In October 2025 we brought to Milan and Rome a topic that has become central to how we design modern digital platforms: the role of data as the foundation for scalable, integrated and truly future-proof user experiences.
The event, titled “Directus: the future-proof open data platform”, was built around a clear goal: presenting Directus not as yet another headless CMS, but as a platform that can change the way companies, digital teams, developers and business stakeholders collaborate around data. Not a simple content management tool, but a real operational layer on top of the database, designed to accelerate the development of complex digital products without sacrificing control, security, extensibility and technological ownership.
The double event — first in Milan, then in Rome — gave us the chance to discuss with clients, partners and professionals who have tackled very different challenges over the past years: editorial platforms, mobile apps, institutional portals, corporate environments, digital products with complex integrations, headless systems and data-oriented architectures. Different projects, but sharing the same need: to build digital solutions that aren't tied to a monolithic CMS, a closed vendor or an architecture that's hard to evolve.
Why we chose to talk about Directus
At Silencio we've always considered ourselves technologically agnostic. We don't believe in “one size fits all” platforms, nor in choosing a stack regardless of context. Every project has its own requirements, organisational constraints, pre-existing systems, varying levels of digital maturity and growth goals that must be understood before writing a single line of code.
That's why, when a technology becomes a stable part of our way of designing, it means it has crossed an important threshold: it must be flexible enough to fit different scenarios, solid enough to support enterprise contexts, and open enough not to become a constraint for the client a few months later.
Directus belongs to this category.
During the opening keynote, Federico Giacinti, CEO of Silencio, described the relationship between Silencio and Directus starting from a very simple observation: many digital platforms fail, or become expensive to maintain, not because they are poorly designed on the surface, but because they sit on a fragile data model that is hard to govern or too dependent on the application logic of the chosen CMS.
Directus tackles the problem from a different perspective. It starts from the database, keeps it at the centre and builds on top of it an operational environment made of admin interface, APIs, permission management, automations, extensions and collaboration tools. In other words, it allows you to turn an SQL-like database into a backend that's immediately usable, while keeping a very high level of control over the overall architecture.
This is exactly where, in our view, Directus becomes particularly interesting: it doesn't impose a rigid application model, it enables different teams to work on the same information assets. Developers, content managers, product owners, UX designers and business stakeholders can interact with the platform with different access levels and responsibilities, without losing consistency on the data.
Directus is more than a CMS
One of the main messages of the event was deliberately blunt: Directus is more than a CMS.
It can certainly be used as a content management system. It can manage pages, articles, media, taxonomies, multilingual content and editorial workflows. But reducing it to that would mean missing its real potential.
Directus is not just an API layer, because it doesn't only expose data through endpoints. It's not just an ORM, because it doesn't only map application objects onto data structures. It's not just a backend, because it includes a visual studio, a granular permission system, versioning, revisions, import/export, logging, extensions, marketplace, SSO and capabilities that make it usable also by non-technical roles.
The most accurate definition, the one we built the event around, is open data platform.
This expression matters because it shifts the focus from content management to data management. In many contemporary digital projects, content is just one of the forms data can take. There's product data, editorial data, user data, transactional data, configuration data, data coming from ERPs or CRMs, data feeding mobile apps, web portals, dashboards, search engines, marketing automation systems or AI agents.
A modern platform must be able to govern this complexity without forcing every project to start from scratch.
The four layers of the platform
During the talk we walked through Directus across four key layers: infrastructure, database, studio and API.
The first layer is infrastructure. Directus can be adopted in the cloud or embedded inside custom architectures, depending on the client's security, compliance, scalability and governance requirements. This makes it suitable both for lean projects with strong time-to-market needs and for more structured contexts that need to integrate with enterprise environments, identity providers, legacy systems or existing cloud infrastructures.
The second layer is the database. This is probably the most distinctive aspect. Directus works on top of SQL-like databases and lets you keep the data in a readable, controllable and non-proprietary structure. In a market where many platforms tend to embed data into opaque application logic, this architectural choice is strategic. It reduces lock-in, simplifies integration with other systems and keeps the architecture open to evolution over time.
The third layer is the Studio, the interface through which technical and non-technical users can manage data, content, relationships, views, permissions and processes. This is where Directus becomes an organisational enabler, not just a technological one. A good platform shouldn't only be powerful for developers, it must also be understandable for the people who use it every day. Modelling layouts, views, filters, roles and access policies allows us to build admin environments that genuinely match the client's processes.
The fourth layer is the API. Directus automatically generates REST and GraphQL APIs from the data model, allowing frontends, mobile apps, third-party services and integrated systems to consume the information in an orderly, secure and documentable way. In headless or composable architectures this is fundamental: the backend must not be a bottleneck, but a reliable layer from which different digital experiences can start.
From technology to the market: case histories
The talk by Federico Flamminii, CEO of Interactiive, brought the discussion onto a very concrete level: real projects. The value of a technology isn't measured only by the quality of its documentation or by its architectural elegance, but by its ability to support complex use cases, delivery constraints, business expectations and operational processes.
Over the past years Directus has entered several projects developed by Silencio and its partners, often in contexts where a delicate balance between flexibility and control was needed. Mobile apps, corporate platforms, editorial environments, systems with complex back offices, digital products connected to multiple data sources: scenarios in which the backend has to be robust, but also quickly adaptable.
The reason is simple. In many digital projects, requirements change. Business priorities change, integrations change, internal processes change, the way content or data must be exposed to the outside changes. A platform that is too rigid quickly becomes a limit. A platform that is too custom, on the other hand, risks driving up cost and maintenance time.
Directus often allows us to find an effective balance: it offers a solid, ready-made core, while leaving space for tailored architectural design.
The round table: the perspective of those who use the platforms
One of the most interesting moments of the event was the round table with clients and partners. In Rome, speakers included, among others, Guido Talarico of InsideArt, Ilenia Deriu of TIM and Carlotta Piandoro of Trice. In Milan the conversation involved figures from companies such as Interactiive, Dils and Utopia/Urania Media.
The discussion confirmed something we consider particularly relevant: the value of a platform is never just technical. A platform is effective when it reduces friction in processes, makes collaboration between teams clearer, helps govern the content lifecycle and lets the organisation evolve without having to start over every time.
In the editorial world, for instance, the topic is often the ability to manage complex archives, newsrooms, media, structured content and publishing workflows. In the corporate world the topic may be integration with internal systems, identity providers, CRM or marketing tools. In mobile applications, the critical point is often the availability of a flexible backend that can manage configurations, dynamic content, user data and application logic without slowing down the release cycle.
Different problems, but with a common root: the need to give the data a governable shape.
Why no lock-in is a strategic topic
During the event we kept emphasising one concept: no lock-in is not an ideological stance, it's an industrial choice.
When a company invests in a digital platform, it's not just buying a website, an app or a backend. It's building a piece of its operational infrastructure. It's deciding where the data will live, who can change it, how it will be integrated with other systems, how easy it will be to export, how much it will cost to evolve the product in three or five years.
In this sense, architectural freedom isn't a technical detail. It's a way of protecting the investment.
Directus lets you keep the data in a non-proprietary database and build on top of it an open, extensible, integrable application layer. This doesn't mean it's always the right choice for every project. In some cases a traditional CMS, a vertical SaaS platform or a monolithic solution can be faster and more efficient. But when the project requires control over the data model, deep integrations, long-term evolution and tailored admin interfaces, Directus becomes an extremely competitive option.
Directus and AI: a natural convergence
Another topic that emerged during the day was the relationship between data platforms and artificial intelligence.
AI doesn't live in a vacuum. To create real value, especially in business contexts, it needs ordered, accessible, contextualised and governed data. Many organisations are starting to experiment with agents, internal assistants, automation systems and conversational interfaces, but they hit a preliminary problem: the data is scattered, inconsistent, locked inside different platforms or hard to query securely.
An open data platform can become an important enabler here too. If the data is properly modelled, if relationships are clear, if permissions are granular and APIs are available, it becomes easier to build intelligent services on top of the existing infrastructure.
For us this is a crucial point. AI doesn't replace the need for good architecture. On the contrary, it makes it even more important. Without a solid data foundation, AI risks staying an interesting demo with little real use. With a well-designed data foundation, it can become a concrete accelerator for processes, content, customer experience and operations.
When Directus actually fits
An important part of the presentation was also dedicated to clarifying where Directus does not fit, or where it might not be the most efficient choice. We think this step is necessary, because our job isn't always to propose the technology we prefer, but the one most suited to the project.
Directus can be over-engineered when only a very simple CMS is needed, when the architecture is entirely monolithic, when there's no team able to leverage its flexibility or when the project has standard requirements that can be handled more quickly with vertical tools.
On the contrary, it becomes especially effective when there are multiple databases or systems to integrate, when ERPs, CRMs or identity providers must talk to each other, when several frontends need to be fed, when mobile apps, web apps, dashboards or differentiated digital experiences are part of the picture. In those cases, separating data, logic, admin interface and consumption channels becomes a competitive advantage.
A technology, but above all a method
The final point of the event, and possibly the most important one, is that Directus is not just a technology to install. It's a way of approaching projects.
It means starting from the data before the screen. It means designing the information model with the same care as the user interface. It means thinking of platform administrators as fully fledged users. It means avoiding turning the backend into an obscure technical area, and turning it instead into a shared, governed and sustainable workspace.
For Silencio, this approach is consistent with the way we understand digital transformation. Not as a sum of tools, but as the construction of systems that can last, evolve and generate value over time.
The Milan and Rome stages confirmed that the market is ready for this conversation. More and more companies aren't simply looking for “a new CMS” or “a new backend”. They're looking for more open architectures, more efficient processes, more control over data and platforms able to support growth without becoming a constraint.
That's why we'll keep working on Directus, exploring its possibilities and proposing it in the contexts where it can make a real difference.
Because the future of digital experiences isn't only built on interfaces. It's built, first of all, on the quality of the data that fuels them.