting in huge cost savings on hosting, operation, and duplicated efforts.

But where to begin for those considering whether to consolidate? Of course, in any type of tech transformation there will be different approaches dependent on the incumbent platforms and tools. However, generally speaking, one of the simplest and most effective ways businesses can transform the online experience and impact bottom line is migrating to a MACH (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-based, and Headless) architecture.

For the uninitiated, MACH architecture is basically shorthand for a future-proofed system. Put simply, instead of being tied to a single platform, a MACH architecture means giving businesses the freedom to create tech stacks, applications and services that are specifically designed to their needs. A typical set up will combine different individual technologies to create one unified cloud-based setup that can communicate via APIs.

Tomorrow-ready

The result? Better oversight, flexibility and adaptability, translating to faster deployments and overall cheaper operations. But more than that. This unbundling of the once favoured ‘all-in-one’ bundled packages signifies a paradigm shift towards a more streamlined, nearly universal, bespoke approach, enabling busy martech teams to continue transforming their digital journey with ease. Also, while not as widely documented as gen AI or VR, the reality is that MACH architecture remains the ‘master key’ in unlocking the promise of these and other major tech trends too.

Take, for example, the marketer’s ‘holy grail’ – the omnichannel experience. Though certainly not a new concept, the reality is that the creation of a truly seamless customer experience which connects a company’s online and offline touchpoints still remains definitively out of reach. MACH architecture has the potential to change this. This is because it allows businesses to handpick each individual technology to support their omnichannel needs, quickly and easily and with totally scalability. Team this with the latest breakthroughs in VR and AR and we may be closer to virtually ‘trying-on’ clothes or smart carting groceries as a standard than we realise.

What’s also great about this type of architecture is that it is 100 percent future-proof. If the last few years have taught us anything, surely it’s that no one truly knows what’s around the corner. We must always expect the unexpected. With this, MACH architecture ensures businesses are primed for whatever change may come. Thanks to the easy nature of integrating technology, it’s possible to add new programs or improve existing ones quickly and easily. This means it’s possible to embrace the best and latest advancements – be it new VR technology, the next wave of the metaverse or something completely new – with minimal friction or downtime.

Also catch – Episode 201 of The SalesStar Podcast: Optimizing B2B Sales with Alex Varel, Chief Revenue Officer at Multiverse

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