Overview
We’ve had a very strong response to our recent promotions encouraging customers to migrate to the latest version of the CIMcloud platform. This has been a great testimony to the benefits of the newest platform. It has also driven us to make scheduling and process improvements to 1) better accommodate the load / demand, and 2) provide more clarity on what you should expect. This article covers what you need to know about the scheduling and process improvements.
Target Audience for This Article
This article is intended for CIMcloud customers that have scheduled (signed up for) or are in the initial stages of a Migration process to move from an older “classic” version of Website Pipeline or CIMcloud to the latest version of the CIMcloud platform.
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Summary
The following is a bottom-line summary of the key topics covered in the article below.
- We’ve seen a strong positive response from classic customers wanting to migrate to our current platform.
- We have made material investments & improvements in:
- Scheduling & balancing the migration work load (to provide better service), and
- Providing self-service help center content on the overall process and what your should expect
- Improvements in scheduling & balancing the work load (to provide better service):
- To better manage the work on our deployment teams, we are scheduling the migrations in waves.
- Our Customer Success team will notify you which wave you fall into.
- You can use the schedule listed below to estimate your start date (dates vary by “wave”).
- Improvements in self-service help center content:
- We’ve created a Migration Quick Reference Guide linking to all migration-related articles in the help center (including the ones referenced below).
- We’ve documented some key reasons classic customers are migrating to the latest version of CIMcloud.
- We’ve documented the overall migration process (including the stages and steps to take).
- We’ve diagrammed the content management time periods your site operators will need to plan for.
- We’ve document a list of key things to expect on a migration project so your team can avoid surprises.
- We’ve identified the extra work that impacts lead-times & costs so you can make better decisions.
- We’ve included a list of “Stage 0: Preparation” work you can start now to get ahead (or catch up).
Background
CIMcloud is making a large investment to helping get our classic customers (like you) to the latest version of our platform so you can tap into the benefits. We started a deliberate push in late 2020 and early 2021 to educate customers on the benefits of migrating to the latest CIMcloud platform.
This push was met with an overwhelming positive response, and resulted in a large count of customers signing up to migrate to the latest version of the platform. We are excited about the ongoing engagement level and are continuing to invest in streamlining the process. We ran an initial wave of customers through the process and learned a lot. We took the learnings and invested considerable time into specific content in the help center targeted to customers going through a migration process. We have also made additional investments into tooling to make the migration data and file copy better and faster.
The article is intended to “catch you up” on the current best practices your should follow as you go through the migration process. It’s also intended to help your team better understand what they need to do / what they should expect as they work through this project.
Scheduling Waves
The following is a run-down of the current “waves” we have established to schedule the CIMcloud portion of work on your (mostly) self-service migration projects.
What Wave Am I In?
If you don’t know which scheduling “wave” you fall into or have questions or concerns about the wave you are in, feel free to contact CIMcloud for help.
Why We Are Spreading Out The Work
CIMcloud is currently providing our portion of the standard migration work (platform deployment, erp install for standard connectors, and implementation support) at no additional charge to our classic customers, but there still is a material portion of skilled labor required to complete every project. We have applied additional resources to the migration projects, but the demand for that labor still needs to be scheduled. In order to insure we are providing prompt and high quality service, we have scheduled our backlog of migrations into several “waves”.
Understanding the “Start Date” and Stages
The scheduling waves listed below each have a general target Start Date, which is when we expect to kick off Stage 1 of your project. Note: Stages 1 through 3 are where our Deployment and Implementation Support resources are most heavily needed.
You also need to complete the work in Stage 0 before your “Start Date”. You can start your Stage 0 work immediately (see below for more details).
Below is summary diagram of the overall migration process. The “Start Date” and “Stages” as referenced throughout this article. Compete details can be found in the Classic-to-Current Migration Process article.
Target Start Date (By Wave)
This is a quick reference of the target Start Dates by wave. Additional details on each wave are included in the sections below.
Already Started
The Start Date already occurred for these waves:
- Wave 0: Already Live
- Wave 1: Already Deployed and Turned Over
- Wave 2: Deployment In Progress
Stage 1 Not Started Yet
The Start Date is currently targeted as follows for these waves:
- Wave 3: August 2021
- Wave 4: September 2021
- Wave 5: 4th Quarter 2021
- Wave 6+: 1Q 2022 or later
Target Start Dates Can Change
All waves with Start Dates in the future are subject to change based on how quickly we work through the backlog in the waves before you. We will notify you via email and this article if there are material changes to the Start Dates in your wave. This includes notifying you if the Start Date is available sooner or if it is expected to be delayed.
An Explanation of the “Waves”
The section includes some more details on each wave + additional information on what you can do to get ready for (or catch up to) your Start Date.
Wave 0 (Already Live)
A significant number of migration projects have been going on throughout the past 2 years. Most of these customers have already successfully completed their migration projects and are live on the new platform. We used this work as the foundation for the current process and tooling.
Wave 1 (Already Deployed)
If you are going through a migration project and already have access to your new CIMcloud platform, you are in Wave 1. There are no changes to your schedule. CIMcloud will continue to support your efforts as you work through the Stage 2: Implementation and Stage 3: Live Roll-out of the platform.
We highly recommend that you take some time to catch up on the latest migration-related process information by reviewing the “What You Can Do Now (Complete Stage 0)” section below.
Wave 2 (Deployment In Progress)
If you are in Wave 2, your deployment steps are likely underway now (as of late-June 2021). The Implementation Support team can assist you with understanding when you can expect to get the platform turned over to you (to start complete your onboarding and start your self-service implementation steps).
It is critical that your core team “catches up” by taking the actions outlined in the “What You Can Do Now (Complete Stage 0)” section below.
Waves 3 And Above (Stage 1 Not Started)
If you are in scheduling “Wave 3” or above (Wave 4, 5, 6, etc), Stage 1 of your project has not started yet, but there are things you can do now in Stage 0. Go to the “What You Can Do Now (Complete Stage 0)” section below.
What You Can Do Now (Complete Stage 0)
As mentioned above, CIMcloud has made significant investments into our help center content related to migration projects. This content includes both 1) best practices on the process to follow, and 2) more details on what your team can expect / needs to do to complete this (mostly) self-service project.
Wave 1 or Wave 2 –> “Catch Up”
If you are in Wave 1 or Wave 2, we recommend that your core team “catches up” by taking the actions below.
Wave 3, 4, 5, or 6 –> Get Ahead
If you fall into a wave with a target start date in the future, we recommend that you “get ahead” by taking the actions below. Your team’s goal should be to complete all of the Stage 0 action items before your target start date.
Work You Can Do Now
We recommend catching up or getting ahead by taking these steps.
- Read the migration-related articles in the help center, starting with these two (note: all other articles are linked to from the migration process article below):
- Complete the Stage 0 work (as outlined in the Migration Process article linked above)
- Make it a priority to complete the Stage 0 items as quickly as you can.
- If you have customizations (part of the “extra work” explained in the above articles), you can contact the CIM Pro Services group to help get those going (or find out where they stand if they were already started).
- Wave 1 and Wave 2 Customers: We likely did not clearly communicate the process or the need to complete Stage 0 when you started your project, but we know (through other customers) that completing the Stage 0 items quickly will make your entire project go smoother.
Need an Earlier Start Date?
If you have an urgent need to start sooner than the target start date in your current wave, please take the following actions.
- Determine your requested start date.
- Verify you can complete the items in Stage 0 by that requested start date.
- Contact a CIMcloud Customer Success Manager to discuss your options.
How You Can Get Help
This article covers the various ways your can get help with your migration project.