1. Existing users of Livelink WCM Presentation Server (Obtree) may be entitled to upgrade to RedDot for no additional licensing cost where a functional 'like-for-like' migration is required.

2. Mimtech have developed MIM:SWITCH, our migration toolset that can automate your content move to another solution by connecting directly into the repository via Obtree/Livelink’s API.

3. MIM:SWITCH has been endorsed by Open Text and is their migration solution of choice for users migrating to RedDot.

4. Mimtech is vendor agnostic and can supply web content management software from all the leading vendors including; EPiSERVER, Sitecore, Immediacy and RedDot.

5. Mimtech can supply web content management software on a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) rental business model.

I feel obliged to do this as Doug told me that I am obliged to do this. So, here are some predictions for 2009 for Mimtech...

1. We will see more of our clients migrate from the Obtree/Livelink WCM  during 2009. The Talk Obtree forum is back up and running. Please get involved.
2. The mim:switch Obtree/Livelink WCM migration software will be a key tool in some of these migrations.
3. With the credit crunch and the opportunity for n Obtree replacement reference there will be some great deals for the early adopters.
4. SaaS WCM will be a serious consideration for any WCM replacement project as the economic downturn drives a move to hosted software. Buyers will (are already) expecting far more value added to their services than a simple hosted WCM.
   
5. As the value of companies drops we will see some acquisitions in the WCM space. Some analysts are predicting that ECM vendors will look to bolster their web layer but I think we'll see some consolidation in the WCM market too.
6. Inevitably some vendors (and some service providers) will go under.
7. Mimtech will provide Livelink WCM migration services to partners in Switzerland and Germany.
8. More outsourcing of the application layer management. This is probably the stage between the internally managed system and the SaaS model.
9. New staff will join the Mimtech team.
10. Ken and Ross will finally accept the inevitable.

I received a tender notice this week from one of the County Councils that have been using Livelink WCM for the past few years. They are inviting bids for a replacement WCM and the migration of their content from Livelink WCM to the new system. This is the third big Livelink user we've seen in the last 6 months looking for a new WCM and planning to move off the platform early next year. We've also noticed an increase in traffic to our site with keywords suggesting there is increasing interest in the alternatives to Livelink and the migration tools we have on offer to facilitate a smoother transition. We will be bidding one of our partner's WCM alternatives but will be highlighting our WCM migration tool as part of the bid. It's a shame that we can't offer the tool to the competition as well as we know that we can make the migration easier regardless of the target environment.

If you are interested in the options for replacing your Livelink WCM system or in how the mim:switch WCM migration tool can help you move to a new WCM then please feel free to get in touch.

Read about Obtree migrations or Livelink migrations at http://www.mimtech.com/wcm_obtreemigration.html.

I have just read a blog by Gerry McGovern on the CMS Wire site with the title Web Content Migration: Disastrous Strategy in which he talks of the common migration strategy of migrate everything that you can regardless of quality. I agree absolutely with Gerry's point of view and have been involved in some projects that sound just like his example. 

I have recently been talking to lots of our clients about migration given the current attitude towards Obtree/Livelink and one of my key 'Utopian' ideas is that you define your new content requirements and architecture with no reference to what you have. You decide what you need (ceteris paribus) and work back from there to design your migration logic and processes. In practise this is rarely possible for all sorts of reasons. Many years ago I worked as an Economist and much of the theory in that discipline falls down without the ceteris paribus constraint. Nevertheless, it is a good position to start from for migration projects.

I like Gerry McGovern, I was very impressed with him as a public speaker and he has real insight into the failings of web sites. I would like to cite him here...

'Why do we have such bad content?

1. We allow the organization to publish puff, fluff and vanity, instead of focusing on the needs of our customers/staff.
2. We don’t hire web content professionals. Instead we find the most junior person in the department and give them the job of managing the website.
3. We don’t see the Web as a unique medium-we just take print content and print thinking and shovel it onto the Web.
4. We don’t review and quality control. We have practically no processes to take old content off our website.'

Well, it looks like I'm off again touting the mim:switch Livelink WCM migration tool. This time I'm off to Switzerland to the Open Text customer day in Zürich. Not as glamorous as it might seem as the conference is at a hotel at the airport so I won't even get the usual taxi ride view of the city.

As I'm sure most readers are aware, the Livelink WCM PS started life as Obtree and was created in Switzerland where there are well over 100 organisations still using the WCM. Although the day is for all Open Text customers a good number are expected to be Obtree users and there is a presentation specifically for them. I was asked if our WCM migration software could be demo'ed at this session and I am packing my bags.

I am looking forward to meeting up with the Swiss partners involved in the migration methodology planning. We have made do with teleconferences since we met in Hamburg in August and getting round the table makes it easier for me to disguise the fact that their English is better than mine – and to make some further progress on the upgrade path from Obtree to RedDot.

My daughter likes me to go on these trips too. She misses me of course but gets a new football strip to show off at her club when I get back. Now I just have to decide which team to get FC Zürich or Grasshoppers. 

This morning I presented to a panel of judges as part of the John Logie Baird Awards. We were flattered to be invited given the number of applications and look forward to finding out if we can progress to the final.

I was talking about the innovative aspects of the mim:switch WCM to WCM mifgration software and why it is a better option than the competition for migrating from one web content management system to another. It was the first time that I had presented the software to a non technical audience and really made me focus on what is good about our software. There are two main things that make mim:switch attractive; it is fast and it leaves nothing behind.

We ran some tests against a clients events application. The application has about 2500 events and to migrate manually with copy and paste would take about 15 minutes per event which equates to about 100 days. mim:switch managed to create all the new pages, add the content and all metadata and place them in the site structure in less than 1 hour. Imagine how much time and cost will be saved in migrating a site of 20000 or 30000 pages.