Sitecore 9.1 New Features and Upcoming Stylelabs DAM

Sitecore 9.1 expands on the re-architecture of Sitecore achieved with Version 9.0… adding several new features from identity management to machine learning (AI).

Looking beyond Sitecore 9.1, the acquisition of Stylelabs is at the forefront bringing Digital Asset Management (DAM) capabilities to the platform as an plugin first (announced January 9, 2019) with an eventual complete integration into the platform.

Key aspects of the new Sitecore 9.1 features and the Stylelabs DAM are as follows:

Sitecore 9.1 New Features

SIF 2.0 – Massive improvements to the Sitecore Installation Framework, including distributed deployments, prerequisites template, developer machine template, uninstall support, and extensibility

Identity Server – ASP.NET Identity (replacement for ASP.NET Membership). Authentication managed by a separate standalone Identity role (IdentityServer4). Supports SSO with OpenID

Cortex (Machine Learning) – Microsoft Machine Learning supporting R and Python. Predictive and ongoing analysis based on collected data to maximize decision points from Cortex generated recommendations (ex. returning personalization suggestions from content testing)

Emphasis is on data, as low data provides low confidence/results. It takes time to model and refine Machine Learning

Content Tagging Automation – Tagging of content for reference/search engines can be automated using the Open Calasis API and Cortex

Forms Improvements – Conditional logic to show/hide elements depending on a users interaction

JavaScript Services 1.0/Headless CMS – Using common JavaScript frameworks (not just the Sitecore API) such as Angular, React, etc. Allows front end developers to program against native Sitecore features. Narrows the gap between front end/back end development teams

Improvements to Base Platform – Incorporating lessons learned from previous versions of Sitecore and the newly re-architected xConnect

Upcoming Stylelabs DAM Integration

• Centralizes digital assets including images, video, 3D in a single DAM (Digital Asset Management) platform for cross organizational collaboration
• Secure and rights managed content
• Automation and simplification of products for those who leverage eCommerce
• Streamlined workflows across users (ex. creator, approver, revision, publishing)
• Released as a Plugin to Sitecore as Phase 1 of the Stylelabs integration (Announced January 9, 2019)
• Eventually to be part of the Sitecore native platform