Acquia’s CEO, Thomas Erickson on Leadership and the Future of Web Content Management
Every year, Gartner publishes its report, The Magic Quadrant for Web Content Management, and every year the industry waits to see where and how those little blue dots will move about, as a reflection of Gartner’s in-depth analysis of leading vendors.
Looked upon by many as a guide for companies to evaluate which Web Content Management 
solution would be right for their business, we here at CMS-Connected are always happy to see numerous vendors included in the report that we know very well. We often create a few conversations following the release focused on the recognition within the report, and showcase details of the platforms themselves but admittedly, when I reflect on the various businesses, I look through the lens of leadership and wonder what is on the mind of those at the helm of these companies, the CEOs themselves? Thankfully, upon reaching out, I was fortunate enough to gain access to the great mind of Acquia’s current CEO, Thomas Erickson, to discuss leadership, Acquia's recognitions by Gartner, and what trends and innovatons he sees on the horizon.
As CEO, what do you feel are the fundamental elements to leading a successful company?
"First and foremost, we have a great team. I can’t say enough positive things about the passionate, hard-working individuals at Acquia who are committed to helping our customers succeed. It’s always been my belief that Acquia has an unfair advantage over our competitors because we have the platform and the people in place to help our customers deliver their most ambitious projects."
What do you feel Acquia has done to contribute to their recognition in the Gartner Magic Quadrant and how do you intend on keeping up that momentum?
"The WCM landscape has changed dramatically in the last few years alone. This shift has led to Acquia being in a unique position -- the market is coming straight at us. Industry experts like Gartner have validated this point. With our innovative cloud platform that’s deeply rooted in open source, Acquia has been doing for years what other WCM companies are only now beginning to explore. Open source has proven to be the essential foundation for innovative digital experiences. So we’ll see smaller companies and larger companies alike jumping on the open source bandwagon, and we’ll also see more companies adopting cloud-first strategies. But today’s enterprise buyers are savvy and know to look under the hood of their platforms to see if they are really getting a cloud-first platform, or something that’s been cloud-washed. To keep up Acquia’s momentum, we’re going to continue doing what we do best and do it in a big way - delighting our customers and providing the best digital experiences in the world."
What are your thoughts on the WCM space? For example, what trends do you see on the horizon or where do you think we will see the most innovation in the coming months?
"Today’s consumer expects a seamless experience across all touchpoints, at any time, anywhere. As a result, digital teams are racing to spin up marketing sites, campaign sites, product sites, you name it. This explosion of content is helping us reach our customers where they are. It’s also contributing to an enormous amount of multisite management and data complexity. Digital teams want smarter systems -- across multiple data sets, multiple systems of record, and multiple systems of engagement -- so they can make data-driven decisions that transform and elevate the customer experience. Across every sector we see organizations are working with a heightened sense of urgency to implement systems of intelligence and convert customer insight to better business outcomes."
Laura Myers
A digital business, marketing and social media enthusiast, Laura thrives on asking unique, insightful questions to ignite conversation. At an event or remotely, she enjoys any opportunity to connect with like-minded people in the industry.