Xperience by Kentico DXP. What do we know about the upcoming platform?

More refreshes for the excellent Kentico Xperience 13 platform are coming. The flagship product will be supported beyond 2026, but the next one, Xperience by Kentico, is already on its way. It's supposed to be released through the early adopters' program in the upcoming months. That's what we've gathered from this year's Kentico Connection. 

Kentico Xperience brand is evolving and zeroing in on the perfect digital platform for editors, online marketers, and sellers. The annual Kentico Connection conference is a great opportunity to peek behind the curtain and get updated on the plans. Especially if you're too caught up in current affairs to regularly check newsletters and press releases. We attended several compelling seminars on brand strategy and the ever-growing DXP market. Still, as a Kentico Partner, we were most interested in platform development and product roadmap.

Plans for Kentico Xperience 13 and Xperience by Kentico

It's been less than two years since version 13 of the DXP was released, and the next-generation digital experience platform is already being developed behind the scenes. The Managing Director of Kentico kicked off the conference by ensuring attendees that Kentico Xperience 13, which we wrote about extensively right here, is still the company's flagship product. Brand's priority is to keep current users happy, he said. And that's why Kentico will keep investing in version 13.X by providing at least five more refreshes (which basically means new releases) and support beyond 2026. That is good news since some of our clients have upgraded to 13 very recently. 

However, the future lies in the new Xperience by Kentico, which is currently being built. The platform will be released as soon as June 2022, but not for everyone. "The general approach is that we want to take what was good in Kentico Xperience 13, keep it as it is, fix things that did not work, plus reflect on the design". That's how the VP Product Manager of Kentico summarized the next generation of DXP. 

What factual information did we get? 

• The new platform is developed with the cloud in mind. It will be available both in the cloud as a service and on-premises. 
• It will be released through the Xperience Adopters Program in June 2022. 
• It will have capabilities quite similar to Kentico 13 but use different solutions. 

When asked what would differentiate Xperience by Kentico from other DXPs, Dominik Pinter, the Managing Director at Kentico, said: "It's not really about the feature set but the overall approach. We offer a unified DXP, and we care about all the platform aspects equally - CMS, e-commerce and marketing". According to the VP of Product Matej Stefanik, the pillars of the new product will be "strengthening our strengths", "embracing multi-experience", "providing cloud services", and "speeding up DXP adoption". 

The aforementioned Xperience Adopters Program, which will provide customers a first peek at the new platform, is supposed to replace Xperience by Kentico BETA program by June. As an early access program, it is designed to help onboard the first customers and it will be available for Kentico Partners. Of course, early adopters participating in XAP will have the opportunity to provide feedback and help Kentico shape the direction of the new product. 

Though we are very satisfied with the current version of the DXP, as long-time enthusiasts and a Kentico Gold Partner, we obviously feel excitement for the platform, and we will keep you updated with any new developments.