<p>AEM as a Cloud Service helps you create high-performance, high-impact experiences without breaking the bank. It leverages cloud scalability, security, and agility, allowing you to deliver compelling content quickly across your digital channels.</p> <p>AEM as a Cloud Service employs a continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) model, ensuring that users can access the latest features and updates without needing manual upgrades or patches. This model significantly reduces the operational overhead and simplifies the management of digital experiences, making it an attractive choice for organizations looking to innovate and scale efficiently in the digital sphere.</p> <h4>Why Migrate to AEM as a Cloud Service?</h4> <p>Classic AEM is a large, monolithic application with the same limitations as any legacy non-cloud-native platform. The most notable aspects of any cloud service are scalability and extensibility. This, in part, is what AEM as a Cloud Service brings to the table. AEM as a Cloud Service is a result of refactoring the monolithic AEM application into a set of modular components/services that are cloud native. Because of this refactoring, AEM as a Cloud Service inherits cloud benefits like scalability, agility, and extensibility. Core concepts like replication, asset computing/processing, and repository services are refactored, updated, and included in AEM Cloud Service.</p> <p>Here are the key benefits of <a href="https://www.gspann.com/platforms/adobe/">AEM as a Cloud Service</a>:</p> <ul> <li>Robust on-demand storage</li> <li>No content freeze and downtime</li> <li>Protects against cloud disasters and failures</li> <li>Auto-scaling</li> <li>Fast rendering and processing of 100% pixel-quality assets</li> <li>Always up to date with performance enhancements and security updates</li> <li>Ensures high performance during peak hours of user traffic</li> <li>Continuous access to the latest innovations</li></ul> <h4>Steps to Migrate AEM to Cloud Service</h4> <p>The starting point for any AEM Cloud Service migration project is <a href="https://experienceleague.adobe.com/docs/experience-manager-cloud-service/moving/cloud-acceleration-manager/introduction-cam/overview-cam.html?lang=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cloud Acceleration Manager</a>. This cloud-based tool walks you through the process of preparing for a migration to the AEM Cloud Service. It divides the project into three phases, as summarized in the table below.</p> <div id="contentBlocker"></div> <table style="font-size: 15px; border-collapse: separate;" cellspacing="10" width="100%"> <th style="background-color: #cad5d7; width: 30%; padding: 10px; border-bottom: none;">Phase</th> <th style="background-color: #cad5d7; width: 70%; border-bottom: none;">Description</th> <tr> <td style="background-color: #f1f5f6; padding: 10px; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: none; text-align: left;">Readiness Phase</td> <td style="background-color: #f1f5f6; padding: 10px; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: none; text-align: left;">Review your existing AEM website and codebase to understand what might need to change and start the planning process for the migration.</td></tr> <tr> <td style="background-color: #f1f5f6; padding: 10px; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: none; text-align: left;">Implementation Phase</td> <td style="background-color: #f1f5f6; padding: 10px; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: none; text-align: left;">Set up a local AEM instance, refactor your code, set up your deployment pipelines, and transfer content. </td></tr> <tr> <td style="background-color: #f1f5f6; padding: 10px; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: none; text-align: left;">Go Live Phase</td> <td style="background-color: #f1f5f6; padding: 10px; vertical-align: top; border-bottom: none; text-align: left;">Launch your migrated site on AEM Cloud Service.</td></tr> <caption style="font-size: 16px; text-align: center">Table: AEM Cloud Service Migration Phases</caption></table> <p>The figure below shows a high-level representation of the recommended transition journey to AEM as a Cloud Service.</p> <div><img src="https://images.prismic.io/gspann/331280f7-c1e9-42f8-b724-f7a7de17fe28_Image+1_+Recommended+Transition+Journey.png?auto=compress,format"></div><br/> <p>Let’s now look at the three key phases for an AEM as Cloud Service migration.</p> <h4>Readiness Phase</h4> <p>This phase is critical to ensure a smooth and successful migration. At its heart, this phase encompasses three pivotal steps: </p> <p><strong>Assessment and planning</strong></p> <ul> <li>Evaluate the current AEM environment identifying existing components, customizations, and third-party integrations. </li> <li>Understand the prerequisites and requirements for migrating to AEM as a Cloud Service.</li> <li>Clearly articulate the objectives of migrating to AEM as a cloud service.</li> <li>Create a detailed migration plan outlining tasks, timelines, and resource requirements.</li></ul> <p><strong>Preparation</strong></p> <ul> <li>Create UX/UI solution designs</li> <li>Update the existing AEM instance to the latest version compatible with AEM as a cloud service.</li> <li>Explore the tools and methodologies to ensure a smooth transition without compromising data integrity.</li></ul> <p><strong>Environment Setup/Configurations</strong></p> <ul> <li>Configure CI/CD pipelines for production and non-production environments in Cloud Manager to build code from a source repository to an environment.</li> <li>Configure networking, security settings, and storage according to AEM specifications.</li> <li>Set up necessary cloud services like caching and load balancing.</li> <li>Leverage Cloud Manager for a streamlined CI/CD process.</li></ul> <p>The more attention you devote to the readiness phase, the greater the dividends you’ll receive when you go live. It’s easier to catch problems before they occur rather than trying to fix them after deployment.</p> <h4>Implementation Phase</h4> <p>This phase is where most of the work is done. In this phase, you must make development changes where you update and modify core aspects of your legacy AEM implementation. Code might require refactoring, and your content needs to be migrated. Code resources are deployed to the cloud, and you should conduct a rigorous round of testing.</p> <p>Here are the highlights of what you need to do during this phase:</p> <p><strong>Development Changes</strong></p> <ul> <li>Update resource type mappings and annotations</li> <li>Modify the Sling Models to ensure cloud compatibility.</li> <li>Modify configurations to suit the cloud environment.</li> <li>Create/import users or user groups with the given permissions. </li></ul> <p><strong>Code Refactoring</strong></p> <p>Refactor code to follow the best practices of AEM as a Cloud Service and update any deprecated APIs and functionality. </p> <p><strong>Content Migration</strong></p> <p>This multi-step process demands planning, tracking, and collaboration between various teams. For the content migration below, refactoring tools can be used.</p> <ul> <li><strong>Repository Modernizer:</strong> transforms the Maven project into an AEM Cloud Service-compatible project.</li> <li><strong>Index Converter:</strong> migrates custom Oak index definitions to AEM Cloud Service.</li> <li><strong>Asset Workflow Migration Tool:</strong> migrates asset processing workflows to AEM Cloud Service.</li> <li><strong>Dispatcher Converter:</strong> converts Dispatcher configurations to be compatible with AEM Cloud Service.</li> <li><strong>AEM Modernization Tools:</strong> converts legacy AEM features, including static templates to editable templates, classic UI to touch-UI, and foundation components to core components, to name a few.</li> <li><strong>Content Transfer Tool:</strong> assists in moving current content from an on-premises source AEM instance to the target AEM Cloud Service instance. Using this tool, you can define which content subset you need to transfer.</li> <li><strong>Package Manager:</strong> A zip file facilitates importing and exporting the repository’s mutable content.</li></ul> <p><strong>Deployment</strong></p> <ul> <li>Deploy refactored/migrated code to the cloud environment and configure integrations and services. </li> <li>Implement monitoring tools to track performance, detect issues, and ensure optimal resource utilization.</li></ul> <p><strong>Testing</strong> <ul> <li>Conduct comprehensive testing to ensure the migrated AEM instance functions correctly.</li> <li>Perform load testing to validate the system’s capacity to handle expected workloads.</li></ul> <h4>Go-Live Phase</h4> <p>With careful preparation and planning, the Go-Live phase need not be a hair-raising roller coaster ride. After carefully following the steps outlined in the Readiness and Implementation phases, you should monitor the live site and be ready to provide support.</p> <p>Here are the important components of the Go-Live phase:</p> <ul> <li>Deploy the system to production, monitor closely, and provide support as needed</li> <li>Conduct recommended testing cycles (QA, smoke, and more)</li> <li>Perform smoke test validation</li> <li>Gather feedback from stakeholders and identify the areas for improvement</li> </ul> <h4>Conclusion</h4> <p>In conclusion, migrating to AEM as a Cloud Service is a strategic move that offers several benefits, including enhanced scalability, improved performance, and simplified infrastructure management. The process involves a series of critical steps, from assessing the existing setup to deploying the updated codebase in a cloud-native environment.</p> <p>Developers must change their approach significantly, adapting codebases, configurations, and integrations to align with the best practices of AEM as a Cloud Service. It includes refactoring code, adjusting Sling Models, updating Oak indexes, and leveraging cloud-native services for optimal performance. While challenges may arise, a well-executed migration plan, rigorous testing, and a commitment to best practices can pave the way for a successful transition. Ultimately, embracing AEM as Cloud Service migration empowers your company to stay agile in the rapidly evolving digital landscape, ensuring sustained competitiveness and innovation.</p>