With the advances in the Episerver roadmap, we are hearing from more organizations than ever who are considering making the jump from their Ektron CMS website onto the Episerver DXC. While migrating from Ektron to Episerver can seem overwhelming, there are a few areas that you can focus on to ensure the project's success.
Don't assume your Ektron features will translate directly to Episerver
Episerver is an entirely different platform and works differently than other platforms. If you have a feature on your website, don't assume it will just "automagically" work the same way once it translates over to Episerver. More often than not Ektron functionality will have a more refined and sophisticated implementation approach within Episerver.
Don't assume your business requirements haven't changed
We often hear the phrase "lift-and-shift" which means take my Ektron website and migrate it exactly the same way to the Episerver platform. Indicating that there will be no design or functional changes to the website after it has migrated to Episerver. However, when working through an Ektron to Episerver migration project, it is often the best opportunity to work with your stakeholders to determine if any of your business requirements have or should evolve. Episerver offers the enterprise level features needed to overcome some of today's biggest digital challenges and assuming that your business needs haven't changed, will most likely result in your team not utilizing Episerver to its fullest extent.
Don't assume the costs to Migration to Episerver will be the same as when you implemented Ektron
Many organizations on the Ektron platform are only utilizing a fraction of the CMS's functionality which usually means the system is only partially implemented. Most companies that are migrating from Ektron to Episerver are doing so in order to take advantage of the industry-leading features included in the platform. It is important to keep in mind that these features need to be implemented which will most likely translate to a larger initial implementation investment than your organization saw when implementing Ektron.
Don't wait to plan for how you will handle the Episerver Continuous release cycle
We have talked many times about the advantages of the Episerver continuous release cycle but most organizations don't formulate a strategy for implementing it (both during the migration project and post website launch). This results in the website being launched on a non-current version of the platform or the platform becoming outdated very quickly post website launch. It is critical to have a plan on how your implementation partner will handle these software upgrades on a recurring basis.
The great news is that you don't have to do this alone. With the right implementation partner and a clear plan, most of the major pain points associated with these very complex migrations can be alleviated.
