Countless businesses around the globe are facing a big decision right now that will undoubtedly be a key determining factor in the future success of their online stores.
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by Michelle McSweeney
March 25, 2019
Countless businesses around the globe are facing a big decision right now that will undoubtedly be a key determining factor in the future success of their online stores. Should they upgrade from Magento 1.9 to Magento 2 Open Source, Magento Commerce, or should they migrate to a new platform altogether?
It comes as no surprise that in our 20+ years’ experience of working with global eCommerce customers, we feel that migrating from Magento 1.9 to Kooomo is the best option for businesses, so we’re not going to beat around the bush here!
In this post, we’re looking at the three main choices that Magento 1.9 customers have, as well (as why we think making the move to Kooomo is the right one.)
But before we dive in, let’s premise this by saying that we’re not in the business of scaremongering. It’s important for any existing Magento 1.9 customers to be fully aware that their online stores aren’t going to spontaneously combust come June 2020. Instead, we’re going to lay out the facts:
Thus this current dilemma for businesses. Staying put on Magento 1.9 might be somewhat possible in theory, but in practice, it’s simply not a long-term option for any online business.
If you’re one of these businesses, you realistically have three options.
It comes as no surprise that in our 20+ years’ experience of working with global eCommerce customers, we feel that migrating from Magento 1.9 to Kooomo is the best option for businesses, so we’re not going to beat around the bush here!
In this post, we’re looking at the three main choices that Magento 1.9 customers have, as well (as why we think making the move to Kooomo is the right one.)
But before we dive in, let’s premise this by saying that we’re not in the business of scaremongering. It’s important for any existing Magento 1.9 customers to be fully aware that their online stores aren’t going to spontaneously combust come June 2020. Instead, we’re going to lay out the facts:
- All Magento 1 support and updates will cease in June 2020
- PHP 5.6 (aka the scripting software for Magento 1) has already expired
- While Magento 1.9 can run with newer versions of PHP, not all existing extensions are going to play ball
Thus this current dilemma for businesses. Staying put on Magento 1.9 might be somewhat possible in theory, but in practice, it’s simply not a long-term option for any online business.
If you’re one of these businesses, you realistically have three options.
If you’re one of these businesses, you realistically have three options.
While it might seem like the most straightforward thing to do, switching from Magento 1.9 to Magento 2 isn’t a ‘wham, bam, thank you ma’am’ kind of task. While you are able to transfer products, attributes, and databases using Magento’s migration tools, you won’t be able to transfer your existing theme or customised features. Magento 1 extensions aren’t going to work on Magento 2, either. So that means hiring a Magento developer or working with a Magento-specific agency to effectively build out the front and back end of your online store from scratch. A seriously time-consuming task (not to mention pricey!)
Hence the reason why Magento themselves aren’t recommending M2 as the best choice for existing 1.9 clients, but rather the Enterprise Edition. Which leads us nicely to option 2…
Option 2: Migrate to Magento Commerce (Cloud or On-Premise)
If you’re going to switch from Magento 1.9 to Magento 2, you might as well upgrade to Enterprise. That’s the sentiment being echoed by Magento to their M1 customers right now.
While Magento 2 Open Source technically doesn’t cost businesses anything to use, the investment that it’s going to take in terms of development builds a strong case for businesses to simply switch to it. However, taking into account the development time and costs that will be involved in migrating to M2, there’s another opportunity to migrate to the Enterprise Cloud or On-Premise solution instead, since features come directly out of the box. You’ll likely have to pay a little bit more, and in a different way to what you’re used to, but it’ll stand to your business in the long run.
Option 1: Migrate to Magento 2 Open Source
While it might seem like the most straightforward thing to do, switching from Magento 1.9 to Magento 2 isn’t a ‘wham, bam, thank you ma’am’ kind of task. While you are able to transfer products, attributes, and databases using Magento’s migration tools, you won’t be able to transfer your existing theme or customised features. Magento 1 extensions aren’t going to work on Magento 2, either. So that means hiring a Magento developer or working with a Magento-specific agency to effectively build out the front and back end of your online store from scratch. A seriously time-consuming task (not to mention pricey!)
Hence the reason why Magento themselves aren’t recommending M2 as the best choice for existing 1.9 clients, but rather the Enterprise Edition. Which leads us nicely to option 2…
Option 2: Migrate to Magento Commerce (Cloud or On-Premise)
If you’re going to switch from Magento 1.9 to Magento 2, you might as well upgrade to Enterprise. That’s the sentiment being echoed by Magento to their M1 customers right now.
While Magento 2 Open Source technically doesn’t cost businesses anything to use, the investment that it’s going to take in terms of development builds a strong case for businesses to simply switch to it. However, taking into account the development time and costs that will be involved in migrating to M2, there’s another opportunity to migrate to the Enterprise Cloud or On-Premise solution instead, since features come directly out of the box. You’ll likely have to pay a little bit more, and in a different way to what you’re used to, but it’ll stand to your business in the long run.
But here’s the thing…
It’s not really a little bit more. If a business makes less than 1 million in annual revenue, they’d be looking at a €24k licensing cost, plus approximately €40k on top of that for development and deployment. Typically, it costs about €80k to get up and running on the on-premise Enterprise solution, before self-hosting charges kick in. The cloud option comes with a license pricetag of €32k plus additional development costs, which generally tallies up to €80-100k all-in, and an average migration timeline of 6+ months.
So Enterprise edition is certainly an option, but let’s face it – only for enterprise-level businesses. But if your company doesn’t fit that criteria (i.e. have €80-100k to spend), it would appear that you’re on course to be left out in the cold.
Which brings us to option 3 – you’ve guessed it…
It’s not really a little bit more. If a business makes less than 1 million in annual revenue, they’d be looking at a €24k licensing cost, plus approximately €40k on top of that for development and deployment. Typically, it costs about €80k to get up and running on the on-premise Enterprise solution, before self-hosting charges kick in. The cloud option comes with a license pricetag of €32k plus additional development costs, which generally tallies up to €80-100k all-in, and an average migration timeline of 6+ months.
So Enterprise edition is certainly an option, but let’s face it – only for enterprise-level businesses. But if your company doesn’t fit that criteria (i.e. have €80-100k to spend), it would appear that you’re on course to be left out in the cold.
Which brings us to option 3 – you’ve guessed it…
Option 3: Switch to a different platform entirely
It’s pretty evident that in terms of workload, there’s no clear benefit from switching from one version of Magento to another, be it M2 Open Source or Magento Commerce. Because everything will have to either be built from scratch again, regardless of the fact that you’re using the same solution provider.So, how about migrating to a new platform altogether? Well, that’s where we come in.
We could go on all day listing the many reasons why we think moving to the Kooomo platform is the best option for all Magento 1.9 customers, but we’re going to keep it brief and to the point:
Average set up fees are €30k.
The Kooomo platform is cloud-based, meaning there are no hosting costs. We run on a flexible revenue share model of up to 3% based on client turnover, so there are no licensing costs. We have a full in-house team of developers, so there are no system integrator or ongoing development costs involved in migrating.
Average migration time from Magento 1.9 to Kooomo is 90 days
This means little to no disruption to your day to day online operations.
The Kooomo platform has a full stack of technology directly within the platform
Along with standard features, such as Product Information Management, Reporting, Omnichannel, and B2B; other built-in features include Distributed Order Management, Automated Order Management, Warehouse Management, and Google Shopping – all of which need to be plugged into Magento. Everything you need to power your online store from start to finish is available out of the box with Kooomo. This rich feature-set makes the Kooomo platform unique in that it’s suitable for businesses of every size, across all industries and verticals. SMBs won’t be swallowed up by the platform, nor will Enterprises outgrow it.
All Kooomo stores are PCI-compliant as standard
Unlike Magento, where the onus of PCI-compliance sits on your shoulders, which involves determining the amount of security required for your store, and then ensuring that your hosting provider meets those specific levels.
We pride ourselves on the level of support we give all of our clients
Regardless of whether they are SMBs or Enterprises. Every Kooomo customer has a dedicated account manager, as well as access to our in-house added-value services – e.g. SEO, digital marketing, store management, strategic consultancy, and more. We truly believe that technology is only as powerful as the people who are driving it, so we work hand in hand with our customers to make sure that their individual business goals are being met, because your success is ultimately our success too.
Our ecosystem of technology and agency partners prime your online store for continued growth as the eCommerce landscape continues to evolve
We work with leaders across all areas of digital commerce from design, to personalisation, to deliveries, payments, and everything in between (minus the development costs!)
To summarise…
As crunch time draws nearer for businesses to decide their next move while Magento 1.9 winds down, it’s vital to make sure that you’ve weighed up all of your options carefully. Because there isn’t exactly a path of least resistance here. Therefore, it’s all about choosing the path that is going to guide your business to the next level of eCommerce.So what’s it going to be?
Want to find out more about making the switch from Magento to Kooomo? Learn more about the brands who have already migrated by requesting a consultation with a member of our sales team today!
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