Sitecore Experience Manager Cloud (XM Cloud) Value Proposition

For businesses currently using traditional Digital Experience Platforms (DXP) or Content Management Systems (CMS), the decision to migrate to Sitecore Experience Manager Cloud (XM Cloud) – Sitecore's SaaS CMS platform – warrants careful consideration. The advantages of transitioning to XM Cloud are manifold, and in this blog, we will highlight some of the key benefits.

1. Return on Investment (ROI)

Customers looking to migrate from a traditional DXP or CMS to Sitecore XM Cloud can expect about 25%-47% ROI on the total cost of ownership over a 3–5-year period. Here is a sample calculation, while the figures provided here are illustrative, the actual ROI will depend on the specific requirements and implementation of each customer's website.

Notes:

1. License costs are representative and will vary based on the DXP platform, websites, pages, traffic, number of content authors, etc.
2. Hosting & Managed Services include infrastructure costs and costs of managing, maintaining, and monitoring the infrastructure. Customers would generally use a hosting provider or internalize these services. Costs are supposed to increase 5% YoY. For DXP providers that provide a hosted option or SaaS option, this cost will be bundled into the license cost.
3. Website Support & Enhancements costs include website enhancements, bug fixes, and smaller features. For larger sites, this cost can be higher.
4. A traditional PaaS or on-prem DXP will usually have a major upgrade every 2-3 years. The upgrade cost is representative and will vary based on the DXP, actual implementation and upgrade impact/severity.
5. Website Support & Enhancements costs for Sitecore XM Cloud is expected to be about 50% less than a traditional DXP. This is primarily due to the fact that Sitecore XM Cloud is headless and support-enhancement work will be mostly on the front-end side. Traditional DXPs require changes on both backend and front-end.
6. Sitecore XM Cloud is a SaaS product and technically does not require any major upgrades like a traditional DXP. The estimate for the upgrade is for any platform or framework level changes customers may need to undertake.
7. The cost of migration will depend on the website scope. For a redesign initiative, the cost of migration will be zero or already factored into the redesign cost and will result in a much higher ROI.

2. Additional Benefits That Impact ROI

Omni-Channel and Easier to Update UX

Sitecore XM Cloud is headless – allowing you to use the same content and layout data across multiple channels – web, mobile, social, marketplace, etc. This flexibility allows for independent frontend framework choices and rapid redesigns without affecting the backend CMS.

Composable

Sitecore XM Cloud supports a composable architecture, allowing you to plug-and-play with other composable products and tools. Composable offers numerous other benefits that are not covered in this blog.

More Performant = Higher Lighthouse Score = Better SEO

Leveraging pre-rendering frameworks like Server-side-rendering and Static-site-generation (SSG), significantly enhance website page performance resulting in higher Lighthouse scores and improved SEO.

Increase in Marketing Team Productivity

Sitecore XM Cloud supports WYSIWYG editing using Pages and Components. Tools for content creation, page editing, analytics, optimization, and personalization boost marketing team productivity.

More Secure

By decoupling content from user experiences, content source (Sitecore XM Cloud) can be easily secured and any malicious or DDOS attacks can be handled at the “head” level – where infrastructure like Netlify/Vercel hosts your user experience tier.

Wider Talent Pool

The headless nature of Sitecore XM Cloud shifts development needs to frontend frameworks, broadening the talent pool to include front-end developers beyond the traditional constraints of hiring only Sitecore developers.

Global Deployment Models

With Sitecore XM Cloud, the user experience (or “head”) is hosted by third parties like Netlify or Vercel. With pre-rendering technologies like Server-side-rendering and Static-site-generation (SSG), website content can be pushed to the “edge” allowing for more localized and faster delivery of content across the globe.

No Compromise for Personalization and Security/Authentication

Not necessarily a benefit but an important misconception to address – using headless and edge-like technologies does not require any compromises with personalization, authentication, or user-level dynamic/personalized data.

Summary

Sitecore XM Cloud stands as a leader in the composable CMS/DXP space. For businesses contemplating a shift from traditional DXPs to a composable CMS or DXP, Sitecore XM Cloud is a compelling choice, offering a host of benefits that extend beyond financial considerations.