„Set up for the future“ – A conversation with Rupert Markowski about the relaunch of the WU Executive Academy website
The WU Executive Academy has fundamentally renewed its website. The goal: a future-ready, high-performance and editorially efficient portal that works across all channels and is easier to find organically. In the interview, Rupert Markowski explains why the team chose a headless CMS setup with Storyblok, what role STRG.AT played as implementation partner, and which results are noticeable internally and externally.
Mr Markowski, what prompted you to rebuild the website?
Rupert Markowski: The last relaunch was several years ago, and web development has advanced significantly. With the existing system, we could no longer cover our requirements. We wanted a fresh design, modern tools, and to set up the site so that it remains flexibly extensible over the next few years. This also includes clean connections to internal systems, GDPR and accessibility. In short: future readiness and editorial convenience were the main drivers.
How did you proceed internally?
Rupert Markowski:We carried out a detailed as-is analysis of the old site, collected pain points and held workshops with different user groups: prospective students, students, alumni, faculty and internal teams. From these personas, we defined and prioritized functions on the „drawing board“: What is the baseline, what are expansion stages? It was also important that the website, as the most important sales channel, becomes clear, focused and strong in conversion, without losing users with too much information. A core point was our knowledge asset: We wanted to make knowledge from research and practice more visible – with measurable goals via SEO and KPIs.
Were there early preferences regarding the technology?
Rupert Markowski: Yes. Separating backend and frontend was logical for us. Content moves quickly in our environment, so we need flexibility in the frontend without constantly changing the entire structure. Storyblok was in the running because the solution is cloud-native, scales strongly and is rooted in Austria. At the same time, the platform is large enough to maintain a lasting presence in the market – important to us in terms of stability and further development.
You evaluated several agencies. Why did the choice fall to STRG.AT?
Rupert Markowski: Future readiness was the decisive point. STRG.AT works on topics that are strategically important to us: semantics, AI-supported mechanisms and the question of how to bring the right content to the right target groups at the right time in a cookieless reality. It is not enough to have good content – it has to reach the relevant people. STRG.AT showed us very clearly where things can go and how to move beyond the status quo instead of merely copying it. This forward view was convincing.
How did the operational collaboration work?
Rupert Markowski:Very structured. The project setup was clean, and the workshops were deep dives into the key questions: Where is the real pain point? STRG.AT did not just implement, but actively challenged and contributed external best practices. This outside perspective was valuable – for example in content architecture, state-of-the-art UX and conversion logic. Overall, it was proactive, solution-oriented and always aligned with the objectives.
What role did the technical infrastructure play?
Rupert Markowski:A major one. Storyblok runs 100 % in the cloud. The frontend is decoupled and operated in Google Cloud with autoscaling. This allows us to handle load peaks – for example around application deadlines – securely and with strong performance. At the same time, we avoid oversizing during quieter phases. Modern cloud mechanisms such as automated DDoS mitigation are integrated. For us, this is the right path.
What significance did AI-supported features have?
Rupert Markowski: A high one. Storyblok provides relevant functions „out of the box“ that we can use in a targeted way: e.g. for translations, text shortening or alt texts. Our site is in German and English, addressing national and international target groups. The editorial team can bring content live faster, in good quality and suitable for SEO. The feedback from the team is clear: a night-and-day difference compared with the old solution.
What can you see after go-live?
Rupert Markowski:We have observed stable, solid growth since the launch. We are particularly pleased with organic visibility – also in geo search. Internally and externally, feedback has been very positive: The site feels state of the art, clearly structured and invites users to go deeper into the content. When criticism comes, it is about small details such as incorrect images or text details – which confirms that the major topics are right.
Where were the biggest hurdles?
Rupert Markowski:The parallel nature of several IT changes. Alongside the website, CRM and form logic were also rebuilt internally. The dependencies required additional coordination. For future projects, we would make final decisions at these interfaces even earlier in order to avoid timing friction. In the end, everything worked – but with beads of sweat.
What is next?
Rupert Markowski:We are planning further expansion stages. In terms of content, the knowledge asset can be leveraged even more strongly. There is also potential in personalization along the personas. Technically, we are well positioned for this. Looking ahead, we are also monitoring new commerce and affiliate mechanisms in the environment of major AI platforms and assessing where it makes sense to connect to them.
Your overall verdict on the collaboration with STRG.AT?
Rupert Markowski: Consistently positive. STRG.AT was proactive, contributed ideas and supported us with a clear product and conversion perspective. The combination of strategy, UX, content architecture and robust technology made the difference. With Storyblok and the chosen cloud architecture, we feel set up for the future – and look forward to the next expansion stage.
About
WU Executive Academy:Continuing education programs of Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien. Target groups: prospective students, students, alumni, faculty, companies.
STRG.AT: Consulting and implementation of software solutions with a focus on AI-supported publishing, semantics, personalization and high-performance cloud architectures.
Storyblok: Headless CMS, cloud-native, component-based, with AI-supported editorial features and strong scalability.
Note: This interview was created in terms of content from a conversation with Rupert Markowski. Statements were editorially structured for better readability, but not distorted in content.