e-Spirit Launches Content-as-a-Service Solution: FirstSpirit CaaS
e-Spirit Inc., the manufacturer of the FirstSpirit Content Management System, rolled out FirstSpirit CaaS, a content-as-a-service (CaaS) solution that is designed to enable companies to monetize content by streamlining its delivery to and from any device, channel, or application for faster time to market.
CMS-Connected has reached out to Andreas Knoor, Chief Operating Officer of e-Spirit, and he stated: “The marketplace is starting to move away from the traditional way of managing content where content is created in the CMS and pushed to the website to the more agile content-as-a-service model. FirstSpirit CaaS enables companies to create content and have it dynamically pulled anywhere it is called—a website, mobile device, the Internet of Things, social media channels, etc. It’s a much faster method for content delivery,” said Knoor. “Because content is separate from presentation, developers can design the perfect digital experience for each channel, improving customer journeys and helping turn content into revenues. It’s changing the way businesses use content, and helping them monetize it.”
In the mid 90’s, access to the internet changed the way people found and shared information, and online marketing was born. In the early 2000’s, online social networks changed the way people communicated, and marketers started to take advantage of them to engage with prospects and customers on a deeper level. In the late 2000’s, smartphones changed diversity of customer touchpoints, and marketers were tasked to deliver content with the speed and consistency needed to satisfy customers on their channel of choice. Today, it is no longer about just web and mobile as a number of innovations and shifts are happening on a daily basis. No surprise there, this digital revolution will have a huge impact on marketers and businesses. Internet of Things (IoT) alone, for instance, is expected to have the economic impact of $3.9 trillion to $11.1 trillion a year by 2025, according to McKinsey, while U.S. organizations will invest more than $232 billion in IoT hardware, software, services, and connectivity this year, based on IDC’s recent forecast.
Content-as-a-Service
Before diving into the capabilities of FirstSpirit CaaS, let’s have a deeper grasp of content-as-a-service. First off, I like to reassure you that this is not one of those fad [Word]-as-a-Service terms. Hosting a conventional CMS in the cloud is not what CaaS is about either. Then, what is this? The content and presentation layers no longer stand closely to each other as CaaS separates content from presentation providing users flexibility and efficiency so they can engage end-to-end customer journeys through customized and personalized content for each unique channel.
In other words, content creators who implement the CaaS approach do not need to worry whether their content will display correctly on a website, mobile app, wearables, or custom front end any more. Today, as organizations try to get content onto hundreds of new devices and form factors, the separation of content and form enables the freedom to leverage and reuse their content in limitless ways. It is very important because organizations need to be ready to publish to any new device and in any new format that today’s digital revolution brings along next which makes content future-proof.
Having a CaaS CMS really pays off when it comes to maximizing the reach of business communications. It simply allows users to push and reuse content wherever and whenever necessary as it is neither cheap nor efficient to have a separate solution for every channel. It is also a real struggle for brands to make their content visible and maintain the same quality in multiple channels at once. Therefore, CaaS gives businesses full control over which content should be personalized, and to what degree in order to accelerate visibility of the brand and develop lasting relationships with the consumer.
Advantages of FirstSpirit CaaS
Lightning speed: CaaS enables companies to eliminate the need for traditional time-consuming integrations, as content can be simply accessed from the CaaS server and specified where they want it to go.
Simplicity: The more digital channels are involved, the more infrastructure complexity issues organizations face. The complete separation of managing content from the way it is displayed makes it easier for businesses to manage their omnichannel strategy.
Greater consistency and efficiency: Instantly call content to go where it’s needed—channels, sites, devices, apps, etc. therefore re-using it dynamically for greater consistency and efficiency.
New revenue opportunities: Flexibility which CaaS provides is not limited with only tablets and smartphones. With the new platform, FirstSpirit users are able to deliver their content to any device among the Internet of Things. As a result, it creates new opportunities for content monetization.
Design-friendly experiences: Since this new take on the CMS eliminates strong design restrictions, it is easier to design and customize content to deliver engaging customer experiences throughout their journey.
A platform which can measure content consumption gives greater insights into how to optimize your content for better targeting and greater success.
“Every company would like a piece of the 'digital pie' and to capture the enormous market potential. That is why a central goal must be to realize the value of content, and monetize it directly or indirectly. FirstSpirit CaaS was developed for this purpose. Next to traditional Web content management, which will continue to have its place, CaaS makes managing content possible for all touchpoints—not just websites—with unprecedented simplicity,” Knoor noted in the press release.
Although the space is fairly young, there are some other companies providing content-as-a-service, including Vubiquity Inc, Contently Inc., Drupal Connect, Inc., Feed Syndicate, Contentful GmbH, Hippo B.V., Influence & Co., Sitecore and eZ Systems AS.
If all you need is a simple website, then the effort of CaaS is not worth it. However, the emerging use of multiple channels and the high expectations by today’s consumers will foster the adoption of content-as-a-service by organizations in the very near future. Actually, in a world where we have endless potential outputs for our content, it’s time to have both the freedom to create custom digital experiences across all channels used and deeper insight to get the most out of our content.
Venus Tamturk
Venus is the Media Reporter for CMS-Connected, with one of her tasks to write thorough articles by creating the most up-to-date and engaging content using B2B digital marketing. She enjoys increasing brand equity and conversion through the strategic use of social media channels and integrated media marketing plans.