Adobe Experience Manager vs Strapi

AEM Sites comes in three deployment shapes, and each one places content and identity with a different party. Self-hosted AEM 6.5 runs in infrastructure your organization operates, so the repository, author and publish instances and the database sit where you place them. Adobe Managed Services runs AEM 6.5 on Adobe-operated infrastructure under your agreement. AEM as a Cloud Service runs on a subscription with continuous updates on Adobe's platform. Data location for the managed options depends on region and contract, so confirm it in writing before you assume a jurisdiction.

• Self-hosted AEM 6.5: you control the hosts, backups and network paths, and you carry patching for the Java and repository stack.
• Adobe Managed Services: Adobe operates the AEM 6.5 environment, and the contract defines which operational tasks Adobe handles and which remain yours.
• AEM as a Cloud Service: content sits in Adobe's subscription platform, and updates follow Adobe's release cadence.
• Edge Delivery Services: on the Cloud Service path, delivery runs through Adobe's edge layer, so ask where cached copies are stored.

Ask Adobe for the hosting region, subprocessor list and data processing terms for your contract before comparing locations with a Strapi deployment. Understanding AEM Sites offerings sets out the three options.

Strapi is a Node.js application with its own database and media storage, so content lives wherever you deploy it: your cloud account, a data center or an air-gapped network. Strapi 5 supports PostgreSQL 14 or later, MySQL 8.0 or later, MariaDB 10.3 or later and SQLite 3. It does not support MongoDB or other NoSQL databases, and it runs only on Active or Maintenance LTS Node.js versions. Those constraints decide which database, backup tooling and patch cycle your team must own.

• Database placement: choose PostgreSQL, MySQL or MariaDB inside your own network, with encryption, backups and restore testing under your control.
• Media storage: uploads go to the provider you configure, so confirm whether it is on your premises or in an external bucket.
• Node.js lifecycle: your patching must track the supported LTS lines, which affects every environment including staging.
• Hosted Strapi Cloud: a separate option in which Strapi operates the project, so data location follows that service's terms.

Confirm the database engine, storage target and Node.js line your team will support before you size the environment. The Strapi installation requirements list the current minimum versions.

Strapi SSO applies only to administrator login to the admin panel, through an identity provider such as Microsoft Azure Active Directory. It supports auto-registration with a default role and an optional lock-out of local login. It does not authenticate the people who read your website or use your app. End-user authentication is handled separately by the Users and Permissions plugin. The self-hosted pricing page lists SSO as an add-on for Growth and as included in Enterprise, so check the edition before you plan the design.

• Scope: only editors and administrators sign in through the provider, and everyone else keeps the same content access as before.
• Auto-registration: accounts can be created on first login and assigned a default role, so review that role before you enable the setting.
• Local login lock-out: disabling local admin passwords removes a fallback path, so document a break-glass procedure first.
• Edition dependency: SSO is not listed among the Community edition features on the pricing page, so confirm your entitlement with Strapi in writing.

Test the provider integration, role mapping and lock-out procedure in a non-production instance before you change production. The Strapi SSO documentation describes the configuration steps.

Sites with logged-in areas often depend on user accounts that sit in the AEM repository or in an external identity provider connected to AEM. In a Strapi stack, end-user accounts and API access roles are managed by the Users and Permissions plugin, and the login flow usually lives in your frontend. That split means the team must design session handling, token storage and content visibility explicitly rather than inheriting them from the CMS.

• Account data: the Users and Permissions plugin holds end-user records, so decide which profile fields you need before importing anything.
• Public and protected content: set which content types are readable without authentication and which require a token or session.
• Frontend sessions: the authentication flow sits in your frontend application, outside the administrator SSO scope.
• Export scope: confirm whether your AEM export includes user and group nodes, and plan a separate path for them if it does not.

Map every AEM group and login flow to a Strapi role and a frontend flow before cutover, and test the result with dedicated test accounts.

Content and identity controls need evidence: who can change content, how changes are recorded, how backups are restored and where logs are kept. On AEM 6.5 or AEM as a Cloud Service, Adobe supplies the platform layer, so ask Adobe which reports it provides for the service and which controls those reports cover. With self-hosted Strapi, your team produces the evidence for hosts, databases, storage, logs and admin access. The Strapi pricing page lists audit logs as an Enterprise feature, so the edition choice also changes what you can show an auditor.

• Access records: export administrator lists, role assignments and SSO configuration as evidence of who can change content.
• Audit logs: plan for log retention and review, and confirm whether audit logs are available in your edition.
• Backup and restore tests: keep dated restore results for the database and the media store.
• Platform reports: request Adobe's available reports, then map any gaps to controls your team must still evidence.

Agree with your auditor which controls apply to the CMS before you build the evidence set. DeployOpen prepares systems, controls and evidence for an assessment, but an independent auditor or certification body issues any audit report or certification. Strapi self-hosted pricing lists the edition features referenced above.