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Viktor Lazar
Viktor Lazar

Posted on • Originally published at linkedin.com

What is Adobe Experience Manager (AEM)?

#adobe #aem #consult

Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) is a content management system (CMS), digital asset management (DAM) and experience platform that empowers teams to create, update, and maintain content and digital assets for websites, mobile apps, and other touchpoints. Business users can build pages visually or via various form based options, and implementation teams can add custom code as needed. Delivered as a cloud service, AEM provides continuous updates and enterprise‑grade security.

AEM Solutions at a glance

Over the years, AEM has outgrown its primary purpose as an enterprise content management system. Today, when we talk about AEM, we’re talking about a suite of solutions with capabilities for content and experience authoring (AEM Sites), digital asset management (AEM Assets), and digital forms management (AEM Forms). With two additional solutions, AEM Guides for structured documentation and Adobe Learning Manager for training materials and learning content, AEM helps teams launch faster, personalize with confidence, and maintain brand consistency across channels.

AEM Sites (CMS)

Create and deliver omnichannel digital experiences.

Highlights

  • Templates and customizable components accelerate page and content production without deep technical skills.
  • Publish simultaneously across web, mobile, email, and other touchpoints.
  • Integrated AI assistants and optimizers accelerate content adaptation and reuse.

Key points and features
Sites combines visual authoring for business users with extensibility for developers. The WYSIWYG Editor, templates, policies, versioning, and approval workflows keep experiences consistent and compliant.

Content Fragments (channel agnostic content) and Experience Fragments (experience block that combines content and structure) enable true reuse across pages, brands, and channels. Headless delivery is enabled via GraphQL APIs and it supports SPAs and other consuming‑app use cases

Multi‑Site Manager (MSM) powers inheritance and rollout across locales and brands, with translation workflows and language copies to scale globally.

Edge Delivery Services, a CDN, and available caching mechanisms bring content closer to users for fast loads and strong Core Web Vitals.

AEM Sites has built‑in targeting (ContextHub) and advanced personalization is usually achieved through integration with Adobe Target.

AEM Sites is the presentation tier that activates assets from AEM Assets, embeds data capture from AEM Forms, and closes the loop with Adobe Target (testing/personalization) and Adobe Analytics or Customer Journey Analytics (measurement). It also aligns with CDP use-cases with Journey Optimizer and Real‑Time CDP to deliver contextually relevant content across the customer lifecycle.

AEM Assets (DAM)

Centralize, govern, and deliver digital assets (images, documents, video, 3D assets, etc.).

Highlights

  • Cloud repository with version control and advanced metadata, tagging, and search capabilities.
  • Bulk renditions for channel‑ready delivery (e.g., social formats).
  • Tight integration with Adobe tools for faster workflows related to all digital assets.

Key points and features
AEM Assets provides a single source of truth for digital assets with rich metadata schemas, AI‑assisted smart tags, and custom taxonomies for precise discovery.

Collections and permissions align access with roles (internal teams, agencies, partners). Dynamic Media and Smart Imaging generate on‑the‑fly renditions and deliver them via CDN, while portal capabilities distribute approved content externally without exposing the core DAM. Built‑in reviews, annotations, and versioning streamline creative and marketing handoffs. Creative Cloud and Workfront integrations accelerate intake and approval cycles.

AEM Assets provides approved media to AEM Sites, embeds assets into AEM Forms, and powers personalized variants in Adobe Target. Delivery and engagement data inform Adobe Analytics. Intake and orchestration can be managed in Workfront.

AEM Forms

Streamline onboarding, applications, and agreements with responsive forms and secure e‑signatures.

Highlights

  • Drag‑and‑drop authoring, themes, and reusable fragments.
  • Data prefill from backend systems like CRM, input validation, and save‑for‑later functionality.
  • Adobe Sign integration for compliant e‑signatures, workflow automation and analytics for KPIs such as submissions and abandonment.

Key points and features
Adaptive Forms support conditional logic, dynamic sections, and field‑level validation. Localization and accessibility (WCAG) are built into form components. Users can save and resume applications, upload documents, and receive a Document of Record upon submission. Visual workflow models route for review and back‑office processing, and dashboards enable administrators to track throughput, drop‑off, and time‑to‑complete.

AEM Forms captures profile and intent data that can be tracked via Adobe Analytics or Customer Journey Analytics, enriches audiences in Real‑Time CDP, and drives next‑best actions in Journey Optimizer. Experiences can be embedded in AEM Sites and enriched with media from AEM Assets and signatures are handled via Acrobat Sign.

AEM Guides (Digital Guides / CCMS)

Manage structured documentation at scale for products, knowledge, and support content.

Highlights

  • Cloud‑native component content management system (CCMS).
  • Reusable, structured content with multi‑channel publishing from a single source.
  • Governance for pre and post‑sales content to keep messaging consistent.

Key points and features
Guides brings DITA‑based authoring to AEM with topic types (concept, task, reference), keys/conrefs for reuse, and variant management across products, versions, and locales. Collaborative review, inline comments, and version control keep content authoritative. Out‑of‑the‑box publishing presets (HTML, PDF, in‑app help) and stylesheet control standardize outputs. Translation workflows reduce localization cost by reusing content at the fragment level.

AEM Guides supplies structured, searchable content to AEM Sites and support portals, reuses media from AEM Assets, and exposes usage metrics through Adobe Analytics or Customer Journey Analytics.

Adobe Learning Manager (ALM)

Deliver and manage training for customers, partners, and employees.

Highlights

  • Personalize learning with adaptive, AI‑powered experiences.
  • Automations and workflows to scale administration.
  • Integrates with digital experiences for embedded learning moments.

Key points and features
ALM offers programs, courses, learning paths, and certifications with skills mapping and recommendations. It supports enrollment rules, reminders, and prerequisites. Managers can track progress via dashboards and analytics. Content can be embedded within web portals built on AEM Sites, with access protection using SSO. Asset libraries use content from AEM Assets for consistent branding.

Analyst & Market Perspective on Adobe Experience Manager (AEM)

Independent research firms consistently recognize Adobe AEM among the leaders shaping digital experience. Use these takeaways to frame the business case for AEM and the broader Adobe Experience Cloud. Some examples are:

Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Digital Experience Platforms (DXP) (2025 & 2024)

Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Digital Experience Platforms (DXP) has named Adobe a Leader for the eight consecutive year. [1] In the 2024 report, Gartner highlighted Adobe Experience Cloud (with AEM at its core) for its broad adoption, deep feature set for digital experiences, and extensive partner ecosystem as key differentiators in the DXP market. [2]

The Forrester Wave: Content Management Systems (Q1 2025)

The Forrester Wave: Content Management Systems, Q1 2025 positioned Adobe as a Leader in web content management. Forrester noted Adobe’s Experience Manager Sites for its innovative, hybrid CMS approach, from strong visual authoring (with AI-assisted editing) to a GraphQL-powered content delivery backend, making it a top choice for large enterprises seeking a cutting-edge, full-featured CMS. [3]

In an earlier Wave report, Forrester specifically mentioned AEM as “a good fit for large enterprises looking for a full-featured and innovative CMS” that natively integrates with Creative Cloud, bridging silos between creative, business, and developer teams.

Forrester Wave: Digital Asset Management Systems (Q1 2024)

Adobe was also recognized as a Leader in The Forrester Wave™: Digital Asset Management Systems, Q1 2024. According to Forrester, modern DAM customers “should look for providers that integrate and perform at scale to drive precise consumer interactions, intelligently apply AI to manage the content deluge, and drive more enterprise value with an expanded role of design and creativity”. Adobe Experience Manager Assets aligns with this vision, which helped Adobe earn Leader placement across current offering, strategy, and market presence in the evaluation [4]

IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Employee Experience for Learning

Experience Management (2024)
In the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Employee Experience for Learning Experience Management, 2024, Adobe is positioned as one of the leaders. [5] The report highlights that Adobe Learning Manager provides a user-centric learning platform seamlessly integrated with other Adobe tools to deliver personalized, immersive content. It supports hybrid learning with a unified experience (single dashboard for content, progress, and completion tracking), underscoring Adobe’s strength in enterprise learning solutions.

McKinsey on Personalization Impact

Companies that excel at personalization can generate materially higher revenue and require rigorous measurement to capture ROI, reinforcing the need for platforms like AEM to operationalize content velocity, targeting, and experimentation. [6]

Analyst Reports References

Executive Summary

Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) is a cloud‑native platform for creating, managing, and delivering content and digital assets at enterprise scale. It unifies website/app authoring (AEM Sites), digital asset management (AEM Assets), and digital forms and agreements (AEM Forms). With two additional solutions, AEM Guides for structured documentation and Adobe Learning Manager for training materials, AEM helps teams launch faster, personalize with confidence, and maintain brand consistency across channels. AEM lets business teams move quickly without sacrificing governance, security, or performance.

Want our experts to consult with you on your AEM implementation? Send me a message or reach out at https://cyber64.com/

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