Within this short article, we would like to show how you can utilize CMS in IoT and what benefits it brings for your company. Firstly, let us present what is CMS, what are the current trends in IoT and finally how CMS can support IoT.
Content Management System (CMS) is an application which helps to create and manage web content. CMS also allows to track and manage web traffic, including visitors’ activities and searches. WordPress or Magnolia are just a few examples.
CMS is crucial tool for anyone who wants to build and manage simple websites (e.g. blogs) as well as more complex portals (such as different types of portals or internal websites/ platforms) and minimize front-end developers engagement.
CMS tools have two components that allow them to do what they do: content management application and content delivery application. The former allows users to manage content (add, remove, edit). The latter systemizes and organizes content properly and updates the website.
IoT environment
IoT changes the way we interact with objects on a daily basis and how the objects interact with each other.
Microwaves, refrigerators, security cameras and lightbulbs are examples of objects that utilize the advancements of technology. An intelligent flowerpot can text us that we need to water our plants, indoor lighting can adjust to the current weather conditions to make a cozy atmosphere, and coffee makers can start brewing perfect cup of coffee when we approach our driveway. When away, intelligent movement detectors can call security when they detect movement in our home. Due to built-in sensors, everyday objects can hear, see and understand their surroundings.
Thus, IoT is an environment of interconnected computing devices that are able to transfer data without the requirement of human interaction. IoT is created by devices from fields like embedded systems, control systems, wireless sensor networks, automation, commodity sensors and much, much more.
IoT is no longer a niche for technology enthusiasts and Jetsons fan club members, now being a mainstream trend with 30 billion devices and 127 new ones connected every second (Gartner, 2020). At this pace of development, estimates indicate there will be 75 billion IoT devices by 2025.
Properly implemented IoT technology can benefit businesses in various ways. The first area is customer service and experience, as thanks to advanced monitoring solutions, it is easier than before to track customers activities and expectations, and find the best ways to deliver value to them. That increases business and revenue opportunities, as it is easier to penetrate and understand customers’ habits and lives. What is more, IoT allows companies to back up their business with data that proved impossible to collect without a well-developed network of various devices. For example, it is possible to track how someone interacts with the company’s product, its store and marketing creations – a valuable set of data for companies from all industries.
Content personalization in IoT
The unique potential of IoT lies in its personalization of content which is directly delivered to users in line with their needs. 75% of customers are more likely to purchase something from company that knows their order history, recognizes their name or proposes products based on their previous orders. Better personalization means better, more relevant, stronger, more interesting and more enjoyable connections. And better connections translate directly into better customer experience.
For companies IoT enables an even more personalized way to reach and communicate with customers. It allows companies to become an integral part of customers lives. For example, Amazon Alexa can help people manage their schedule, provide them with news (from a preferred source) and supply a favorite pancake recipe (from their favored cooking blog). If there is not enough milk to make pancakes, Alexa can automatically order some from Whole Foods/Amazon Fresh.
One simple conversation about pancakes with Alexa allows two companies to convert the user within a few seconds and become a “pancake partner” for them, something that was not previously possible.
IoT has become another communication channel, and those companies already aware of this and enter faster than others will generate a first-mover advantage.
As IoT is redefining people’s everyday lives, it gives companies new, personalized ways to interact with their customers.
As the competition increases within IoT, the competitive advantage lies in the better adjustment to customers’ needs which are integrated across different platforms. The tricky part is that IoT consists of a broad spectrum of devices. In order to enter the IoT environment and get the most from it, companies need proper tools that will allow them to adjust content to the requirements of every single device. And there are CMSs that allow for that.
CMS in IoT
Content distribution in the IoT environment enables one piece of content to be delivered across different devices and used in different situations, places and contexts. This forces companies to rethink and organize content creation as well as their distribution processes. Creating different content for each type of device separately would not be an efficient use of company resources. The solution for this is the hybrid headless content management system, which allows full utilization of the potential of IoT.
Hybrid headless CMS and Content as a Service (CaaS) for the IoT environment
The idea behind hybrid headless CMS is to separate content from its presentation layer. That kind of CMS, thanks to API, injects content from servers directly to any number of devices of any kind (this model is also referred as Content-as-a-Service). Moreover, some hybrid headless CMS providers, like Magnolia, offer those functionalities with user-friendly UI which can be used by those who don’t have a programming background.
It has sections for marketing complaint management and content preview, which simplify the use of the tool. Most importantly, this gives marketers freedom and independence from programmers. What is more, they can use content already existing and publish it on newly created platforms and devices – in other words, existing content is ready for platforms that don’t exist yet. Additionally, they avoid content duplication, as existing content can be re-purposed.
In the case of developers, they do not have to stick to a single framework – they can develop and be certain that their product will be fine everywhere. Thanks to this, teams are only limited by their skills and knowledge, not by the framework they work within.
Hybrid headless CMS opens entirely new possibilities that can build sustainable competitive advantage for business!
Read also: Artegence and Efigence boost clients’ digital environment with Magnolia CMS on a platinum level