Most of us have probably struggled with the need and pressure to upgrade systems such as business systems, e-commerce platforms and other technology to the latest version. This often feels like a boring expense. If all goes well, it works as it did before but in a new version. However, the truth is much more complex than that. There can be several different advantages compared to previous versions such as:
- Better performance.
- Modern technology.
- Smart functions.
- Better security.
By keeping the systems on current versions, you will not only get access to the latest and improved functions in the systems, you also secure the systems against vulnerabilities and other security threats that can cost much more than the actual upgrade cost if they are wide open to attacks.
A future-proof solution
Sometimes we upgrade a platform in connection with taking over a customer project from another partner, for example to the current version of Litium. Then we always start with a code review to form an idea of what the code looks like and what it would mean. It is a smaller project and after that we can present a proposal for a larger project to upgrade to the current version of the platform.
It is important to understand which adaptations, special solutions and integrations you have in your particular e-commerce solution. Some of them may need to be adjusted and recoded to be compatible with the new version. It can also mean changes that need to be made to other frameworks or the database. Another important part is that the data is migrated correctly. There are many parts that need to be researched and planned.
Continuous updates
Our recommendation is rather than doing this when you have to because the supplier will drop support for the version you are on, you should budget and plan time to continuously keep your important solutions up-to-date. What this means in practice varies greatly depending on which systems, platforms and frameworks are used and what pace of development these maintain.
It is also important to examine this aspect of a system that you plan to purchase. The better a software vendor is at keeping their product Evergreen the better. Evergreen refers to managing to release new versions where functions and adjustments are made without creating breaking changes, i.e. things need to be rebuilt to adapt to how the new version works or API interfaces disappear and new ones appear to replace the old ones.
If you use a platform that works entirely according to the Evergreen concept, there are no versions, then you are upgraded automatically and without you noticing. However, it may still be the case that you need to build your solution on top of the platform in order to take advantage of certain new functions that are added, while some only become useful automatically through existing APIs and views that already exist. Even with this type of platform, you of course need to update the frameworks and the technology you built your solution with on top of the platform itself.
A solution that is up-to-date
If you fall far behind in updates, it feels almost overwhelming to get up to date on the current version of the systems you use. It also becomes difficult to predict how much time and money it will cost to get to the current version. However, it is usually not quite as costly and time-consuming as you might think. And it's worth the investment. Feel free to contact us if you are in a position where you are lagging far behind and want to catch up, we have good solutions for getting up to current versions.
Price from 399 000 SEK.
Contact us if you want to ensure that you have an updated e-commerce solution.