CMS Summit 25 Program

Held at Techquartier in Frankfurt on May 13 - 14

The conference is tailored for everyone working with content management systems, from beginners to experts, and features 2 packed days with a carefully curated mixture of talks, workshops, activities and world class facilitators, thought-provokers, speakers and session leads.

Unlike many other conferences, this one is not about speakers talking endlessly about their own work.
On Day #1 we set the stage with lightning talks, reflections, thought-provoking perspectives and close with live demos of emerging tech.
On Day #2, we’ll focus on fewer talks and cross industry working groups to really tackle the thorny issues and make progress together. Rather than being talked at, this is your conference for active participation and talking to your peers.
Throughout the two days, we enjoy the innovative venue, good meals and quality conversations in a relaxed atmosphere optimized for learning and networking.

Finally, what you see below is a draft conference program. Changes will happen as we work to curate and create the best learning and networking experience.

Program

Tuesday, May 13

9:00 - 9:30: Breakfast and registration

9:30 - 9:40: Welcome & Opening feat.:
- Our hosts Janus Boye, Boye & Co & Matt Garrepy, CMS Critic

In this opening session, Matt Garrepy from CMS Critic will lead a conversation with TBD on what we need to know for 2025.

More details coming soon

After the expert opening, we’ll go straight to hearing lightning talks from three practitioners.

The CMS market is large and diverse. That's a good thing, but it always presents companies with the challenge: Which system is the right one for me? Without time-consuming market research, it all sounds like “same same but different”. But what if choosing the right CMS is not actually the key to success?

Without filters and blurring, Angelika will talk about what she calls the tricky CMS Bermuda Triangle:

1. Our “one-fits-all” approach and why we haven't yet found the “jack of all trades” with our CMS. Good CMS technology is not always the key to success

2. How quickly new requirements/application areas can reveal limits and why the boundaries between technology fields become blurred and why continuous further development of your CMS is essential

3. How the new technologies, e.g. ChatGPT, increase the expectation of easy usability of your CMS. Technology should be designed for people and not primarily for requirements/ applications –

Be forewarned, there is no fixed roadmap, but perhaps we’ll find the best way through the tricky CMS Bermuda Triangle together.

No one has ever been promoted for introducing a new CMS. That has to change.

The CMS is without a doubt the hidden hero of every MarTech stack. The silent worker, the secret architect in the background and the DNA of our digital presence.

Trust me, your CMS is cooler than you think and I'll show you why.

Let’s explore the critical aspects of governance and permission strategies, a key requirement that doesn’t always get the attention it deserves.

Learn about the best practices for setting up robust governance frameworks and effective permission management to ensure security, compliance, and efficient content workflows.

Gain practical insights into how to best manage your CMS applications and discover how to safeguard your content and streamline your management processes for optimal performance.

10.45 - 11:15 Coffee & networking

In a fast-changing digital world, how do open-source CMS solutions stay ahead?

In this session, Baddy will explore how market needs drive innovation and how the power of open-source collaboration has built strong, market-ready CMS solutions.

Together we’ll look at how open source quickly integrates new technologies—like AI—and continues to lead with flexibility, scalability, security, and user-friendliness.

If most CMS platforms cover 80% of the same needs, why do vendors keep adding more features? The answer: to win the battle of checkboxes. But does this actually solve real needs? Are we improving our products—or just feeding a cycle of comparison? Is this purely market-driven, or are we reinforcing it ourselves?

Most importantly—can we change it, and do we even want to?

Let’s explore how to integrate AI assistants into CMS in a way that delivers genuine value rather than just hype.

With a focus on solving real user problems, ensuring smooth integration with legacy systems, and enhancing workflows without overwhelming users, Daria will share insights from her recent work as product designer at CoreMedia.

In brief: AI in CMS is less about fancy features and more about focusing on building trust with users and achieving measurable outcomes.

An update on the current situation with WordPress, what the WordPress community is doing about it, and how we’re dealing with the situation with our clients.

12:30 - 1.15 Lunch

1.15 - 2.00 Touring the TechQuartier, a versatile co-working space spanning over 3000m² and a hub for building startups that drive positive change

In a conversational format, we’ll go through the state of the market, why you might get more than you want, but also need more than you think. We’ll cover recent trends to help you navigate a crowded marketplace and empower you to select a better system next time!

Leadership can be described as “the ability to get things done through others.” Which means professionals leading digital transformation have a truly challenging assignment. The “others” through whom things get done are diverse, may be afraid of transformation and likely not reporting to the digital lead; “the things to get done” are hard to quantify and constantly shifting in an era of unprecedented technological change and corporate upheaval.

Julian has led enterprise-scale transformation initiatives requiring cross-functional stakeholder alignment in multiple industries. He has built high performing teams, instilling a culture of resilience and collaboration while promoting career growth. He will utilize this experience to provide actionable ideas in three key areas essential for leading digital transformation:

• Harnessing integrative leadership to unite diverse stakeholders and tackle complex challenges

• Leveraging enterprise sales and B2B marketing techniques to effectively communicate the vision and value of the transformation

• Innovative approaches to evaluate, recruit and inspire the team driving the transformation

More details coming soon…

3:30 - 3.45 Coffee and tea

Enhancing website performance goes beyond a simple speed boost—it fundamentally reshapes user engagement and business strategy.

In this session, Lars Trieloff will share hard-won insights from scaling over 200 websites with a performance-first approach.

He will explore how traditional architectures can impede performance and discuss the transformative power of adopting a culture centered on speed and responsiveness.

Drawing on a detailed case study from the fashion industry, Lars will illustrate how improved performance not only expanded traffic beyond branded searches but also sparked a necessary reexamination of customer engagement and product strategies.

Join us to discover actionable lessons for building a performance-centric mindset that drives enduring digital success.

More details coming soon

You’ve heard about models, llms.txt, structured data, and might also be struggling on keeping up with it all.

Tom will give us an update on the problems with AI reading your CMS-powered content, how to help AI understand your CMS and share what we are missing from AI despite all the rapid advances

More details coming soon

4.45 - 5.00 Coffee & networking

5.00 - 6.00 European CMS Idol 2025

Help crown the next (and first) “European 2025 CMS Idol”! In this fast-paced, entertaining competition, contestants will have 6 minutes to showcase their system and try to win your vote.

If you like short demos, pithy commentary, and expert analyses, then look no further. This is the session for you. You'll hear thoughts from an expert panel of judges, but it's up to you to decide the winner.

Contestants:

• Hygraph

• Kentico

• Plate

• 3 more coming soon

6.30 - 10:00 Social event

Everyone is invited to join us for an informal dinner.

We’ll also announce the CMS Idol winner and even do a CMS Experts Quiz!

Venue: TBA

Wednesday, May 14

7:00 Morning Run

We met in front of the TechQuartier for a relaxed 25 minute run

9:00 - 9:30 Breakfast and networking

9:30 - 10.00: Welcome to Day #2 by Janus Boye and Matt Garrepy

Based on key insights from Day #1, we divide into working groups to tackle the big issues for 2025, including:

• Building a business around CMS in 2025

• Getting strategy done with Julian Mills

• How do you future proof content with many different content platforms?

• How do we build accuracy and trust with AI?

• How is search changing? Expectations and opportunities

• Understanding and adapting to the limits of your CMS tooling

• What is MACH / composable really and when / when not to do it

• What are the barriers to integrate open source composable with productized composable

• Who is a CMS really for?

Feel free to send your suggestions!

10:00 - 11.00: Working groups - join a key topic, contribute and help shape the future of the industry

11.00 - 11.20 Coffee & networking

11:20 - 12.15: Working groups continued - join a key topic, contribute and help shape the future of the industry

12:15 - 12.30: Brief presentations of progress, blockers, call for participation to move forward

12.30 - 1.30 Lunch

1:30 - 2.15: Last round of progress in the working groups

A brief interactive wrap-up of the two days. Join us for key lessons learned, big questions for 2025 and what happens next. Matt will moderate a conversation with three selected experts among the partcipants

2.45 - 3:00 Goodbyes and see you next year!