WebSphere Commerce Migrations
Important Points to Consider Before Starting a Migration Project

The migration of a WebSphere Commerce application to the latest version is a task that keeps many project managers tossing and turning throughout the night. At best, it can be a necessary inconvenience; while at worst, it can be what feels like a never-ending project. Like any software development project, a successful WebSphere Commerce migration project requires a thorough understanding of both the tasks involved with the migration as well as management of expectations for what will be gained in performing the migration. Many times project stakeholders have expectations that are not in line with what is actually achieved; hence, this leads to what is seen as an unsuccessful project. This disconnect is most often due to simply lacking a complete understanding of what is actually accomplished when you perform a WebSphere Commerce migration.

The following key areas are used to elaborate on how easy it is for expectations and reality to be different; therefore, causing undue stress within a project.

• Running an Unsupported Version of WebSphere Commerce
• Utilizing New Available Features
• Conversion of Custom Components
• Store Model Implementation
• Software Platform Requirement
• Length of Time Required

Addressing these and other key areas relevant to your specific environment, early in the project, will significantly increase the potential for a successful migration project.

Running an Unsupported Version of WebSphere Commerce

The migration tools from IBM typically support direct migration paths for two previous versions of WebSphere Commerce. Currently, there are migration paths provided for v5.5 and v5.6.x to v6.0, but there is not a direct path from v5.1 or v5.4 to v6.0. The available paths correspond to the versions for which IBM currently maintains product support. If you are running a WebSphere Commerce version that is not currently under product support, then in order to utilize the migration tools, you first need to migrate your application to a supported version (v5.4 to v5.6.1) and then perform a second migration to get the latest version (v5.6.1 to v6.0). It is important to communicate this need to all project stakeholders, as it significantly increases the risks, costs, and effort involved in migrating you application to the latest version.

Utilizing New Available Features

One of the most important reasons for converting an application to the latest version, aside from maintaining IBM’s product support, is to allow for the utilization of new features available in the latest release. Each new release of WebSphere Commerce contains many new and highly desirable features, which stakeholders are excited to see in action on their new site. It is important to remember; however, that after performing a WebSphere Commerce migration project, the new features will be available, but most, if not all, will not actually be implemented. For example, v6.0 provides the ability to use content spots which allow for business users to maintain website content through Accelerator without requiring IT intervention. Obviously, this is viewed by many stakeholders as a significant benefit, but a migrated site will not have content spots available until changes are made to the underlying JavaServer Pages (JSPs). It is therefore VERY important to stress to the stakeholders of the migration project that simply moving to v6.0 will not automatically implement all of those features. Often, a separate project is required to add enhancements to the site once a migration has been completed.

Conversion of Custom Components

With each new version of WebSphere Commerce, IBM releases many new features designed to address both the needs and requirements of its customers. Often, some of these new features will satisfy a business need which previously required product customizations.  During the planning of your migration project, it is important to address these changes by analyzing the application and deciding whether specific custom components should be maintained or if a new out-of-the-box feature could better suit the business need. The migration itself will not automatically replace your custom components, but it will provide you the ability to utilize the new features. Relying on out-of-the-box product features, rather than customizations, often make application issues easier to debug as well as allow IBM to provide better product support, if necessary. When appropriate and applicable to your situation, it is recommended to use the out-of-the-box functionality as much as possible.  

Store Model Implementation

The latest version of WebSphere Commerce supports many more of the store models than were previously supported in the past. It is quite possible that one of the new models may be better suited for your particular business need than the one that the store originally used during its development. During a migration, there is no way to automatically convert your store from utilizing one model to the next. This means that if you originally developed a store based upon the B2C model, but now wish to use a B2B model, you will be unable to simply convert over during the migration. Any changes would have to be done following the migration and would again add additional time and costs to the project. Also, it is important to note that many of the features that are currently available in the store model may not have been available in the same store model of a previous version. Migrating to the latest version may give you access to these features, but it will not automatically implement those features. Furthermore, the stakeholders may be under the impression that they will automatically gain access to these new features without additional development work; hence, it must be stressed that the features will be available, but not actually implemented upon the completion of the migration project.

Software Platform Requirement

In an effort to decrease hardware costs, it is possible that there could be a business need to convert the platform on which your WebSphere Commerce application is currently being hosted. Server consolidation and virtualization can provide substantial cost savings and stakeholders usually view these as essential for their WebSphere Commerce applications. The migration tools provided by IBM only support migrations between different WebSphere Commerce versions running on the same operating system; hence, changing operating systems during a migration, for example going from Windows to Linux, is not supported. While there are ways to perform a cross-platform migration utilizing a hybrid method, it is a complex task and is only recommended to be attempted by developers who are very experienced with WebSphere Commerce. Cross-platform migrations introduce significant increases not only in the time and skills required, but also in the added risks to complete a successful WebSphere Commerce migration. If this type of migration is required, it is highly recommended that you coordinate with an IBM business partner who has experience with such migrations.

Length of Time Required

While it is true that IBM provides the tools for running a migration from start to finish, it is important to remember that in a majority of cases, there is a substantial amount of manual work that must also be completed during a migration project. This can range from straight forward tasks such as updating Enterprise JavaBeans (EJBs) and reproducing custom schemas in the database to much more complex tasks such as rewriting interfaces for external applications. It is very important to stress to stakeholders that a WebSphere Commerce migration is not as simple as following the migration guide step-by-step and creating a working site when complete. It is also important to stress that following a migration, there should be adequate time allocated for integration testing to ensure that moving to the new version has not jeopardized any components of the application. Fully testing your application following a migration is essential and failure to properly do so will often lead to project failures.

In Conclusion

Migrating any WebSphere Commerce application, even one with a limited number of customizations, is a task that should not be taken lightly. Detailed planning and setting proper expectations are two of the most critical aspects to any WebSphere Commerce migration project. The way that you address these points will be what either makes or breaks your migration project! It is also important to note that while migrations can be difficult, the gains that you receive with the new features and increased performance from the underlying software stack make it something that is definitely a worthwhile task to attempt.

Want to learn more?

Alpine Consulting has significant experience and skillsets related to WebSphere Commerce. Should you require assistance within your WebSphere Commerce environment, please feel free to reach out to Alpine.