news & insights.

Part of a short series on approaching AI in a business. The earlier pieces covered the shape of the work, the systems it runs on, and the groundwork of models, cost and privacy. This part is about choosing something to build, building it, and being honest about whether it's working. The hardest part is usually choosing what to work on. Not because there's nothing worth improving, but because the things that annoy people most aren't always the things worth automating first.

Part of a short series on approaching AI in a business. The previous piece covered getting the systems underneath into shape. This one is the groundwork before you build anything: models, cost, privacy and where your data goes. "We want to use AI" is something we hear quite a lot. The problem is that it's not specific enough. It's a bit like saying "we want to use software". The technology might be useful, but until you understand what you're trying to achieve, it's difficult to know what the right implementation looks like. For some businesses the first useful step might be using ChatGPT or Claude more effectively. For others it could be automating part of an existing process, connecting AI into business systems, processing large amounts of information, or building something entirely new. Sometimes, after looking at the problem thoroughly, AI won't be the answer at all. So before you start building anything, there are a few things worth understanding.

Part of a short series on approaching AI in a business. The previous piece argued for questioning the process before automating it. This article goes into what needs to be in place underneath before AI is worth adding at all. There's a temptation, when a new technology arrives, to start with the technology, get excited and look for the latest shiny toy. With AI that might mean choosing a model, buying some licences, adding a chatbot or looking for a task to automate. Sometimes that's the right place to start. More often the answer is sitting in plain sight, well before anyone needs to invent a complex AI workflow.

If your website runs on Umbraco, there's a date worth putting in the diary: 14 December 2026. That's when Umbraco 13 reaches end-of-life. Plenty of sites are still running on 13, so it feels like a good time to explain how Umbraco's release cycle works, what the acronyms mean, and what's coming next.

Most conversations about AI start with a process that already exists. A business looks at something it does today and asks whether AI could make it faster, cheaper or less manual. Can it answer these emails? Can it produce this report? Can it review these documents? Can we automate this? They're reasonable questions, and in a lot of cases the answer is yes. But I think they're a bit shortsighted, because every one of them assumes the process itself is worth keeping. If AI has changed what's technically possible, it seems worth asking something else first. Not how do we make this faster, but would we design it this way at all if we were starting today?

Almost every business feels some pressure to be doing more with AI. They know it matters, they can see the pace of change, and there seems to be a new tool or model every other week. Knowing it matters is one thing. Knowing where to start is another. That uncertainty usually produces one of two reactions. Some businesses rush into projects because they feel they should be doing something. Others wait, hoping the technology settles down and the right answer becomes obvious. Neither works especially well, because none of us can predict what AI will make possible in three years. It's moving too fast, and the way people use it is changing faster still. If certainty is off the table, the useful skill is learning quickly. That's what I mean by an AI mindset: staying curious, challenging your own assumptions, trying things, and being willing to change your mind when you find out you were wrong. It has very little to do with using AI everywhere or getting excited about every new release.

Umbraco announced on Monday that it has become a Certified B Corporation. B Corp certification is run by B Lab, a non-profit, and it is independently audited. The assessment covers a company's social and environmental performance, its governance and its transparency. To qualify, a company needs a score of at least 80 on the B Impact Assessment and has to write its commitments to employees, customers, community and the environment into its governing documents, so they sit alongside its obligations to shareholders. Certification is renewed every three years, which keeps it a live commitment.

Umbraco 18 was released on 25 June 2026. It's a relatively focused major release, with one main new feature for editors and a number of developer and platform improvements under the hood. Let’s have a look at what’s changed, and if you need to upgrade.

For many small and medium-sized businesses, spreadsheets and a collection of disconnected tools are what keep the wheels turning. Quotes might live in one file, project updates in another, supplier details in a shared drive somewhere, and reporting spread across multiple tabs. It works when the team is small. But as the business grows, that patchwork setup quickly starts to show its cracks.

When most people think about carbon emissions, they picture planes, cars, or factories, not websites. But every time a web page is loaded, energy is consumed. Data moves across networks, servers process requests, and devices render pages. That energy use carries a carbon footprint. At DEXM, we decided to take a closer look at the impact of the websites we host and build a clear, responsible strategy to offset it.

When organisations plan a new website, the conversation often centres around design and content. Hosting is usually an afterthought. But the hosting platform plays a far bigger role than most people realise. It determines how fast a site runs, how secure it is, and how easy it is to keep everything up to date over time. At DEXM, we’ve worked with many different hosting solutions over the years. Some are flexible but complex to manage. Others make updates cumbersome or rely too heavily on manual intervention. Over time, one platform has consistently stood out for its simplicity, stability, and how well it supports the kind of projects we deliver: Umbraco Cloud.

We’re excited to share that Max Burrows has joined DEXM. Max recently completed his BA in Media Production at the University of Brighton, while also taking additional courses in software development. This mix of creative and technical skills gives him a unique perspective on how technology and storytelling come together, which aligns perfectly with the kind of work we do at DEXM.

We’re excited to share that Christian Wegerer has officially joined DEXM as our first employee. Christian brings a strong technical foundation and a disciplined, process-driven approach to software development. Having studied Software Engineering at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Christian brings a structured and thoughtful approach to building reliable, scalable digital solutions.

At DEXM, we’ve built our business around technology and solutions. We’re not a marketing agency or a creative studio — and that’s entirely by design. Our role is to be the technical foundation behind great digital experiences. We specialise in robust, scalable platforms that give businesses the confidence and flexibility to grow. Whether it’s building Umbraco websites, developing custom management systems, or providing secure and reliable hosting, our focus is on building technology that lasts.

We’re proud to announce that DEXM is now the Channel Islands’ only official Umbraco partner, strengthening our commitment to delivering exceptional digital solutions built on the Umbraco platform. Umbraco is a flexible, open-source CMS that powers thousands of websites around the world. Known for its intuitive editing experience, powerful integrations, and strong developer community, it’s the platform of choice for organisations that value both creativity and scalability.