Sitecore 10.4 launched - what you should know

By Koen Heye, 20-05-2024

Earlier this month Sitecore released their new version of the traditional Sitecore DXP platform: Sitecore 10.4.

A long-awaited update since previous version had been around for over a year - 10.3 released in December 2022! And earlier speculations were that 10.4 would get released late 2023.

While Sitecore offers multiple CMS products, the focus for the past years were mainly around Sitecore XM Cloud. We are therefore happy to see continued support and engagement from Sitecore in developing Sitecore XP.

This allows customers to make a better choice regarding their CMS and DXP requirements. Whether it is for existing customers to upgrade their current XM/XP installation to the newer and longer supported Sitecore XP 10.4. Or to switch to the Sitecore XM Cloud offering for a fully SaaS solution.

Sitecore will support any modernization journey.

This new product strategy is different than last years’ information. With the words from the newly appointed Sitecore CEO Dave O’Flanagan: “We are in this together for the long haul”. And Sitecore will continue its support for XM and XP.

What is new in Sitecore 10.4?

4 changes really stand out:

1. One of the biggest changes that we like in this product update is simplified personalization management. By allowing simple changes to the xConnect profile without requiring code development. A typical request that happens on a regular basis in other versions and created some overhead since a deployment was also needed.
   Users can now add these facets and make use of it for personalization, segmentation, marketing automation and analytics.
   A new module was added to Sitecore for this called Codeless Schema Extension which will become available mid-may.
2. The ability to bulk assign marketing definitions to content which reduces the time a Marketeer needs to ‘setup’ the necessary configuration.
3. A public open source module was added for exporting xDB data. Making it easier to integrate data into external analytics tools such as Power BI.
4. Accessibility enhancements to the Sitecore Content Editor. Navigating the Content Editor without using a mouse was impossible. With 10.4 you can now use TAB to navigate around.

Besides these 4 changes, another 200 small improvements to security and performance were included and easier integration with Sitecore CDP.

Sitecore Roadmap

Interesting to know is that some features will be released as modules. And these don't require Sitecore 10.4 but would also be integratable into previous versions such as 10.2. Not all details are known yet, but updates are expected from Sitecore soon. 

A few examples can be seen on this screenshot with a large focus on the Integration modules.

Other interesting developments included in this roadmap:

• integration of Generative AI to populate item fields with title, content and auto-tagging
• basic image generation with Dall-E
• translation of content into other languages with built-in workflow support
• integration of Sitecore XM/XP into the Sitecore Portal
• simplified integration and setup of Sitecore Search
• XM to XM Cloud migration tool

Sitecore’s commitment to XP excellence:
https://www.sitecore.com/blog/product-strategy/navigating-tomorrow-sitecores-ongoing-commitment-to-xp-excellence-and-customer-empowerment

Sitecore overview of changes to 10.4:
https://www.sitecore.com/blog/news/sitecore-xp-10-4-now-available-features-more-than-200-enhancements

Developer Sitecore 10.4 release notes and changes: https://developers.sitecore.com/downloads/Sitecore_Experience_Platform/104/Sitecore_Experience_Platform_104/Release_Notes