Arbory Digital Experiences - the AEM Experts Podcast

Ep28 Testing Adobe's new LLM Optimizer and Edge Optimization - Do You Need It?

Arbory Digital — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 23:05:14 +0000

Adobe has a fascinating new product in LLM Optimizer, which promises to address a whole new category of use-case in optimizing for LLM searches or "GEO - Generative Engine Optimization" as marketing likes to call it. The real questions though: does it work? Do you need it? We put LLM Optimizer to the test on our own site with some interesting experiments, to see if it might help with problems faced by usual AEM & Edge Delivery Services implementations. Arbory Digital's Hank Thobe is joined by EDS Developer and Designer Extraordinaire Frank Townsend, as well as 2X AEM Champion Tad Reeves to discuss whether or not you should be giving Adobe LLMO a serious look.

Ep27 Interview with Chris Millar from Adobe

Arbory Digital — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 01:29:32 +0000

Marathon but WORTH YOUR TIME. In this episode, we interview Chris Millar, Architect at Adobe responsible for “Document Authoring” (DA) in Edge Delivery Services (formerly known as Project Dark Alley). The discussion explores Chris’s role in developing document-based authoring tools for Adobe’s Edge Delivery platform, the challenges with traditional Adobe Experience Manager (AEM), the origins and evolution of DA as a skunkworks project, its integration with tools like SharePoint and S3, internal adoption at Adobe, success stories (e.g., rapid site launches for large-scale projects like school systems), trade-offs with features like WYSIWYG editors, extensibility, performance focus, and future visions involving […]

The Big News from Inside Adobe HQ: Adobe Developers Live, EDS Masterclass & Adobe Champions Forum

Arbory Digital — Thu, 18 Dec 2025 18:04:38 +0000

Three AEM/Edge Delivery-focused events happened in rapid succession at ‪@AdobeDevelopers‬ Headquarters in San Jose: the Adobe Champions Forum, a first-ever Edge Delivery Masterclass put on by Adobe Consulting, and the ‪@aem-live‬ Developers Live event. 0:00 Introduction and Welcome to Episode 261:02 Overview of the Three Adobe Events at HQ2:08 Adobe Champions Forum Highlights and Swag3:29 Edge Delivery Masterclass Experience5:47 Comparing These Events to Adobe Summit7:21 15th Anniversary of AEM and Key Product Takeaways8:37 The Shift to Dual Engagement (Humans + Agents)10:05 AI Agents, SEO Changes, and Content Reformulation13:22 Agents in Content Production and Delivery17:43 LLM Interactions with Sites and Speed […]

Ep25 The adaptTo() 2025 Conference Recap!

Arbory Digital — Mon, 13 Oct 2025 22:41:39 +0000

The adaptTo() 2025 conference is in the books! If you’re an AEM / Edge Delivery technologist, product owner or recruiter – what should YOU know is coming down the pike this year to prepare for? Tad Reeves is joined by Kamil Chociej from ‪StreamX and Bartłomiej Gątarski of Dynamic Solutions to discuss our favorite ‪adaptTo() sessions and what they mean to the world of Adobe Developers‬ and ‪Edge Delivery Services.

Ep24 The Adobe AEM Champion Program: What does it mean, what's it like, and how can you do it too?

Arbory Digital — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 18:02:48 +0000

Principal Architect Tad Reeves was just named as an Adobe AEM Champion for the second time, and shares insights on:

Ep23 Cloud Cost Savings by Consolidating onto Tools You Already Know

Arbory Digital — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 17:57:16 +0000

Veteran DevOps Architect Dwayne Hale and AEM Developer Chase Hollander discuss strategies for cloud cost optimization by consolidating onto tools you possibly haven’t considered.

Ep22 Why do 90% of web architects ignore "The China Problem?"

Arbory Digital — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 11:42:01 +0000

There is almost certainly a problem with your website in China, and it’s affecting over a BILLION potential visitors. Nearly 90% of web architects surveyed have NO IDEA how their websites perform in China, and the results of not understanding the problem could be costing you dearly. 2X Adobe Champion Tad Reeves & StreamX co-founder Marta Cukierman dissect the problem of China web performance, why so many businesses continue to not solve for it, and the effective things you can do about it.

Ep21 Sustainability & the Case for Framework Laptops

Arbory Digital — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 21:51:41 +0000

[Note: we’re Framework fans but were not paid in any way for this podcast, we just happen to feel strongly about repairable and upgradeable hardware] As a break from our regularly-scheduled podcasts on Adobe Experience Manager & infrastructure, long-time DevOps nerds Dwayne Hale & Tad Reeves geek out about what makes repairable laptops from Framework such an amazing option for standardizing upon for company gear.

Ep20 AEM Forms - Deeply Un-Sexy but UTTERLY Vital

Arbory Digital — Fri, 30 May 2025 19:30:00 +0000

How much do you know about AEM Forms? The entire purpose of SO MANY websites boils down to a successful form experience, and yet all too often it’s only the visual impact of the site that gets all the attention, not the core experience and plumbing that constitutes the business case for the site’s whole existence. This episode dives DEEP into AEM Forms, and what you should know about architecture of a great Forms experience.

Ep19 - Edge Delivery & AEM Development and Ops Deep Dive

Arbory Digital — Wed, 21 May 2025 18:13:03 +0000

This is an episode MANY of you have been waiting for. We’re joined today by Sean Archibeque, software architect and veteran on projects for Adobe working on Edge Delivery Services since its very beginnings, as well as legacy AEM projects. What are the big differences between the way an AEM project (or other legacy-style CMS project like Optimizely, WordPress or Drupal) gets approached, and Edge Delivery? We dive into:

Ep18 - The Adobe Summit 2025 Recap

Arbory Digital — Sun, 23 Mar 2025 20:04:41 +0000

If you missed Adobe Summit 2025, there are some major releases which came out this year which could dramatically affect your marketing technology strategy for the coming year. Let veteran AEM Architects Bryce Acer and Tad Reeves walk you through the biggest releases of the year, what you should use, and what’s not yet ready for primetime.

Ep17 - Adobe Summit Survival Tips from the Community

Arbory Digital — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 17:39:39 +0000

What should you know before going to Adobe Summit? Four of Arbory Digital’s team who will be attending Summit this year discuss some of the very best tips we’ve gathered from experienced Adobe Summit goers around the Adobe community. Did we miss any?

Ep16 - Could this be the Future of AEM? DA, Edge Delivery & Future AEM Architectures

Arbory Digital — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 13:00:31 +0000

Is this technology a harbinger of the next-generation of AEM projects? Should your next big implementation use Document Authoring or Edge Delivery, or should it use a traditional AEM backend? Principal Architects Tad Reeves & Bryce Acer have a combined 30+ years in the AEM field & discuss the DA toolchain and how it may affect what your next AEM environment might look like. For more info, see the blog post on Document Authoring & Edge Delivery here: https://blog.arborydigital.com/en/blog/what-is-document-authoring-for-edge-delivery

Ep15 - What is AEM Edge Delivery Services & Can it Replace Wordpress for SMB?

Arbory Digital — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 19:06:09 +0000

Speakers: Tad Reeves & Brandon Langill What is Adobe’s new Edge Delivery Services, how does it relate to AEM, and how does it change the architecture and the economics of launching a best-of-class site for your enterprise? There has been a wide gap, in the past, between the entry-level tech for small business sites and the “enterprise-class” tech like AEM, Acquia, Optimizely or Sitecore. How does Adobe’s new tech change the math on this?

Ep14 - Adobe Podcast and Adobe Developers Live

Arbory Digital — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 20:13:39 +0000

A combined Podcast and “Update from the Forest” with a first use of the new Adobe Podcast v2 AI Audio Enhancer. Plus: looking ahead to ‪@AdobeDevelopers‬ Live, Forms on Cloud Service and reflecting on safe bicycle infrastructure in Berlin. Video Chapters

Ep13 - The adaptTo() 2024 Conference Recap & "AEM 6.6" Scoop

Arbory Digital — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 13:31:07 +0000

If you were waiting for adaptTo() 2024 to be over so that you could find out the real deal on AEM 6.6, your wait is over! Marta and Michał Cukierman from StreamX join us to recap the adaptTo() 2024 conference, and discuss our favorite talks & take-aways.

Ep12 Defining the Job Roles in an AEM Implementation

Arbory Digital — Sun, 11 Aug 2024 19:55:03 +0000

Massively more important than individual technology decisions is knowing what team you need for a successful AEM implementation, what roles should be used for what, and which ones you MUST have in-house, versus which you can (or should) outsource to a consultancy or technology vendor. Chapters0:00 – Intro & Audiences (recruiters & AEM site owners)2:36 – Project managing a non-AEM site3:24 – The Monoliths vs Composable discussion4:45 – Is there a simple “should I in-house or outsource AEM personnel”?7:11 – Role: defining the AEM Site Owner or Product Owner9:45 – Role: defining the Solution Architect or AEM Solution Architect11:00 – […]

Ep11 - AEM Implementation War Stories - the Good, the Bad and the Terrifying

Arbory Digital — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 17:09:46 +0000

In this episode, 3 of our long-term AEM Architects trade war stories on implementations that went great, ones that went poorly, and ones that were barely-mitigated disasters. Learn from the pain of others in one of our most varied episodes yet. Podcast Chapters

Ep10 – Monoliths vs Composable / Microservices - making a case for the unloved Monolith

Arbory Digital — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 16:23:56 +0000

In a world where everything seemingly HAS to be composable or a microservice to be “cool,” who’s going to speak up for the unloved monolith? Veteran multiplatform DXP architect from DX-ROI Brett Birchbach and Arbory Digital’s Tad Reeves discuss the differences between monolithic, composable and microservice-based CMS solutions and reasons why each JUST MIGHT be the right tool for the job. Podcast Chapters

Ep9 - Making AEM & Edge Delivery go CRAZY FAST with StreamX

Arbory Digital — Fri, 17 May 2024 21:27:56 +0000

This is the “Year of Re-Thinking your CMS Architecture” FOR SURE. In this episode we talk to Michał Cukierman, CTO of Dynamic Solutions and co-founder of StreamX – a digital experience mesh for dramatically and reliably accelerating complicated dynamic content requests from the many constituent systems that make up a modern CMS deployment.

Ep8 - Adobe Summit 2024 Recap: Total AEM Disruption

Arbory Digital — Sat, 30 Mar 2024 03:33:03 +0000

This year’s Adobe Summit saw an absolutely frenetic volume of new tech released, some of which have the potential to make you COMPLETELY re-think your architecture and approach. Strap on some headphones and take this one for a walk. We discuss: Video Chapters 0:00 – Adobe Summit 2024 Recap / Intro 2:51 – This podcast is not about GenAI 3:32 – Topics: AEM Sites / Assets / Dynamic Media / Edge Delivery 8:22 – Adobe does not & has not run their OWN sites on AEM Cloud Service 16:24 – AEM Universal Editor 18:08 – Changes to being an AEM […]

Ep7 - Optimizing AEM (and other platforms) Site Performance in China

Arbory Digital — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 18:34:07 +0000

How much do you know about the tools at your disposal to optimize your site’s performance in mainland China? And even if you don’t have a Chinese-language site, do you need to be concerned with in-China performance? YOU DO! We had an AMAZINGLY thought-provoking (and highly entertaining) conversation with Jodie Chan, SVP of Product & Strategic Partnerships at Chinafy, a company which specializes in optimizing performance in-China performance for sites hosted outside of China. Summary

Ep6 - What is AEM? An explanation of what Adobe Experience Manager is & does for beginners

Arbory Digital — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 21:11:47 +0000

What is AEM? What is Adobe Experience Manager used for? There is some buzzword-heavy marketing material out there with non-specific answers, but as we’re onboarding a new Project Manager, we decided to take that basic explanation of what AEM is and does LIVE and bust out an “AEM 101” session in 30 minutes or less. And somehow we managed to make it, despite the Fire Department randomly showing up about 19 minutes into the podcast recording!

Ep5 – The Crossroads of AEM Platform Choices – AEM 6.5 vs AEMaaCS vs EDS

Arbory Digital — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 18:44:18 +0000

Adobe now has THREE entirely separate CMS/DXP platforms: AEM 6.5, AEM Cloud Service and AEM Edge Delivery Services (aka Helix, aka Franklin). Which should you choose? Do you have to go all-in on any of them? Veteran AEM engineers Tad Reeves & Dwayne Hale discuss.

Ep4 – A Career Transition from Nurse to DevOps Engineer

Arbory Digital — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 17:58:03 +0000

Join us as Justin Ranly and Hank Thobe, leaders at Arbory Digital, dive into an inspiring exploration of Justin’s incredible transformation. From a 15-year career in the medical field as a Nurse to a newfound career in computer engineering, this podcast takes you on a riveting journey of reinvention, resilience, and the pursuit of a new career.

Ep3 – Adobe Summit 2023 Releases & Feedback – Tad Reeves / Hank Thobe

Arbory Digital — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 21:19:41 +0000

We all just got back from Adobe Summit 2023, and this podcast focuses on our feedback from Adobe Summit, and the new AEM-focused features released at Adobe Summit. Chapters:

0:00 – Introductions – Arbory Digital Podcast Ep3!
0:54 – Impressions from a first-time Adobe Summit Attendee
4:43 – Marketing Technology People are Awesome
6:57 – There’s no replacement for an in-person conference
10:02 – Top announcements – Generative AI / Adobe Firefly
13:52 – AI frees up creators to CREATE
17:48 – Secret Word of the Day: CONTENT SUPPLY CHAIN
20:14 – Adobe’s Relationship to Partners
22:05 – Value of Adobe Summit – was it worth the ticket price?
23:13 – Adobe Experience Manager – New Features Announced at Summit
26:40 – AEM Helix / Franklin / Next-Generation Composability
30:20 – The Role of the Adobe Partner
31:54 – AEM Assets – New Features Announced at Summit
37:20 – Wrap-Up

Ep2 – Is Self-Hosted AEM Still a Thing?

Arbory Digital — Fri, 24 Feb 2023 13:19:37 +0000

Is it still possible (or advisable) to host Adobe Experience Manager outside of Adobe? Veteran AEM Ops guys Tad Reeves from Arbory Digital and Joey Smith from Rightpoint discuss what’s NOT in the marketing materials about what you should consider when deciding where your AEM workload goes.

0:00 – Intros
0:30 – Is self-hosted AEM still a thing?
1:00 – What is AEM and how does it work?
6:19 – Gotchas of a More-Complicated AEM Environment
14:30 – What AEM as a Cloud Service Solves
18:57 – Assets in the Cloud Service is Awesome
23:20 – AEM 6.x Upgrades are Pure Pain
25:45 – Pros & Cons of AEM Cloud Service
27:35 – Continuous Integration considerations
30:10 – Why isn’t everyone on AEM Cloud Service?
32:35 – Let’s Talk About Data Residency
36:18 – Hosting in China
40:35 – Weighing the actual cost of support
43:10 – Devops Pipeline and SLDC
49:00 – Monitoring & Log Aggregation
53:38 – Operational Support Structure
56:20 – Support on top of Adobe Support
1:00:30 – Wrapping Up & Cord Tools Plug

Ep1 – How to Choose Digital Experience Platform (DXP)

Arbory Digital — Sun, 19 Feb 2023 16:42:17 +0000