Upgrading to Sitecore 9

For those of us who look back and can’t remember a time before Sitecore (I blame the red wine), it seems life is playing a trick, or more precisely, Sitecore is! There was a time when we lived in SQL Server - developing migration scripts, writing stored procs, and running Query Analyser, then along came MongoDB and change was forced upon us.

After a life of SQL constraints (literally), I admit to enjoying the unbounded freedom of a NoSQL database. But Sitecore was waiting; waiting until I had forgotten all things SQL and thrown away the books before they reintroduced SQL for Sitecore 9 xDB!  Yes, you can argue that the Sitecore tree visualization of SQL is so well developed we never need to look in SQL.

To Upgrade or Not?

There are quite a few other upgrade considerations so don't scavenge for your SQL books yet! 

1. Do you need to migrate your MongoDB data to SQL and are there Sitecore tools available to do this now? If not, is it worth waiting for them?
2. Are you going to take the opportunity to change your Sitecore license and deployment options?
3. Do you use WFFM forms and if so, when do you want to upgrade them to Sitecore Experience Forms - the clock is ticking on WFFM.
4. Are you happy that the new version is sufficiently robust?
5. Is your current version nearing end of life? Will an update to Sitecore 8.2 suffice? 
6. Are you getting enough new features (that you will use) to justify the upgrade effort?
7. Do you have plenty of time to implement the upgrade? You’ll need developer and network administrator availability!

Conclusion

Sitecore certainly has the ability to introduce new features at a relentless pace but like shiny objects, you don’t need to collect every one you can find. Before plunging into the next upgrade, consider the business value of upgrading versus adding that much-needed functionality in your current version. My guess is you have still not implemented personalization – even though that is most likely the reason you bought Sitecore in the first place!