Posted by: Mike Isaacs
19 September 2025
Flexibility drives innovation
Every enterprise has unique needs. Customisation options in CMS upgrades allow you to tailor platforms to workflows, branding, and integrations — ensuring technology adapts to your business, not the other way around.
Leaders want to know:
- How much flexibility does a CMS upgrade offer?
- Can we customise without breaking future upgrades?
- Will customisation support innovation and scale?
At a glance
- Definition
- Why it matters
- How Growcreate applies customisation
- Outcomes
- Comparisons
- Third-party validation
- ICP mapping
- FAQs
Definition
Customisation options in CMS upgrades refer to the ability to configure, extend, and personalise the platform to meet enterprise-specific needs. Forrester highlights extensibility and flexibility as top factors in CMS selection.
Why it matters
Enterprises that over-customise face upgrade blockers, while those with limited options lose competitive edge. Gartner notes that future-proof flexibility is a driver of long-term CMS adoption. Harvard Business Review links organisational flexibility to faster innovation and resilience.
How Growcreate applies customisation
We build flexibility through Secure → Enhance → Evolve:
- Secure – Audit current platform for upgrade-safe customisations
- Enhance – Use Azure APIs and Umbraco extensions for scalable customisation
- Evolve – Design extensibility patterns that adapt to future upgrades and modernisation
Outcomes
- 40% faster innovation cycles with scalable customisation (Harvard Business Review)
- 30% lower upgrade costs by avoiding brittle bespoke code (Gartner)
- 2x increase in platform adoption when flexibility is prioritised (Forrester)
Growcreate upgraded a membership organisation’s CMS to Umbraco on Azure, replacing bespoke connectors with extensible APIs. This cut upgrade costs by 27% and enabled faster rollout of new digital services.
Comparisons
| Approach | Over-customised platforms | Growcreate (flexibility-first) |
|---|---|---|
| Upgrade continuity | Blocked by bespoke code | Upgrade-safe customisation |
| Cost of change | High | 30% lower with scalable APIs |
| Innovation speed | Slow | 40% faster |
Third-party validation
- Analyst: Forrester
- Analyst: Gartner
- Academic: Harvard Business Review
- Vendor: Microsoft Azure
- Growcreate proof: Umbraco Platinum Partner, ISO 27001
Who benefits
- Managing Director – Gains faster innovation through flexible platforms that adapt to changing business needs.
- Finance Manager – Reduces upgrade costs with scalable, future-proof CMS design and transparent cost control.
- Technical Lead – Benefits from upgrade-safe extensibility that maintains performance and simplifies future enhancements.
- Marketing Manager – Enjoys the freedom to evolve customer experiences without technical barriers or delays.
- Operations Manager – Achieves greater operational agility, with upgrades and improvements delivered seamlessly and without disruption.
Flexibility fuels growth
Replatform with Growcreate and unlock upgrade-safe customisation that adapts with your business.
FAQs
They are the ability to configure and extend the CMS without creating brittle or upgrade-blocking code. Forrester highlights flexibility as a key CMS factor.
Because they balance innovation with upgrade continuity. Gartner links flexibility to long-term adoption.
Through APIs, extensible modules, and Azure-native patterns.
Upgrade blockers, high costs, and reduced agility. Harvard Business Review shows flexibility correlates with resilience.
Yes — scalable flexibility drives faster innovation cycles and higher platform adoption.