What Codegarden 2026 tells us about the future of digital platforms

Codegarden 2026 brought together developers, digital leaders, agencies and technology partners from across the world, all focused on a shared challenge: creating better digital experiences for the people who use them.

As an Umbraco Platinum Partner, we find it's always valuable to have a couple of our senior leadership team step away from the day-to-day delivery and spend some time listening. The conversations in Copenhagen offered us insight into where organisations are focusing their attention over the next few years.

AI naturally featured throughout the event, but the tone felt different this year. The conversation felt less abstract and more grounded than it did a year ago. There were discussions on familiar challenges that we all know well: managing content at scale, reducing manual effort and helping teams get more value from the platforms they already use. But, walking between sessions, it was hard to avoid conversations about AI. What surprised us was how quickly those discussions moved on to governance, workflows and practical implementation, which was encouraging to hear.

Digital platforms sit at the centre of increasingly complex ecosystems. Websites need to support content teams, marketing teams, developers, customers and stakeholders, often all at once. Simplicity remains one of the hardest things to achieve. Some of the best sessions focused on making things simpler. Better workflows. Cleaner content operations. Fewer barriers between teams and technology.

The introduction of new capabilities such as Umbraco's MCP Server points towards a future where content management systems become more intelligent, connected and increasingly capable of supporting decision-making across the organisation. Efficiency was part of the conversation, but there was a fundamental point underneath it. It creates space for digital teams to focus on the work that delivers the greatest value: understanding customers, improving journeys and creating experiences that perform.

For us, that was one of the strongest themes running through Codegarden this year. The platforms that stand out over the next few years will help teams make better decisions, move faster and respond more effectively to what users actually need. The Umbraco community continues to play an important role in that evolution.

We left Copenhagen with a notebook full of ideas and a renewed appreciation for the Umbraco community and the passionate organisations and talented individuals that we are proud to collaborate and innovate alongside.

We're already looking forward to seeing how these ideas develop over the coming year. See you at Codegarden 2027.