What CTOs and CMOs Are Asking at Madrid Tech Show 2025
Contents
Madrid Tech Show 2025 kicks off with a clear protagonist: the questions. Beyond the keynotes, demos, and exhibitor booths, the most interesting things are happening in between—during quick meetings, impromptu coffees, and informal conversations. CTOs, CMOs, and digital leaders from sectors like retail, banking, and healthcare are looking for real answers to urgent challenges about digital platforms, ROI, scalability, and speed to market.
Here are the key questions being heard—or silently pondered—while walking the halls of IFEMA.
How can we scale digital experiences without doubling tech costs?
One of the most common concerns among enterprise tech leaders is how to grow digitally without ballooning costs—especially in environments that have already made significant investments in platforms like Adobe Experience Manager, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, or SAP CX.
“The challenge isn’t launching a new website or app—it’s doing it fast, without rebuilding the entire tech stack.”
Modularity, composable models, and smart use of headless services are part of the solution, though many digital leaders are still trying to strike the right balance between centralized control and local agility.
Composable commerce or integrated suite? What wins in the long run?
This question comes up frequently among retail and pure-play eCommerce brands. On one hand, platforms like Vtex, Shopify Plus, or BigCommerce offer speed and flexibility. On the other hand, integrated suites like Adobe Commerce or SAP CX are still attractive for their robustness and deep functionality.
“We don’t want to lock into a closed stack, but we also don’t want to lose operational control with ten different microservices.”
The decision is no longer just technical—it’s about governance and digital maturity. What teams do I have? What level of autonomy do business units need? What kind of time-to-market is the channel demanding?
Which CMS enables faster publishing without compromising security or compliance?
In highly regulated sectors like banking, insurance, and healthcare, digital content remains critical—but must comply with strict standards. Here, platforms like WordPress VIP and Drupal (via Acquia) stand out for offering a balance of editorial flexibility and governance control.
“Publishing fast can’t mean bypassing internal controls. The CMS should help, not hinder.”
Headless CMS platforms like Contentful or Strapi are also gaining traction, especially when combined with custom frontend layers or frameworks like Next.js.
How do I prove the ROI of a DXP to the finance team?
This question keeps coming up among CMOs and digital leads. Investing in a DXP like AEM, Sitecore or even low-code platforms like Liferay requires more than feature lists—it demands a business case.
“We need to move from talking about customer experience to showing impact on conversion, retention, and operational efficiency.”
DXP platforms are increasingly valued for their ability to integrate data, personalize journeys, and orchestrate omnichannel delivery from a single view. But the messaging needs to land on real KPIs: conversion rate, cost reduction, publishing speed…
How fast can I launch a new brand, product line, or country?
This is a critical point for enterprises expanding globally or managing multiple brands. Platforms like Drupal, Adobe Franklin, or WordPress VIP are being positioned as agile options for fast rollouts without sacrificing brand consistency or technical quality.
“Speed should not come at the expense of scalability or long-term maintenance.”
Automation, reusable design systems, and multilingual content workflows are all part of this speed-to-market strategy.
Conclusion: The questions are more strategic than technical
The most revealing thing about Madrid Tech Show 2025 isn’t the answers—it’s the nature of the questions digital leaders are asking. It’s no longer about specific technologies, but about operating models, ROI, time-to-market, and real customer impact.
“Technology is no longer the bottleneck—it’s how it’s prioritized, governed, and aligned with business goals.”
Platforms like Adobe Experience Manager, Drupal, WordPress VIP, Salesforce Commerce, and Shopify Plus are just parts of the puzzle. The real key lies in how they are orchestrated—with focus, strategy, and speed.
References and supporting documentation
- McKinsey & Company (2024). How a tech start-up tackles legacy systems with composable tech stacks
- Gartner (2025). Magic Quadrant for Digital Experience Platforms
- Forrester (2024). The Total Economic Impact™ of Adobe Experience Manager Sites
- IDC (2024). Composable commerce: a framework for agile business
- Acquia (2025). State of CMS 2025 Report
