Sitecore 10.4 is set to be released in April 2024, bringing some exciting new capabilities and updates to the trusted Sitecore Experience Platform (XP) and Experience Manager (XM).
As organizations look to the future with their Sitecore implementations, understanding what's new in 10.4 and Sitecore's ongoing commitment to the platform provides valuable insights.
What’s New in Sitecore 10.4
While the full details of Sitecore 10.4 haven't been formally announced yet, Sitecore has shared some intriguing previews of what customers can expect:
Enhanced Marketing Stack Integrations
One of the most anticipated features in 10.4 is expanded integrations and connectivity between Sitecore XP's powerful analytics and the broader marketing ecosystem. This is being enabled through Sitecore Connect, an integration platform as a service (iPaaS) that allows low-code automation between systems.
Out of the box, Sitecore Connect will allow pushing behavioral and profile data from XP into other systems like Sitecore's Customer Data Platform (CDP), Sitecore Personalize, Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, Eloqua, HubSpot, and Segment. This opens up exciting new opportunities for connecting insights from Sitecore into other touchpoints across the customer journey.
Improved Accessibility and Security
With web accessibility regulations expanding across the globe, having an accessible web content management system is no longer just an option, but a requirement. Sitecore 10.4 promises updates to improve compliance with modern accessibility standards, ensuring both the platform and websites built on it can effectively support users of all abilities.
Security is also top of mind, with Sitecore likely addressing vulnerabilities and hardening the platform to help customers meet stringent security and compliance demands.
Enhanced Personalization and Visitor Profiles
Personalization and visitor profiling are core strengths of the Sitecore platform, and 10.4 aims to take it even further. The release will introduce an improved non-technical interface for marketers to extend visitor profiles and behavior tracking without code changes. This makes it easier to identify and respond to new insights from website visitors.
Hundreds of Other Improvements
While the above are some of the highlights, Sitecore 10.4 will likely contain hundreds of other enhancements big and small. Many will be driven by direct customer feedback and learnings over the past release cycles.
The Future Sitecore Roadmap
Along with the imminent 10.4 release, Sitecore has provided some hints at their future roadmap and areas of investment:
Continued Cloud Capabilities
Sitecore Experience Manager Cloud (XM Cloud) has seen fantastic adoption as a next-generation SaaS alternative to an on-premises or hosted Sitecore implementation. Sitecore plans to continue enhancing XM Cloud as well as integrating it with other cloud-based offerings like Sitecore CDP.
For organizations running XP or XM on-premises, capabilities like Sitecore Connect provide a path to get started with SaaS solutions on top of the existing platform.
Composable DXP and Headless
Sitecore is pushing forward with their vision of a composable digital experience platform (DXP). This involves headless CMS capabilities, APIs, and integrated best-of-breed marketing technologies.
The composable stack aligns with modern application architecture patterns and helps future-proof Sitecore implementations. Expect continued enhancement and productization of headless tooling and integrations that allow customers to embrace composability at their own pace.
Generative AI Integration
One of the most exciting roadmap items is native integrations with generative AI, including capabilities like suggesting or automatically generating content and design elements. This leverages innovations like OpenAI's GPT technology to automate creative tasks and boost content team productivity.
Enhanced Authoring and Publishing
The content creation process will also see innovation, with investments to improve authoring workflows, collaboration, and omnichannel publishing. Sitecore aims to leverage new editing paradigms and automation to optimize the experience for content teams.
Key Takeaways for Customers
With the launch of Sitecore 10.4 and hints at the future roadmap, current Sitecore customers can take away several key points:
- Sitecore remains committed to ongoing innovation in the XP and XM products, with 10.4 bringing value-added features on top of a modernized technology stack.
- There are clear incremental paths to take advantage of new capabilities like headless and composable architecture, cloud-based offerings, and AI-driven content creation. Customers aren't forced into disruptive upgrades if they aren't ready.
- Connectors and integrations will provide new ways to get more value from existing Sitecore data and power personalized experiences across channels.
- Sitecore is keeping pace with modern demands like web accessibility, security, and digital experiences tuned to customer expectations.
For organizations invested in Sitecore's powerful capabilities, 10.4 and beyond provide exciting new ways to maximize your technology footprint. Savvy customers will view each release as an opportunity to push their digital experiences and marketing sophistication to the next level through careful adoption of new innovations on top of their rock-solid Sitecore foundation.
