WHITE PAPER

Moving from Magento Community Edition® to Magento Enterprise Edition®

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INTRODUCTION

Magento® is a feature-rich ecommerce platform offering merchants a flexible and hands-on approach

to their online storefronts. Founded in 2001, Magento uses open-source technology to help online

retailers achieve their business goals at a fraction of the cost of proprietary solutions by allowing a

free download of the base platform. The Magento platform is offered in three different versions:

Magento Community Edition®, Magento Enterprise Edition®, and Magento Go®. This whitepaper will

address Magento Community Edition and Magento Enterprise Edition. Each version comes with a

unique set of features and benefits designed for everyone from small businesses taking their first

steps into the ecommerce world, to large multinational enterprises with multiple branded websites

and extensive custom functionality.

This white paper will serve as a business guide for migrating from Magento Community Edition to

Magento Enterprise Edition – a move that is popular among a growing number of online merchants.

For a detailed overview of Magento versions and features, please visit www.magento.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. When is the Right Time to Move to Magento Enterprise Edition?

2. Valuable Features Exclusive to Magento Enterprise Edition

3. Technical & Financial Considerations

4. Conclusion

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When is the Right Time to Move to Magento

Enterprise Edition?

Magento Community Edition offers an excellent platform for businesses to get their ecommerce

storefront up and running – no matter how small your online operations may be. The software enables

tech-savvy retailers to explore the features and functionality of the Magento platform while keeping

licensing fees to a minimum. However, Magento Enterprise Edition offers the ability to dramatically

increase online revenues with a robust package of out-of-the-box features and functionality that can

take online sales to the next level. But, you might be asking, how do I know when I should upgrade?

The answer to this question requires an in-depth look at the

state of your ecommerce environment and a clear picture

of how you want your webstore to grow. There is no

determined “level” to reach that indicates the ideal time

to upgrade, but rather a process of determining the

features and functionality you wish to see on your

webstore and making the necessary upgrades to

achieve those goals – when it is right for your business.

Capacity

Generally, Magento Enterprise Edition offers a much greater

capacity for handling large amounts of online traffic, order submissions and product

catalogs. Mid-to-large sized businesses will operate very slowly on Community Edition if they are

experiencing more than a few website visitors at a time, unless a performance module is implemented.

Magento Enterprise Edition retains very fast page-load times even when experiencing upwards of

thousands of visitors at once thanks to full-page caching.

It is important to remember that launching or re-launching your site during a high-traffic period, such

as the holiday shopping season, is generally a bad idea. Pick a low-traffic period that will allow you to

observe how the site responds to traffic, allowing you to make any adjustments or upgrades with

minimal disturbance to your customers.

Security

The main security feature available with Magento Enterprise Edition that is not offered in Magento

Community Edition is the Magento Secure Payment Bridge®. This key feature means Magento

Enterprise Edition is a PCI PA-DSS (Payment Application Data Security Standard) compliant platform,

saving you the costs associated with achieving PCI compliance on your own1. Your customers can trust

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that their personal information is strongly encrypted and stored securely and in accordance with

international security regulations. Some of the other benefits of Magento Secure Payment Bridge

include:

Process partial refunds on orders that were placed using PayPal Payflow Pro®

Potentially fraudulent transactions are automatically flagged

Fraud management features for Authorize.net are accessible from the Magento administrator

Scalability

If your webstore is not equipped to handle large volumes of activity, a surge in traffic is certain to

reduce website performance. Not only does Magento Enterprise Edition enable your webstore with the

proper technology to process each customer more quickly, it knows when additional resources are

needed to maintain performance. Magento offers additional production servers to all customers so your

webstore can scale easily and without purchasing expensive additional on-site hardware.

However, there are a number of different adjustments you can make without extensive customization

or purchasing additional server space, such as Magento caching, Expires Headers, and MySQL query

caching. These steps will make sure your webstore is serving and storing page data in the most efficient

locations so that when a customer makes a request, the information is presented as quickly as possible.

Valuable Features Exclusive to Magento Enterprise

Edition

Digital Marketing

The most powerful feature-set available through Magento Enterprise Edition is a comprehensive suite

of out-of-the-box digital marketing and personalization functionalities that convert happy customers

into loyal customers. Not available on Magento Community Edition, the following features are designed

to give businesses the power to attract, convert and retain online customers:

Search Engine Optimization – Magento Enterprise Edition comes loaded with easy-to-use SEO

features that make your products easier to find online – without having to invest in an SEO

specialist. With Magento Enterprise Edition, you can generate SEO-friendly URLs, create

customized meta keywords and descriptions, and implement a Google site map.

Customer Segmentation – No more mass email blasts to try and reach your customers.

Magento Enterprise Edition enables you to segment customers by order history, shopping cart

activity, number of visits, and a number of different demographic attributes.

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Custom Promotions – Customers are more likely to make a purchase if their experience is

personalized. Magento Enterprise Edition comes loaded with functionality to enable you to match

personalized content, promotions and pricing with any selected customer segment, and make

product recommendations to increase order sizes.

Leverage Social Chatter – Tap into the power of social media and product reviews, and

develop brand evangelists by rewarding likes, reviews, shares and tweets. Your brand won’t go

viral without tapping your customer base – with Magento Enterprise Edition you can leverage

your most vocal customers to create buzz.

Content Management and Multi-site Capabilities

Unlike Magento Community Edition, Magento Enterprise Edition offers a built-in Content Management

System that facilitates the creation of new content and rich-media pages. It is also possible with

Magento Enterprise Edition to build separate sites for each of your brands or for the international

countries you sell in, and manage those sites from a single admin interface.

Another great resource for designing your Magento webstore is the vast global network of certified

partners and developers. If you aren’t getting the look and feel or functionality that you desire, you can

connect with a proven Magento expert to take your site to the next level.

Mobile Commerce

Building and maintaining a mobile webstore in Magento Enterprise Edition is straightforward. You design

and brand the site, and select the extensions and applications you want. Magento’s mobile HTML5

interface supports multiple devices and browsers so your customers are receiving a consistent online

shopping experience from any device. Your mobile store can easily integrate with your product catalog,

checkout, inventory, reporting and other systems to create a seamless flow of data. Back-end

integrations should be performed by one of Magento’s experienced development and solution partners.

If you decide to create a mobile application, Magento will handle the submission and support with

Android and Apple stores, allowing you to focus on creating the content and marketing campaigns to

drive traffic. Updates and device-specific features can be easily added, even after the customer has

downloaded the app.

Apps and Extensions

Expanding the functionality of your ecommerce platform with pre-built extensions is one of the most

affordable ways to get even more value from your ecommerce solution. Vast communities of developers

and solution architects have done the grunt work: designing, developing, integrating and testing these

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extensions. Having access to the fruits of their labor in the Magento Connect marketplace means you

can search for and download tools that extend the functionality and flexibility of your webstore, many

of them at no cost.

Are your customers demanding a store locator tool or simplified checkout process? Or maybe you need

to streamline operations by integrating your marketing automation software with Magento - you will

find what you are looking for in the Magento Connect marketplace. But beware, not all extensions are

created equal. It is wise to read reviews, email the developers and do your research. If you are still

hesitant, consult a Magento partner – there are plenty of firms out there with the technical experience

to guide your decision making.

Many Magento Community Edition extensions will also work with Magento Enterprise Edition. However,

it is best to use extensions purpose-built for Magento Enterprise Edition which typically offer more

robust functionality and support services. If a Magento Community Edition extension can’t handle your

website traffic or meet your functionality needs, you are likely at a point where evaluating a move to

Magento Enterprise Edition is necessary.

Technical & Financial Considerations to Read

Before You Upgrade

If Magento Enterprise Edition is starting to make sense for your business, there are still certain things

to keep in mind as you consider migrating – budget considerations, support services, selecting a

partner, data migration, etc. Each step of the migration process requires extensive planning, thorough

testing, and an experienced Magento partner to lead the project.

Pricing

Magento Community Edition is a free, open-source solution. This is a great benefit for a business that

might not have the capital to purchase a commercially licensed out-of-the-box solution, but do possess

the technical resources to build and manage their site in-house. However, you should take into

consideration the total cost to launch a site using Magento Community Edition, including hosting,

extensions, customizations, integration with 3rd party applications and so on.. While you are saving the

cost of the commercial license fee with Magento Community Edition, you should take the time to

estimate and budget for an ecommerce solution that meets your business needs now and in the future.

With Magento Enterprise edition you are getting all of the flexibility of Magento Community Edition’s

open-source foundation plus the exclusive out-of-the-box features, stability, performance, and

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scalability outlined above—a true enterprise-class solution for a much more affordable total cost of

ownership than other, dramatically more expensive proprietary solutions.

Support

A Magento Enterprise Edition license includes technical support services from Magento. Covering

everything from initial configuration of your webstore and troubleshooting the download and

installation of the software to bug fixes, case resolution and escalation, Magento’s support team serves

as an extension of your own IT department. If your business is looking to reduce the burden on your

in-house IT staff, lower costs, or simply leverage a team of certified support specialists, upgrading to

Magento Enterprise Edition makes this possible.

In addition to technical support services, Magento also offers a vast knowledge base of literature, best-

practices, success stories, educational materials, and a formal training and certification program to help

customers and partners understand the Magento environment and become experts themselves.

Timing

Migrating from Magento Community Edition to Magento Enterprise Edition can take as little as 6-8

weeks – this includes time allotted for analysis, implementation, QA and deployment. If the client is not

up to date on the Magento Community Edition upgrades, has modified core files, or has a highly

customized and complex design, this will extend the timeline for the migration. It is wise to avoid

undertaking a migration at or immediately before your site’s busy season, as this can place additional

stress on hitting deadlines. It is best to start these projects during the slow season when traffic is down

and potential bugs don’t have the potential to affect large numbers of customers, such as during Cyber

Monday or throughout the holiday shopping season.

Selecting a Partner

Focusing on expanding your business, developing core competencies and improving your marketing

and promotional activities are vital to growing your business at any level. But if you are investing large

amounts of time and resources in maintaining your ecommerce and back-office environment, it is easy

to lose sight of your core business. Using a Magento Solution Partner to act as or extend your own IT

staff enables you to focus on the important aspects of running an online business.

To ensure you are selecting an experienced partner, it is important to ask the right questions as you

assess your options. Do they have the case studies and customer referrals to back-up what they are

saying? This is a key indicator of technical ability. Was their proposal accurate and detailed? Don’t

assume that the lowest bidder will give the best deal. This can indicate a lack of knowledge on the

reality of managing a project such as this, so ensure that all of the items are addressed and the timeline

is realistic.

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A qualified, experienced Magento Solution Partner can offer you expert knowledge, scalable resources

and more predictable costs and timelines—and can help ensure your project is a success.

Conclusion

The benefits are clear: Magento Enterprise Edition offers online merchants a robust package of out-of-

the-box features that would take significant time and investment to build using Magento Community

Edition. Performing the migration involves extensive planning and technical expertise, and clearly

defining your expectations and setting achievable milestones is key to reaching your goals. Selecting a

Magento Solution Partner that aligns with your company goals and culture and that understands exactly

what you envision achieving through the upgrade can help you avoid communication issues, costly

oversights and missed deadlines. Magento Enterprise Edition is a great choice for enhancing the digital

experience of your brand, driving customer engagement and optimizing your ecommerce operations

for the fast-growing mobile commerce segment and – in combination with a qualified Magento Solution

Partner – can get you well on your way to ecommerce success and growth.

Referenced Sources:

1http://www.magentocommerce.com/blog/magento-secure-payment-bridge-for-magento-enterprise-

edition-113-available/