Platform migration can breathe new life into a business–or set it back significantly. For example, eCommerce companies that switch from free eCommerce solutions to paid versions might find their bottom lines dented. However, access to advanced features and increased capabilities can more than offset the significant expenditure. You can perform more efficiently, accommodate more customers, and store customer data more securely.
For many eCommerce companies, Oracle ATG is among the top platform choices. The powerful eCommerce platform gives medium-sized companies and enterprises an array of options to configure and customize their websites. Rather than locking you into default frameworks, the open storefront (OSF) framework provides the flexibility to develop custom applications using any front-end library.
To take full advantage of Oracle ATG’s capabilities, companies should consider integrating newer, more powerful third-party applications. Doing so can create richer and more unique user experiences for both B2B and B2C customers. But before you take on a platform migration, look into your current system and decide which components can stay and which ones should go.
Assess Your Current Platform
Understanding what your current platform can and can’t deliver is key to making a migration decision. You should know exactly how your current platform stacks up against your competitors. More importantly, you should know its limitations when it comes to delivering superior customer experiences.
Architecture Analysis
Start with a cursory review of your current application’s overall architecture. This includes taking a closer look at the presentation, application, and data layers.
Also, take inventory of the app’s various components. Note the infrastructure setup and the frameworks. Would migration to a single, unified platform best suit your architecture? Or, does your system function adequately despite involving different environments like Java, Oracle Database, or ATG Commerce?
Functionality Mapping
Listing all major functions of your application enables you to catalog what your app can or can’t do. This also helps you assess how well your platform performs specific tasks. Think catalog management, order and payment processing, delivery dispatches, and applying promotional codes.
Next, map out workflows that show the complexity of executing standard processes. This could include registering customers, operating the shopping cart, processing payments, and arranging shipments. Note whether these processes require you to install extensions or perform customizations.
Integration Assessment
Finally, list third-party services and software such as payment gateways, customer relationship management (CRM) tools, inventory management platforms, and APIs. Note integration points as well. In addition, see how each application communicates with Oracle ATG. Pay special attention to how protocols, formats, and authentication are executed.
This audit enables you to assess whether your current platform provides the level of service your business needs. At the same time, the review also helps identify pain points and bottlenecks in the overall process.
Once you complete your evaluation, you can give a more accurate assessment of your existing application’s overall performance. More importantly, it justifies your recommendation for a platform migration if the results support it.
Get Clear on Why You’re Migrating
Recommending a migration to a new eCommerce application is more than just pinpointing inadequacies in your current platform. You must also identify the needed features, processes, or integrations that can enhance your online store’s capabilities.
Customization Review
When you apply customizations and extensions to give your storefront more functionality, do the results compensate for the effort involved? Does a simple line of custom code or a script execution do the trick? Or, does it turn into a massive operation with multiple file reconfigurations, wholesale changes to the database schema, and deployment of complex scripts?
In addition, do the changes make the management and maintenance of the platform more complicated? Did bugs and compatibility issues surface that require developers to invest more time in debugging or rolling back previous builds?
If the answer to any of the above questions is yes, then a platform migration might be a better solution than further customization attempts.
Content and Data Analysis
A thorough examination of the current platform’s content creation and data analysis capabilities can also help determine if you need to consider a platform migration. For instance, can your current application use automated tasks to create, publish, and localize content?
What’s more, can your platform accomplish these tasks with minimal errors and even fewer interventions? Is your application able to import data from integrated sources when it generates content?
Reviewing the output quality and the process efficiencies can help you take the next step toward platform migration. There are countless applications out there that can successfully integrate product data in online storefronts and ensure an accurate and timely display of information.
Understand What You Want in a New Platform
Today, technology continues to evolve at a rapid rate. What you once thought was groundbreaking software is now a relic of older, less efficient times. For many companies, a migration to a newer, more powerful platform means a technological leap toward improvement.
Audit your current application’s performance to determine the urgency of a platform migration. If your current system fails to deliver the expected ease of use, productivity, and efficiency, it might be time to adopt a new system that meets today’s eCommerce demands. This includes a better grasp of online product cataloging and merchandising, improved security and privacy compliance, and efficient payment and shipping processes.
eCommerce companies that run on Oracle ATG will want to take advantage of its open library features and multi-channel capability by investing in the right platforms.
Let Zobrist Help You With Your Platform Migration
The decision to migrate rests on your careful assessment of your current Oracle ATG platform. If your platform’s performance falls below the expectations of modern eCommerce, it’s probably time to consider upgrading to newer, more responsive technologies. Of course, you can better identify your needs if you thoroughly understand your current platform’s capabilities and limits.
Zobrist has various solutions that can help make your platform migration a more agile process. Simply contact us to discuss your challenges. We’d be glad to set up a free assessment.