The problem
Umbraco is flexible, but next to enterprise platforms like Xperience by Kentico it leaves gaps that agencies end up filling project by project: email queues, audit logs, redirect management and more. Rebuilding those for each client is slow, costly and inconsistent.
The approach
As platform lead I ran a gap analysis of Umbraco 17 against Xperience by Kentico. It found 37 capabilities Umbraco lacks, and I recommended seven as reusable packages:
- an email queue with a sent log, failure view and resend
- a global audit log of content and configuration changes
- monitoring and management of scheduled tasks
- editor-managed vanity URLs and a central redirect manager
- hierarchical taxonomies
- shareable preview links for external reviewers
- content locking and check-out
The set targets Umbraco 17 LTS on .NET 10 and runs as spec-driven development: every feature is specified and signed off at a gate before any code is written, with AI-assisted delivery held to documented engineering standards.
The outcome
In progress. The foundations are in place: a supported version floor, written rules and standards, and a prioritised build list. Once built, every new Umbraco project starts with capabilities clients would otherwise pay for again and again.