Integrating Vercel and Sitecore for 2x faster development times and 111% higher conversions

Avanade is the world’s leading expert on Microsoft which delivers AI-driven solutions for cloud, data analytics, cybersecurity, and ERP.

The team at Avanade started on a comprehensive transformation, ultimately adopting Next.js, Vercel, and Sitecore XM Cloud to establish a modern, composable system capable of delivering highly responsive experiences to global clients. This migration helped replace monolithic systems with tightly coupled components and manual deployments, which hurt performance and feature rollouts.

Seeing the value after digital transformation

Vercel integrates with Avanade’s Microsoft-first operations, like Azure DevOps, and enables a more flexible, cloud-native approach. It eliminates siloed content workflows, delayed updates, and monolithic dependencies that prevented teams from quickly incorporating new features or responding to market shifts.

The new stack combines edge computing, automatic scaling, and user-friendly CI/CD workflows. Vercel’s Edge Network intelligently caches and delivers content, improving page load times for Avanade’s global clients. Tight integration with Next.js allows the company to use Server-Side Rendering (SSR), Static Site Generation (SSG), and Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR) for an ideal balance of speed and real-time data capabilities.

Vercel functions handle backend logic, reducing the need for dedicated server infrastructure. This approach allows the architecture to scale automatically based on traffic demands and resulted in a 42% decrease in carbon emissions.

“Vercel transformed our development workflow, providing seamless deployments, optimized performance, and a fantastic developer experience. The scalability and speed unlocked by this combination allowed us to focus on building great user experiences rather than managing infrastructure.Vercel transformed our development workflow, providing seamless deployments, optimized performance, and a fantastic developer experience. The scalability and speed unlocked by this combination allowed us to focus on building great user experiences rather than managing infrastructure.”

Hing Yon, Platform Owner & Technical Lead

Additionally, content is managed in Sitecore XM Cloud and Content Hub, centralizing asset management and editorial workflows. The headless architecture bridges communication between these platforms and the frontend using modern APIs.

Other user experience improvements include:

• 9% increase in site visits

• 13% more returning visitors

• customers able to find products 14% quicker

• 43% longer time on site per visitor

• 56% higher sales from returning customers

• 111% higher conversions

This transition to Next.js also provided Avanade with a decoupled frontend framework, paving the way for a more modular, adaptable architecture.

Improving the developer experience

Automated CI/CD pipelines have accelerated development cycles, as code commits now trigger instant Preview Deployments that facilitate real-time collaboration and early feedback. The operations team noted a substantial decrease in maintenance overhead, having moved away from manually provisioning servers and troubleshooting load-related issues.

Key developer experience improvements include:

• 2x faster site development time

• 2x faster content delivery at scale

• 33% faster content changes

Avanade’s adoption of Vercel delivers new levels of performance agility, empowering teams to innovate more freely. By streamlining deployments and embracing a composable architecture, Avanade can now respond more quickly to market needs while retaining its existing technology foundations.