Clinovera
“First Line is a great technology partner capable of delivering complex, ‘industrial grade’ projects. They have demonstrated strong technical competence and solid understanding of the media and publishing domain. We have also been impressed by the management team’s attention to our needs and commitment to our success.”
After spending the past several months researching and evaluating digital experience/web content management (WCM) or eCommerce systems, you’ve selected a platform. Congratulations! While these robust platforms are loaded with features, there’s work to be done to before that system will function according to your specific requirements and add value. You need an implementation expert to make that system work for your business.
Implementation experts are a key resource for helping companies of all sizes – across multiple industries – transform and run their businesses. A recent Gartner reports that 90 percent of global organizations will rely on system integrators (SIs), agencies and channel partners to design, build and implement their digital experience strategies.
Most platform providers have addressed this need by establishing multi-tiered partner programs that are based on several factors:
- years of experience with the platform technology
- number of projects completed
- location or region
- number of platform-certified or qualified developers
- expertise in specific technologies such as .NET, ASP.NET, PHP, Microsoft Azure, and others
For example, First Line Software is a Bronze-level Partner for Kentico and a Gold-level Partner for Optimizely (Episerver) in specific countries, and a Silver-level Partner for Optimizely (Episerver) in other regions. There are 100 qualified Optimizely (Episerver) consultants, including 30+ Optimizely (Episerver) Certified Developers—the largest number in Eastern Europe.
These partner programs include comprehensive training and support. Customers can feel confident about choosing an implementation partner that possesses the expertise required to customize the platform for faster time-to-market.
Customization of a CMS or eCommerce platform takes many forms. Beyond creating the look and feel of the brand, your company’s workflows and business processes must be supported by the technology. This may require a partner with the capabilities to:
- provide strategic consulting and best practices
- optimize the system configuration
- integrate the system with other business applications
- customize the system to accommodate specific fields or functionality requirements
- architect and build a solution that adds new functionality
- migrate content from one or multiple sites – seamlessly
- set up, optimize, deploy and maintain digital assets
Finally, the implementation partner must be technologically savvy, innovative, and committed to going the extra mile to ensure your success.
An example of partner innovation is when the First Line Software technical experts developed a proprietary methodology for migrating multi-websites onto a single platform with speed and accuracy. The practical application of this capability occurred when First Line migrated content from 60+ online publications to a single instance of the Optimizely (Episerver) platform. The migration objectives for multi-channel media client, Bonnier, were to ensure uniform functionality, minimize maintenance costs, streamline online ad delivery and maximize ad revenues.
Once the partner is selected, it’s critical that they get up-to-speed quickly – learning and understanding the workflows, identifying requirements that are unique to your business, and building out a plan that covers all aspects of the implementation. It’s also critical for the stakeholders at your company to be responsive and available to provide information and answer any questions. Then, the work begins.
Here’s what one satisfied client had to say about their experience with First Line Software:
CEO, leading European digital media company
Whether you’re ready to implement a new system now or will be soon, contact First Line Software to learn more about how our implementation expertise can make a difference in the successful launch of your digital experience/web content management or eCommerce system.
