This presentation covers how Sitecore Experience Edge enables Jamstack, lessons learned during a migration to Sitecore Experience Edge + XM, and how the solution performs at scale across multiple channels – all while showcasing a real enterprise implementation. Whether you’re already using Sitecore, considering a new implementation, or just curious about how Sitecore fits into the Jamstack world, you will leave armed for success using the technologies of tomorrow.

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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