Why Adobe Experience Manager customers choose to migrate to Optimizely

Keep reading to uncover the key reasons AEM customers might choose to migrate to Optimizely DXP, including faster time-to-market, a more flexible and efficient platform, and continuous innovation that meets market demands.

The problem with staying with AEM

AEM may have been a strong contender historically, but it now lags in terms of innovation, ease of use, and cost efficiency. Let’s explore the challenges businesses face with AEM:

Lack of innovation

While Adobe does continue to invest in other products within its core suite, they’ve been slow to roll out new, market-relevant features within AEM, their CMS, leaving customers without the tools they need to stay ahead.

In fact, Adobe hasn’t significantly upgraded or added new functionality to AEM in quite a few years. The end result? The platform is outdated, offering the most basic bug fixes, with no substantial improvements or cutting-edge features to speak of.

High costs

As an all-in-one suite, AEM customers have to opt in to buying the entire Adobe suite to gain access to the CMS. This bundled pricing model means existing customers are often stuck paying for tools that they might not necessarily need, or indeed use.

Complex to manage

Proprietary technology makes AEM difficult to manage. To overcome this, customers are forced to hire specialized Adobe developers to implement and maintain the content management system, adding to the complexity and costs involved.

Slow implementation

Businesses that use AEM are often faced with drawn-out implementation processes of up to a year or longer. And the longer it takes to implement the platform, the longer it takes to see that return on your investment.

Steep learning curve

AEM’s isn’t just tricky for developers to implement and maintain — it also comes with a big learning curve for marketers and its fair share of technical hurdles. This means non-technical teams using AEM often find themselves dependent on developers for even the most basic of content tasks.

How Optimizely solves these problems

Optimizely DXP is built for agility, empowering content and digital teams to move faster, innovate continuously, and reduce their reliance on developers. Here’s how Optimizely’s future-ready platform addresses some of the shortcomings of AEM:

Customer-centric

Unlike AEM, Optimizely continuously evolves its platform based on real customer needs and feedback. New features and updates are regularly released to improve content performance, efficiency, and overall business impact.

Leads with what the market wants

Optimizely listens to the market and delivers features that matter today, developing features like AI-driven content recommendations and advanced personalization tools to help businesses meet evolving expectations of the digital customer experience.

Faster time-to-market

Optimizely’s cloud-native, hybrid-headless CMS architecture is designed for businesses to get to market quickly — in months, not years.

Empowers all types of teams

Optimizely gives marketers the power to manage content without constantly needing to rely on developers, speeding up campaign launches and reducing bottlenecks.

Flexible and easy to use

Optimizely’s platform is language-agnostic, meaning any developer can work with it — no specialized Adobe developers required. Plus, its user-friendly interface empowers marketers with greater control over the content creation process.

Benefits of Optimizely DXP vs. AEM

Choosing Optimizely over AEM offers a range of benefits, from faster implementation to continuous innovation. Let’s recap down the key reasons businesses might choose to make the switch.

• Continuous innovation: Optimizely regularly updates its platform, rolling out new features that keep up with market demands, from AI-driven content recommendations to advanced personalization tools.
• Faster time-to-market: With Optimizely, you can get your DXP live in a fraction of the time compared to AEM’s lengthy implementation process.
• Designed for marketers: Optimizely’s Visual Builder empowers marketing teams to create and manage content without relying on developers.
• Lower cost of ownership: Optimizely’s pricing is transparent and cost-effective, while AEM customers often face unexpected costs for more basic features.
• Simpler maintenance: Ongoing maintenance is complicated due to the proprietary nature of the platform, which makes it difficult to do much of anything without dedicated AEM developers. Optimizely’s CMS, however, is simpler to manage and doesn’t require a team of specialized developers.
• Future-proof: As the digital landscape continues to evolve, businesses need a platform that can adapt and scale with them. Optimizely’s focus on AI, automation, and continuous innovation ensures your digital experiences remain competitive in the future.

Step-by-step guide to transitioning from AEM

Migrating from AEM to Optimizely requires careful planning and strategy. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you transition smoothly:

1. Assess your current setup

   Identify inefficiencies, outdated features, and gaps in functionality to understand exactly where AEM is falling short of your business needs.

2. Define your goals

   It’s also worth assessing how your current content operations fits in with your longer-term business goals. Are there any gaps between how your team currently functions and what you’ll likely need as your business continues to grow?

   Having more of that forward-looking approach is the best way to ensure your migration delivers a strong return on your investment, and your new CMS has the flexibility to flex and grow with any changes coming down the road.

3. Prep for the transition

   Audit your content processes and address key questions like:
   
   ❓ How is content currently created, edited, managed and published?
   ❓ What's your ideal implementation timeline?
   ❓ What potential challenges or risks might arise over the course of the migration?
   ❓ What content templates and governance processes do you have in place?
   
   These insights will help you determine if, for example, your content modeling processes need to be modified, or whether some new integrations are warranted as you transition over to your new CMS.

4. Develop your CMS migration plan

   
   Create a detailed plan for your CMS migration, including timelines, tasks, and stakeholder responsibilities, keeping it well aligned with your overall business objectives.

5. Leverage Optimizely’s migration tools
   

   
   Optimizely provides a suite of developer-friendly tools to assist with the migration, including APIs and content importing tools to reduce manual workload for your development team.

6. Test and optimize
   

   
   Before going live, thoroughly test the new platform to ensure that content, functionality, and integrations are working as expected.

7. Go live and scale
   

   
   After migration, start using Optimizely’s flexible, modern DXP features to scale your digital experiences and drive site performance.

How Optimizely supports the migration process for AEM customers

Optimizely provides robust support to make the migration process seamless and efficient, including:

• 🤝 Dedicated customer support: Optimizely’s hands-on support team provides guidance throughout the migration process, providing professional training, expert guidance, and resources to ensure your team is prepared to make the most of the new platform.
• ⚙️ Seamless integrations: Optimizely’s DXP supports a wide range of third-party integrations, ensuring all of your existing tools, from CRM to ecommerce platforms, connect easily with your new CMS.

FAQs

Why is Optimizely faster to implement than AEM?

Optimizely’s cloud-native, headless architecture and language-agnostic platform allow for quicker implementation, while AEM’s complexity and proprietary technology extend deployment times.

What does Optimizely offer that AEM doesn’t?

Optimizely delivers continuous innovation, faster time-to-market, and AI-driven features that AEM lacks, giving businesses a competitive edge.

Will migrating to Optimizely have a negative impact on my website’s performance?

Migrating to Optimizely can actually improve your website’s performance, thanks to faster deployment, superior content optimization tools, and ongoing support from a dedicated team.

Why Optimizely CMS is the clear winner over AEM 🏆

Optimizely offers continuous innovation, faster implementation, lower total cost of ownership, and a more user-friendly experience, while AEM remains outdated and complex. With Optimizely, businesses can future-proof their digital strategies and drive meaningful growth for years to come.

Ready to learn more about migrating from legacy Adobe AEM to Optimizely’s modern, composable DXP? Let’s go!