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Why is this important?
Optimizely Content Management Version 12 and B2C Commerce Version 14 is our first version built on ASP.NET Core – a huge step for our customers and developers alike. Our newest version represents our most significant update in the underlying code foundation that we build our CMS and Commerce engines on.
What does this mean for me?
As a Marketer
Our newest version of CMS will represent:
- Faster page rendering times
- A framework for Optimizely to build our CMS admin application on into the future for faster and more efficient authoring of content
- The framework for all our future development so that you can get our latest and greatest features
As a Developer
Our newest version of CMS will represent:
- A brand new code foundation built on the most up-to-date standards in development
- Performance improvement across the board, up to 1200% in certain parts, by just upgrading
- Cross platform compatibility, meaning it can now run on Windows, Linux, and MacOS
- Faster build and start up time
- Improved headless support
Improvements
Take a look at some of the numbers* we're seeing!
*These are preliminary results of internal testing based upon CMS 12, Commerce 14, and the Foundation implementation. We intend to publish our methodology so partners and customers can do their own performance testing validation.
4x
Better in Response Time
We're looking at numbers in the double digits! Which means, customer websites will load even faster!
5 - 10x
Faster in Site and Commerce Operation
The numbers have dropped significantly, allowing for an even faster user experiences for actions such as Register/Login, Search, and Add To Cart!
3x
More Server Request Handling
The number of requests have tripled and we're still seeing better performances! Supporting more traffic, more visitors, more users!
Developers
Are you a developer? Here is what you need to know:
What are the highlight features of being on ASP.NET Core?
- Performance – We have seen significant improvements in multiple areas.
- Cross Platform Support – Allowing for hosting and development on different OS.
- Easier Development Process – Improved config management, dependency injection, lesser lines of code, and portable libraries.
- Modern Tech – Microsoft released .NET Core in 2016 to support portability and a unified approach when it comes to implementing for different machines such as Web, Windows Desktop/Store/Phone, etc.
- Open Source – Transparency and abundance of support allowing the community to participate and have faster release cycles.
- And many more as newer versions are released.
How does this affect the implementation/development process?
It’s long been a request to enable developer teams to work natively on both Windows and MacOS depending on personal preferences. With CMS 12 and Commerce 14 running on ASP.NET Core it’s much easier to share a single code base, but across different editors and operating systems.
What plugins/add-ons are available with the new version?
Optimizely continues to migrate its add-on packages to ASP.NET Core and will continue to do so for future versions as well. See Optimizely apps and integrations for the migration status of the packages.
As Optimizely releases the ASP.NET Core code base, plugins and add-ons are dependent on their creators to ensure that they are compatible with the new version. Contact the creator of the plugins/add-ons you are interested in for more information.
Where can I get access to the code?
The first version of the packages were released on September 28, 2021 and are available on our NuGet feed (CMS and Commerce), with newer versions being continuously released. You can find sample codes on GitHub.
Where can I find the documentation?
How do we upgrade our code base?
The Upgrade Assistant tool can help automate the transition from a CMS 11 project to CMS 12. Although the tool does help with the common tasks related to the migration, expect that there will still be some manual migration tasks that need to be performed. The move to ASP.NET Core also requires some changes to the PaaS environments for existing customers. Self-service tooling for transitioning to a ASP.NET Core environment is also available.
What are the breaking changes from the previous version to this?
Our intent is to have no breaking changes, however see Breaking changes in Content Management (CMS 12) for changes when you upgrade.
Existing Customers
Are you an existing Optimizely Content Management or B2C Commerce customer? Here is what you need to know:
When is the upgrade available?
Version 12 of Optimizely Content Management and version 14 of Optimizely B2C Commerce is now released. If you are interested in accessing, please contact your customer success manager or account manager for more details.
What does the upgrade include?
The upgrade will not be the same as before
- Upgrading to ASP.NET Core will require a brand new environment for your DXP. Optimizely will be providing this to you at no additional cost to your license
- Your code will need to be migrated from your existing code base to ASP.NET Core. Optimizely has built developer-facing tools to help run this process. This will require interaction from your development team
How does the upgrade affect my existing site?
- Does it require recoding everything? – No, but it will require a migration of your existing code to the new code base
- Does it affect the data? – No, your data should not be affected
- Does it affect any existing integrations? – no, but you should run your new instance through UAT testing to assure that the code migration did not break any custom integrations
- Does it support any plug-ins/addons? – yes, new plug-ins or add-ons will need to be installed and configured
Can I use my existing license?
Yes - unless you fall under one of the scenarios:
- Upgrade from private cloud to public cloud (server bound to instance bound)
- Upgrade from either of the above to our cloud service.
Please reach out to your Customer Success Manager for details.
New Customers
Are you a new Optimizely Content Management or B2C Commerce customer? Here is what you need to know:
What to expect?
All new instances of our CMS and Commerce platforms will be:
- Provisioned in a new Linux environment
- Optimized for our version 12 (ASP.NET Core) application
Can I access the new environment and application before General Release?
Yes – please contact your onboarding manager OR account executive to discuss options to have your instance and site provisioned in preparation for ASP.NET Core.
Are there any limitations to what we can implement?
- No – however this could represent an update to the existing application that your developers should review before starting your project
- As well, if there are key connectors/add-ons that are required for your project, we are migrating over these external tools as quickly as we can. If any are not ready for your project, we can provide a timeline on when these will be ready
Last updated: Sep 22, 2022
