Covid-19? Kentico DXP can be the right medicine for companies, says Emakina’s Petar Kozjak

On 14 May Emakina’s Petar Kozjak hosted a seminar on Kentico DXP.
“For many companies, the time is right to relaunch and boost their business after the corona episode. Kentico could be the right key to do it successfully,” he says. Let’s see what drives the MD of Emakina.HR. And what makes Kentico such good value for money CMS in his eyes…

Petar, what was your first experience with Kentico?

In 2007, as a young consultant a client asked me to make an e-learning website for business owners. It had to include sales trainings, PR, communication and public speaking sections, with lots of videos, lots of rich content and training materials. I had to find a solid CMS fast. I simply Googled it! And Kentico popped up. We arranged a presentation and I was in. Kentico turned out to be the perfect choice for this client!

Your first experience tasted like more…

Definitely, and we quickly did several new Kentico web projects.
Sheraton was first, and companies in many domains followed. We bought a server license and started hosting several brand and B2B websites. It did not take us that long to fully master Kentico, actually. We started with just two very motivated people and our expert team grew when we attracted large international clients.

Where do you start when you look for a CMS with a client?

First, you have to listen to the client, be honest and then choose the best-suited solution together. The question is always what the client really needs. Not how much you personally like a specific platform. I look for the best choice in the client’s specific context. Emakina unites talented experts in a range of technologies and we exchange our experiences. So, we can give well-balanced advice, weighing the pros and cons of each system.

COVID-19 changes how we meet, work, and live together.
How does Kentico fit in this new world?

Kentico brings a really good solution for a good budget.
It has many features that also helps to automate your marketing. COVID-19 will further confirm that digital transformation is not a buzzword. Companies that hesitated before now will have to adopt it. Kentico’s out-of-the-box features are perfect for them. Using Headless CMS is also part of the times: working from home, everyone can share content in a single platform, with a clear approval workflow making it easy to create and collaborate.

You joined Emakina Group in 2015.
How has that changed your work?

It’s a much bigger world! As part of Emakina Group we were able to develop and deliver solutions with impressive flexibility and speed, also for global clients. Now we work across continents, time zones and cultures, with direct contacts with colleagues in several countries. The cultural differences can be challenging. But working together with talented colleagues from many places is fun and exciting. For instance, I discovered Australians and Irish people share our Croatian easy going and flexible attitude!

Your work in development made you a global citizen…

Yes! Great clients and colleagues across the world have become friends. And I joined the global Kentico community. Sometimes you forget how valuable that is. I’m 37 and I work across Europe, in Africa, Australia, the US, the Middle East. And it feels natural to me. When I look at my passport, I realize I’m grateful for this journey, and part of it was by specializing in Kentico development.

How did you become involved in the Kentico community?

Kentico is part of my personal growth. It helped me grow my business, as a creator, a team leader and a true partner for our clients. We provided services from websites and designs to brand identities, even selling computers, servers and hosting. By focusing on Kentico development, we became very efficient at it, and our client portfolio grew.

In 2010, I participated in a training with Kentico founder Petr Palas, with key people from his team and some experienced partners. We were all fairly young, and grew together, along with Kentico. The annual Kentico Connection conference is the perfect opportunity to stay in touch, and welcome new partners in the circle. Kentico is growing fast but remains a close community, that welcomes feedback. I’m an honest and direct person. But that’s okay, they understand it means that I care.

Buzz words are a typical thing in technology.
What’s the ‘mot du jour’?

Headless CMS is the thing. First it was called API-first. It’s simple actually: it is a content repository database stored in the cloud. Just like working on shared files with Microsoft OneDrive. Of course, there are advanced things like integrated DAM – Digital Asset Management. And you can have huge repositories of content with multilingual support. You can also distribute this centralized content for internal use, or send it to many devices, from your IPad or IPhone app to your website, or even your smart fridge. It’s the future of handling content… same as with everything else, it’s in the cloud.

How has website design evolved over the years?

For me, the most beautiful websites were built between 2006 and 2012. When I started in 2001, Flash was considered the technology of the future. Graphic designers moved to web projects, but still though with a print mindset. Around 2006 dedicated web-designers brought fresh creative impulses. Some designs were absolutely beautiful, creative but efficient. Around 2011, minimalism and UX/UI took over. Artistic and daring designs were less in demand.  Front-end developers focused more on functionality, design became cleaner, ‘Feng Shui’.

I am proud of many projects, but one stood out as the most creative… a website that looked as though it was all on old paper. The designer who worked on this project today is one of the hottest mobile applications creators I know. We imagined a whole look with a mountain, a river and a wolf. But my friend drew a Russian wolf… terrible! It looked like a white-haired bear! So, I asked him to change it into a Baltic grey wolf instead. He first simply airbrushed the Russian wolf grey! Even worse! But in the end, he got it right!

So, why should marketers join
the seminar on May 14th to learn about Kentico?

Kentico is an easy to use all-in-one solution that gives you very good value for money. You can jump right in and go to work. It has a simple interface, and we often customise it even more. Workflows and marketing automation are also simple. Sometimes more than 50 editors manage a website, in one workflow. Kentico offers a lot: e-commerce, personalisation, marketing automation, and clear reporting. With the upgrade to .NET 2.0 Core, these features will get even better and faster.

Did you miss the webinar? No worries. you can catch up here.