Business Summary
Messe Düsseldorf faced a strategic turning point: with the end of support for SAP Commerce On-Premise, the digital heart of its trade fair business had to be reimagined. Together with dotSource, Messe Düsseldorf opted for the move to the cloud with SAP Commerce Cloud.
The result: a modern, cloud-based commerce platform that simplifies processes and ensures compliance with regulatory requirements. With this, Messe Düsseldorf has set the foundation for agile, data-driven ongoing development.
Client | Messe Düsseldorf GmbH |
Industry | |
Technology | |
Focus |
How Messe Düsseldorf Benefits from the Cloud Move
remains seamlessly retained in SAP Commerce Cloud
for front-end users thanks to a professional system migration
of a highly modern, future-proof technological foundation
for the entire system landscape
on time, within scope and on budget
With dotSource, we have a partner who really understands our systems and processes. Completing such a challenging project on time and within budget is a testament to the quality of our collaboration.
Project Framework
About Messe Düsseldorf
Messe Düsseldorf is one of the world’s leading organisers of international trade fairs and congresses, with a strong global presence. Primarily active in the B2B segment, the company connects exhibitors and trade visitors from a wide range of industries and provides a platform for innovation and industry exchange.
Initial Situation
Messe Düsseldorf and dotSource look back on a long-standing partnership in digital trade fair commerce – from the development of the B2B marketplace for trade fair services to complementary solutions such as the Service Partner Portal and the integration of an exhibition stand configurator. With the announced end of support for the SAP Commerce on-premises platform, Messe Düsseldorf was faced with a key decision: a migration to SAP Commerce Cloud or a complete restart on an alternative technology.
Challenges
The project was complex – not least because of the large number of connected systems and integrations as well as the highly customised, trade fair-specific adaptations that had to be reliably migrated and synchronised during the move to the cloud. For this reason, the project team decided on a feature freeze for strategic reasons: during the transition, only necessary bug fixes were implemented in order to make the migration stable and low-risk. At the same time, however, this meant a temporary halt to innovation and the risk of a potential feature backlog.
From On-Premises to Cloud in Under 6 Months
Strategic consulting
At the outset, there was an intensive consulting phase in which dotSource, together with Messe Düsseldorf, evaluated the options of »migration« versus »starting afresh«. A structured migration assessment provided a reliable basis for realistically estimating the effort involved, potential risks and budget planning for the move to the cloud, thereby laying the groundwork for a well-informed decision.
Lift & Shift Migration
Due to the size and individuality of the existing system, a consistent lift-and-shift approach was chosen. The existing architecture was transferred to SAP Commerce Cloud with minimal changes – a deliberate step to meet the ambitious timeline and make the feature freeze manageable.
Agile project approach
The implementation followed a continuous, ticket-based approach, which enabled rapid prioritisation and flexible adjustments. This iterative process ensured transparency and close coordination with Messe Düsseldorf’s project teams.
Big bang go-live
The go-live took place in a big-bang approach. For users, the storefront remained unchanged, but the underlying system architecture was completely modernised and migrated to the cloud.
Continuous support
After go-live, the platform will continue to be supported and continuously optimised by dotSource experts. This enables Messe Düsseldorf to use its cloud infrastructure reliably, efficiently and sustainably over the long term.
A New Cloud Foundation for the Digital Future
dotSource successfully completed the migration to SAP Commerce Cloud successfully, on schedule and within the planned budget. It marks an important milestone in Messe Düsseldorf’s digital development. The new cloud infrastructure has laid the foundation for future innovations. The long-standing partnership between Messe Düsseldorf and dotSource will continue beyond the completion of the project – with ongoing support and further joint initiatives to optimise the digital trade fair experience.
Take the Step into the Cloud and Benefit From
- A digital infrastructure with long-term support
- Seamless migration
- Greater flexibility and scalability compared with on-premises hosting
- Consultancy on equal terms – always technically sound and solution-oriented
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