Puppies and hedgehogs and SaaS strategy, oh my!
And that’s a wrap for the first day of #SitecoreSYM! We will see you all bright and early tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/mKGuf56JYh
— Sitecore (@Sitecore) November 5, 2019
If you’re wondering what these three things have to do with one another they are three of the most popular topics at this week’s Sitecore Symposium. While it’s obvious why cute puppies and a #HedgieHunt would dominate symposium conversations, what is up with the fascination with SaaS?
#HedgieHunt was successful. Anew friend was made at #SitecoreSYM pic.twitter.com/HObRWXEOC7
— Scott Gillis (@thecodeattic) November 6, 2019
To begin with, it was the big announcement from Sitecore’s CEO, Mark Frost on the second day of the symposium.
Our vision to deliver @Sitecore as a Service will completely reinvent how our customers and partners purchase, deploy, and use our software to drive meaningful, emotional connections with their customers. #HumanConnections #SitecoreSYM pic.twitter.com/0i8rnDoSh2
— Mark Frost (@Mark_D_Frost) November 5, 2019
While the concept of delivering any manner of ‘things’ as a service is no longer a brand-new concept, it is a novel development in the area of driving and delivering a better digital experience and a creating a stronger customer connection.
One of the greatest obstacles to meeting the customer where they are has been the ability to execute at speed and scale. And, with the pampered consumer expecting their journey not only to be personalized but to also integrate knowledge about their previous interactions the ability to deliver in the moment is key to success.
In announcing the move to a SaaS platform, Sitecore CEO Mark Frost noted that “[e]nabling brands to deliver customer experiences as quickly and efficiently as possible is paramount in this digital age.” The ability to build digital experiences more quickly and easily is the key to offering differentiated experiences to consumers as they interact with content across multiple platforms and respond to changing market forces.
Of course, for customer experience professionals and designers working behind the scenes there are benefits too. Not only will moving to a SaaS digital experience platform bring flexibility and the ease of automatic upgrades, but many tasks that are a heavy lifts right now will be much easier to accomplish. Most notably this includes the most challenging part of delivering a tailored customer experience – the personalization of messaging and content – and the integration of content, commerce, and data into one platform.
With just one more day of the symposium to go we can’t wait to see what comes next, whether its more puppies, more hedgehogs, or more innovative solutions.
