Expert Voices: adesso on Moving AI From Experiment to Everyday Practice
Part 5 of our partner series ahead of DMEXCO 2026.
Read part 3 with schöne neue kinder here.
Read part 4 with RYZE Digital here.
This September, Ibexa is heading to DMEXCO in Cologne, and we're bringing our partner network with us. This year, we're especially looking forward to the conversations around agentic marketing: how AI agents are starting to work directly within the marketing stack, and what that means for the teams running it.
To get a feel for how that shift looks from the front line, we asked our partners for their take. From building the foundation to thinking about the future of agentic marketing, this interview series takes us every step of the way.
In the fifth part of this series, we spoke to Christian Huscke at adesso about exactly that, and about why AI only earns its place once it's embedded in real data, processes, and systems.
They also told us why they built adSCAILE to test AI internally before bringing it to clients, and what they hope visitors bring to DMEXCO conversations this year.
Here's what they told us.
Everyone's talking about AI. What does the term mean for you specifically, as an implementation partner?
"For us, AI isn't an end in itself, and it isn't purely an innovation topic. In concrete terms, it means understanding processes better, taking targeted pressure off employees, and making customer experiences more relevant. What matters isn't the individual model. It's embedding it securely into data, processes, and existing system landscapes.
We set up adSCAILE specifically for this. We adopt new AI capabilities early, integrate them into our everyday work, and turn what we learn into something our clients can use. That way, we're not just transforming technology. We're transforming how we work, decide, and deliver. AI becomes the driver that makes the interplay between business, people, and technology more effective.
As an implementation partner, we bring strategy, technology, and operations together. We identify a meaningful use case, build a solid data foundation, integrate the solution, and take care of governance, security, and measurable value. Our aim is to treat AI as neither an experiment nor a mere promise, but to move it into real business models, production systems, and core processes."
How can you tell a project has good chances of success?
"There has to be a clear, shared goal. Successful projects don't start with 'which technology should we use?' They start with 'what problem are we solving, for whom, and how will we measure success?'
The right conditions include:
- concrete business value and measurable goals
- an engaged team on the client's side with clear responsibilities
- early decisions on data, interfaces, and the operating model
- an iterative approach with quickly visible results
- willingness to change processes and ways of working alongside the technology
Technology matters, but a shared understanding of priorities and value is usually the real success factor."
What makes a Digital Experience Platform modern for you?
"A modern Digital Experience Platform connects content, data, commerce, and services into one consistent experience across the entire customer journey. It has to enable editorial teams to deliver relevant content efficiently, while staying open enough to connect to CRM, PIM, shop, analytics, and AI systems.
For us, modern means hybrid headless, integrated, scalable, and intelligent above all. That combination lets companies evolve their touchpoints flexibly, create personalised experiences, and adapt their platform to new requirements over the long term. At adesso, we bring together expertise ranging from UX and web experience management to customer engagement, commerce, and data-driven marketing to make that possible."
What do companies expect from their digital platform today that barely existed a few years ago?
"Today, companies expect significantly more connectivity, adaptability, and governance. Platforms aren't just meant to deliver content. They need to make data from different sources usable, orchestrate experiences tailored to specific audiences, and respond to new market requirements as fast as possible.
What's newly come into play includes:
- AI-supported content, service, and automation capabilities
- secure use of company knowledge through agents
- data and AI governance, including compliance
- digital sovereignty, alongside flexible cloud, hybrid, and on-premises models
- the ability to connect marketing, sales, and service across system boundaries
The platform is increasingly moving from a content system to the intelligent, controlling core of the digital customer relationship. Headless, connected, intelligent, and AI-supported marketing orchestration are very much part of that conversation around Ibexa and modern platform architecture too."
How do customers benefit from working with an experienced Ibexa partner?
"They benefit most from a partner who doesn't just know the platform, but knows how it fits into the wider digital landscape. The real challenge is rarely the CMS on its own. It's integrating content, product data, commerce, CRM, analytics, identities, and increasingly, AI applications.
An experienced partner helps build a target architecture that holds up, clarifies typical integration and operational questions early, and shapes the platform so it grows with the business. With Ibexa DXP, adesso brings experience in enterprise PHP and Symfony environments, and in practice, we focus strongly on connected, intelligent marketing orchestration too."
What are you most looking forward to when it comes to agentic?
"The shift from pure assistance to real capability to act. Agentic AI doesn't just summarise information or answer questions. It can prepare, coordinate, and, within clear rules, carry out tasks across systems.
That's especially exciting where unstructured information starts turning into concrete improvements: for example, when customer feedback from portals, emails, or social media gets continuously analysed, generating direct input for service, product, or customer experience. The one constant requirement is clear governance. People set the goals, the rules, and the checkpoints.
It's our slogan come to life even more: we make it simple!"
If clients described your collaboration in three words, what should they be?
"Partnership-driven, because we take on responsibility together. Clear and honest, because we make even complex topics understandable and decision-ready, and because things don't always progress the way anyone hoped. And effective, because we don't stop at concepts. We carry change through to implementation."
What motivates your team to keep developing?
"The combination of curiosity and impact. Technology moves fast, but what's genuinely motivating is when it turns into better solutions for real challenges: a simpler customer experience, a more efficient process, or a new digital business model.
That includes the chance to learn from each other, across interdisciplinary teams, through new projects, partnerships, and training opportunities. adesso supports this with our own qualification programmes and recognised certifications."
What would you like to tell visitors who meet you at DMEXCO?
"Bring your real challenges, not just your tool questions. Whether it's modernising a platform, improving digital customer experiences, AI in marketing, or integrating complex system landscapes, the best first step is an open conversation about goals, priorities, and a realistic path forward.
We want to show that progress doesn't always have to start with a big leap. A clearly prioritised use case, the right team, and a first measurable win are often the best place to begin."
