From vision to value: shaping the digital experience landscape in 2024

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Vision 2024 - Steven Pepermans Dropsolid

Dropsolid became 10 in 2023, a year of celebration! As it turned out, also a year of putting our position in the market more clear than ever in the past. We were acting as two entities: Dropsolid Digital Experience Agency, delivering services, and next to that, our Digital Experience Platform 'Dropsolid Experience Cloud', delivering platform technology to our clients. Dropsolid is now the best of both combined as the Digital Experience Company.

We detected the need in the market for a specialist in open digital experiences with deep knowledge of winning strategies in its verticals and who knows how to leverage the tech stack (Drupal CMS, Mautic marketing automation, front-end technologies, DevOps, hosting, etc.) for this strategy combined with multidisciplinary teams being customer intimate, being compliant and delivering the best digital experience for every stakeholder.

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We see a lot of companies and organizations struggling to get a grip on their digital ecosystem, where a DXP is ‘the new kid in town.’ A DXP is responsible for orchestrating content and data with user interactions. Dropsolid offers a broad knowledge spectrum that must be covered to set up the best possible solution and operate it efficiently.

We combine strategic advice and solution building based on open-source technology with in-depth knowledge of domains like UX/UI, SEO, GDPR, accessibility, data architecture, enterprise architecture, infrastructure, security, and cloud services. This combination enables us to state that we have a full-service approach to building digital experience platforms.

The strength of this offering is that we have a visionary, efficient, and high-quality service that translates into long-term relationships and well-maintained platforms built to last. Dropsolid is an expert in helping its clients make the right strategic and technological choices to achieve the best digital experience for their end users.

Dropsolid has, since day one, been mainly funding its own growth in a more long-term and sustainable approach. We envisioned building an open-source-based platform from day one but knew this would take time to build and market. We’ve built an expert team doing multiple challenging digital projects for our clients. All learnings from those projects and client interactions are the soil on which our platform has been built and will further evolve in the future.

Dominique De Cooman, Steven Pepermans

In a market where full-service agencies often make promises of five-star quality but end up delivering only three stars, we distinguish ourselves through consistency in quality and transparency in our services. Unlike integrators, who focus primarily on dry IT solutions without mastering the art of seamless digital experiences, we offer an integrated approach. Our experts always look for the bigger picture, avoiding the fragmented, uncoordinated scenario of multiple companies laboriously working together. With us, there is no disconnected collection of services but a seamless, holistic, and omnichannel digital experience delivered by one team.

Moreover, where other players rely on external vendors, which often leads to limitations in flexibility, we bundle a product and our services under one roof. This enables us to respond quickly to the changing needs of our customers and the market with solutions that not only meet today's requirements but are also future-proof.

Set your strategy straight for 2024

Creating the best possible digital experience for your target audience—both external and internal—begins with a crystal-clear mission, vision, and strategy for your organization. From this foundation, you transition into a Digital Experience Strategy, where you define business requirements across various domains that call for an improved digital experience. Identify pain points, set objectives, and take the next step in user research to validate concepts that meet these needs. This approach significantly increases your chances of success, securing buy-in from the entire organization before a single line of code is written.

Over the past decade, Dropsolid Digital Experience Company has expanded its team with a wide range of competencies to help our clients establish sustainable foundations, both strategically and technologically. The importance of ownership over code, data, and platform is crucial. They form the base and a structural component of your organization that can grow with changing needs, all in complete freedom!

We’ll share some key takeaways with you:

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Connect human needs with digital solutions, not the other way around!

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Develop your Digital Experience Strategy and look for short- and long-term value!

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Don't just think in terms of a website with a CMS. Think in terms of an open digital experience platform to orchestrate various digital experiences.

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Consider the ownership of your solution, aiming for maximum freedom and sovereignty.

Putting it into practice means no high-level consultancy theories, no complicated theoretical tech stacks, and no lock-ins. It means clear, executable strategy, well-proven tech, and sovereignty through an open digital experience with results.

The shift from CMS to DXP is inevitable in 2024

If your organization still thinks in terms of a website with CMS and doesn’t have a clear vision of the transformation towards a Digital Experience Platform, you will find yourself outperformed by the ones that do make the shift. When the digital experience strategy is well-defined, you’ll see that an interconnected ecosystem of digital solutions is a must to make your target audience's experiences thrive. Choosing a composable, expandable, and futureproof eco-system is a must. And you’d better own that solution yourself! The choice for open-source means so much more than just choosing software. It’s also choosing sovereignty and the freedom for your organization to independently steer your own course.

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The revival of Drupal and the rise of Mautic

This trend showcases the enduring relevance of Drupal in the CMS landscape, attributed to its adaptability and integration of MACH principles. Simultaneously, Mautic's growing adoption signals a significant shift towards open-source marketing automation software, indicating a preference for flexible, scalable, and customizable digital marketing tools.

AI Integration in Digital Experience Platforms (DXP)

Integrating AI into DXPs represents a pivotal movement towards creating more personalized, efficient, and intelligent digital experiences. The synergy between Drupal and AI, in particular, is set to redefine user experiences, positioning Drupal-based systems as a preferred choice for AI-enhanced DXPs.

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Commitment to sustainability

Sustainability emerges as a core value, with Dropsolid taking significant steps to reduce its carbon footprint and promote sustainable practices. This commitment extends to advocating for open-source solutions, reflecting a broader industry trend towards environmentally responsible and resource-efficient digital practices.

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Priority for cybersecurity

With cyber threats becoming increasingly sophisticated, prioritizing cybersecurity is essential. Dropsolid's steps in implementing an ISMS (Information Security Management System), achieving ISO27001certification, and appointing a dedicated security officer underscore the critical importance of cybersecurity in safeguarding digital experiences against emerging threats.

Embrace of Sovereignty and Hybrid Cloud Solutions: the move towards data sovereignty and control, coupled with the adoption of hybrid cloud solutions, highlights the growing need for flexibility and control over data and systems. This trend is particularly relevant in an era where AI integration into business processes is rising, requiring robust and adaptable infrastructure solutions.

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The future of DXPs: an open ecosystem

The anticipation of growth in the digital experience platforms market, with Dropsolid at the forefront, signals a shift towards open ecosystems. By integrating the strengths of Drupal and Mautic with enterprise layers for security, performance, and compliance, Dropsolid is setting a precedent for the future of DXPs that are more open, integrated, and flexible.

An open DXP also ensures that:

  1. You don’t have to piece everything together yourself to valorize content and data for all target groups, thus avoiding substantial budget losses to agencies, consultants, and integrators. DIY DXPs are the most wasteful projects without you realizing it.
  2. You remain the owner of the entire system with which you build all your digital relationships with your stakeholders. Don’t build the farm on rented land.
  3. You can go live in weeks to months instead of quarters to years, starting from a proven quality base.

Collectively, these trends indicate a shift towards more integrated, secure, and sustainable digital experiences. They reflect the industry's response to evolving user expectations and the growing importance of digital agility in a rapidly changing world.