What is Sitecore Experience Manager?

Sitecore Experience Manager (XM) is an omnichannel content management system that can help businesses attract, convert, and retain customers. As an enterprise-grade CMS with rich features and capabilities, Sitecore XM enables companies to create, manage, and deliver content across channels and devices.

In this article, we’ll explain more about Sitecore XM, including its features and benefits, as well as how it differs from other Sitecore tools such as Sitecore XP and XM Cloud. 

What’s Included in Sitecore XM?

Sitecore XM is part of the Sitecore Platform DXP set of solutions, which offers an integrated and cohesive full-suite technology platform that can be hosted on-premises and provides complete architectural control for businesses. 

Sitecore XM is an enterprise-grade CMS that offers the functionality companies need to create, edit, manage, and deliver content and enables companies to leverage additional features, including simple personalization and forms. 

Additionally, the CMS can be integrated with other tools in the marketing stack, including CRM, e-commerce system, CDP, ECM, social media tools, ERP, DAM, language translation service, and others.

Sitecore XM vs Sitecore XP

Another solution in the platform DXP offered by Sitecore is Sitecore Experience Platform (XP). Sitecore XP is a digital experience platform (DXP) that gives enterprises all of the features they need to manage their marketing needs in one complete solution. Sitecore XM is one of the core offerings in Sitecore XP.

Whereas Sitecore XP offers a complete suite of tools that marketers might need in one platform, including features such as marketing automation, personalization, and analytics, Sitecore XM is a streamlined version of XP that provides only the CMS.

Enterprises won’t have access to features such as Experience Explorer, Campaign Creator, Content Testing, Email Experience Manager, Experience Analytics, Experience Profile, List Manager, Path Analyzer, Segmentation, Federated Experience Manager, and Marketing Automation. 

Most brands that choose Sitecore XP won't use all its features. As such, the streamlined version of the CMS found with Sitecore XM reduces the overhead and infrastructure costs associated with using the more robust DXP. 

Sitecore XM vs XM Cloud

Sitecore XM Cloud is the evolution of Sitecore XM. XM Cloud is a modern SaaS solution with a headless CMS architecture. Marketing and development teams can use it to build and distribute content and digital experiences across multiple channels while enabling quicker time-to-market.

Whereas Sitecore XM is a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) offering meant to be installed on-premises, XM Cloud is a cloud-native solution. Sitecore XM can be hosted on a private cloud or using Sitecore’s Managed Cloud services. However, XM Cloud is a complete SaaS offering allowing businesses to leverage the benefits of increased scalability and improved time to market, with upgrades and maintenance handled by Sitecore. 

Additionally, XM Cloud enables businesses to embrace composability. They can purchase only the solutions that make sense for their company and combine them into a best-of-breed stack while getting the performance benefits of a headless website.

Key Features of Sitecore XM

Some of the key features of Sitecore XM include the following: 

• Experience Editor: Marketers have the simplicity and flexibility of drag-and-drop templates, WYSIWYG editor, and visual previews that let you edit webpage elements such as images, text, buttons, links, and other content. A streamlined content authoring experience allows them to build web pages and experiences quickly and easily.

• Forms: This user-friendly feature allows you to create interactive forms and collect visitor data. Additionally, you can export form data, apply validation rules to the form, style it as you wish, and generate reports on their submission.

• Multisite and Multilingual Functionality: Global organizations can create, manage, and deliver content across multiple websites, languages, and locations.

• Headless Delivery: Sitecore XM allows businesses to improve site performance and adopt new front-end frameworks with modern headless architecture.

• Sitecore Publishing Service: This service lets marketers speed up the time it takes to publish large volumes of content. It also increases throughput and enhances the user experience. 

• Sitecore Experience Accelerator (SXA): This is a user-friendly interface that non-content authors can use to manage the site. At the same time, developers work on the underlying components and data templates, enabling faster deployment of your sites.

• AI-powered Analytics: Content teams can collect customer interaction data and generate actionable insights with AI-powered analytics and optimization.

• Data Exchange Framework: This tool allows you to import and integrate data, such as content and analytics, from third-party apps into Sitecore.

• Search: Sitecore provides scalable and flexible search options, including Azure, Lucene, and Solr. Additionally, Sitecore Search can be integrated using a composable approach.

• Active Directory: This service allows you to integrate domain users and groups into Sitecore.

• Sitecore JavaScript Services: This provides React, Angular, and Vue-based headless JS applications built with Sitecore. Marketers can then deliver omnichannel content to all devices.

• Sitecore Mobile API for Xamarin: This framework uses Portable Class Library (PCL) to enable developers to work with content items and fields. That way, developers can serve content from Sitecore through mobile apps.

Benefits of Sitecore XM

Enterprises should consider several criteria when selecting a new CMS. Sitecore XM offers many essential benefits that allow businesses to deliver modern, optimized, and personalized experiences across all digital channels. There are a number of reasons that enterprises choose Sitecore XM as their CMS including:

• Omnichannel content delivery: Customers consume content from several channels. For enterprises to meet the demands of these channels, they need to deliver omnichannel content automatically to each customer’s device by writing once and publishing it across multiple channels through a headless CMS.

• Multiple hosting options: Enterprises can leverage several options to deploy sites on Sitecore. They can deploy on-prem, in the cloud, or through Sitecore’s Managed Cloud services.

• Centralized content and website management: Enterprises using Sitecore XM can centrally manage and monitor multiple websites, sharing content, presentations, and modules seamlessly. 

• Higher global reach: With the feature for multilingual content delivery, enterprises can provide customers with their preferred language regardless of the device or channel they use.

• Faster content search: Brands want to ensure that visitors can easily find relevant content on their site. With Sitecore XM, enterprises can leverage a user-friendly search engine that provides a seamless content search for visitors and authors. 

• Faster time-to-market: Enterprises can significantly reduce development time using a Docker-based workflow and Sitecore Containers.

• Higher customer loyalty and retention: With personalization features on Sitecore XM, enterprises can enable better engagement, increase conversions, and enhance the user experience by delivering targeted and relevant content to visitors.

• Mobile-friendly: Enterprises can detect and optimize content automatically for mobile devices. In addition, Geo IP detection allows them to personalize content according to visitor location.

• Faster campaign rollouts: Companies can accelerate website production and reuse components, layouts, and templates across multiple sites.

Sitecore XM: Enterprise-level Personalized Digital Experiences

Sitecore XM enables enterprises to deliver top-notch digital experiences to their customers. With this CMS, you can provide personalized experiences and functionalities to enhance content creation and delivery. Before implementing Sitecore XM, you should know how to choose the right Sitecore partner.

Oshyn is a certified Sitecore Partner with extensive expertise in implementing and upgrading Sitecore XM and other Sitecore solutions. Additionally, we can offer guidance on newer composable Sitecore tools such as XM Cloud, Sitecore Search, and CDP. 

Are you wondering if Sitecore XM is the right choice for you or if you might need to consider moving to a SaaS solution instead? Learn more about Sitecore XM Cloud and Sitecore’s composable offerings in our ebook: Your Guide to Sitecore XM Cloud.