For customers on version 4.x Persuasion (version 5.0) is just one simple step away. The upgrade of existing 4.x projects is fully automated and only needs manual work if new functions in Persuasion are to be implemented. Version 4.x and Persuasion can co-exist; you will be able to manage 4.x projects from Control Center together with Persuasion projects. After the upgrade a test period follows and StreamServe's well documented methodology will make sure that this has minimal impact on the production.

Customers on earlier versions will touch down on version 4. We offer support and migration tools to make the upgrade as smooth and efficient as possible.

Following the new architecture in Persuasion there are some areas to take into consideration:

• Unlike earlier versions Persuasion uses an external standard database – at the moment MS SQL Server and Oracle. Consequently, you can now utilize your existing database and database administration resources for Persuasion. The product is being shipped with MS SQL Server Express, which can be used for development only, not for production purposes. Thus, before upgrading you should decide upon which database to use – MS SQL Server or Oracle – and make sure that you have the necessary resources and skills to use that database. If you require clustered solutions you have the possibility to cluster the database.
• Check your infrastructure and plan for the new conditions, for example by defining different hardware for different tasks
• You will need a web server to use StreamStudio. As default the application is set up with Apache. We also support MS IIS and IBM Websphere. If you plan to use one of those web servers you should, as for the database, make sure that you have the necessary resources and skills for the chosen web server. As for user management in StreamStudio there must be a user directory, in most cases that would be MS Active Directory
• Since all customers have different needs and use StreamServe in different ways you should of course discuss and plan your upgrade together with your StreamServe contact person; one part of the planning is to check which products remain in Persuasion, which have been changed and which are completely new.

Training

You should plan for the following training:

• ”System Administration” for your systems administrator. Register here.
• ”Persuasion Migration & New features” for your developers. Register here.

The courses reflect the new role based use of StreamServe, where system administration and development can be performed by different people/functions.

For those that are not already v4 developers the courses ”StreamServe Persuasion Fundamentals” and ”Mastering StreamServe Persuasion” are required. Register here.

Some of the news, and what to consider:

• If you would like to use the possibility to work with separate environments for development, test and production you should define how to implement this in your organization. The configurations for each environment are saved in a configuration database and can easily be moved between different environments. Each environment has its own database which allows you to keep test data and production data separated.
• Persuasion has full support for CVS version control which minimizes the risk for errors and makes it easier for several developers to work on the same project. To use this new functionality you need to have a CVS installation and some resources and skills for this application.

Why upgrade?

Some of the benefits for your business: 

• Easy-to-use web-based application interfaces for people responsible for delivering customer communications
• Better customer relationships through campaigns triggered by customer behaviour and with the right timing
• Customer service calls become sales calls via immediate access to all relevant customer documents plus marketing guidance for cross and up-sell
• Simple, Web-based, protected access allows customers to self-manage many account-related activities - transitioning to electronic presentment, viewing history, recovering misplaced documents, etc.

Some of the benefits for the IT department:

• Standard databases make database administration more cost effective since it can be coordinated with that of other IT-systems in the company
• Thoroughly updated, modern architecture, including Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) integration, simplifies management and support at the same time it enables expanded service and higher capabilities
• Painless, easy upgrade path involves virtually no disruption of your existing business; robust migration tools reduce staff time commitments and operational costs
• Portlet support (JSR-168) enables seamless integration into enterprise frameworks, including SAP Netweaver, IBM Websphere, and Apache
• Integrated version management (CVS compatibility right out of the box) lowers development risk by enabling simple rollback to previous versions
• Separate development, testing, production, and deployment in connected, but independent, environments enables simultaneous operations
  

Here you can find more information about upgrading from version 3.x and version 4.x respectively.