So…we just need a headless CMS?
The API-first approach and decoupled infrastructure will have many believe that CaaS is simply another term for a headless CMS. While a headless CMS gives you the technology you need to store content centrally, and then distribute that content anywhere and everywhere, at the end of the day, it is only technology.
On the other hand, CaaS includes the overall content strategy and takes a holistic view of all content within an organization. A headless CMS is the how, but content as a service is the benefit that comes from having a headless CMS. Many brands will get a headless CMS but fail to implement an effective content as a service model to go along with it.
The headless CMS initially served as a use case for developers only. It increased the flexibility and agility of IT teams and avoided the limits of a traditional CMS, but it didn’t provide marketers with the same access to tools and templates. Over time, pure headless eventually became hybrid headless to account for the lack of marketer resources.
Content was once simple to publish to a website. However, more channels have increased the complexity of the entire system and also makes more people involved, advancing the CMS from more than just a content repository. When headless architecture is implemented without factoring in the whole organization, silos can be created, which leads to problems creating the best digital experiences.
CaaS can help break up silos and allow for omnichannel marketing, personalization and other use cases to flourish. Content management is now agile, and CMS implementations need to be faster as well as support more channels.
CaaS adds content practitioner tools to content authoring, management and API delivery needed to succeed in a content-first world. Assets can be reused across channels and the entire process then supported by agile project management methods.