The document discusses the implementation of the Sitecore Composable Stack, focusing on JAMstack architecture and the Experience Edge service. It highlights the benefits of JAMstack, such as improved performance, security, and developer experience, while also addressing the complexities and limitations of the Experience Edge. The presentation shares lessons learned from real-life implementations and the impact on performance metrics.

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Experience Edge at
Scale: Implementing
the Sitecore
Composable Stack
Jeff Rondeau | @JRondeau16
August 18-19 2022
#sugcon

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 Manager of Engineering at Merkle
 4x Sitecore MVP
 Coveo MVP
 Lover of whisk(e)y and dogs
About Me

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 What’s Jamstack?
 Enabling Jamstack with Experience Edge
 Implementation lessons learned
 Solution performance
Outcomes and Takeaways

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So…what is Jamstack?

5. 2015/2016
• Through SSG like Jekyll, static sites are becoming popular. Term “JAMstack”
comes to life.
2017
• Modern web revolution starts prioritizing importance of performance,
scalability, and developer experience. JAMstack gains wider adoption.
2018
• Netlify / Gatsby / Contentful enable rapid community growth. First JAMstack
conference.
2019
• JAMstack goes mainstream with explosion of new tools and services.
2020
• “JAMstack” becomes “Jamstack”. Vercel is introduced and Next.js surges in
popularity.
Source: jamstack.wtf

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• JavaScript – Enabling the
dynamic aspects of your
website. No restriction on
library or framework.
• APIs – Third-party or custom
server-side functionalities called
by JavaScript over HTTPS.
• Markup – Websites often served
as static HTML files using SSGs.
What is Jamstack?
Jamstack
JavaScript APIs Markup

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• Decoupled – Frontend and backend
can use separate technologies and
tooling. Frontend often built using
SSG and backend integrated into
backend by APIs used during build
process
• Static-first – Often sites are pre-
rendered statically with dynamic
elements being powered by client-
side JavaScript
• Progressively enhanced – JavaScript
can be introduced as-needed to
increase performance on the browser
• Incredible Performance – Serving pre-
built pages over CDN
• More Secure – Attack surface area greatly
reduced
• (Often) Less Expensive – Simplified and
potentially even free infrastructure
• Developer Experience++ - Frontend can
focus on frontend without monolithic
architecture ties
• Scalability – CDN can automatically adjust
to spikes in traffic
Common Attributes and Benefits

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Meanwhile..
• MVC & Razor
• Content Delivery Servers
• Content Management
Servers
• Solr
• xDB
• SQL
• Marketing Automation
• CDN

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Enter Headless Services (JSS)

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• No more MVC!
• REST or GraphQL endpoints
• Sitecore begins to function as
API server, serving content
and layout data
• Infrastructure can still be
complex
Headless Sitecore

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Along Comes Experience Edge

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 SaaS offering giving globally replicated, scalable access to
items, layout, and media
 CDN for your Sitecore content and media
 Cached snapshot of layout service with media library assets
 Sitecore-hosted GraphQL API
 Power any device at any time, anywhere
 Removes infrastructure complexity
 Enables engineering team to focus efforts elsewhere
Experience Edge

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Experience
Edge
Architecture

15. Real Life Example
Experience Edge in the wild

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 Existing Sitecore MVC + Xamarin solutions
 Disparate technology stacks
 Uniting seven different restaurant brands on common
platform
 Fourteen websites and mobile apps with shared content
 Hundreds of millions of dollars through digital platform
Project Background

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A Jamstack Architecture

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 Lengthy discussions with Sitecore and client
 Adopted Experience Edge mid-development
 Kept Content Delivery Servers
 Implemented ability to quickly toggle use of Experience
Edge
Experience Edge Approach

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Experience Edge In The Wild

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 Only supports Solr search provider
 Cannot support Sitecore personalization rules or content
testing
 Does not support dynamic/contextual output from Layout
Service
 Publishing a single item could result in publishing hundreds
 Does not enforce security constraints
 Only supports default device
Experience Edge Limitations

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 Experience Edge caching can be problematic
 Have a contingency plan ready
 Incorporate appropriate monitoring
 Adopt GraphQL early
 Assess your appetite for risk
 Powerful when things come together
 Edge is the future
Implementation Lessons Learned

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Solution Performance

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Solution Performance - Menu

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Solution Performance - Homepage

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Solution Performance – Product Detail
11%
Vercel build time decrease

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Is Experience Edge right for me?

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I am a proud community member!
Please contact me on the following handles:
sitecorechat.slack.com twitter linkedin
Questions?
@JRondeau @JRondeau16 @JRondeau16