SRAM, a global leader in the cycling component industry, has been using Stibo Systems Platform to manage product information since 2014. It started with an on-premise setup hosted in its own data center. But as the company’s needs evolved and technology advanced, SRAM decided to explore the advantages of migrating its product information management (PIM) solution to a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) environment on Microsoft Azure.
Challenges: Limitations of an on-premise deployment
SRAM's on-premise implementation of Stibo Systems Platform was functional, but it no longer allowed the company to improve its PIM processes to the level it needed.
Time-consuming upgrades
Upgrading its on-premise system was a disruptive process that used up too much time and resources from the IT team. The upgrades became so complex that the organization became less productive – and the team had to delay implementing new features.
“One of the biggest opportunities for improvement was self-service upgrades. I was thinking: ‘Wait, I can just go push a button and it's upgraded?’ That was super appealing because we were spending a lot of time on projects,” said Todd Baltes, Enterprise Architect Manager at SRAM.
Increased server maintenance
Maintaining and patching servers in the data center was becoming too time-consuming and complex – especially with new security initiatives that needed more frequent patching. This diverted valuable IT resources away from more strategic initiatives.
Limited system performance
Since SRAM's data center had finite resources, the performance of Stibo Systems Platform was impacted. Allocating memory and processing power was a constant balancing act, and the system often operated below its full potential.
No seamless SSO integration
The existing single sign-on (SSO) integration was not ideal. Users needed to manually type in their passwords, even though they were already logged into the network. This created an additional step in the login process and caused unnecessary frustration for the users.
All these challenges became increasingly obvious, highlighting the limitations of an on-premise deployment. The team was ready to explore the advantages of migrating the PIM solution to a SaaS environment.
“I was thinking: ‘I'm going to wait, and I'm going to wait another year, and I'm going to wait another year.’ And soon it shifted to: ‘Oh, we absolutely have to do this’,” said Baltes.
Solution: Embracing the cloud
To solve these challenges the on-premise implementation caused, SRAM decided to migrate its PIM solution to the SaaS environment on Microsoft Azure. The company wanted to strategically fix its infrastructure problems, and at the same time, raise the general level of efficiency and performance.
Partnering with Stibo Systems
For a complex migration like this, it helps to have access to a dedicated team of experienced professionals with deep knowledge of both Stibo Systems Platform and the intricacies of cloud migration. The Stibo Systems Professional Services and Technical Services teams supported the entire process, from initial planning and assessment to data migration, integration reconfiguration and post-migration support.
During the migration, Stibo Systems worked closely with SRAM's internal IT and business stakeholders to understand the company’s specific needs and tailor the migration strategy accordingly.
“We used Stibo Systems Professional Services as our migration team. We had a really great team. I can't say enough about them. We had good project management, super knowledgeable technical folks that helped us talk through the integration challenges and opportunities.” - Todd Baltes, Enterprise Architect Manager, SRAM
Comprehensive migration strategy
The migration involved transferring all of SRAM's product data, including approximately 300,000 "blue folder objects" (representing finished, sellable units), to the SaaS environment.
This also included migrating all inbound and outbound data integrations, which connected Stibo Systems Platform to various other on-premise and cloud-based systems.
Integration enhancements
SRAM took the opportunity to enhance its integration posture during the migration. The company shifted from file-based integrations to more modern REST-based APIs – great for both efficiency and reliability. This involved reevaluating the existing integrations and spotting opportunities to modernize data exchange processes.
Minimizing user impact
SRAM wanted to give its active users the smoothest possible transition – there were around 50 active users, a dozen of them daily users.
To achieve this, the company implemented solutions to maintain the familiar user experience, such as using middleware to bridge the gap between local file shares (hot folders) and the SaaS environment's FTP server. This way, users could simply continue working with their existing workflows without disruption.
The transition to SaaS was seamless. According to Baltes, "I literally sent out an email saying, ‘Here's the new URL,’ and I didn't hear a thing from anybody."
Outcome: A smooth ride to SaaS
SRAM's migration to the SaaS environment was a resounding success. It produced a range of benefits that went beyond the initial project goals. The transition gave the company a foundation for greater efficiency, scalability and future-proof functionality.
Better performance and scalability
Moving to the SaaS environment has given the system performance a real boost. Users experienced noticeably faster response times and an overall more responsive system. This then made the company’s data management processes more efficient and the whole organization more productive.
But more importantly, the SaaS environment provides the scalability to handle SRAM's future growth of both business and data. As the company introduces new products and expands its operations, the system can adapt without needing significant infrastructure investments.
Less operational overhead – more focus
By migrating to SaaS, SRAM eliminated the ongoing costs and effort associated with server maintenance, patching and upgrades. This freed up valuable IT resources, giving the team time to focus on more strategic initiatives – on projects that support the company's growth and digital transformation.
A modern integration architecture
The migration gave SRAM a chance to modernize its integration architecture. By transitioning to REST-based APIs, the company achieved a more robust, efficient and secure integration posture.
The SaaS deployment enables SRAM to seamlessly exchange data with other critical business systems, providing a new level of flexibility when the company adopts new technologies and applications.
Empowered business users
The seamless transition to SaaS meant that users experienced minimal disruption to their daily workflows.
By sticking with a known user interface and existing file-sharing workflows, users could work as they did before the transition. Everybody could continue managing product information efficiently, without needing extensive retraining or new processes.
Continuous improvement with self-service upgrades
One of the key benefits of the SaaS migration is that now the team at SRAM can perform self-service upgrades. The company can easily stay current with the latest versions of the Stibo Systems Platform, taking advantage of new features and enhancements without the disruption and effort associated with on-premise upgrades.
This successful migration to SaaS shows how cloud-based solutions can give you better performance, lower operational costs and more efficiency – and it doesn’t have to be painful at all.