We’ve seen it first-hand — marketing teams buried under cumbersome content management systems yet fearful of making the move to a content management system (CMS) that will better serve them. The concern of a lengthy time frame and intense level of effort to migrate to a more suitable platform can prevent teams from achieving their digital marketing goals. The thought of a long, drawn out re-platforming can evoke sheer dread. But guess what...we are here to tell you that making a move from a closed source CMS like Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) can actually be completed efficiently, within a reasonable time frame and without a whole lot of pain.

When It’s Time To Make a Move
We bet you are a dedicated reader of Inclind’s Journal, so you know we are, for the most part, an open source web development agency. Proprietary software solutions typically aren’t our thing. But we understand that there are many factors that go into choosing technologies. If those factors pointed your team towards a product like AEM, it might have made sense at the time. However, as the web evolves and content demands change and grow, you may find that you are stuck with a solution that isn’t...well..an actual solution. If your hard work at content creation and curation is stalled because of your CMS, it’s time to consider a new way forward.

Will It Take Forever?
If building your website was a long and arduous process as it can be with a proprietary CMS like AEM, than likely you are thinking that the process of migrating to a new system is going to be eight months or a year. And corporate giants like Adobe aren’t in the business of giving you an easy out so they are happily creating that fear within you.

The good news is, a well-planned migration doesn’t have to be a drag or drag on. In fact, you will find that the process can be done in mere weeks. It’s true! In weeks, you can be free of content management system dysfunctions and on to achieving your team’s digital marketing goals. Not to say there isn’t work involved but the effort can be efficiently planning to keep the transition as painless as possible.

The Payoff
The biggest benefit of using open source enterprise CMS platforms like Drupal or WordPress is freedom. This freedom extends well beyond licensing fees. It’s about the ability to integrate the technologies you need for success and the freedom of accessing a worldwide community of developers. This community is dedicated to constantly securing and improving these systems so new features are always available.

Moving to a CMS like Drupal can also allow you to future-proof your website. If you plan to redesign every few years, you may opt for a decoupled Drupal set up so that your design is separate from your content and backend making it easy to update the look of the site while maintaining the content. The benefits of this is not having to start from scratch on a whole new system.

How Does a Migration Work?
A migration to a new CMS does take careful planning and effort. This process goes beyond moving files or content. Migrations including defining the site architecture, taking inventories of content types and developing out required functionality. Migrating from file-based AEM to database-driven Drupal, can be a complex process so there is work involved in making the move but, done well, this groundwork will automate processes and simplify tasks saving your future self time and from frustrations.

Stuck in a closed source CMS like AEM? Chat with us today on migrating your website to Drupal or WordPress for content management freedom.