You need more than a composable CMS if you're not an enterprise
Composable CMS is gaining a lot of attention in enterprise environments. Its flexibility, scalability, and modular architecture appeal to any company looking for a solution that fits their complex stack. However, composable architecture is often an overengineered solution for startups and medium-sized companies that introduces unnecessary complexity.
Let's explore why a composable CMS isn't suited for every type and size of business and why an all-in-one platform is sometimes a wiser choice.
What is a composable CMS and how it works
A composable CMS is a content management system that breaks away from the traditional, monolithic structure. Instead of providing a single, all-encompassing platform for managing content, it adopts a modular, API-first approach. This allows organizations to integrate multiple tools, each specialized in a particular function, to create a custom digital experience.
How composable CMS works
At its core, a composable CMS is built on the principle of flexibility and modularity. It allows companies to pick and choose different tools—often referred to as microservices—for tasks such as:
- Personalization and AB testing: instead of built-in personalization and experimentation features, a composable CMS integrates with dedicated tools that provide advanced user targeting and experimentation capabilities.
- Analytics and insights: with composable architecture, companies can integrate third-party analytics platforms to measure content performance, user behavior, and campaign effectiveness.
- Delivery and deployment: the delivery layer, which distributes content across various platforms, can also be a separate service integrated into the CMS.
The advantage of composable CMS lies in its headless architecture, which separates the front-end presentation layer from the back-end content management system. This means businesses can deliver content across multiple channels (websites, apps, IoT devices, etc.) while maintaining a centralized content repository.
Instead of using a single monolithic system, some companies choose to build their own composed solution, where each tool or service handles a specific task and communicates via APIs.
This modular architecture is highly appealing for enterprises with the resources and development teams to manage complex integrations, ensuring that every part of the system is tailored to meet unique needs. However, this flexibility often comes with hidden costs and added complexity for startups and medium-sized companies, making it less practical for smaller-scale operations.
The lure of composable CMS for enterprises
Large enterprises with complex needs are turning to composable CMS because it allows them to integrate multiple services, tools, and technologies into a unified digital experience platform. These modular systems let enterprises pick and choose best-in-class tools for each specific function, whether personalization, AB testing, or analytics. This offers high levels of customization, flexibility, and scalability but comes at a significant cost.
Marketers' autonomy, while developers and designers want guarantees that they won't break the source code or the design system.
Why composable CMS falls short for startups and medium-sized companies
Smaller companies have limited resources. In this context, it's crucial to understand that focusing the team's efforts on core tasks is key to growth and success.
Complexity
The modular nature of a composable CMS might be appealing to large enterprises. Still, for smaller companies, integrating and managing multiple tools could overwhelm a small development or marketing team. Every tool needs to be maintained, upgraded, and synchronized, adding overhead regarding time, skills, and resources.
Higher Costs
Licensing and subscribing to a multitude of best-in-class services leads to higher costs. Large enterprises can afford these expenses because they have the budgets and teams to manage multiple services. In contrast, startups and medium companies often need to optimize every dollar spent, and using various tools can quickly burn through a budget.
Longer time to value
For enterprises, the investment in a composable CMS makes sense because they have long-term projects with complex requirements that justify a lengthy setup and integration phase. Smaller companies, on the other hand, often need faster time to value. They require platforms that can be implemented quickly and start delivering results without weeks or months of custom integrations.
Maintenance and dependencies
Each module in a composable CMS can have its own set of dependencies, making updates and maintenance challenging. Smaller companies might not have the in-house expertise or resources to handle these challenges effectively, creating bottlenecks and potentially affecting the platform's performance.
Why having 3 platforms for content management, AB testing, and personalization when you can have a single one?
Why they should rely on an all-in-one dynamic CMS for growth
Startups and medium-sized companies should focus on growth, agility, and delivering value quickly. An all-in-one platform like Croct is a better fit for their needs because:
- It integrates all the essential tools—content management, personalization, AB testing, and analytics—into a single, easy-to-use platform. This reduces the need for multiple services and simplifies operations by allowing companies to focus on what matters: their product and customers.
- It's more cost-efficient. Rather than paying for several different tools and services, it provides an all-in-one solution at a fraction of the cost. This is especially valuable for companies that need to stretch their budgets while still getting access to advanced personalization and content delivery features.
- It has a faster time to market and can be integrated in a few hours. Unlike composable CMS architectures that require extensive setup, it is built to be implemented quickly. Its intuitive interface and developer-friendly APIs ensure that companies can start personalizing their user experiences and measuring results without delay.
- It is easier to maintain, as it takes the hassle out of maintaining multiple systems. This allows companies to focus on their core business rather than spending time troubleshooting integration issues or managing separate software solutions.
- It is scalable for quick growth without heavy upfront investments. It allows companies to start small and scale with their growth, as needed and provides the right tools when needed, without the complexity and cost of enterprise-grade systems.
Simplifying growth with a smarter investment
Composable CMS architectures are robust but tailored more for enterprises with the resources to manage their complexity. For startups and medium-sized companies, adopting an all-in-one platform like Croct provides the agility, speed, and simplicity needed to succeed.
By consolidating tools into one cohesive system, Croct empowers teams to focus on innovation and customer experience—without the overhead of managing multiple systems.
If you're curious about Croct, create your forever-free account today and start exploring our platform.