At the Healthcare Interactive Conference (HCIC) last month, I got to talk to marketers who are very focused on results. They are also very focused on what will impact their marketing efforts and why. Every conversation came back to AI.

In my previous HCIC takeaway, I wrote about how AI is not a strategy—it’s a tool to solve real problems. Now I want to dig into a specific problem AI is creating for healthcare marketers: how we get found. We need to be thinking about all aspects of how AI can be used. In general, this breaks down into both impact and opportunity.

Impact: AI Search Is Transforming Healthcare Discovery

Several conference sessions alluded to this shift, but marketing experts Brittany Young and Gina Linville gave some deeper insight.

From a marketing perspective, the largest impact is one of being found. Think about how much time a typical hospital marketer puts into being found. I have had many conversations over the years about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and the importance of having valuable content that the search engines view as unique and relevant.

AI impacts that in ways that are not at first obvious.

The New Reality of Patient Search

Think of how you typically use ChatGPT or how your search engine has evolved. AI now pulls the data and gives you a brief with information culled from multiple online sources. The good news is that the AI tool will typically reference a website it sources. The bad news is while AI typically credits source websites, patients get their answers without ever clicking through to your site.

The scale of this shift is staggering:

AI provides an overview for up to 84% of search queries when it comes to healthcare questions.

Healthcare leads nearly every sector in AI-powered search results—a trend that’s accelerating:

Strategic Response: Winning at AI Search in Healthcare

This shift demands a fundamental rethinking of content strategy. Two concepts are emerging as critical:

1) Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)

• Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the practice of structuring and optimizing content so that AI-powered systems, such as Google’s AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity AI, and voice assistants, can easily identify, extract, and cite it as a direct answer to user queries.

2) Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)

• Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is a digital marketing technique designed to improve a brand’s visibility in results produced by generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) platforms. It involves adapting digital content and online presence to ensure that AI systems can accurately interpret, cite, and use the content when generating responses to user queries.

The imperative is clear: Organizations that don’t optimize for AI-powered discovery won’t just lose rankings—they’ll lose visibility entirely.

If you are not already thinking about how to orient your content to this then be aware that you will soon feel an impact.

Opportunity: Agentic AI and Productivity

On the flip side of the coin is the opportunity. While the impact above provides you with an opportunity provided you react appropriately, I want to focus on the productivity part of this. Specifically, think of what Agentic AI can do for your organization.

What Traditional Campaign Development Looks Like

Let me give you a few examples of common tasks and how long they typically take:

• Create a campaign brief: up to two weeks
• Create copy across multiple channels: 8-16 hours
• Create digital assets related to the campaign which fit your brand standards and work in each individual channel. Web site may allow for larger images. Paid search or paid social may have limited space: 40 hours
• Creation of the segment and pushing it to marketing automation tools: several hours

Now imagine specialized AI agents handling each component—not replacing human strategy and judgment, but accelerating execution while maintaining brand standards and compliance. Just getting one campaign going across multiple channels become a multi-person engagement over several weeks. While focused on that, you won’t focus on additional campaign or in honing your craft.

The AI Agent Team Your Marketing Organization Needs

The answer lies with Agentic AI. We believe that AI can cut down on the time necessary to complete these tasks and still keep humans in the loop. Here are a few examples of agents you might need in your organization:

Most importantly, this frees your marketing team to focus on what AI can’t do: strategic thinking, creative problem-solving, and understanding the nuanced needs of your community. 

The Path Forward: Integration, Not Replacement

The organizations winning in this new landscape aren’t choosing between human expertise and AI capabilities. They’re strategically integrating both.

Success requires more than technology. It needs an integrated approach:

1. Rethinking discoverability through AEO and GEO optimization
2. Deploying specialized AI agents for productivity acceleration
3. Maintaining human oversight for strategy, creativity, and judgment
4. Ensuring compliance at every step, particularly in heavily regulated healthcare
5. Measuring impact against business outcomes, not just operational metrics

Enabling Healthcare Organizations To Lead This Shift

HCIC reminded us that success in healthcare marketing isn’t about chasing technology for its own sake. As I shared in my first HCIC takeaway, AI is not a strategy—it’s a tool to solve real challenges that impact your organization’s ability to connect patients to care.

The search revolution is here. The productivity opportunity is real. The organizations that move quickly to optimize for AI-powered discovery while deploying strategic AI agents will gain a competitive advantage that compounds over time.

Start a conversation with our experts today.

Customer expectations are not just rising; they are skyrocketing. By 2026, the brands that create real customer loyalty won’t be the ones that send clever emails or spruce up their loyalty programs. They’ll be the ones who can almost read their customers’ minds, anticipating needs before customers have to ask. I think of it like this:

If Great CX in 2025 were a skilled short-order cook, it would have expertly filled every customer’s order as it came in. Great CX in 2026 is the master chef who knows your favorite dish before you even sit down, having already prepped the ingredients and timed everything perfectly for your arrival.

This leap from reacting to anticipating is already underway, and it is about to redefine what “Great CX” really means. With this post, I plan to explore what predictive engagement looks like, why it matters for your business, and how you can start cooking up this future today.

The Big Shift: From answering questions to reading minds

For ages, customer experience has been about responding. We’re answering questions, fixing hiccups, gently nudging conversions, and recommending next best actions. Predictive engagement changes everything. Instead of waiting for customers to reach out, we’ll use smart data and AI to understand what is coming and act with intention. Imagine a couple of predictive scenarios:

A customer’s delivery is running a bit late. Instead of them anxiously checking, tracking, or calling support, your system detects the delay, automatically offers alternative options, and sends a friendly, proactive update.

A customer is thinking about leaving for another brand. Predictive models can spot those early signals and trigger tailored, helpful offers before customers even consider shopping elsewhere. This proactive approach transforms customer relationships into something far more intuitive and supportive.

Four big ideas shaping CX in 2026

Given the ever-shifting nature of customer expectations, I tried to pinpoint what I think will cause the biggest changes for CX teams in 2026.

1. Hyper-Personalization Gets Real. Personalization still, oftentimes, means sending different messages to different defined segments. In 2026, it means real-time, adaptive journeys explicitly tailored to each person. Generative and predictive AI will power “next-best-experience” decisions, making every interaction feel incredibly relevant and perfectly timed.
2. Conversational AI Becomes Your Best Server. Chatbots are no longer just for FAQs. They are becoming intelligent assistants that can resolve issues, escalate with all the right context, and learn from every chat. The best experiences will combine smart automation with real human empathy, so customers always feel understood.
3. Service Fixes Itself. Predictive insights will flow into operations, allowing systems to fix problems before they even impact customers. Think of billing errors being corrected automatically or parts being replaced before they fail. This minimizes disruption and keeps things running smoothly.
4. Trust Becomes Your Brand’s Superpower. As AI takes center stage, transparency and ethics matter more than ever. Customers expect clear explanations of how their data is used and confidence that decisions are fair. Brands that build trust into every experience will truly shine.

Building your smart CX kitchen

Delivering predictive CX is not about adding just one more gadget. It is about creating a unified, event-driven ecosystem. This includes:

• A solid data foundation that brings together customer profiles and real-time signals.
• An AI and decisioning layer to predict intent and recommend the most helpful next steps.
• Experience orchestration to trigger proactive outreach across all your channels.
• Operational automation for those self-healing processes.
• Governance and trust controls for transparency and clear explanations.

How to start cooking up the future

• Map your most important customer journeys. Start by identifying those key signals that hint at intent, risk, or value.
• Build smart decision-making logic. Set clear boundaries for automation and when to bring in human help.
• Perfection is the enemy of progress. Pilot a few proactive ideas that move the needle from a CX perspective, things like helpful delivery updates or churn prevention, to get started.
• Scale your conversational AI to make sure customer context follows them across all channels.
• Measure what works and keep optimizing and experimenting.
• Make trust a core ingredient by using transparent notices and carefully overseeing your AI models.

Looking ahead – answering the question before it’s asked

Predictive CX is not just a nice-to-have for customers; it is a game-changer for your business. It boosts retention by catching churn risk early, reduces service costs by preventing avoidable contacts, and drives revenue by surfacing the right offer at the perfect moment. Plus, it makes your operations far more efficient by avoiding downstream issues.

Customer experience is shifting fast. In the next year, anticipation will be a customer expectation. The brands that win will combine data, predictive intelligence, and automation built on trust and transparency. Begin laying the groundwork today so you can deliver experiences that feel effortless and intuitive.

Financial institutions are at a pivotal moment. As customer expectations evolve and AI reshapes digital engagement, leaders in marketing, CX, and IT must rethink how they deliver value.

Adobe’s report, “State of Customer Experience in Financial Services in an AI-Driven World,” reveals that only 36% of the customer journey is currently personalized, despite 74% of executives acknowledging rising customer expectations. With transformation already underway, financial leaders face five imperatives that demand immediate action to drive relevance, trust, and growth.

1. Make Personalization More Meaningful

Personalization has long been a strategic focus, but today’s consumers expect more than basic segmentation or name-based greetings. They want real-time, omnichannel interactions that align with their financial goals, life stages, and behaviors.

To meet this demand, financial institutions must evolve from reactive personalization to predictive, intent-driven engagement. This means leveraging AI to anticipate needs, orchestrate journeys, and deliver content that resonates with individual context.

Perficient Adobe-consulting principal Ross Monaghan explains, “We are still dealing with disparate data and slow progression into a customer 360 source of truth view to provide effective personalization at scale. What many firms are overlooking is that this isn’t just a data issue. We’re dealing with both a people and process issue where teams need to adjust their operational process of typical campaign waterfall execution to trigger-based and journey personalization.”

His point underscores that personalization challenges go beyond technology. They require cultural and operational shifts to enable real-time, AI-driven engagement.

2. Redesign the Operating Model Around the Customer

Legacy structures often silo marketing, IT, and operations, creating friction in delivering cohesive customer experiences. To compete in a digital-first world, financial institutions must reorient their operating models around the customer, not the org chart.

This shift requires cross-functional collaboration, agile workflows, and shared KPIs that align teams around customer outcomes. It also demands a culture that embraces experimentation and continuous improvement.

Only 3% of financial services firms are structured around the customer journey, though 19% say it should be the ideal.

3. Build Content for AI-Powered Search

As AI-powered search becomes a primary interface for information discovery, the way content is created and structured must change. Traditional SEO strategies are no longer enough.

Customers now expect intelligent, personalized answers over static search results. To stay visible and trusted, financial institutions must create structured, metadata-rich content that performs in AI-powered environments. Content must reflect experience-expertise-authoritativeness-trustworthiness principles and be both machine-readable and human-relevant. Success depends on building discovery journeys that work across AI interfaces while earning customer confidence in moments that matter.

4. Unify Data and Platforms for Scalable Intelligence

Disconnected data and fragmented platforms limit the ability to generate insights and act on them at scale. To unlock the full potential of AI and automation, financial institutions must unify their data ecosystems.

This means integrating customer, behavioral, transactional, and operational data into a single source of truth that’s accessible across teams and systems. It also involves modernizing MarTech and CX platforms to support real-time decisioning and personalization.

But Ross points out, “Many digital experience and marketing platforms still want to own all data, which is just not realistic, both in reality and cost. The firms that develop their customer source of truth (typically cloud-based data platforms) and signal to other experience or service platforms will be the quickest to marketing execution maturity and success.”

His insight emphasizes that success depends not only on technology integration but also on adopting a federated approach that accelerates marketing execution and operational maturity.

5. Embed Guardrails Into GenAI Execution

As financial institutions explore GenAI use cases, from content generation to customer service automation, governance must be built in from the start. Trust is non-negotiable in financial services, and GenAI introduces new risks around accuracy, bias, and compliance.

Embedding guardrails means establishing clear policies, human-in-the-loop review processes, and robust monitoring systems. It also requires collaboration between legal, compliance, marketing, and IT to ensure responsible innovation.

At Perficient, we use our PACE (Policies, Advocacy, Controls, Enablement) Framework to holistically design tailored operational AI programs that empower business and technical stakeholders to innovate with confidence while mitigating risks and upholding ethical standards.

The Time to Lead is Now

The future of financial services will be defined by how intelligently and responsibly institutions engage in real time. These five imperatives offer a blueprint for action, each one grounded in data, urgency, and opportunity. Leaders who move now will be best positioned to earn trust, drive growth, and lead in the AI-powered era.

Learn About Perficient and Adobe’s Partnership

Are you looking for a partner to help you transform and modernize your technology strategy? Perficient and Adobe bring together deep industry expertise and powerful experience technologies to help financial institutions unify data, orchestrate journeys, and deliver customer-centric experiences that build trust and drive growth.

Get in Touch With Our Experts

Introduction

The Perficient Hyderabad Cricket Tournament Recap‑2025 highlights a lively and memorable day at our Hyderabad office. The event brought together four enthusiastic teams—Challengers, Risers, Strikers, and Warriors—who displayed strong energy from the very first match. The tournament built excitement, encouraged teamwork, and strengthened our workplace spirit.

A Thrilling Path to Victory in the Perficient Hyderabad Cricket Tournament

The tournament kicked off with fast‑paced matches. Every team played with confidence and intention. The Risers delivered consistent performance and smart strategy throughout the event. Their teamwork helped them secure the championship title. The Warriors finished as the runner‑up team, winning applause for their determined effort until the last over.

You can also revisit our Perficient Hyderabad Cricket Tournament Recap‑2024 to see how last year’s matches unfolded.

Lunch, Laughter, and Team Bonding at Perficient Hyderabad Cricket Tournament

The day continued with a cheerful lunch for all. Conversations flowed, teammates shared fun match moments, and everyone enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere. Teammates discussed strategies, celebrated highlights, and bonded across teams. The combination of cricket, celebration, and connection created an experience that everyone will remember.

This extended camaraderie made the Perficient Hyderabad Cricket Tournament Recap‑2025 more than just a sporting event—it became a symbol of workplace unity.

Content chaos is costing you more than you think

Every disconnected asset, every redundant workflow, every missed opportunity to reuse content adds up, not just in operational inefficiency, but in lost revenue, slower time-to-market, and diminished brand consistency. For many organizations, the content supply chain is broken, and the cracks show up everywhere: marketing campaigns delayed, creative teams overwhelmed, and customers receiving fragmented experiences.

Sitecore Content Hub can help solve this, but here’s the truth: technology alone won’t solve the problem. Success requires a strategic approach that aligns people, processes, and platforms. Over the years, I’ve seen one principle hold true: when you break the process into digestible steps, clarity emerges. Here’s the five-step framework I recommend for leaders who want to turn Content Hub into a competitive advantage. It’s what I wish I had before my first implementation. While Content Hub is extremely powerful for a Digital Asset Management (DAM) platform, and there could be entire books written on each configuration point, my hope in this post is to give someone new to the platform a mindset to have before beginning an implementation.

Step 1: Discover and Decode

Transformation starts with visibility. Before you configure anything, take a hard look at your current state. What assets do you have? How do they move through your organization, from creation to approval to archival? Who touches them, and where do bottlenecks occur?

This isn’t just an audit; it’s an opportunity to uncover inefficiencies and align stakeholders. Ask questions like:

• Are we duplicating content because teams don’t know what already exists?
• Where are the delays that slow down time-to-market?
• Which assets drive value and which are digital clutter?

Document these insights in a way that tells a story. When leadership sees the cost of inefficiency and the opportunity for improvement, alignment becomes easier. This step sets the foundation for governance, taxonomy, and integration decisions later. Skip it, and everything else wobbles.

Step 2: Design the Blueprint

Once you know where you are, define where you’re going. This is your architectural phase and the moment to design a system that scales.

Start with taxonomy. A well-structured taxonomy makes assets easy to find and reuse, while a poor one creates friction and frustration. Establish naming conventions and metadata standards that support searchability and personalization. Then, build a governance model that enforces consistency without stifling creativity.

Finally, map the flow of content across systems. Where is content coming from? Where does it need to go? These answers determine integration points and connectors. If you skip this step, you risk building silos inside your new system, which is a mistake that undermines the entire investment.

Step 3: Deploy the (Content) Hub

See what we did there?! With the blueprint in hand, it’s time to implement. Configure the environment, validate user roles, and migrate assets with care.

Deployment is more than a technical exercise. It’s a change management moment. How you roll out the platform will influence adoption. Consider a phased approach: start with a pilot group, gather feedback, and refine before scaling.

Testing is critical. Validate search functionality, user permissions, and workflows before you go live. A smooth deployment isn’t just about avoiding errors. It’s about building confidence across the organization.

Step 4: Drive Intelligent Delivery

Content Hub isn’t just a repository; it’s a strategic engine. This is where you unlock its full potential. Enable AI features to automate tagging and improve personalization. Create renditions and transformations that make omnichannel delivery seamless.

Think beyond efficiency. Intelligent delivery is about elevating the customer experience. When your content is enriched with metadata and optimized for every channel, you’re not just saving time. You’re driving engagement and revenue.

Governance plays a starring role here. Standards aren’t just rules. They’re the guardrails that keep your ecosystem healthy and scalable. Without them, even the smartest technology can devolve into chaos.

Step 5: Differentiate

This is where leaders separate themselves from the pack. Implementation is not the finish line—it’s the starting point for continuous improvement.

Differentiation begins with measurement. Build dashboards that show how content performs across channels and campaigns. Which assets drive conversions? Which formats resonate with your audience? These insights allow you to double down on what works and retire what doesn’t.

But don’t stop at performance metrics. Use audits to identify gaps in your content strategy. Are you missing assets for emerging channels? Are you over-investing in content that doesn’t move the needle? This level of visibility turns your content operation into a strategic lever for growth.

Finally, think about innovation. How can you use Content Hub to enable personalization at scale? How can AI-driven insights inform creative decisions? Leaders who embrace this mindset turn Content Hub from a tool into a competitive advantage.

Final Thoughts

Your current state may feel daunting, but clarity is within reach. By breaking the process into these five steps, you can transform chaos into a content strategy that drives real business outcomes. Sitecore Content Hub is powerful—but only if you implement it with intention.

Ready to start your journey? Begin with discovery. The rest will follow. If Perficient can help, reach out!

Sitecore has introduced the Content SDK for XM Cloud-now Sitecore AI to streamline the process of fetching content and rendering it on modern JavaScript front-end applications. If you’re building a website on Sitecore AI, the new Content SDK is the modern, recommended tool for your development team.

Think of it as a specialized, lightweight toolkit built for one specific job: getting content from Sitecore AI and displaying it on your modern frontend application (like a site built with Next.js).

Because it’s purpose-built for Sitecore AI, it’s fast, efficient, and doesn’t include a lot of extra baggage. It focuses purely on the essential “headless” task of fetching and rendering content.

What About the JSS SDK?
This is the original toolkit Sitecore created for headless development.

The key difference is that the JSS SDK was designed to be a one-size-fits-all solution. It had to support both the new, headless Sitecore AI and Sitecore’s older, all-in-one platform, Sitecore XP/XM.

To do this, it had to include extra code and dependencies to support older features, like the “Experience Editor”. This makes the JSS SDK “bulkier” and more complex. If you’re only using Sitecore AI, you’re carrying around a lot of extra weight you simply don’t need.

The Sitecore Content SDK is the modern, purpose-built toolkit for developers using Sitecore AI, providing seamless, out-of-the-box integration with the platform’s most powerful capabilities. This includes seamless visual editing that empowers marketers to build and edit pages in real-time, as well as built-in hooks for personalization and analytics that simplify the delivery and tracking of targeted user experiences. For developers, it provides GraphQL utilities to streamline data fetching and is deeply optimized for Next.js, enabling high-performance features like server-side rendering. Furthermore, with the recent introduction of App Router support (in beta), the SDK is evolving to give developers even more granular control over performance, SEO, bundle sizes, and security through a more modern, modular code structure.

What does the Content SDK offer?

1) App Router support (v1.2)

With version 1.2.0, Sitecore Content SDK introduces App Router support in beta. While the full fledged stable release is expected soon, developers can already start exploring its benefits and work flow with 1.2 version.
This isn’t just a minor update; it’s a huge step toward making your front-end development more flexible and highly optimized.

Why should you care? –
The App Router introduces a fantastic change to your starter application’s code structure and how routing works. Everything becomes more modular and declarative, aligning perfectly with modern architecture practices. This means defining routes and layouts is cleaner, content fetching is neatly separated from rendering, and integrating complex Next.js features like dynamic routes is easier than ever. Ultimately, this shift makes your applications much simpler to scale and maintain as they grow on Sitecore AI.

Performance: Developers can fine-tune route handling with nested layouts and more aggressive and granular caching to seriously boost overall performance, leading to faster load times.

Bundle Size: Smaller bundle size because it uses React Server Components (RSC) to render components. It help fetch and render component from server side without making the static files in bundle.

Security: It helps with security by giving improved control over access to specific routes and content.

With the starter kit applications, this is how app router routing structure looks like:

2) New configs – sitecore.config.ts & sitecore.cli.config.ts

The sitecore.config.ts file, located in the root of your application, acts as the central configuration point for Content SDK projects. It is replacement of the older temp/config file used by the JSS SDK. It contains properties that can be used throughout the application just by importing the file. It contains important properties like sitename, defaultLanguage, edge props like contextid. Starter templates include a very lightweight version containing only the mandatory parameters necessary to get started. Developers can easily extend this file as the project grows and requires more specific settings.

Key Aspects:

Environment Variable Support: This file is designed for deployment flexibility using a layered approach. Any configuration property present in this file can be sourced in three ways, listed in order of priority:

1. Explicitly defined in the configuration file itself.
2. Fallback to a corresponding environment variable (ideal for deployment pipelines).
3. Use a default value if neither of the above is provided.

This layered approach ensures flexibility and simplifies deployment across environments.

The sitecore.cli.config.ts file is dedicated to defining and configuring the commands and scripts used during the development and build phases of a Content SDK project.

Key Aspects:

CLI Command Configuration: It dictates the commands that execute as part of the build process, such as generateMetadata() and generateSites(), which are essential for generating Sitecore-related data and metadata for the front-end.

Component Map Generation: This file manages the configuration for the automatic component map generation. This process is crucial for telling Sitecore how your front-end components map to the content structure, allowing you to specify file paths to scan and define any files or folders to exclude. Explored further below.

Customization of Build Process: It allows developers to customize the Content SDK’s standard build process by adding their own custom commands or scripts to be executed during compilation.

While sitecore.config.ts handles the application’s runtime settings (like connection details to Sitecore AI), sitecore.cli.config.ts works in conjunction to handle the development-time configuration required to prepare the application for deployment.

3) Component map

In Sitecore Content SDK-based applications, every custom component must be manually registered in the .sitecore/component-map.ts file located in the app’s root. The component map is a registry that explicitly links Sitecore renderings to their corresponding frontend component implementations. The component map tells the Content SDK which frontend component to render for each component receives from Sitecore. When the rendering gets added to any page via presentation, component map tells which frontend rendering should be rendered at the place.

Key Aspects:

Unlike JSS implementations that automatically maps components, the Content SDK’s explicit component map enables better tree-shaking. Your final production bundle will only include the components you have actually registered and use, resulting in smaller, more efficient application sizes.

This is how it looks like: (Once you start creating custom component, you have to add the component name here to register.)

4) Import map

The import map is a tool used specifically by the Content SDK’s code generation feature. It manages the import paths of components that are generated or used during the build process. It acts as a guide for the code generation engine, ensuring that any new code it creates correctly references your existing components.
Where it is: It is a generated file, typically found at ./sitecore/import-map.ts, that serves as an internal manifest for the build process. You generally do not need to edit this file manually.
It simplifies the logic of code generation, guaranteeing that any newly created code correctly and consistently references your existing component modules.

The import map generation process is configurable via the sitecore.cli.config.ts file. This allows developers to customize the directories scanned for components.

5) defineMiddleware in the Sitecore Content SDK

defineMiddleware is a utility for composing a middleware chain in your Next.js app. It gives you a clean, declarative way to handle cross-cutting concerns like multi-site routing, personalization, redirects, and security all in one place. This centralization aligns perfectly with modern best practices for building scalable, maintainable functions.

The JSS SDK leverages a “middleware plugin” pattern. This system is effective for its time, allowing logic to be separated into distinct files. However, this separation often requires developers to manually manage the ordering and chaining of multiple files, which could become complex and less transparent as the application grew. The Content SDK streamlines this process by moving the composition logic into a single, highly readable utility which can customizable easily by extending Middleware

6) Debug Logging in Sitecore Content SDK

Debug logging helps you see what the SDK is doing under the hood. Super useful for troubleshooting layout/dictionary fetches, multisite routing, redirects, personalization, and more. The Content SDK uses the standard DEBUG environment variable pattern to enable logging by namespace. You can selectively turn on logging for only the areas you need to troubleshoot, such as: content-sdk:layout (for layout service details) or content-sdk:dictionary (for dictionary service details)
For all available namespaces and parameters, refer to sitecore doc – https://doc.sitecore.com/sai/en/developers/content-sdk/debug-logging-in-content-sdk-apps.html#namespaces 

7) Editing & Preview

In the context of Sitecore’s development platform, editing and preview render optimization with the Content SDK involves leveraging middleware, architecture, and framework-specific features to improve the performance of rendering content in editing and preview modes. The primary goal is to provide a fast and responsive editing experience for marketers using tools like Sitecore AI Pages and the Design Library. EditingRenderMiddleware: The Content SDK for Next.js includes optimized middleware for editing scenarios. Instead of a multi-step process involving redirects, the optimized middleware performs an internal, server-side request to return the HTML directly. This reduces overhead and speeds up rendering significantly.
This feature Works out of the box in most environments: Local container, Vercel / Netlify, SitecoreAI (defaults to localhost as configured)

For custom setups, override the internal host with: SITECORE_INTERNAL_EDITING_HOST_URL=https://host
This leverages a Integration with XM Cloud/Sitecore AI Pages for visual editing and testing of components.

8) SitecoreClient

The SitecoreClient class in the Sitecore Content SDK is a centralized data-fetching service that simplifies communication with your Sitecore content backend typically with Experience Edge or preview endpoint via GraphQL endpoints.
Instead of calling multiple services separately, SitecoreClient lets you make one organized request to fetch everything needed for a page layout, dictionary, redirects, personalization, and more.

Key Aspect:

Unified API: One client to access layout, dictionary, sitemap, robots.txt, redirects, error pages, multi-site, and personalization.
To understand all key methods supported, please refer to sitecore documentation: https://doc.sitecore.com/sai/en/developers/content-sdk/the-sitecoreclient-api.html#key-methods

9) Built-In Capabilities for Modern Web Experiences

GraphQL Utilities: Easily fetch content, layout, dictionary entries, and site info from Sitecore AI’s Edge and Preview endpoints.
Personalization & A/B/n Testing: Deploy multiple page or component variants to different audience segments (e.g., by time zone or language) with no custom code.
Multi-site Support: Seamlessly manage and serve content across multiple independent sites from a single Sitecore AI instance.
Analytics & Event Tracking: Integrated support via the Sitecore Cloud SDK for capturing user behavior and performance metrics.
Framework-Specific Features: Includes Next.js locale-based routing for internationalization, and supports both SSR and SSG for flexible rendering strategies.

10) Cursor for AI development

Starting with Content SDK version 1.1, Sitecore has provided comprehensive “Cursor rules” to facilitate AI-powered development.
The integration provides Cursor with sufficient context about the Content SDK ecosystem and Sitecore development patterns. These set of rules and context helps to accelerate the development. The cursor rules are created for contentsdk with starter application under .cursor folder. This enables the AI to better assist developers with tasks specific to building headless Sitecore components, leading to improved development consistency and speed following same patterns just by providing few commands in generic terms. Example given in below screenshot for Hero component which can act as a pattern to create another similar component by cursor.

11) Starter Templates and Example Applications

To accelerate development and reduce setup time, the Sitecore Content SDK includes a set of starter templates and example applications designed for different use cases and development styles.
The SDK provides a Next.js JavaScript starter template that enables rapid integration with Sitecore AI. This template is optimized for performance, scalability, and best practices in modern front-end development.
Starter Applications in examples

basic-nextjs -A minimal Next.js application showcasing how to fetch and render content from Sitecore AI using the Content SDK. Ideal for SSR/SSG use cases and developers looking to build scalable, production-ready apps.

basic-spa -A single-page application (SPA) example that demonstrates client-side rendering and dynamic content loading. Useful for lightweight apps or scenarios where SSR is not required.

Other demo site to showcase Sitecore AI capabilities using the Content SDK:

kit-nextjs-article-starter

kit-nextjs-location-starter

kit-nextjs-product-starter

kit-nextjs-skate-park

Final Thoughts

The Sitecore Content SDK represents a major leap forward for developers building on Sitecore AI. Unlike the older JSS SDK, which carried legacy dependencies, the Content SDK is purpose-built for modern headless architectures—lightweight, efficient, and deeply optimized for frameworks like Next.js. With features like App Router support, runtime and CLI configuration flexibility, and explicit component mapping, it empowers teams to create scalable, high-performance applications while maintaining clean, modular code structures.

The days of measuring marketing success by impressions and engagement are over, especially in financial services. Today, marketing leaders are being asked to do more than build brand awareness. They’re expected to drive top-line growth. 

According to Adobe’s report, “State of Customer Experience in Financial Services in an AI-Driven World,” 90% of financial services marketing leaders say they’re now expected to directly contribute to revenue. And 96% are being asked to become more efficient while doing so. 

This new mandate requires not only a change in metrics but a mindset transformation as well. 

Marketing is Now a Growth Engine

Modern financial institutions are retooling their marketing functions to prioritize: 

• Pipeline creation 

• Product adoption 

• Customer lifetime value

Campaigns are no longer judged by vanity KPIs. Success is measured by conversion lift, wallet share, and ROI. That means marketing must operate with the same precision and accountability as sales and finance. 

Performance-Driven Marketing Requires New Infrastructure

To meet these expectations, marketing teams need: 

• Attribution models that tie spend to outcomes 

• Automation platforms that enable real-time optimization 

• Journey tracking that connects every touchpoint to business impact 

Along with the right tools, financial services marketers will also need to build a culture of continuous improvement and commercial fluency. 

Business Fluency is the New Financial Services Marketing Skillset

To lead in this environment, marketers must speak the language of finance. That means understanding: 

• Unit economics 

• Acquisition cost 

• Profitability metrics 

Winning teams are breaking down silos between marketing, sales, and product to drive aligned, data-informed execution. Financial services marketing is moving beyond a support function to a strategic partner in growth. 

Precision, Accountability, and Impact

By embracing data-driven strategies, building the right infrastructure, and fostering commercial fluency, marketing teams can move from a support function to a strategic driver of revenue. The organizations that succeed will be those that align marketing with business outcomes and lead with precision, accountability, and agility. 

Download the full Adobe report to learn more about the top insights shaping financial services marketing and the industry as a whole. 

How Perficient and Adobe Help Financial Services Marketers Lead

We help financial services firms modernize their marketing operations from journey orchestration to performance measurement. Together with Adobe, we’re enabling marketing teams to become growth architects, not just brand custodians. 

Let’s connect and uncover new ways to drive measurable impact together.

I was at the Healthcare Interactive Conference (HCIC) this past week. I like this conference because it retains a “learning” approach to sessions. By that I mean, keynotes and the conference breakout sessions address interesting topics and help inform you about what has been successful and how healthcare organizations address ongoing trends. It’s less about, “AI will change your world. You need to do something now!” and more about, “AI has impacted us in this fashion and this is what we are doing to address it.”

In that theme, David Feinberg, senior vice president and chief marketing and communications officer of Mount Sinai Hospital, had some great and common-sense advice to give in the kickoff keynote of the conference.

Succeeding in Today’s Marketing World

Mr. Feinberg made a point that the most successful people have been fired multiple times. This includes Steve Jobs, Bill Maher, and even himself. It happens, especially when circumstances change. We should embrace it and be honest about why it happened and how we can move on. Embracing it means you are not afraid of failure.

I like this approach because modern digital marketing allows for companies to fail quickly and then move on to what is successful. It makes the old marketing adage of “I know half my marketing is misspent, I just don’t know which half” more addressable. You can more easily measure and see where you failed. Failure will occur. Even old approaches age out and you need to address the change and revise your approach.

Bottom Line: Don’t be afraid to fail. Set up your marketing to react to changing circumstances.

Digital Is Not a Strategy. AI Also Is Not a Strategy.

David commented that, at one point, books were considered high technology. They allowed the greatest dissemination of data the world had ever seen. In other words, while a technology might be new, the information or content is not.

So AI alone is not a strategy. The use of AI to address challenges is a strategy, or at least a tactic based on a strategy.

To his point, an AI like Sathya that does the entire intake for interventional cardiology is a perfect example of a good use. Sathya asks the same set of questions and captures the same information a human would. Sathya does it with a 90% adoption rate, where 90% of the patients and caregivers are pleased with the results.

Bottom line: Focus on pragmatic results of AI. Don’t try to “boil the ocean” or “shoot the moon.” Get to value where healthcare marketers and clinicians can focus on what truly makes a difference.

Dealing With Dr. Bigwig

Everyone — whether inside the healthcare industry or not — has a common pain point. A VIP comes to you and says, “I need you to do this now.” It could include creating a new section of the website based on that cool new thing or creating a campaign for a service line based on a flashy new diagnostic, even though that service line has a six month wait time for scheduling an appointment. This VIP probably has every credential and is very smart.

David has some key insights on addressing this type of circumstance:

• Don’t forget that the VIP wants a good outcome just like you do. They probably just skipped a couple of analysis steps before coming up with a solution.
• Focus on the benefits instead of the features. Ask about what this does for the patient. Ask about the benefit the patient (and caregivers) will gain from this.
• You may not be able to say no. You can, however, ask the questions and align towards a measurable result.

Often, this VIP is a physician leader — and that’s where the marketer–doctor dynamic comes into play. Physicians and marketers bring distinct professional mindsets to the table. Physicians are often rewarded for precision, consistency, and adherence to established protocols. Marketers, on the other hand, are encouraged to explore, iterate, and connect emotionally. These cultural contrasts can make it challenging to co-create a vision for AI—especially when one side is looking for proof and the other is looking for possibility.

Here are a few ways to bridge that gap:

• Recognize that visualization may not be a shared strength. Physicians are trained to think in terms of clinical pathways and outcomes, not abstract concepts or speculative futures. Marketers may need to invest more effort in translating ideas into tangible, outcome-oriented narratives.
• Avoid overwhelming with options. Present a clear, well-supported recommendation rather than a menu of possibilities. Decision fatigue is real, and clarity builds trust.
• Use data to build credibility. Show that you’ve done your homework. Frame your recommendation with relevant evidence, and make it easy for physician leaders to track how your proposal connects to patient outcomes, operational goals, or strategic priorities.

Finally, Remember That You Make a Difference, Too

Healthcare marketers typically enter this industry for the same reason clinicians do. You want to make a difference.

David told a great story about being at a wedding where a woman abruptly asked if he worked at Mount Sinai as a marketer. Hesitantly, he said yes and she said, “You saved my life. Yes the doctor did the work, but I would never have gone to him if your content didn’t get me to him.”

That’s the power of what you do. Your work doesn’t just inform — it connects, guides, and sometimes even saves lives.

So keep asking the hard questions. Keep pushing for clarity. Keep advocating for the patient.

Whether you’re building a campaign, shaping a strategy, or navigating a tough conversation with a physician leader, remember: your voice matters. And your impact is real.

Let’s Keep the Conversation Going

HCIC reminded us that success in healthcare marketing isn’t about chasing the newest technology. It’s about using the right tools to solve real problems. Whether it’s AI, digital platforms, or content strategy, the goal is always the same: connect patients to care in meaningful, measurable ways.

David Feinberg’s keynote was a powerful reminder that marketers, clinicians, and business leaders don’t just coexist. They complement each other. When we understand each other’s mindsets, ask better questions, and stay focused on outcomes, we create space for innovation that works.

If you’re navigating the complexities of AI, physician alignment, or digital transformation in your organization, let’s talk. Our team of healthcare strategists, technologists, and marketers is here to help you move from idea to impact.

Start a conversation with our experts today.

In financial services, trust has always been foundational. But today, it’s being redefined, not by brand reputation or policy language, but by how customers experience speed, control, and transparency in real time. 

According to Adobe’s report, “State of Customer Experience in Financial Services in an AI-Driven World,” 96% of financial services executives say customers value privacy and data protection, and 63% say they expect transparent pricing. These have become operational expectations, and they’re shaping how trust is built moment by moment.

Trust Is Built in the Details Customers Can See

A face-ID login. A real-time transaction alert. A personalized financial nudge. These micro-moments now carry more weight than any static privacy policy. Customers judge trustworthiness by how responsive and secure their digital experiences feel—especially when managing sensitive tasks like wire transfers, credit approvals, or investment decisions. 

In this new landscape, trust is engineered, not assumed. 

Designing for Trust Means Designing for the Customer

Customers today expect more than digital convenience. They want to feel in control of their money, identity, and digital footprint and engage with institutions that respect their time, values, and privacy. Trust is no longer built solely through face-to-face interactions or legacy brand reputation. Trust is earned through every digital touchpoint.

To meet these expectations, financial institutions must deliver on three critical fronts:

1. Mobile-First Journeys With Instant Authentication

Customers expect secure access anytime, anywhere. A mobile-first design can enable frictionless, secure interactions that reinforce a sense of control and safety. Biometric authentication, real-time alerts, and intuitive navigation all contribute to a trustworthy experience.

2. Personalized Recommendations That Reflect Their Financial Goals

Trust grows when customers feel understood. Using AI and data responsibly to deliver tailored insights, whether it’s budgeting tips, investment opportunities, or credit alerts, shows that the institution is aligned with the customer’s financial well-being. Transparency in how data is used is key to maintaining that trust.

3. Seamless, Omnichannel Experiences That Feel Consistent and Secure

Whether a customer is engaging via app, website, call center, or in-branch, the experience should feel unified and secure. Consistency in branding, messaging, and service quality reinforces reliability, while secure data handling across channels ensures peace of mind.

Institutions that fail to deliver these experiences risk losing not just attention but loyalty. In a competitive landscape where switching providers is easier than ever, trust becomes a differentiator and a strategic imperative.

From Compliance Output to Design Input

Trust has become a core design principle. Instead of treating it as the outcome of compliance, financial institutions are embedding it into the very fabric of the customer experience. This shift reflects a broader understanding: trust is emotional, experiential, and earned in moments, not just mandated in policies.

That means:

Aligning products, security, and experience teams.

Trustworthy experiences require collaboration across silos. When product managers, cybersecurity experts, and UX designers work together, they can create solutions that are not only secure but also intuitive and empathetic. This alignment ensures that security features enhance, not hinder, the user experience.

Ensuring Personalization respects boundaries and data use is clearly communicated.

Customers want tailored experiences, but also want to know their data is safe. Leading institutions are adopting privacy-by-design principles, making it easy for users to understand how their data is used and giving them control over personalization settings. Transparency builds confidence; ambiguity erodes it.

Embedding transparency and predictability into every screen and interaction.

From clear language in disclosures to consistent UI patterns, every detail matters. Predictable flows, upfront information, and visible security cues (like encryption badges or session timers) help users feel safe and informed. These micro-moments of clarity add up to a macro-impact on trust.

This evolution requires cross-functional collaboration and a deep understanding of customer expectations.

Ready to Build Trust Through Experience Design?

Download the full Adobe report to explore the top 10 insights shaping the future of financial services, and discover how your organization can lead with intelligence, responsibility, and trust.

Learn About Perficient and Adobe’s Partnership

Perficient and Adobe bring together deep industry expertise and powerful experience technologies to help financial services organizations unify data, orchestrate journeys, and deliver customer-centric experiences that build trust and drive growth.

Get in Touch With Our Experts

In previous blog, the strategic and architectural considerations that set the foundation for a successful Sitecore migration is explored. Once the groundwork is ready, it’s time to move from planning to execution, where the real complexity begins. The development phase of a Sitecore migration demands precision, speed, and scalability. From choosing the right development environment and branching strategy to optimizing templates, caching, and performance, every decision directly impacts the stability and maintainability of your new platform.

This blog dives into the practical side of migration, covering setup best practices, developer tooling (IDE and CI/CD), coding standards, content model alignment, and performance tuning techniques to help ensure that your transition to Sitecore’s modern architecture is both seamless and future-ready.Title (suggested): Executing a Successful Sitecore Migration: Development, Performance, and Beyond

1. Component and Code Standards Over Blind Reuse

• In any Sitecore migration, one of the biggest mistakes teams make is lifting and shifting old components into the new environment. While this may feel faster in the short term, it creates long-term problems.
• Missed product offerings: Old components were often built around constraints of an earlier Sitecore version. Reusing them as-is means you can’t take advantage of new product features like improved personalization, headless capabilities, SaaS integrations, and modern analytics.
• Outdated standards: Legacy code usually does not meet current coding, security, and performance standards. This can introduce vulnerabilities and inefficiencies into your new platform.
  Accessibility gaps: Many older components don’t align with WCAG and ADA accessibility standards — missing ARIA roles, semantic HTML, or proper alt text. Reusing them will carry accessibility debt into your fresh build.
• Maintainability issues: Old code often has tight coupling, minimal test coverage, and obsolete dependencies. Keeping it will slow down future upgrades and maintenance.

Best practice: Treat the migration as an opportunity to raise your standards. Audit old components for patterns and ideas, but don’t copy-paste them. Rebuild them using modern frameworks, Sitecore best practices, security guidelines, and accessibility compliance. This ensures the new solution is future-proof and aligned with the latest Sitecore roadmap.

2. Template Creation and Best Practices

• Templates define the foundation of your content structure, so designing them carefully is critical.
• Analyze before creating: Study existing data models, pages, and business requirements before building templates.
• Use base templates: Group common fields (e.g., Meta, SEO, audit info) into base templates and reuse them across multiple content types.
• Leverage branch templates: Standardize complex structures (like a landing page with modules) by creating branch templates for consistency and speed.
• Follow naming and hierarchy conventions: Clear naming and logical organization make maintenance much easier.

3. Development Practices and Tools

A clean, standards-driven development process ensures the migration is efficient, maintainable, and future-proof. It’s not just about using the right IDEs but also about building code that is consistent, compliant, and friendly for content authors.

• IDEs & Tools
  • Use Visual Studio or VS Code with Sitecore- and frontend-specific extensions for productivity.
  • Set up linting, code analysis, and formatting tools (ESLint, Prettier in case of JSS code, StyleCop) to enforce consistency.
  • Use AI assistance (GitHub Copilot, Codeium, etc.) to speed up development, but always review outputs for compliance and quality. There are many different AI tools available in market that can even change the design/prototypes into specified code language.

• Coding Standards & Governance
  • Follow SOLID principles and keep components modular and reusable.
  • Ensure secure coding standards: sanitize inputs, validate data, avoid secrets in code.
  • Write accessible code: semantic HTML, proper ARIA roles, alt text, and keyboard navigation.
  • Document best practices and enforce them with pull request reviews and automated checks.

• Package & Dependency Management
  • Select npm/.NET packages carefully: prefer well-maintained, community-backed, and security-reviewed ones.
  • Avoid large, unnecessary dependencies that bloat the project.
  • Run dependency scanning tools to catch vulnerabilities.
  •  Keep lockfiles for environment consistency.

• Rendering Variants & Parameters
  • Leverage rendering variants (SXA/headless) to give flexibility without requiring code changes.
  • Add parameters so content authors can adjust layouts, backgrounds, or alignment safely.
  • Always provide sensible defaults to protect design consistency.

• Content Author Experience

Build with the content author in mind:

• • Use clear, meaningful field names and help text.
  • Avoid unnecessary complexity: fewer, well-designed fields are better.
  • Create modular components that authors can configure and reuse.
  • Validate with content author UAT to ensure the system is intuitive for day-to-day content updates.

Strong development practices not only speed up migration but also set the stage for easier maintenance, happier authors, and a longer-lasting Sitecore solution.

4. Data Migration & Validation

Migrating data is not just about “moving items.” It’s about translating old content into a new structure that aligns with modern Sitecore best practices.

• Migration tools
  Sitecore does provides migration tools to shift data like XM to XM Cloud. Leverage these tools for data that needs to be copied.
• PowerShell for Migration
  • Use Sitecore PowerShell Extensions (SPE) to script the migration of data from the old system that does not need to be as is but in different places and field from old system.
  • Automate bulk operations like item creation, field population, media linking, and handling of multiple language versions.
  • PowerShell scripts can be run iteratively, making them ideal as content continues to change during development.
  • Always include logging and reporting so migrated items can be tracked, validated, and corrected if needed.

• Migration Best Practices

• • Field Mapping First: Analyze old templates and decide what maps directly, what needs transformation, and what should be deprecated.
  • Iterative Migration: Run migration scripts in stages, validate results, and refine before final cutover.
  • Content Cleanup: Remove outdated, duplicate, or unused content instead of carrying it forward.
  • SEO Awareness: Ensure titles, descriptions, alt text, and canonical fields are migrated correctly.
  • Audit & Validation:
    • Use PowerShell reports to check item counts, empty fields, or broken links.
    • Crawl both old and new sites with tools like Screaming Frog to compare URLs, metadata, and page structures.

5. SEO Data Handling

SEO is one of the most critical success factors in any migration — if it’s missed, rankings and traffic can drop overnight.

• Metadata: Preserve titles, descriptions, alt text, and Open Graph tags. Missing these leads to immediate SEO losses.
• Redirects: Map old URLs with 301 redirects (avoid chains). Broken redirects = lost link equity.
• Structured Data: Add/update schema (FAQ, Product, Article, VideoObject). This improves visibility in SERPs and AI-generated results.
• Core Web Vitals: Ensure the new site is fast, stable, and mobile-first. Poor performance = lower rankings.
• Emerging SEO: Optimize for AI/Answer Engine results, focus on E-E-A-T (author, trust, freshness), and create natural Q&A content for voice/conversational search.
• Validation: Crawl the site before and after migration with tools like Screaming Frog or Siteimprove to confirm nothing is missed.

Strong SEO handling ensures the new Sitecore build doesn’t just look modern — it retains rankings, grows traffic, and is ready for AI-powered search.

6. Serialization & Item Deployment

Serialization is at the heart of a smooth migration and ongoing Sitecore development. Without the right approach, environments drift, unexpected items get deployed, or critical templates are missed.

• Best Practices
  • Choose the Right Tool: Sitecore Content Serialization (SCS), Unicorn, or TDS — select based on your project needs.
  • Scope Carefully: Serialize only what is required (templates, renderings, branches, base content). Avoid unnecessary content items.
  • Organize by Modules: Structure serialization so items are grouped logically (feature, foundation, project layers). This keeps deployments clean and modular.
  • Version Control: Store serialization files in source control (Git/Azure devops) to track changes and allow safe rollbacks.
  • Environment Consistency: Automate deployment pipelines so serialized items are promoted consistently from dev → QA → UAT → Prod.
  • Validation: Always test deployments in lower environments first to ensure no accidental overwrites or missing dependencies.

Properly managed serialization ensures clean deployments, consistent environments, and fewer surprises during migration and beyond.

7. Forms & Submissions

In Sitecore XM Cloud, forms require careful planning to ensure smooth data capture and migration.

•  XM Cloud Forms (Webhook-based): Submit form data via webhooks to CRM, backend, or marketing platforms. Configure payloads properly and ensure validation, spam protection, and compliance.
• Third-Party Forms: HubSpot, Marketo, Salesforce, etc., can be integrated via APIs for advanced workflows, analytics, and CRM connectivity.
• Create New Forms: Rebuild forms with modern UX, accessibility, and responsive design.
• Migrate Old Submission Data: Extract and import previous form submissions into the new system or CRM, keeping field mapping and timestamps intact.
• Best Practices: Track submissions in analytics, test end-to-end, and make forms configurable for content authors.

This approach ensures new forms work seamlessly while historical data is preserved.

8. Personalization & Experimentation

Migrating personalization and experimentation requires careful planning to preserve engagement and insights.

• Export & Rebuild: Export existing rules, personas, and goals. Review them thoroughly and recreate only what aligns with current business requirements.
• A/B Testing: Identify active experiments, migrate if relevant, and rerun them in the new environment to validate performance.
• Sitecore Personalize Implementation:
  • Plan data flow into the CDP and configure event tracking.
  • Implement personalization via Sitecore Personalize Cloud or Engage SDK for xm cloud implementation, depending on requirements.

Best Practices:

• Ensure content authors can manage personalization rules and experiments without developer intervention.
• Test personalized experiences end-to-end and monitor KPIs post-migration.

A structured approach to personalization ensures targeted experiences, actionable insights, and a smooth transition to the new Sitecore environment.

9. Accessibility

Ensuring accessibility is essential for compliance, usability, and SEO.

• Follow WCAG standards: proper color contrast, semantic HTML, ARIA roles, and keyboard navigation.
• Validate content with accessibility tools and manual checks before migration cutover.
• Accessible components improve user experience for all audiences and reduce legal risk.

10. Performance, Caching & Lazy Loading

Optimizing performance is critical during a migration to ensure fast page loads, better user experience, and improved SEO.

• Caching Strategies:
  • Use Sitecore output caching and data caching for frequently accessed components.
  • Implement CDN caching for media assets to reduce server load and improve global performance.
  • Apply cache invalidation rules carefully to avoid stale content.
• Lazy Loading:
  • Load images, videos, and heavy components only when they enter the viewport.
  • Improves perceived page speed and reduces initial payload.
• Performance Best Practices:
  • Optimize images and media (WebP/AVIF).
  • Minimize JavaScript and CSS bundle size, and use tree-shaking where possible.
  • Monitor Core Web Vitals (LCP, CLS, FID) post-migration.
  • Test performance across devices and regions before go-live.
  • Content Author Consideration:
  • Ensure caching and lazy loading do not break dynamic components or personalization.
  • Provide guidance to authors on content that might impact performance (e.g., large images or embeds).

Proper caching and lazy loading ensure a fast, responsive, and scalable Sitecore experience, preserving SEO and user satisfaction after migration.

11. CI/CD, Monitoring & Automated Testing

A well-defined deployment and monitoring strategy ensures reliability, faster releases, and smooth migrations.

• CI/CD Pipelines:
  • Set up automated builds and deployments according to your hosting platform: Azure, Vercel, Netlify, or on-premise.
  • Ensure deployments promote items consistently across Dev → QA → UAT → Prod.
  • Include code linting, static analysis, and unit/integration tests in the pipeline.
• Monitoring & Alerts:
  • Track website uptime, server health, and performance metrics.
  • Configure timely alerts for downtime or abnormal behavior to prevent business impact.
• Automated Testing:
  • Implement end-to-end, regression, and smoke tests for different environments.
  • Include automated validation for content, forms, personalization, and integrations.
  • Integrate testing into CI/CD pipelines to catch issues early.
• Best Practices:
  • Ensure environment consistency to prevent drift.
  • Use logs and dashboards for real-time monitoring.
  • Align testing and deployment strategy with business-critical flows.

A robust CI/CD, monitoring, and automated testing strategy ensures reliable deployments, reduced downtime, and faster feedback cycles across all environments.

12. Governance, Licensing & Cutover

A successful migration is not just technical — it requires planning, training, and governance to ensure smooth adoption and compliance.

• License Validation: Compare the current Sitecore license with what the new setup requires. Ensure coverage for all modules, environments. Validate and provide accurate rights to users and roles.
• Content Author & Marketer Readiness:
  • Train teams on the new workflows, tools, and interface.
  • Provide documentation, demos, and sandbox environments to accelerate adoption.
• Backup & Disaster Recovery:
  • Plan regular backups and ensure recovery procedures are tested.
  • Define RTO (Recovery Time Objective) and RPO (Recovery Point Objective) for critical data.
• Workflow, Roles & Permissions:
  • Recreate workflows, roles, and permissions in the new environment.
  • Implement custom workflows if required.
  • Governance gaps can lead to compliance and security risks — audit thoroughly.
• Cutover & Post-Go-Live Support:
  • Plan the migration cutover carefully to minimize downtime.
  • Prepare a support plan for immediate issue resolution after go-live.
  • Monitor KPIs, SEO, forms, personalization, and integrations to ensure smooth operation.

Proper governance, training, and cutover planning ensures the new Sitecore environment is compliant, adopted by users, and fully operational from day one.

13. Training & Documentation

Proper training ensures smooth adoption and reduces post-migration support issues.

• Content Authors & Marketers: Train on new workflows, forms, personalization, and content editing.
• Developers & IT Teams: Provide guidance on deployment processes, CI/CD, and monitoring.
• Documentation: Maintain runbooks, SOPs, and troubleshooting guides for ongoing operations.
• Encourage hands-on sessions and sandbox practice to accelerate adoption.

Summary:

Sitecore migrations are complex, and success often depends on the small decisions made throughout development, performance tuning, SEO handling, and governance. This blog brings together practical approaches and lessons learned from real-world implementations — aiming to help teams build scalable, accessible, and future-ready Sitecore solutions.

While every project is different, the hope is that these shared practices offer a useful starting point for others navigating similar journeys. The Sitecore ecosystem continues to evolve, and so do the ways we build within it.

Perficient Hyderabad Diwali 2025 brought the office to life with bright lights, joyful traditions, and strong team spirit. From colourful decor to fun games, every part of the office reflected festive cheer and togetherness.

People across India celebrate Diwali, the Festival of Lights, with happiness and traditions. If you’d like to know more, visit Wikipedia to explore how Diwali inspires celebrations across the country.

Kicking Off

To begin the day, we held our monthly town-hall. During this session, teams shared recent wins, discussed updates and aligned on upcoming goal. As a result, the mood was upbeat and set  the tone for the celebration.

Decor Highlights

Soon after, the office transformed into a Diwali wonderland. A bright pookolam welcomed everyone at the entrance, made with fresh flowers and glowing diyas. Additionally, streamers and decorative lights added charm to every corner. The decor wasn’t just beautiful – it showed the creativity and spirit our teams bring to work.

Sweet Treats, Sweeter Smiles

To make the day even sweeter, chocolates were shared across teams. This small gesture brought smiles and lifted everyone’s mood. After all, it’s often the little things that make celebrations special.

Later, everyone gathered for festive lunch that featured a mix of traditional dishes and crowd favourites. The shared meal gave teams a chance to relax, connect and enjoy the flavours of season together.

Dressing Up for Occasion

Meanwhile, employees arrived in their festive best. Sarees, kurtas, sherwanis and lehengas filled the office with colour and elegance. It was heartwarming to see everyone embrace the spirit of Diwali and celebrate our diverse traditions.

Games, Laughter and Team Bonding

Later in the day, the office bussed with light-hearted activities. Fun and memory games sparked laughter and friendly competition. Consequently, it was refreshing break from routine and helped teams bond more closely.

Capturing the Joy

Naturally, we couldn’t let the day end without capturing the memories. Teams posed for group photos in front of the beautiful backdrops. These snapshots are now part of tour shared story – a reminder of that joy we create when we come together.

Curious how our celebrations have evolved over the years? Check out our post on Dussehra Unity Festivities at Hyderabad Office for more festive highlights and inspirations.

Diwali at the office wasn’t just a celebration. It was a moment to pause, connect, and appreciate the light we bring into each other’s lives. Looking ahead, here’s to many more festivals filled with warmth, unity and sparkle!

Search is no longer just about blue links and ten results per page. With the rapid adoption of Generative AI, consumers are increasingly turning to AI-written summaries to get quick, contextual answers without ever clicking through to a website. According to Bain & Company, 80% of consumers now rely on AI-generated summaries for at least 40% of their searches. This shift is fundamentally changing how people discover and interact with brands online.

However, the implications extend beyond search behavior alone. AI is now shaping the very pathways through which digital traffic flows, often bypassing traditional entry points, such as homepages and product pages. Instead, consumers engage with AI-generated content that summarizes, interprets, and even recommends on behalf of brands.

U.S. retail sites saw a 4,700% year-over-year increase in traffic from Generative AI sources in July 2025. Source: Adobe Analytics

The Zero-Click Challenge for Brands

This new behavior has given rise to what’s known as the “zero-click search” phenomenon, where users get the information they need directly from search results or an AI interface, without visiting the source site. For brands, this presents a major challenge: how do you measure engagement when the click never happens?

Traditional metrics like pageviews and bounce rates are losing relevance. Gartner projects a 50% decline in organic traffic by 2028, driven largely by the rise of AI-powered search and zero-click experiences. As a result, marketers are grappling with a visibility paradox: their content may be powering AI summaries and influencing decisions, but without direct engagement, it’s harder to attribute value or optimize the experience.

This leads to a critical concern…what happens when AI misrepresents your brand?

When AI Gets Your Brand Wrong

As large language models (LLMs) become the default interface for search and content discovery, brands are increasingly at the mercy of how these models interpret and summarize their content. And the truth is, LLMs don’t always get it right.

AI-generated summaries often strip away nuance, flatten brand voice, and even misrepresent key messages. This is especially risky for brands in regulated industries or those with complex value propositions. When your content is reduced to a few lines in a zero-click search result, you lose control over how your brand is perceived and whether your audience even visits your site.

These risks raise urgent questions for marketers:

• How do you ensure your brand is accurately represented in AI-generated content?
• How do you maintain differentiation when LLMs are trained on the same public data as your competitors?
• And how do you optimize for visibility when traditional SEO signals are no longer enough?

To answer these questions, marketers need a new kind of toolkit that’s designed specifically for the AI era.

Adobe’s LLM Optimizer: A New Approach to Digital Experience

To help brands adapt to this new reality, Adobe has introduced the LLM Optimizer. This innovative solution is designed to ensure that brand content is not only discoverable by LLMs but also accurately represented in AI-generated summaries.

The LLM Optimizer works by analyzing how LLMs interpret and surface brand content, then providing actionable insights to improve visibility and accuracy. It helps marketers:

• Optimize content structure and metadata for AI consumption
• Ensure brand voice and messaging are preserved in AI summaries
• Track AI-driven engagement across GenAI platforms
• Identify content gaps where AI may be misrepresenting or omitting key brand information

In a world where AI is the new interface, Adobe’s LLM Optimizer empowers brands to take back control of their digital presence, even when the consumer never clicks.

Rethinking Digital Strategy for the AI Era

As AI continues to reshape how consumers search, discover, and decide, brands must evolve their digital strategies. It’s no longer enough to optimize for search engines alone; now, you must optimize for the AI models that interpret your content and deliver it to your audience.

Adobe’s LLM Optimizer offers a powerful way forward that helps brands stay visible, relevant, and measurable in a zero-click world. The digital front door may have moved, but with the right tools, brands can still welcome customers in.

Learn About Perficient and Adobe’s Partnership

Navigating the AI-driven digital landscape not only requires the right tools, but it also demands the right partner. Perficient and Adobe combine deep implementation and industry expertise with cutting-edge experience technology to help brands stay visible, relevant, and in control.

Let us help you rethink your digital front door and build experiences that connect, whether your customer clicks or not.

Get in Touch With Our Experts