Robert

Sitecore DX in Minneapolis last month was an exciting affair, not just because it filled the gap where the annual Sitecore Symposium gathering would usually take place, but also because it was where Sitecore launched XM Cloud Plus and Sitecore Accelerate.

As Sitecore continues to enlarge its SaaS offering we’re seeing new and expanded cloud products and tools coming to market such as Sitecore Search, Content Hub ONE, and Sitecore Connect over the last twelve months.

But with XM Cloud essentially being the Hero product in the portfolio, taking over the mantle from Sitecore Experience Platform (XP), what actually is XM Cloud Plus?

Well, as the name might suggest, it is essentially a beefed-up version of XM Cloud with a bunch of added features and capabilities that make it even more useful to clients, enabling them to deliver experiences that convert to their own customers.

XM Cloud Plus includes XM Cloud (obviously) but adds built-in site search, AI-powered personalization, omnichannel content channels, comprehensive analytics as well as seamless integration and connectivity:

• AI-powered Search features enable intelligent search recommendations and access to an extensive array of personalisation development tools enables omnichannel personalisation targeting (utilising features associated with Sitecore Search and Sitecore Personalize).
• An omnichannel content centre lets teams manage all their digital customer touchpoints from a single content repository that ensures streamlined workflows and brand consistency across channels (utilising features associated with Connect Hub ONE).
• Seamless integrations and connectivity features offer easy implementation within an existing tech stack to create connected customer experiences across channels (utilising features associated with Sitecore Connect).
• A drag-and-drop Form builder provides customers with an easy way to add data capture forms to their pages and components.

Think of XM Cloud Plus as a more direct upgrade to Sitecore XP as opposed to the more streamlined standalone XM Cloud. As Sitecore say themselves:

“XM Cloud Plus is designed to answer the needs of Sitecore XP customers who have enjoyed a powerful solution in a single product and are ready to make their transition to the cloud, and for brands that want to leverage a composable technology stack but use a proven product combination to simplify deployment and accelerate time to value.”

We’ve seen this ourselves from some clients that are currently on Sitecore XP and considering a future upgrade to XM Cloud but with the standalone version not quite offering feature parity with what they currently had.

This is a smart move from Sitecore and we think that XM Cloud Plus will come to be the Hero product that most clients will adopt over the next few years.

If you would like to explore your options with upgrading your tech stack to XM Cloud Plus, or indeed making the move to Sitecore from another platform, Sagittarius can help you on the way. Get in touch with us today and we’ll help you on your journey.

This article appears on the Sagittarius blog.

In Part One of ‘Everything you need to know before getting started with Sitecore Send,’ we laid the foundation for harnessing the power of Sitecore Send in your email marketing endeavours, exploring Sitecore Send’s Email Lists and Campaigns. Let’s continue our journey by delving into Sitecore Send’s email marketing automation and analytics with Segments, Forms, Automation, Reports, and Integrations.

Read the full article on the Sagittarius blog at this link.

Despite being a part of every brand’s marketing strategy since the dawn of time, email marketing is still one of the most effective ways to engage with your customers and stimulate sales.

99% of email users check their email daily, some as much as 20 times a day! And 61% of consumers prefer to be contacted by brands through email as opposed to other channels.

Email is still essential to any business’s marketing and sales strategy, and having the right tool is paramount.

Sitecore Send is Sitecore’s latest SaaS email tool, built for the composable world, and this product should be part of any conversation an organisation has around revamping its email capability.

But, like rolling out any new tool, there are considerations to make before you dive in. With that in mind, there are seven elements you need to know about before getting started with Sitecore Send.

• Email Lists – Who you’re sending your emails to and what data points you have on them.
• Campaigns – These are the emails themselves, how they look and feel and what info is in them.
• Forms – Getting new users into your lists and what info you want them to give you.
• Segments – How you can group your users based on common characteristics so you can create relevant Campaigns.
• Automation – Setting up automated messages based on certain Triggers and Conditions.
• Reports – Viewing how successful your Campaigns are.
• Integrations – Getting your system to share information with other tools or platforms.

Read the full article on the Sagittarius blog at this link.

I was delighted to deliver Sagittarius’s very first Sitecore Send Academy training internally today with an aim to get the whole agency up to speed with the features and benefits of Sitecore Send so we can help our clients roll it out for their own businesses.