The CMS landscape has matured. We (the developers) beat the game. We made it to the end boss level. Now it’s up to others to configure these systems and use their maturity for their use-cases. What was once a playground for custom development (everyone created their own in the 2000's) became a mature space for framework developers and is now a space for configuration and integration. Platforms like Umbraco, Optimizely, Drupal, and Squarespace dominate, and AI is accelerating the automation of setup and integration tasks.

It's what we as developers achieved: All the work can now be done by the users themselves. That was more or less why we start developing these systems in the first place, empower users by giving them more control. With AI, this is achieved even more easily than ever. The tools we’ve built are no longer just for us; they’re for the people we built them for.

This shift isn’t new. We’ve seen the same lifecycle with CRM systems. Once they matured, responsibility shifted from developers to integrators, configurators, and consultants. 

The commoditisation of CMS systems isn’t a signal for developers to become better integrators. It’s a wake-up call. The tools we’ve spent decades perfecting are now table stakes. Being part of that journey is something to be proud of. But the real challenge, and opportunity, lies elsewhere now.

The developers who thrive in the new decade are those who ask: What’s the next frontier? Which use cases need to mature before they, too, can be commoditised?