Sitecore XM Cloud is a cloud-native, headless CMS for building and managing digital experiences. It’s also the flagship product in the Sitecore product suite and the foundation for a composable digital experience platform (DXP).
According to a recent Total Economic Impact study, XM Cloud can deliver a 371% return on investment over 3 years and significant improvements, including a 40% time savings for website operations and a 60% improvement in digital marketing effectiveness.
With the potentially high return on investment and the benefits of the cloud, everyone from Sitecore customers on XP/XM to those on other DXPs or CMSs is considering XM Cloud.
But is it right for you?
In this post, we’ll highlight some of XM Cloud's benefits and drawbacks and some of the other available options across the CMS landscape.
Benefits of XM Cloud
First, let’s consider the benefits of XM Cloud that make it appealing to multiple audiences.
Fully Managed SaaS
XM Cloud is a cloud-native SaaS solution, with all hosting, scaling, upgrades, and security patches handled by Sitecore, rather than an internal developer team. This means enterprises don’t have to worry about owning and maintaining on-premises infrastructure, which can lead to significant cost savings.
Composable-Ready
As the foundation of a composable DXP, XM Cloud integrates seamlessly with other products, including those from Sitecore, such as Search, Personalize, and CDP, and third-party products for commerce, marketing automation, and other capabilities. This flexibility allows businesses to build a composable DXP using their desired products and services.
Simplified DevOps
XM Cloud provides standardized environments that simplify deployment, reduce build time, and accelerate speed to market.
Modern Authoring Tools
XM Cloud provides modern content authoring tools that enable marketers to create digital experiences. These tools include visual page editing, reusable components, and built-in workflows for rapid publishing.
Potential Drawbacks
XM Cloud can offer a significant ROI, but that largely depends on the overall setup of the organizations adopting it. Here are some potential drawbacks that businesses need to consider:
Total Cost of Ownership & Overhead
Depending on the product mix that makes up your composable setup, XM Cloud can lead to a higher total cost of ownership than businesses are accustomed to. This includes additional license costs and the integration overhead required to connect APIs, data, and workflows across multiple tools.
Learning Curve & Skill Requirements
XM Cloud is a headless CMS, meaning that, unlike Sitecore XP or other DXPs, developers will need to be trained on different front-end tools and frameworks such as Next.js. These new skill requirements can present a learning curve for organizations unless you consult an experienced partner like Oshyn.
Assessing the CMS Landscape
We’ve touched on the potential benefits and drawbacks of XM Cloud, but before choosing between a composable setup and XM Cloud, another headless CMS, or a platform DXP, it’s important to understand where XM Cloud fits in the headless CMS landscape, which can be broken down into two categories:
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Born-headless CMSs
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Traditional CMSs that now support headless
Born-headless CMSs
The market for born-headless CMSs is fairly extensive, as they are not difficult to build; however, a few established players have the most evolved offerings and additional DXP-grade features that you might consider, including Contentful, Contentstack, and Sanity.
You can find a longer list of headless CMSs on the web here and here, with options ranging from SaaS or on-premises hosting to paid or free open-source solutions.
Traditional CMS
Almost every formerly traditional CMS or DXP now supports headless in some fashion. Most traditional CMS/DXP vendors offer a "hybrid" approach that allows enterprises to host some web properties using a headless approach and others with the traditional model.
Should I Use My Traditional CMS/DXP's Headless Capability?
The initial key question is: Can you leverage a traditional CMS/DXP?
There are several elements to this question that may be relevant:
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Do you already have editors trained in a traditional CMS/DXP, such that using the headless capability of that CMS/DXP will reduce training costs?
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Do you already have licensing that covers both the headless and headed capabilities in your traditional CMS/DXP?
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Do you have an IT department that already knows how to manage, maintain, and operate traditional CMS/DXP systems?
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Do you have websites that are a good fit for “headed” (traditional) and others that are a good fit for headless?
If you have a traditional CMS/DXP and the above answers are affirmative, then it makes sense to attempt to leverage the headless capabilities of your traditional CMS/DXP.
If your traditional CMS/DXP is Sitecore, then it makes sense for you to consider XM Cloud as your headless option. However, there are a few things to note:
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XM Cloud will be a different license/subscription than your current traditional CMS/DXP (Sitecore XP/XM). If you currently pay for Sitecore XP/XM, expect additional costs for XM Cloud as you transition (XM Cloud is SaaS-based). Once you are fully migrated to XM Cloud, you will no longer have XP/XM costs, and your subsequent ongoing costs may be higher or lower depending on your specific needs and traffic volume.
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Your Sitecore XP/XM implementation can be headless on its own (it's called JSS). However, with the advent of XM Cloud, this product may become a lower priority for Sitecore.
Other traditional CMS vendors have not bifurcated their product in the same way as Sitecore. Theoretically, this allows Sitecore's XM Cloud to be unencumbered by the legacy technology and more agile with new features, but it also means that for many customers who want to jump to XM Cloud, implementation costs could be high.
What If I’m Not a Sitecore XP/XM Customer?
XM Cloud vs Born-headless
If you are not an XP/XM customer, you can evaluate XM Cloud on the merits against the other headless options from traditional CMS/DXP vendors and the born-headless vendors. One of the benefits of Sitecore's late entry into the headless party is that they have observed what works and what doesn't, and have leveraged that insight as part of their XM Cloud strategy.
The key advantage that XM Cloud has over the born-headless CMSs is the capability of inline editing. Born-headless CMSs typically force their editors to edit content in a form-based interface. If your editors have never used an inline editing interface, this may be acceptable, but most non-technical marketers prefer an inline editing interface.
Sitecore's traditional CMS/DXP vendor heritage has made this possible. Along with rich content management functionality that has been refined over 20 years, which is also baked into XM Cloud, inline editing is a key differentiator from the born-headless crowd.
The downside of this inline-editing capability is that it loses some of the promise of the headless architecture, which is complete decoupling of the head from the CMS and complete freedom of the head.
XM Cloud vs Headless Using a Traditional CMS/DXP
The primary basis for comparing XM Cloud to other traditional CMS/DXP headless offerings will be its CMS editing and content modeling capabilities.
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Does the traditional CMS headless have inline-editing capabilities, and is that important to you? Although inline editing is a standard capability of most traditional CMSs/DXPs, not all have been able to integrate it effectively into their headless offerings.
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Execution of the headless API: Can you truly gain the benefits you seek in your headless solution (e.g., page speed performance) from Sitecore's XM Cloud compared to other traditional CMS/DXP headless options?
If the answers to these questions point you toward Sitecore, then XM Cloud may be your perfect option.
Wrapping Up
So, is XM Cloud right for you? The final answer will depend on several factors, including your current technical setup and team, industry, and budget.
However, if you’re considering transitioning to XM Cloud, it helps to have a partner familiar with not only Sitecore and XM Cloud but also the broader digital experience space to assist with your assessment.
Oshyn is a certified Sitecore partner trusted by enterprises to implement and optimize Sitecore for frictionless customer experiences. With our knowledge of the digital experience space, we can help you determine whether XM Cloud is the right fit for you and how best to make the transition if you choose to.
Learn more about XM Cloud in our ebook: Your Guide to Sitecore XM Cloud.
And if you’re on Sitecore XP and are not quite ready to move to Sitecore XM Cloud, that’s ok. Check out this article: How to Get More out of Sitecore XP
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