I just returned home from the MVP Summit and DX Minneapolis 2023 at the Mall of America, and the event was packed with insights. Spending three days inside America’s largest shopping mall was an experience in itself, but the real highlight was diving deep into Sitecore’s innovations and roadmap.
Starting off, the pace of adoption for Sitecore’s XM Cloud was staggering. Within just 1 year of XM Cloud’s launch, over 100 customers have embraced its capabilities. This success paved the way for XM Cloud+, a bundle that now encompasses content management, AI-powered search, personalization, drag-and-drop platform integration and analytics.
As the martech landscape evolves, Sitecore is not leaving its customers to navigate the changes alone. The new Sitecore Accelerate program is a testament to this commitment. With a focus on aiding transitions of Sitecore XM and XP customers to cloud-based solutions, the program offers best practices, tools, and hands-on support. In essence, it’s a roadmap designed to optimize your brand’s journey to the cloud.
A recurring theme was Sitecore’s integration of Generative AI (GenAI). The platform, which already boasts native AI-assisted authoring, is paving the way for even smarter, more intuitive content creation and management. Sitecore’s working with Microsoft and OpenAI on embedding AI and machine learning functionalities to enable future where technology simplifies complexities, making digital experiences more intuitive and personalized.
One of the standout showcases of Sitecore’s capabilities was its collaboration with partner American Eagle and customer United Airlines. Under the “Gate of the Future” initiative, Sitecore Personalize powers digital signage at United Airline terminal gates worldwide. It’s not just about displaying flight details. These signs adapt in real-time. Today you can approach a gate and see tailored messaging, like the offer to check in your carry-on for free, triggered by a boarding scan threshold. It’s a powerful representation of how Sitecore’s tools can be harnessed to enhance real-world user experiences, making them more relevant and engaging.
The audience cheered for the announcement of the Sitecore Symposium’s return, set for Nashville next year.
Noelle Russell, Chief AI Officer at the AI Leadership Institute, delivered a thought-provoking keynote on the responsible use of AI. Emphasizing the ethical aspects, she shed light on the balance between technological advancements and their societal implications. In the face of AI powerhouses like ChatGPT, the message was clear: with great power comes great responsibility.
Detailing Sitecore’s direction, Roger Connolly, VP of Product Management shared a preview of the company’s roadmap. He highlighted the continuous enhancements being rolled out, ensuring customers always have access to the latest features without the traditional hassles of upgrades. The products keep getting better (without upgrades) with new enhancements like XM Cloud’s Form capabilities added each month. Siteocore’s SaaS-first story was more cohesive than ever in Minneapolis MVP Summit and the DX MN events.