Embracing Innovation: The Business Benefits of Sitecore XM Cloud's Rapid Release Schedule

In today's complex marketing technology landscape, staying ahead of the curve is not just an advantage — it's a necessity.

You, like many other businesses across the globe are in a constant race to deliver exceptional customer experiences (CX) and ensure digital platforms are not only robust and scalable but also equipped with the latest features to meet evolving customer demands. This is where Sitecore XM Cloud is really standing out, with its rapid release schedule and continuous delivery of new features marking a significant shift in value for customers.

Now, many of you likely aren't subscribed to the relevant notifications, and I highly suspect you don't peruse the release notes as a ritual. Which by the way, you can do at the link in the bottom of this article. So here are some of my highlights from the last few months.

Please take a moment to really read the detail here. Also, apologies for the lack of formatting, LinkedIn, unlike Sitecore XM Cloud doesn't support rich formatting!

XM Cloud release major highlights as of March 2024

Mar 2024

• Centralised Dashboards with XM Cloud Analytics - The new XM Cloud Analytics tool enables you to understand the performance of your websites and forms. It provides real-time insights at a glance and lets you track trends over any selected period.
• XM Cloud Pages improves usability - Users who have enabled the new rich text editor in Pages can now view and make changes to the source code of their content.

Feb 2024

• Custom Validation Messages in XM Cloud Forms - On the form Styling tab, we’ve added the option to replace the default validation messages with custom ones.
• Improved Rich Text Editor in XM Cloud Pages - Our new rich text editor, available within Rich Text components in Pages, offers several new features, including the ability to add tables, find and replace text, and style images in a variety of new ways. 
• Environmental Variables Moved - Moved from Dashboard to XM Cloud Deploy to streamline deployment processes and make environment configuration straightforward.

Jan 2024

• Styles Publishing Improvements in XM Cloud Components - The new CLI utility for the Sitecore SDK lets a developer package their current component library and style library for independent storage and duplication. 
• Forms Available in XM Cloud - Introducing Forms - a dedicated interface to create and design engaging forms, which you add to your site pages using Pages, Components, or Experience Editor.
• JSS 21.6 Unleashed - Provides developers with more tools and resources, improving the development process and enabling sophisticated solutions.

Dec 2023

• New XM Cloud Overview in Doc Site - Improved overview helps users and developers understand the platform better, leading to effective use.
• XM Cloud Components Custom CSS and Responsive Bundles - Essential for creating visually appealing and mobile-friendly websites, impacting user experience.

Nov 2023 Updates

• Beta Release: Project Creation Wizard with Azure DevOps Support - Streamlines project setup and integration with Azure DevOps, enhancing workflows and collaboration.
• Improved Deploy Times in XM Cloud - Faster deployment times reduce downtime and improve efficiency of development cycles.

Personally, I love the value created in these releases, with significant promises delivered on in each release (Sitecore Forms as an example). If you looked carefully at each of the items I handpicked out of the list, you'll see the breadth of value across disciplines, including developer, marketers, content author and business user.

Where I see the most value is in the messaging coming from regional sales and technical resources, aligns with the actual deliveries into the product. That may sound like a table stakes mode of operation, but it is a demonstrable benefit of the SaaS platform, and set's Sitecore apart from some of its competitors.

Elephant: Hasn't this SaaS thing been around for a while?

You are not wrong. It sure has, I think the Salesforce people did something like this way back when... sarcasm.

But the nuance here is in the very developer centric, integrated and highly editor and end-user dependant CMS space. Sitecore traditionally had the edge, because it was as much a CMS as it was a development framework for complex web properties. Many took for granted the sheer capability of the Sitecore Content Delivery server and we see the modern JS platforms "reinventing" many of those wheels (perhaps a TED talk for another day...).

I think it's important to truly appreciate what Sitecore is well on its way to achieving, a fully headless, composable, SaaS-based platform that really leaves very few wanting for the old monolithic platform from at least a technology and features perspective.

How does this translate to accelerated innovation and reduced costs?

The rapid release schedule of Sitecore XM Cloud provides the immediate benefit of being able to activate new features in the pursuit of adapting to customer needs and market changes more swiftly.

In the past, in a monolithic platform (which I feel compelled to remind you, we all loved, and had varying degrees of success with, whether it was Sitecore or otherwise), purposeful adoption of new features typically required an upgrade, and upgrades were often delayed due to our inability to see value in the new feature. It was a constant battle between BAU, maintenance and feature dev.

From a business standpoint, the continuous delivery model of Sitecore XM Cloud significantly reduces the operational burden and costs associated with software upgrades. Traditional upgrades of any technology, as you well know are often time-consuming and resource-intensive, requiring extensive planning, downtime, and adjustment periods. Now, topic for another article... let's just be clear, it does not eradicate ALL the upgrades, but it removes the Sitecore software itself from the upgrade dependency chain.

This approach saves costs in terms of resources and time but also minimises the risk of operational hiccups that can affect customer experience. Your people can focus more on strategy and less on maintenance, an outcome many strive for.

Conclusion

Sitecore XM Cloud's rapid release schedule and continuous delivery of new features represent a paradigm shift in how businesses can leverage technology to stay competitive. By enabling a more agile and responsive digital presence, businesses can drive stronger customer engagement, foster loyalty, and achieve a higher ROI.

In the fast-paced digital world, the ability to quickly adapt and innovate is not just an advantage—it's essential for success.

Now, I said I would share that link... Sitecore's global changelog

If you want to talk more about Sitecore XM Cloud, and more importantly the transition from your monolithic platform (Sitecore or otherwise), please do slide into my DM's.