How to lower TCO with your next CMS

Choosing the right content management system (CMS) is one of the most crucial decisions for any organization looking to streamline content creation, improve customer experience, and drive business growth. But let’s be real–the hidden costs of a CMS can quickly add up. Licensing, development, maintenance, and operational costs all play a role in your total cost of ownership (TCO)—and if you’re not careful, they can eat into your budget.

While upfront pricing may seem attractive when selecting a CMS, it's the ongoing costs that can significantly impact your budget.

TCO is a financial estimate intended to help buyers and owners determine the direct and indirect costs of a product or system. It’s a metric that forecasts the long-term cost of investing in a new asset and quantifies the likely ROI (return on investment). It goes beyond just the initial purchase price and includes:

• Acquisition costs: Upfront fees for licensing or subscriptions.
• Development and customization: Costs for tailoring the CMS to your business needs.
• Training: Expenses for onboarding your team.
• Operational costs: Ongoing expenses like hosting, plugins, and infrastructure.
• Maintenance costs and support: Regular updates and technical assistance.
• Scalability: Future costs to scale and adapt the system as your business grows.

Today’s businesses are looking for ways to streamline operations and maximize value, and one key area to focus on in digital transformation is the TCO of your CMS. With evolving technologies, there are new opportunities to reduce long-term costs. 

Here are nine strategies for lowering TCO, ensuring that your next CMS is both efficient and cost-effective in the years ahead.

Go for friendly UI

If your CMS is clunky and confusing, your team will waste time (and money) figuring it out. Instead, you want a CMS with an intuitive, user-friendly interface that can drastically reduce your TCO by minimizing training and support needs. When the platform is easy to navigate, employees can quickly become proficient in using it, which reduces the time spent on onboarding and troubleshooting.

Additionally, with a simple UI, content creators and marketers can manage content independently, without needing constant assistance from developers or IT teams. This not only speeds up content production but also reduces reliance on external support, further lowering operational costs.
A friendly UI also streamlines workflows, enabling teams to collaborate more efficiently and avoid bottlenecks. With fewer mistakes and less time spent on manual tasks, overall productivity increases, which translates to cost efficiency.

Leverage automation

Why do things manually when your CMS can do them for you? With functionalities like automatic content publishing, data management, and user personalization, a CMS can streamline repetitive tasks and save you time and labor costs.

By automating workflows, you can reduce the need for manual updates, approvals, and content migration, which saves time and lowers labor costs. Automation also minimizes human error, improving content accuracy and reducing the need for rework or correction.

As your content volume or user base grows, automated systems can handle the increased workload without additional resources, making it easier to scale without incurring extra costs.

Optimize software licensing

Many CMS platforms offer tiered pricing models based on features, user counts, or traffic volume. As your business grows or your usage changes, you may find that you no longer require certain premium features, allowing you to downgrade to a more cost-effective plan. By regularly reviewing and adjusting your licensing as your specific needs evolve, and selecting the right plan, you can avoid overpaying for unnecessary features or extra licenses.

Additionally, consolidating multiple tools or subscriptions into one platform can help eliminate redundancies, reduce vendor management overhead, and streamline budgeting.

Stay on top of upgrades 

Ignoring CMS updates is a recipe for disaster. Outdated software can lead to security risks, expensive fixes, and eventually, a massive (and costly) platform overhaul.

By keeping your CMS updated, you avoid the risk of falling behind on key features or security patches, which can lead to costly issues or system failures. Early upgrades also make it easier to adopt new technologies and improve performance without overhauling your entire platform.

Additionally, many CMS platforms offer incremental, manageable updates, meaning you won’t have to face a large-scale, disruptive upgrade. This proactive approach helps minimize downtime and reduces the need for extensive IT support, saving time and money in the long run.

Work with an experienced partner

A CMS migration can get expensive and messy if you don’t know what you’re doing. The right partner can help streamline the entire migration process, from data transfer to system integration, and ensure that your new CMS is set up for optimization performance. They also bring expertise in troubleshooting issues and can lead to strategic decision-making about content architecture and customization.

This way, you reduce the risk of migration failures and hidden costs, ultimately saving time and money while ensuring the new CMS meets your long-term business goals.

Maximize efficiency with integrations

A CMS that offers seamless integration with other tools and apps (CRM, marketing automation, ecommerce, etc.) can significantly lower costs by streamlining workflows and reducing manual work.
Benefits of integration:

• Automated data syncing.
• Faster content distribution.
• Less reliance on custom development.
• More time and budget to focus on growth.

Eliminate hardware/infrastructure costs

One of the biggest advantages of choosing the right CMS is the elimination of costly hardware and infrastructure maintenance. Traditional, on-premise content management systems require dedicated servers, networking equipment, and ongoing IT support to keep everything running smoothly. These costs can add up quickly, from purchasing and maintaining hardware to dealing with unexpected failures and security patches. 
By opting for a cloud-based CMS, businesses can offload infrastructure responsibilities to the provider, reducing both upfront capital expenses and long-term operational costs. 

Optimize for lower customer acquisition costs

A well-optimized CMS doesn’t just save money—it makes money by improving conversions. Faster load times, built-in SEO, and AI-powered personalization help attract and convert visitors without blowing your budget with expensive ads.

Personalization features deliver tailored experiences that increase engagement and conversions. Meanwhile, integrated A/B testing allows businesses to refine headlines, calls-to-action, and layouts for better results. Additionally, seamless omnichannel publishing ensures content reaches the right audience across web, email, and social platforms without extra effort.

Boost productivity with AI-powered workflows

As your content needs grow, artificial intelligence helps you scale without extra complexity or cost, ultimately lowering your total cost of ownership and maximizing value over time.

Lowering the total cost of ownership of your CMS requires a strategic approach, from choosing the right platform to optimizing integrations, automation, and upgrades. By selecting a CMS that offers a user-friendly interface, and ensuring seamless scalability, your business can significantly cut long-term costs while improving efficiency.

Ready to explore a CMS that helps you reduce TCO while driving growth? Check out Sitecore’s XM Cloud to see how it can streamline content management and optimize costs for your business.