AEM is Dead in 2024 and Beyond, Blog for AEM Engineers

The global recession of 2023 and 2024 has shaken the tech industry to its core. Layoffs are frequent, and platforms like layoffs.fyi show us just how widespread the downsizing has become. As a result, the job market is flooded with skilled engineers, and employers have their pick of the best talent. This makes it an incredibly competitive landscape for those looking to land new roles.

As an AEM (Adobe Experience Manager) engineer, you might be feeling the weight of these challenges. Perhaps you’re seeing fewer full-time positions, rejections are piling up, or you’re struggling to even secure interviews. It’s understandable that you might start wondering if AEM is becoming obsolete or that your career path is in jeopardy.

But here’s the truth: AEM is far from dead. In fact, with the rise of AEM as a Cloud Service (AEMaaCS), the platform is only growing in relevance as more organizations adopt cloud-native digital experience solutions. Now, more than ever, AEM engineers should stay the course. Here’s why.

1. Why AEM Engineers Shouldn’t Give Up

It’s no secret that the current recession has made it harder for AEM engineers to find long-term roles. Companies are in survival mode, focusing on cost-cutting, which often means pausing hiring for major projects. As an AEM engineer, you might feel like opportunities are shrinking.

But this downturn is temporary. AEM has proven resilient over the years, evolving alongside the digital landscape. AEMaaCS is a game-changer, and it’s helping businesses stay nimble in the cloud-first world. As companies move to cloud platforms, the demand for AEM experts is not disappearing—it’s evolving.

While full-time roles may be harder to find, many businesses are still in need of AEM consultants and freelancers to keep their digital platforms running smoothly. Whether it’s handling content migrations, site optimizations, or cloud transitions, there are still plenty of contract-based opportunities out there to help you stay active in the industry in this temporary downturn.

2. AEM Engineers and ANMGA: Opportunities in the Top 5 Tech Companies

If you’ve ever dreamed of working for a major tech company, the landscape has changed. What was once referred to as FANG (Facebook, Apple, Netflix, Google) has evolved into ANMGA—the top 5 tech companies in the world: Apple, NVIDIA, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon. And here’s the great news: AEM is a critical tool in the digital ecosystems of these tech giants.

In fact, Apple, Microsoft, and NVIDIA all use Adobe Experience Manager to manage their digital presence. This significantly boosts the chances for an AEM engineer to land a role at a top 5 tech company. As these organizations continue to scale and expand their digital operations, the demand for skilled AEM engineers will remain strong.

Top 5 Tech Companies Using AEM (ANMGA):

• Apple: Known for its innovation and user-centric experiences, Apple uses AEM to manage vast amounts of content across its digital channels.
• NVIDIA: A leader in AI and graphics processing, NVIDIA leverages AEM to streamline its digital experiences for customers and partners.
• Microsoft: As a global tech powerhouse, Microsoft uses AEM to handle the complex, large-scale content needs of its diverse digital products and services.
• Google: Does not use AEM.
• Amazon: Does not use AEM.

3. The Rise of AEM as a Cloud Service (AEMaaCS)

In recent years, AEM has evolved into AEM as a Cloud Service (AEMaaCS), Adobe’s cloud-native version of the platform. This shift has been a game-changer. Many organizations are transitioning to AEMaaCS because of the inherent benefits it offers over traditional on-premise solutions.

The introduction of AEM as a Cloud Service (AEMaaCS) is transforming how businesses use Adobe’s powerful content management platform. AEMaaCS is a cloud-native version of the platform, designed to be more flexible, scalable, and efficient than ever before.

Benefits of AEMaaCS:

1. Scalability: AEMaaCS automatically adjusts to the needs of businesses, scaling up or down based on traffic demands. This flexibility ensures that enterprises don’t have to worry about over- or under-provisioning resources.
2. Continuous Updates: One of the most significant advantages of AEMaaCS is the automatic updates. Instead of waiting for major release cycles, companies get regular updates with new features, improvements, and security patches, ensuring they are always running the latest version.
3. Faster Time to Market: AEMaaCS eliminates the need for on-premise infrastructure management, allowing developers and content creators to focus on delivering content and experiences faster. This leads to reduced time-to-market for new campaigns and features.
4. Cost Efficiency: With AEMaaCS, companies pay only for the resources they use, which makes it a cost-effective solution for businesses looking to optimize their content management processes.
5. Global Availability: AEMaaCS provides enhanced performance and uptime across regions, making it ideal for global companies that require consistent and reliable digital experiences across the globe.
6. Scalability: AEMaaCS automatically adjusts to the needs of businesses, scaling up or down based on traffic demands. This dynamic auto-scaling means that organizations no longer need to manually adjust infrastructure to accommodate fluctuations in traffic. It also eliminates the need for in-house DevOps teams to manage server capacity, performance, or uptime. By leveraging this built-in scalability, businesses can significantly reduce costs associated with AEM DevOps management. This is a key advantage for companies looking to optimize resources without sacrificing the ability to deliver seamless digital experiences during high-demand periods, such as product launches or marketing campaigns.

4. AEM 6.5: Still Going Strong with No Plans for Deprecation

While AEMaaCS is gaining widespread adoption, it’s important to note that AEM 6.5—the on-premise or managed service version of AEM—is not going anywhere either. Adobe has no plans to deprecate AEM 6.5, and it will continue to be fully supported for the foreseeable future.

Why?

Many enterprise companies rely on highly customized AEM implementations that simply can’t be replicated in a cloud environment. These businesses have complex content workflows, integrations, and security requirements that are uniquely tailored to their operations. AEM 6.5 provides the flexibility and control needed to meet these specific needs.

One of the most important reasons companies stick with AEM 6.5 on-premise is data privacy. Many industries—such as finance, healthcare, and government—have strict regulatory requirements for storing and processing sensitive customer data. By using AEM 6.5 on-premise, organizations maintain full control over their data, ensuring compliance with industry regulations and safeguarding against potential breaches that might occur in a cloud-based environment.

Additional reasons why businesses choose AEM 6.5 on-premise include:

• Customization: Companies with unique workflows or integrations that require more control over their system prefer the flexibility of AEM 6.5.
• Security: With on-premise AEM 6.5, organizations have greater control over their security measures, which is crucial for industries handling sensitive data.
• Infrastructure Control: For enterprises that need to manage their own infrastructure, AEM 6.5 allows full control over servers, storage, and other resources.
• Performance Optimization: Businesses with high-performance needs may prefer to optimize and tune their own infrastructure for speed, reliability, and custom use cases.

5. AEM Thrives in Major Enterprises

It’s not just ANMGA adopting AEMaaCS—many of the world’s largest enterprises continue to rely on AEM to manage their digital content and experiences. These organizations understand the power of AEM when it comes to delivering personalized, scalable, and consistent content to millions of users.

Here’s a list of companies that currently use AEM (including AEMaaCS) to power their digital platforms:

• Apple
• Microsoft
• NVIDIA
• LinkedIn
• McDonald’s
• Canada.ca
• Canadian Tire
• TD Bank
• Tiffany & Co.
• Budget Rent-a-Car
• Visa
• Mastercard
• Coca-Cola
• Caesars Entertainment
• Toyota
• Sun Life Financial
• Home Depot
• Tangerine Bank
• L’Occitane
• Cisco
• Bose
• Ledcor
• Phonak
• Advanced Bionics
• Premier Inn
• Finning

6. AEM is Evolving—Not Dying

As businesses increasingly move towards cloud-native solutions, AEMaaCS positions itself as a vital player in the future of digital experience management. Adobe continues to invest in AEM, ensuring that it remains a leading digital experience platform for enterprises.

Why You Should Stick with AEM:

• Cloud-Native Solutions: With AEMaaCS, you’re not just working on a legacy platform—you’re engaging with a cutting-edge, cloud-native solution designed for the future.
• Enterprise Adoption is Growing: Some of the largest and most influential companies in the world (ANMGA) use AEM to run their digital ecosystems. This increases the potential for you, as an AEM engineer, to work at a top-tier organization.
• Opportunities in Consulting and Freelancing: Even during economic downturns, AEM specialists are in demand for freelance projects and consulting roles.
• AEM 6.5 is Here to Stay: For businesses with complex, custom requirements, AEM 6.5 remains a vital option, and Adobe will continue to support it for years to come.
• The Market Will Rebound: The current recession won’t last forever. As companies ramp up their digital transformation efforts, the need for AEM expertise will grow.

7. Conclusion: AEM is Alive and Thriving

Despite the economic uncertainty, AEM is not going anywhere. With the rise of AEMaaCS, the platform is becoming even more crucial for businesses looking to deliver personalized, cloud-based digital experiences. AEM 6.5 also remains a key solution for businesses with complex, custom requirements that can’t be easily migrated to the cloud.

AEM engineers shouldn’t give up—continue to hone your skills, embrace the opportunities available today, and be ready for the surge in demand once the market rebounds. Whether it’s working for a global enterprise or a top 5 tech company like Apple, NVIDIA, or Microsoft, AEM is still a powerful career path with endless possibilities.

AEM isn’t dead—it’s evolving. The future for AEM engineers is bright.