Five years ago, something I never thought possible happened. After being selected as a Magento Master for five consecutive years (2016-2020), I watched Adobe quietly end the program. No fanfare. No replacement. Just silence.
In 2019, Adobe made me an Insider, signaling a potential evolution of the recognition program. Then 2020 arrived. Adobe Summit was canceled, but they still named the final class of Magento Masters.
I was among them, not knowing it would be the last time. The community that had celebrated expertise, innovation, and collaboration suddenly had no formal way to recognize its leaders. I found myself wondering if Adobe understood what they had just dismantled. This week, that question finally got an answer.
https://event.adobe.com/2025championapp-Commerce
What Made Our Community Different
The Magento community never operated like other software ecosystems. We built something rare in the tech world.
Community-driven development shaped the platform from the beginning. Developers, merchants, and agencies collaborated as equals in ways that most software ecosystems never achieve.
Knowledge sharing happened organically through forums, meetups, and direct collaboration. No corporate programs forced these connections. People helped each other because solving complex commerce problems required collective expertise.
Practitioner-led innovation drove the platform forward in directions Adobe never anticipated. Merchants solving actual business problems pushed technical boundaries beyond the original roadmap.
These weren't theoretical improvements dreamed up in corporate strategy sessions. Solutions emerged from agencies working with real clients, developers facing production challenges, and merchants needing features that didn't exist yet. The community built what the market demanded.
Language barriers were dissolved at community events, where learning from one another became the shared mission. Regional expertise created a worldwide knowledge transfer that benefited everyone. At conferences and meetups, small agencies in emerging markets shared innovative approaches alongside enterprise consultancies.
A developer from India demonstrated solutions that inspired teams in Germany, while agencies from Brazil presented techniques that American developers immediately adopted. Geography became irrelevant when knowledge sharing mattered most.
Community Innovation in Action
The Magento community didn't just talk about innovation.
We built it.
Multi-Source Inventory (MSI) emerged from merchant pain points, not Adobe roadmaps. Community members identified the problem, proposed solutions, and drove development. The result became core platform functionality serving thousands of merchants today.
PageBuilder, GraphQL implementation, and Progressive Web App capabilities all benefited from community input and real-world testing before Adobe finalized the features.
More recently, Hyvä challenged Magento's entire frontend architecture. This community-led initiative proved that fresh approaches could breathe new life into an aging platform. Hyvä didn't wait for Adobe's permission.
They built the solution merchants needed.
These weren't corporate initiatives. They were community members solving problems and sharing solutions.
The Gap Years Taught Us Something
When the Magento Masters program ended in 2020, we lost more than recognition. We lost Adobe's formal acknowledgment that community expertise drives platform success.
The 2019 Adobe Insiders program showed promise, but when Adobe Summit returned post-pandemic, Commerce had no representation. Our community leaders watched from the sidelines while other Adobe products celebrated their champions.
Adobe Finally Gets It
Adobe's new Commerce Champions program signals a shift. They finally understand that Commerce success requires community leadership.
Why This Timing Matters While competitors retreat from community expertise recognition, Adobe is leaning in.
Shopify discontinued its expert programs entirely. BigCommerce focuses on business partnerships over innovation. WooCommerce dilutes Commerce expertise within the broader WordPress ecosystem. Salesforce has a certification-heavy program without an innovation focus.
Adobe sees what others missed: community-driven innovation creates a competitive advantage.
What This Means for You and the Industry
For Individual Practitioners:
- Your expertise gets formal acknowledgment again
- 4-6 hours monthly gives you direct influence over product direction
- Adobe's global platform amplifies your professional brand
For the Community:
- We can reconstruct the knowledge-sharing networks that made us unique
- Formal structure supports innovation like Hyvä and MSI
- Recognition returns for contribution over partnership status
For Commerce Evolution:
- Community input influences platform direction again
- Practitioners shape tools that thousands of merchants will use
- Innovation comes from diverse expertise, not just formal partners
Learning from Competitor Failures
As I mentioned earlier, this is not a partner program. Adobe already has a partner program. Commerce Champions is separate, just like Magento Masters was never part of the partner ecosystem.
You could be a merchant, developer, consultant, or agency owner. The only requirement was expertise and community contribution. This distinction matters because it changes everything about recognition and participation.
Adobe is making a different bet with this approach. The Commerce Champions program recognizes expertise regardless of business relationships. The program values contribution over revenue, expertise over partnership status, innovation over certification.
While every other platform ties expert recognition to business relationships or certifications, Adobe is betting that the best Commerce innovations come from diverse expertise, not just formal partners.
Addressing the Skeptics Head-On
"Community input doesn't really influence product development" MSI, PageBuilder, and GraphQL integration all started with community identification of merchant needs. Hyvä proved that community innovation still drives platform evolution, even outside Adobe's direct influence.
"4-6 hours monthly without clear ROI isn't worth it" You're absolutely right. If you're calculating return on investment, this program isn't for you. Community leadership has always been about long-term platform improvement, not short-term business gains. The Magento community succeeded because people contributed without expecting immediate returns.
"Adobe's track record suggests this won't last" Fair concern. But the alternative is accepting that community expertise has no formal voice in platform direction. I'd rather try to rebuild influence than guarantee we have none.
This Isn't About ROI. It's About Legacy.
Let me be direct about something. If you're calculating ROI on 4-6 hours monthly, you're missing the point entirely.
This program isn't a business development opportunity. It's about contributing to something bigger than your agency, consultancy, or merchant site.
The Long Game Mindset:
- Your expertise helps solve challenges you'll never personally face
- Your input shapes tools that thousands of merchants will use
- Your experience becomes part of the community's institutional memory
The best innovations take time to mature and spread. Fast returns need not apply.
Let's do this Shinizzle
I signed up for the Adobe Commerce Champions program because I remember what we built before.
I want to help build it again.
This isn't just about individual recognition. It's about proving that community-driven innovation still matters in enterprise commerce. It's about showing Adobe that our expertise deserves a seat at the strategy table.
Applications close June 10th. If you've been part of this community's journey, if you've built solutions that pushed boundaries, if you believe that practitioners should shape platform direction, apply.
We have a chance to rebuild something special. Let's not waste it.
What questions do you have about the Adobe Commerce Champions program? Share them in the comments.
