Why composability is the key to delivering outstanding digital experiences 

In today’s fast-paced digital world, it’s tough enough for organizations to attract customers and keep them loyal let alone to build sustainable and profitable growth. Being up against competitors that invest further in tech, it’s a challenge to deliver the innovative and highly personalized experiences customers expect. 

One of the biggest tech drivers for digital experiences, a Content Management System (CMS), is the digital transformation tool for elevating digital experiences. With the availability of modern (hybrid and/or headless) CMS , brands are realizing they need to reassess their approach if they are to deliver for users’ expectations and evolving business requirements.  

A hybrid headless platform can be a game-changer, allowing a brand to keep its existing CMS and infrastructure, while also providing the flexibility to add new front-end experiences and integrations -- ultimately, a composable Digital Experience Platform (DXP) means more flexibility and faster development. 

However, failure to optimise a composable DXP with the right capabilities could lead to a lack of scalability, an inability to integrate other IT solutions, and limited customization, all affecting the all-important customer experience and loyalty. 

Challenges with a typical monolithic CMS 

As the CMS market has evolved, there are some strong arguments for modernizing a monolithic or legacy CMS. In fact, many organizations use multiple CMS, in order to minimize delivery risk, expand omnichannel capabilities and support new technology stacks. Yet this fractured approach can result in silos and disconnected systems, making it difficult to upgrade and maintain compliance issues. Besides, inefficient workflows make it challenging to achieve a seamless user experience across channels. 

With a monolithic DXP, every function comes from this single vendor, rather than a focus on the breadth and quality of each capability. The result is a lack of scalability, an inability to integrate other IT solutions, and limited customization. Some legacy systems offer a library of only pre-built connectors that, although helpful in integrating with existing tech stacks, may only offer limited functionality and hinder a CMS’s potential to drive ROI. 

Often their monolithic structure contains the front-end and back-end in a single application. They also have limited flexibility and rely on templates and plugins for added functionalities. Added to this, many DXP vendors no longer support older versions of their software, creating a barrier to security updates, bug fixes, or new features that are available in the latest versions. Above all, a legacy CMS may not be optimised for mobile devices or social media, which constitute the modern digital experience that consumers expect. 

What is a composable DXP? 

Composable CMS platforms allow organizations to build custom digital experiences by selecting and integrating pre-built components and services. A composable CMS architecture decouples the front-end and back-end code, enabling the development of independent components that can be combined to create a complete website or application. They offer greater modularity, scalability and resilience compared to monolithic architectures, making it easier to introduce new functionality without re-architecting the entire system. 

Choosing a DXP with a decoupled, or headless, architecture, allows IT teams to pick the front-end technology that best suits their organization’s current and future needs for rendering. This means building custom front-end experiences while maintaining the content and data management functionality of their DXP platform. It allows for greater flexibility in delivering content to different channels, essential in today’s evolving digital landscape. This hybrid approach works for many organizations and offers control over both content creation and presentation and is aligned to the needs of developers and content editors alike.  

Composability might mean best-of-breed technology or it could be composing the actual service delivery of how you want that program to be delivered from a services standpoint -- insourcing versus outsourcing, multi-vendor, agency, etc. When there is more ability to have additional options and make sure that they are still connected, IT leaders can focus on what's important and deliver value. 

Why a composable DXP is key to a future-proof tech stack  

This best-of-breed approach must be delivered as part of a truly customer-first strategy that is focused on a brand’s business objectives. Having the flexibility to pick the desired technology and not be dictated by a sole vendor enables your organization to not only create tailored experiences for customers but also keeps the door open for any new front-end frameworks in the future, without the need for expensive and time-consuming re-platforming.

Above all, a DXP that features a dynamic integration layer that embraces a low-code/no-code approach will enable seamless connections to any existing systems through predefined steps to meet the brand’s evolving needs. One that supports a wide array of extensions, plugins, modules, components and application integrations offers huge development advantages. Low code platforms enable organizations to rapidly adapt to changing market requirements, reduce the time and effort needed for routine tasks and deliver tailored experiences without extensive reliance on developers, resulting in significant cost savings. 

It's important to select features that support agility and the ability to quickly meet unique market and business requirements. These include headless and multichannel capabilities, experience management tools, and other key considerations, such as: 

Cloud CMS -- Moving your CMS platform to the cloud can provide scalability, flexibility and security that traditional CMS platforms cannot offer. A cloud-native enterprise platform-as-a-service (PaaS) can be more cost-effective and provide better performance than on-premise solutions. 

Integrations -- integrating the DXP with other systems and digital channels can provide a more cohesive and personalised customer experience. Modern platforms often provide built-in integrations with popular marketing automation, ecommerce and CRM platforms. 

Technology Back-Bone (Modern .NET) -- .NET is an open-source framework that allows tech teams to build modern, scalable and cloud-ready applications. Using a modern .NET as the technology backbone of the CMS platform can provide flexibility and scalability to meet the organization’s digital experience goals. 

How to get started with composable digital experience strategy  

In terms of getting started with building a digital experience strategy, most projects should start with persona development and journey mapping, which will steer the scope of the project. 

Application leaders looking to modernize their legacy systems, can turn to Gartner’s three-step evaluation process. This includes first identifying the six main drivers for modernization -- business fit, business value and agility, cost, complexity and risk. The first step to planning an initiative is to recognize the current state of the site and set clear goals and objectives. This might be to improve user experience, page load time and traffic. Or alternatively, to assess better features and functionalities.  

Gartner’s second step is to evaluate modernization options, to choose the right modernization path that meets your needs. This could involves selecting and migrating to a new CMS platform, upgrading your existing platform or decoupling your CMS platform. Once you have chosen the modernization path, go ahead to develop a roadmap for the project, which involves defining the project scope, identifying key milestones and timelines, and determining the required resources and budget. 

Finally, the third step involves choosing the modernization approach with the highest effect and value, based on the modernization options’ impact on technology, architecture, functionality, cost and risk. With the roadmap in place, you can go ahead to execute the plan and provide subsequent support. 

Modernizing CMS for business success 

For leaders that prioritize digital experiences, now is the time to modernize legacy CMS. A composable DXP is the transformational tool to enable truly omnichannel experiences through a highly scalable, low-complexity and value-driven approach. The advantages include improved security, more efficient workflows, better compliance and a seamless user experience across channels. 

What’s critical is to select the right DXP that is not only a tool for content creation but integrates with the existing technology stack, offers extension capabilities and eliminates the need for complete system replacement. By making key considerations to embrace a composable DXP, IT leaders can ensure that their enhanced digital experiences will serve current and future customers, improve employee productivity and drive business growth.

Image credit: Mimi Thian/Unsplash

Sara Faatz is Director Developer Relations at Progress.