Managed Cloud Upgrade
Take the hassle out of the move to Managed Cloud
Sitecore Managed Cloud provides scale, security, and peace of mind that your websites will always be available. Upgrading Sitecore to the latest version can improve performance, extend support, and enable new capabilities. That’s why it usually makes sense to upgrade to the latest version when moving to Managed Cloud.
But taking on this type of migration project can be daunting; especially if you’re on a much older version of Sitecore or have used features or third-party solutions that have been depreciated. Perficient has extensive experience upgrading Sitecore and has a standardized approach that will overcome common challenges, avoiding several pitfalls that upgrade and Managed Cloud migration projects can run into.
Get the most out of Managed Cloud
Our approach ensures the platform is properly configured and optimized to allow you to get the most out of the platform. We look not only on the current-state architecture and configuration, but also the target-state, including considerations needed to take full advantage of the platform. Early in the project, we’ll align on the desired future-state architecture and discuss considerations that impact the future platform design, including:
- Target Sitecore version type – If you aren’t fully leveraging Sitecore’s marketing features, you may consider whether it makes sense to upgrade to Sitecore XM Cloud instead of XP and the impacts on functionality, cost, and operations.
- Kubernetes or App services – The latest versions of Sitecore natively support Kubernetes and AKS. Depending on your organization’s capabilities and readiness to support Kubernetes, we’ll help determine the right approach for hosting your environments.
- Usage of glass – Upgrading to the latest version of glass can be challenging. We’ll work with you to determine whether to take that approach or remove dependencies from your solution.
- Forms – You may consider moving from Web Forms for Marketers (WFFM) to Sitecore Forms or evaluating new features including CAPTCHA support.
- Security – Improve platform security by connecting Sitecore’s Identity server to Azure AD.
- Item serialization strategies – Moving from TDS to Unicorn or leveraging Sitecore’s CLI to align to best practices.
- Headless – Sitecore Headless services can be enabled, including both the layout service and graphQL endpoints.
These steps help us ensure a clear vision of the target platform architecture before any changes are made.
Our proven approach to upgrade & Managed Cloud migrations
After we align on the target state architecture our upgrade and migration process includes the following elements.
Validate & provision
Upgrade & regression test
Automate & deploy
Training & enablement
Sitecore upgrade roadmap paths
Sitecore XP is a complex platform with multiple coordinated services. With the pivot to composable, headless, and SaaS, existing customers are seeking a path forward.
Our guide outlines different strategies to consider as you plan next steps.