Continuous Upgrading

To date, we have used the established standard procedure for TYPO3 version upgrades: the client receives the latest version (LTD) of a specific TYPO3 installation as part of a TYPO3 upgrade project. Depending on the timing of the project, this is then run with regular support for up to three years, and is then supported and maintained for a fee through an Extended Long Term Support Plan (ELTS) for up to three more years.

However, the use of ELTS is not a long-term solution and is only intended to create room in the short term to plan the ultimately unavoidable upgrade. An ELTS licence for the system only maintains the status quo of the installation in terms of security and compatibility. It does not provide advanced developments.

Upgrade projects of this kind are always costly on both sides (client and Marketing Factory) – from a financial point of view, but also in terms of the resources deployed. This inspired us to launch our Continuous Upgrading concept.

Continuous Upgrading describes the practice of regularly and continuously upgrading a website with each minor release and thus always keeping the website at the latest state of the art, instead of only upgrading to the latest major LTS version every three years (using the example of TYPO3 CMS). Doing so sidesteps major, complex TYPO3 upgrades, as the website is always up-to-date and does not accumulate any technical liabilities. 

These continuous updates focus on the TYPO3 version itself, but also on all other components involved, such as extensions, libraries and frontend code. Last but not least, the concept also involves an improvement to server systems and infrastructure on which the TYPO3 installation is operated. The project is thus always fully up-to-date.

This approach minimises the individual upgrade steps, as the work is continuous rather than being carried out as separate projects. Changes in TYPO3 and its ecosystem that will need to be taken into account in a subsequent upgrade project are detected early, reducing the workload required later in the next upgrade. This provides for long-term planning, better allocation of costs and savings in expenditure in the medium to long term.