New features and BOLD updates: Highlights from Adobe Commerce’s latest release, Version 2.4.4

Authored by Abishek Balakumar, Sr Content Writer; Raghu Raman, Practice Lead, Adobe Commerce; Abiraman Ramanujam, Sr Solution Architect on 12 Jul 2022

A consistent look, feel, and experience across channels has become a must for B2B businesses. According to primary research by Globe Newswire, the B2B ecommerce industry is anticipated to be valued at around USD 6.92 trillion in 2021 and USD 18.97 trillion by 2028. To succeed in this booming B2B market, you must provide your B2B buyers with a rich personalised CX and an intuitive buying experience that allows them to make confident decisions.

Choosing the right platform and getting timely technological upgrades always enhances the digital experience. That’s why many ecommerce businesses rely on Magento now Adobe Commerce. Adobe's release approach is designed to help manufacturers, suppliers, and merchants respond to shifting B2B market trends while retaining the flexibility to customize as needed.

So, let’s get started!

What’s New in Adobe Commerce 2.4.4?

Adobe says “Future-Proofing” - Over 250 fixes and upgrades are included in the new release 2.4.4, including backward-compatible updates for B2B enterprises, so you can expect greater performance. A five-fold increase in transaction volume per hour will be supported by faster API response times. The AsyncOrder feature will simplify the ordering process, and multiple customers may now execute processes concurrently to boost task execution performance.

Magento Open Source 2.4.4 introduces support for PHP 8.1. All project libraries and dependencies have been updated for compatibility with PHP 8.1. Core Composer dependencies and third-party libraries have also been upgraded to the latest versions that are compatible with PHP 8.1

All Adobe Commerce modules and dependencies are now compatible with PHP 8.1, which provides considerable speed benefits for administrative and storefront operations. Likewise, Adobe has stated that site health and stability would be enhanced, with a 34% reduction in the incidence of site outages.

Security – The usage of email variables and access tokens for API authentication has been disabled. Authentication has been enhanced, also security against arbitrary code and resource requests. Session identification will no longer be maintained in the database in the future, and access tokens and password reset tokens will henceforth be encrypted for storage.

Headless Commerce – This release increases GraphQL API support for B2B and administration features, as well as adding additional capabilities to PWA Studio 12.3. With support for dynamic blocks and targeting technologies, personalised content and promotions can be developed for certain customer segments. There's also better content optimization in Page Builder and support for Google's reCAPTCHA anti-spam tool.

Analysis – On-premise users now have access to the Site-Wide Analysis Tool, which provides real-time insights and suggestions. The tool offers a new dashboard where you can access all the Adobe Commerce support capabilities, such as recommendations, managed alerts, and an extension summary. Additional widgets with fresh insights are planned for future updates.

Accessibility – This contains improved screen element naming and tagging, updated icons and buttons, and enhanced tooltips. Merchants may now add alternative text (alt-text) to images to increase the accessibility of their content (Banner, Slide, Image). GitHub-746. Product Pages accessible via Screen Readers.

Improved AI-based product recommendations and search personalisation will assist to boost conversion rates and average order values by streamlining the product discovery process. Improved self-service and purchasing assistance are designed to improve customer experiences for both B2B and B2C enterprises.

Magento 2.4.4 Release Highlights!

Major highlights of the latest Magento 2.4.4 version released are listed below:

HTTPS is now enabled by default for the Magento 2 storefront for enhanced security.
Magento 2.4.4 supports Elasticsearch 7.16 and OpenSearch 1.2.
Support for the latest version of PHP 8.1.
PWA Studio v.12.3.0 is now supported by the latest Adobe Commerce 2.4.4.
Adobe has removed all the Vendor-bundled extensions from the latest release of Magento except Braintree.
Page builder in Magento 2.4.4 now supports adding alt texts for images.
Plenty of GraphQL enhancements and performance improvements.
Fixed hundreds of known issues in the latest version for better performance.

So, what does this mean for your B2B business?

What Should You Do Next?

“Work with Adobe Commerce specialists and get your ecommerce off the ground.” Future Updates!

Future Updates!

Source: Adobe

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