Headless CMS Breathes New Life Into “Content Anywhere”

Insight Brief

Headless CMS Breathes New Life into “Content Anywhere”

By: Connie Moore

Content Is Everywhere Silicon Valley constantly ushers in technologies and Anywhere for creating new content types for various delivery in Today’s Organization channels, such as Alexa, Twitter feeds, Facebook media, YouTube clips, CCTV film, drone footage, Although pundits declare that we are immersed in 3-D models, wearable output, biometrics output, a world of big data, the sheer volume and velocity voice recognition content, podcasts, IM texts, and at which digital content is created, consumed, so forth. Although YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook updated, and stored throughout organizations are utterly familiar today, they were once among is at an all-time high, validating the age-old the cacophony of emerging technologies waiting expression“content is king.” Content, in its many to go viral. Even today, the next new “whatever” is established and evolving forms, has been king, is jostling in the mix, vying to become the next really king, and will be king for the foreseeable future, big, new thing. making it imperative to anticipate and plan new Who can say with certainty what content approaches to deliver the customer experience challenges will arise within the next year, much and produce, manage, and govern increasingly less the next five years? But it is still possible diversified and complex content. to assume a certain growth rate for content in the organization and to ensure that the content management architecture is flexible, adaptive, and well-positioned to handle new challenges and scale Sponsored by for more content.

DIGITAL CLARITY GROUP | © 2017 | [email protected] Headless CMS Breathes New Life into “Content Anywhere” | 1 Planning for growth, new expectations, and communication, the contact center, and more. On greater complexity of content already taxes the top of this, web channels are often turning into imagination and skill sets of teams responsible sophisticated web apps or single page apps. for managing it in today’s organizations. The Today’s advanced website capabilities are amount of unstructured information created substantial, with numerous input streams, and disseminated throughout firms each day advanced personalization, e-commerce, product by employees, customers, prospects, partners, information management, globalization/ and regulatory agencies is enormous, often localization, biometrics, and even cognitive outstripping the abilities of marketing staff and computing. At the same time, marketing is under line-of-business workers to create new content, constant pressure to spearhead new campaigns, process incoming information, and fulfill external launch new brands, support social interaction, and internal requests. and be all things to all customers via the web. Is This unending deluge reinforces the fact that it any wonder that CMS solutions require new content can be anywhere and everywhere within approaches for simplifying content production and organizations, constantly challenging content storage, while expanding their ability to deliver professionals to stay on top of the rising tide. a rich mix of social threads, content types, and Take content management systems (CMS), for personalized interactions? CMS systems also need example. Although this technology has been in use to serve more channels agnostically, easily, and for almost two decades, older CMS solutions for with greater agility. How? Enter the latest CMS websites pale in comparison to the complexity of approach, known as “headless CMS.” more recent, advanced approaches.

Furthermore, the web is only one of the channels that need to be integrated with content; customer interaction channels include targeting, personalization, predictive analytics, beacons, cognitive computing, and more. Increasingly, more channels need to pull content or have content pushed through them in a coordinated, consistent way, including mobile apps, digital signs, customer

Planning for growth, new expectations, and greater complexity of content already taxes the imagination and skill sets of teams responsible for managing it in today’s organizations.

DIGITAL CLARITY GROUP | © 2017 | [email protected] Headless CMS Breathes New Life into “Content Anywhere” | 2 The Headless CMS Revival – CMS architecture are content production and An Evolved Way to Separate database, and content delivery (see Figure 1). Content Production and Content production and database (or Database from Delivery “headless” system) supports content creators and the content database. This decoupled Headless CMS is the latest technology trend for system may be obtained from the same vendor empowering digital content delivery anywhere as the delivery system or from a different and everywhere.1 It’s a decoupled approach that one. This is possible because the content separates the content’s form from its delivery production/database system is connected to the format. The two major components of a headless CMS head using RESTful APIs, such as JSON.

Figure 1 “Headless” CMS Architecture

Web service APIs (REST, JSON)

“Headless” CMS “Head” Content Content Content Production & Database Delivery System Consumption

Multiple authoring tools Multiple front ends Digital devices and channels keep expanding Workflow Multiple presentation styles/formats Content database Omnichannel Content can come from multiple sources Administration Multichannel Archiving Reporting

DIGITAL CLARITY GROUP | © 2017 | [email protected] Headless CMS Breathes New Life into “Content Anywhere” | 3 Content delivery (or the “head”) sends with compelling, consistent content as she content to a wide and quickly expanding range moves from channel to channel and across of mobile devices and other channels, without multiple lines of business throughout the ever managing content creation or the content customer journey. By focusing on the delivery database. Content delivery can be powered by component of the CMS solution, marketing a portal or a custom HTML front-end system, can deliver diverse content from multiple or a mobile app, or other push channels. sources to the customer through many different channels.

Explosion of devices and interfaces. The Four Trends Now Drive Demand for New mind-boggling plethora of devices and Content Delivery Approaches social media interfaces that customers use to The revival of headless technology is breathing consume content is still expanding – driven by new life into “content anywhere” because many the ever-increasing demand for digital content of today’s CMS solutions cannot keep pace with by an information-hungry world. For example, the increased demand for 1) a diverse mix of rich smart cars, home devices such as Amazon’s content and 2) sophisticated content delivery and Alexa, delivery robots or drones, technology large-scale, distributed systems. Changes in how embedded in fashion items, and heads-up content systems are architected to deliver the full displays such as Google Glass or Oculus will spectrum and high volumes of today’s content, as drive the variability of content even higher. To well as how people consume content on mobile cope and respond, marketing must anticipate and tethered devices, fuel the demand for headless the next new thing for content consumption systems. Four major trends are driving this massive by implementing content delivery systems shift: capable of quickly meeting new expectations from a fickle and technology-savvy clientele. Omnichannel and multichannel. Businesses, governments, and nonprofits across many Complexity of content production and industries are grappling with a multichannel distribution. When CMSs first began, and omnichannel world. This has forced websites were fairly basic: the total content organizations to be more nimble in using on one central site may have been less than content to differentiate their products and fifty pages in support of a single brand. services and provide consistent, unforgettable Now, web pages can easily reach into the customer experiences, no matter how the thousands, with multiple brands, several lines customer engages with the organization. of business, numerous distributed sites, and Multichannel and omnichannel require an widely dispersed content creation teams, plus ability to support the customer seamlessly support for globalization and localization. The

DIGITAL CLARITY GROUP | © 2017 | [email protected] Headless CMS Breathes New Life into “Content Anywhere” | 4 inexorable trend is toward increased website modules) such as authentication, authoring, complexity for content production – like single workflow, and publishing, and this is only page applications – in response to greater possible with a robust CMS architecture. It expectations. helps to have a universal content delivery system capable of enabling content from Some firms use headless approaches and BPM many sources to flow into it and then flow software to implement “digital supply chains” out, without being tied to a specific content for media assets such as ads, logos, photos, production and database system. This allows videos, and content from multiple sources marketing to focus on the content delivery that including ad agencies, imagery marketplaces, customers need and crave. graphics studios, and internal staff. This process helps the firm create, re-purpose, and leverage valuable assets. Specifically, Headless CMS Solutions Are Ideally the content delivery system could repurpose Suited for Complex, Multi-site photos and audio and present them via the “tip Deployments box” (a small window on the contact center software screen) to help the call center agent Many organizations implementing content identify products that customers describe and solutions today are on their second or even then guide their conversations. third generation of CMS products. As they continue to upgrade their content systems and Heterogeneity of the corporate environment. add more capabilities, the deployments become Today’s websites are conduits for delivering increasingly advanced and quite complex to substantially more information than simply manage. In addition, many of these organizations’ serving up content – no matter how cool – from marketing departments are being pushed by the CMS. Many content systems provide a internal champions, stakeholders, competitors, range of information to customers, including and customers to deliver a compelling experience. inputs from the marketing automation Before simply upgrading their existing systems, system, email, social media tools, e-commerce these organizations should, at a minimum, software, product information management consider and evaluate a headless approach. (PIM) catalogs, and so forth. Websites are Good fits for a headless approach would be increasingly heterogeneous, service-oriented, companies with complex business, technical, and and deployed in the cloud, with the CMS organizational requirements such as the following: database no longer the sole system of record for web content. This democratization of Diverse content from multiple sources content sources compels content specialists comes into the CMS(s) for centralized to curate a rich mixture of content via website delivery. Sources could include many delivery components, often using marketing automation systems, multiple CMS microservices (small, independent software systems, e-commerce, personalization engines,

DIGITAL CLARITY GROUP | © 2017 | [email protected] Headless CMS Breathes New Life into “Content Anywhere” | 5 and social media. Plus, the organization Marketing is implementing multichannel, may be planning to implement advanced with plans to expand to omnichannel. technologies, such as biometrics and virtual Currently, the multichannel strategy may focus reality, over the next three years. on supporting the customer journey across multiple devices and touchpoints, such as Many standalone sites are being folded accessing the website via laptop, mobile apps, into a consolidated, distributed system. in-store kiosk, and chat. Companies often move to distributed configurations over time, with a goal of using Omnichannel will be installed at some the central site for corporate information point to bridge multiple brands and lines while the decentralized, distributed sites of business while maintaining context and support specific business units, countries, or consistency for the customer across all departments. channels. This omnichannel strategy will be rolled out in phases over the next three years. The customer can carry out multiple functions before logging in. Businesses Volumes of content have grown enormously, often offer self-service and assisted services far eclipsing the organization’s early websites. so customers can research products, obtain Now, the organization is managing high purchase information, request support, volumes of content that is created from and so on. Headless CMS helps support multiple sources within and outside the customers not just at the acquisition stage, but organization, then managed and delivered in a throughout the entire customer journey. multitude of owned and unowned channels.

Globalization/localization software is Content teams are stressed out, doing too being deployed on a large-scale basis. many things at once. Team members feel like Adding to the complexity, the organization jacks-of-all-trades, bouncing from task to task is implementing standards and software to in support of personalization, segmentation, manage global assets (e.g., logos, corporate search engine optimization, digital asset collateral) and localized assets (e.g., country- management, and campaign management. specific information in the local language and As the marketers’ technology toolkits expand, adapted to local norms). so does the technology expertise needed to use each tool effectively. The team longs for simplicity.

Content teams sometimes feel like jacks-of-all-trades, bouncing from task to task in support of personalization, segmentation, search engine optimization, digital asset management, and campaign management.

DIGITAL CLARITY GROUP | © 2017 | [email protected] Headless CMS Breathes New Life into “Content Anywhere” | 6 Decoupled Is the Design Point Coupled CMS uses a single, centralized repository for Three CMS Architectures for both content creation (or production) and delivery within the same product. The power Three types of CMS architectures are available in of this approach lies in blending delivery and today’s marketplace and are largely differentiated content production in the same package, which by how the content production/database helps business users and marketing teams during component is coupled or decoupled from the content creation. Users get instant results from content delivery component. These three types the content they create and are never out of synch are known as coupled CMS, decoupled CMS, and with content delivery. However, it is comparatively headless CMS. A specialized type of the latter harder to support mobile and PC renditions is Content as a Service (CaaS). (See Figure 2.) without creating multiple pages. The coupled Which architecture to use depends upon the approach is particularly well suited for departments organization’s size, content types and volume, in large enterprises. delivery channels, degree of centralization/ decentralization, and technology skill sets. Decoupled CMS separates content production and the content database from delivery within the same product. Many of today’s CMS implementations

Figure 2 CMS Architectural Options

API API

Coupled Decoupled “Headless” “Headless” Single system with: Single system with: No content delivery content-as-a-service Content production, Separate content Content production and DB only Content DB only DB and delivery production and DB Delivery provided through No content creation Separate delivery APIs to another system No content delivery

Best for small sites or Best for large sites, multi-brand, TARGET departmental systems, multi-location, with globalization, commerce, MARKET social media separate from and social via CMS CMS, no commerce

DIGITAL CLARITY GROUP | © 2017 | [email protected] Headless CMS Breathes New Life into “Content Anywhere” | 7 use this approach. For firms and government Content-as-a-Service (CaaS) is a specialized type agencies already dependent on these systems, they of headless CMS that lies at the most extreme end offer a vital solution with a known growth path. of the decoupled spectrum and is usually cloud- One downside is that they may require business based. CaaS separates content creation from both users to understand coding and often require IT’s the content database and the delivery system. CaaS support to keep running. If an organization is is a true service; content can be created anywhere looking for a new CMS to manage multiple sources and the content services can both send and receive. of content and deliver it seamlessly, a completely It’s essentially a processing center that cleanses headless approach may be a better match, although and stores content for future delivery; the content decoupled CMS is certainly a viable option. is provisioned elastically in the cloud, irrespective of where the content production tier sits. Such Headless CMS goes one step further than agility is critical for newer DevOps methodologies decoupled systems by housing the content to meet the increasing demands of marketing and production/database and delivery in completely sales stakeholders. The simplicity of the solution different systems. As a result, it’s possible for very complex content creation and delivery to change only the delivery system or only environments appeals to large enterprises needing the content production/database as needed. this approach. Omnichannel, mobile, and content complexity ushered in the headless CMS era three to four years ago. Both headless and decoupled CMSs support Headless CMS Provides microservices, which break previously monolithic Organizational and Technical software into components such as personalization, Flexibility segmentation, workflow, and templating. This allows firms to upgrade and load-balance different One of the key benefits that headless CMS components at a varying pace, providing greater (including CaaS) offers is flexibility with the performance and resiliency overall. system implementation and ongoing operation.2 With this completely decoupled approach, Not all solutions that claim to be headless actually customers are not forced into a single product are; it’s important to examine the ease versus stack but instead have the freedom to switch difficulty of pushing content from the production out the content delivery or content production/ component to one or more delivery systems. database components as needed – or to iterate With a headless CMS, the APIs should work improvements to them at different paces, bidirectionally, and the headless system should particularly when using microservices. This helps know whether content has been consumed and if it to future-proof the system. is the most current version. Although the content production system isn’t coupled with the delivery system, it should still be smart about how content is being consumed and used.

DIGITAL CLARITY GROUP | © 2017 | [email protected] Headless CMS Breathes New Life into “Content Anywhere” | 8 Headless CMS Caters to Diversified and Headless CMS’ Technical Flexibility Specialized Content Teams Helps to Future-Proof Investments

A headless CMS architecture supports flexibility The headless CMS approach also provides several in organizing the content team. For example, many important technical benefits. And while nothing is firms organize their Headless CMS staff into these certain in today’s technology markets, the benefits groups: of a headless CMS architecture provide a high level of future-proofing of an organization’s investment Specialized skills teams. Headless systems in CMS, including in these ways: support decentralizing and specializing the content management operation, such as Reliability. The headless CMS approach splitting the CMS team into smaller groups provides greater uptime because the content that perform specific functions instead of production/database configuration is a creating a centralized or single team that does smaller system that no longer depends on it all. For example, content creators don’t have the complexity of the typical coupled CMS to focus on content delivery because a separate components. In addition, the APIs – which are team can manage that part of the process. external to the base system – can be swapped out or modified without interfering with Content creation teams. These teams are the headless system’s base code. The use of typically formed to iterate quickly, often using microservices is another way headless systems native tools and thereby creating a more provide greater performance, reliability, and elegant website through multimedia and resilience. better presentation. Editorial workflow and content creation is usually more visible, and Syndication. A completely decoupled the content creation team gains greater insight delivery system is well suited for syndication when working with writers and creative staff. and supporting multiple partners that need access to the content. With a separate content Content production/database specialists. delivery architecture, it’s easier for teams to The headless component speeds create richer, more interactive, and better implementation by streamlining and overall experiences delivered faster than the simplifying the back end, making it easy to content developed within a coupled CMS. form a separate team that focuses specifically The content production/database system can on data delivery. This allows the content provide content to many destinations while the production/database staff to focus on what content delivery system can take in content information is being stored and how to store from multiple sources, including ones that are it, how content will be repurposed, and how to not CMSs. maintain the system of record.

DIGITAL CLARITY GROUP | © 2017 | [email protected] Headless CMS Breathes New Life into “Content Anywhere” | 9 Omnichannel, multichannel, and multi- More diverse delivery sources. Delivery goes device support. A decoupled content delivery beyond website content to also encompass system offers strong support for the full feeds from marketing automation, social continuum of multiple channels, multiple tools, e-commerce, product information devices, multiple platforms, and heavy management, and other sources. data exchange, such as mobile devices and A broad range of delivery options. Delivery digital displays in storefronts, lobbies, and can vary from a website to a portal, custom restaurants, as well as new devices emerging HTML front-end system, mobile app, or other from the internet of things (IoT). option.

Rapidly increasing content volumes. The Summary organization is managing high volumes of content created from multiple sources A headless CMS architecture with a fully within and outside the organization, and then decoupled content production/database system managed and delivered in a multitude of and content delivery system offers many owned and unowned channels. compelling benefits, particularly in evolving technical environments dealing with constantly Deploying multichannel or omnichannel. morphing, emerging requirements from marketing The business has already started and line-of-business departments. By adopting implementing multichannel or omnichannel, a headless CMS approach, firms can be well or plans to move in this direction in the future. positioned to flexibly embrace whatever new Integrating content with business processes. devices, touchpoints, and software emerge. Content delivery is integrated with business Organizations with the following needs should processes such as digital supply chain or consider shifting to a headless CMS architecture: customer self-service apps.

Greater content production. Marketing Rapid deployment and agility. Sales and plans to spearhead new campaigns, launch marketing or other business units require new brands, or host new/emerging social deployment speed and agility by provisioning interactions while continuing to support all content delivery in the cloud, irrespective of customers via the web. where content production sits.

A shift to centralization/distribution. Future-proofing. The likelihood of changes Several standalone sites are being folded into makes it important to future-proof the system a consolidated, distributed system with the to make it capable of adding or modifying central site for corporate information and components as requirements morph. distributed sites for specific business units.

DIGITAL CLARITY GROUP | © 2017 | [email protected] Headless CMS Breathes New Life into “Content Anywhere” | 10 Differing rate of change. The business Endnotes requirements dictate that the team iterate 1 See the blog post “Headless CMS – just a fad?” improvements to the content delivery system http://www.digitalclaritygroup.com/headless-cms/ and content production/database at a different 2 For an insightful and lively discussion about the pace through the use of microservices. benefits of headless CMS, see http://shoptalkshow. com/episodes/204-matt-dennewitz-jeff-eaton/ Greater team productivity. When content team members are stressed out by doing too many things at once (e.g., personalization, segmentation, search engine optimization), organizing employees into smaller specialized workgroups helps to increase their productivity and job satisfaction.

Here’s the question: are you ready to go headless?

Digital Clarity Group is a research-based advisory firm focused on the Contact Us content, technologies, and practices that drive world-class customer Email: experience. Global organizations depend on our insight, reports, and [email protected] consulting services to help them turn digital disruption into digital Twitter: @just_clarity advantage. As analysts, we cover the customer experience management (CEM) footprint – those organizational capabilities and competencies that www.digitalclaritygroup.com impact the experience delivered to customers and prospects. In our view, the CEM footprint overlays content management, marketing automation, e-commerce, social media management, collaboration, customer relationship management, localization, and search. As consultants, we believe that education and advice leading to successful CEM is only possible by actively engaging with all participants in the CEM solutions ecosystem. In keeping with this philosophy, we work with enterprise adopters of CEM solutions, technology vendors that develop and market CEM systems and tools, and service providers who implement solutions, including systems integrators and digital agencies.