OCTOBER2023 CONTENTMANAGEMENTSYSTEMS:THEKEYTOOMNICHANNELEXPERIENCES WHITEPAPERPURPOSEANDAUTHORS Thiswhitepaper’spurposeistobringclaritytoacomplexandrapidlyevolvingtopic-thelandscapeofContentManagementSystems(CMS).Intheprocessofdevelopingthispaper,WinterberryGroupsurveyedmorethan150decision-makersacrosstheUSandconductedin-depthinterviewswithinfluencersintheCMSmarket. Theresultisanevidence-basedexaminationoftheusecases,considerations,tradeoffsandvalueofdifferentCMSplatformswhileexploringtheinvestment,technologyandstrategytrendsthatimpactthecontentanddigitalexperiencelandscapetheseplatformssupport. WinterberryGroupAuthors:MichaelHarrison(ManagingDirector),CharlesPing(ManagingDirectorEMEA),StephanieLoutsenko(SeniorEngagementManager) SPONSOR Theworld’sleadingbrandstrustBrightspottopowertheirdigitalcontentexperiences.Brightspot’scontentmanagementsolutionenablesitscustomerstoquicklylaunchandmanagecontentexperiencesacrossanydevicebyoffering anintuitiveandcustomizableplatformthatcanmeetuniquecontent,displayandworkflowrequirements.Brightspot’scomprehensivesuiteofflexibletechnology,expertservicesandpartnerecosystemprovidesbusinesseswiththetoolsnecessarytosuccessfullydeliverontheirdigitalstrategy. Formoreinformation,visitbrightspot.com. NOTICE Thisreportcontainsbrief,selectedinformationandanalysispertainingtotheadvertising,marketingandtechnologyindustriesandhasbeenpreparedbyWinterberryGroup.Itdoesnotpurporttobeall-inclusiveortocontainalloftheinformationthataprospectivemanager,investororlendermayrequire.Projectionsandopinionsinthisreporthavebeenpreparedbasedoninformationprovidedbythirdparties.NeitherWinterberryGroupnoritsrespectivesponsorsmakeanyrepresentationsorassurancesthatthisinformationiscompleteorcompletelyaccurate,asitreliesonself-reporteddatafromindustryleaders—includingadvertisers,marketingserviceproviders,technologydevelopersandagencies.Norshallanyoftheforgoing(ortheirrespectiveofficersorcontrollingpersons)haveanyliabilityresultingfromtheuseoftheinformationcontainedhereinorotherwisesupplied.Alltrademarksarethepropertyoftheirrespectiveowners. ©2023VeristaPartnersInc.d/b/aWinterberryGroup.Allrightsreserved. TABLE OFCONTENTS 05ExecutiveSummary 06Introduction:WhatisaContentManagementSystem(CMS)?07TheEvolutionandDriversofCMSPlatforms 11CMSPlatformUseCases 13Traditional,MonolithicCMS 13Open-SourceCMS 14DigitalExperiencePlatforms(DXP) 14HeadlessandDecoupledCMS 14HeadlessCMS 14DecoupledCMS 15HybridCMS 16ChallengesandConsiderationsofCMSPlatforms 17TotalCostofCMSOwnership 19TheOutlookfortheCMSMarket 21KeyConsiderationsforCMSSelection 23OrganizationalDecisionMakers 26Glossary 27Methodology TABLES ANDCHARTS 08ContentManagementSystemsIntegrateAcrosstheTechStacktoPowerBrandExperiences 09WhatTypeofCMSDoYouandYourCompanyUtilizeMostToday? 12WhichApplicationsorUseCasesDoYouCurrentlyUseYourCMSPlatformFor? 15WhichApplicationsorUseCasesDoYouCurrentlyUseYourHybridCMSFor? 16TopChallengesofCMSPlatformsbyType 17TopThreeMostSignificantCMSCostsbyPlatformType 18PrimaryCMSToolCostDriversRelativetoLengthofUse 20MostSignificantSupportingFunctionalitiesWhenEvaluatingCMSSolutions 21TopThreeConsiderationsWhenEvaluatingaCMSProvider 22MostSignificantIntegrationsWhenEvaluatingCMSTool 24TopDecisionMakersbyOrganizationalSize EXECUTIVESUMMARY Intoday’srapidlyevolvingdigitallandscape,organizationsfacethecomplexchallengeofdeliveringpersonalizedandconsistentexperiencesacrossanexpandingarrayoftouchpoints.Toaddressthischallengeeffectively,businessesareincreasinglyevaluatingandevolvingtowardContentManagementSystems. ContentManagementSystems,orCMS,serveasakeycomponentfororganizationsaimingtocreate,manageanddistributemultimediacontentacrossanarrayofdigitalandofflinetouchpoints.Whatinitiallybeganasameanstomanagecontentforbasicwebpageshasundergonearemarkabletransformation,evolvingintoversatileplatformscapableoffacilitatingandmanagingdiversedigitalexperiencesandofflinecontent. ThisreportembarksonanexplorationoftheCMSlandscape,sheddinglightonitsevolutionandadaptabilitytomeetthedemandsofthemoderncustomerjourney.WinterberryGroupdivesdeepintothedevelopmentandcapabilitiesofthevarioustypesofCMSplatforms,providinginsightsfororganizationstomakewell-informeddecisionsthatalignwiththeirspecificbusinessobjectives. Thispaperhighlightsthedeficienciesaroundalegacy,monolithicCMSapproachwhenitcomestoactivatingandmanagingomnichannelcontentandcampaigns,aswellasthechallengesincustomization,someofwhichcanbebetter addressedbythecapabilitiesofferedbyheadless,decoupledorhybridCMSplatforms.Withinthelast12-months,42%oforganizationshaveoptedforahybridsolution,comparedtojust4%thatselectedatraditionalCMS.Suchanuptickinadoptionoffersinsightintothetransitionusersarecurrentlyundertakingastheyshifttowardabest-in-class,composablesolution. Intermsofownershipcosts,datasecurityandcompliancerepresentedtheprimarydriversacrossallCMSplatforms,with 35%oforganizationsidentifyingitasthemajorcost.WhilesomeCMScapabilities,suchastheprebuiltfeaturesofDigital ExperiencePlatforms,canreducetheco