Acquia Content Cloud is here, in private beta version

Responding to customer desire for a simple, central and easy-to-use content management system, Acquia unveiled years-in-the-making Acquia Content Cloud. The SaaS-based content-as-a-service product enables headless content creation and syndication across multichannel digital experiences.

Headless content management systems, lacking front-end presentation interface in a traditional CMS, are ideal for supporting omnichannel delivery such as mobile apps, webpages, audio interfaces and more.

Acquia Content Cloud enables users to write, edit and approve content and publish to multiple destinations, such as email, web and ads in one workflow. The content-as-a-service offering eliminates the need to log in to and maintain content across multiple disconnected channels.

Headless CMS supports atomic content -- a dynamic assembly of smaller elements from a combination of data sources -- which Gartner analyst Nicole Greene said will facilitate easy-to-personalize and -display content creation.

Built on Drupal, Acquia Content Cloud supports multiple modern and simple API formats like GraphQL and JSON:API. The cloud also offers centralized governance and control, increasing workflow flexibility and enabling teams to work independently.

Content created in Acquia's cloud offering can be scheduled to go live at any point in the future to any number of sites or channels. For instance, cross-channel content can be scheduled to go live at the same time to maximize impact of the release. After work is published, users are able to make changes to the content; a request for changes triggers a new workflow.

By supporting collaboration with a headless CMS, Acquia Content Cloud moves away from the boxed-in approach of a traditional web CMS. Modernized, cloud-based and API-first platforms are becoming necessary, as customer demands and workflow processes evolve in the expanding digital environment.

"We included Acquia in our Magic Quadrant for personalization engines, and within that category is a lot of opportunity," Greene said. "The ability for Acquia to fuel content creation and own the entire content lifecycle is very much in line with what we're seeing. [Expanding its offerings] eliminates the need for as many integrations and systems for one organization to ultimately have."

Greene said she anticipates the Acquia Content Cloud will be most beneficial for marketing leaders at midmarket brands.

Currently, Acquia Content Cloud is only offered as a private beta version, but as Dries Buytaert, Drupal creator and Acquia co-founder, noted in a blog post, it is moving toward general availability. Buytaert plans to write more about Acquia Content Cloud leading up to its initial release, but, for now, users interested in accessing the early beta program can sign up for consideration and product updates.