If you are one of the community managers using Jive-x as a platform for your online community, you probably have a lot of questions on your mind about the future of the platform your community is built on. On Oct 03, 2017, Lithium announced the full and final acquisition of Jive external. This has created a lot of anxiety among companies and community managers running their external communities on the Jive platform whether Jive-X, Jive 9 or older On-premises versions of Jive.
Lithium Technologies CEO Rob Tarkoff said the company plans to let the acquired customers continue using their Jive-x online community software or move to “something better in a relatively near-term period of time.” It is quite clear that though Lithium doesn’t have any plans to shut down the Jive-x platform, but has not provided any future updates to Jive. Sooner or later, Jive-x customers will have to define a future course of action to stay ahead of the curve. One of the options is to migrate your community to the Lithium platform.
Here in this blog, we will try and answer the questions that may be on the top of your mind. They are based on multiple discussions we have had with Jive-x customers looking at migrating to the Lithium Platform. In case you have more questions or need a free consultation you can request one here.
Q 1. Where can I find an accurate comparison of features and functionality between Jive-x and Lithium?
A 1. Both Jive-x and Lithium are popular and mature platforms and have a lot of features that you find in common between both platforms, like blogs, discussions, activity feed, groups, ideas, @mentions, mobile app, moderation tools, private messaging, gamification, to name a few.
There are features like promoted search, SEO-friendly links, personalization, and document collaboration and much more than you can find in Jive-x and are found missing in Lithium.
However, there are some interesting features awaiting you in Lithium. Some of them are a Knowledgebase, Klout for social web connections, rating & reviews etc.
Click here for the detailed feature comparison of both Jive-x and Lithium platform.
Q 2. I have custom and standard integrations that I have deployed in my Jive-x community. What will happen with all my integrations?
A 2. Jive-x offers a wide range of pre-integrated solutions like LMS, Bunchball, Sharepoint, Box, Marketo, etc. Whereas Lithium doesn’t offer such a wide variety of ready integrations, it is possible to build custom integrations for all your business/community needs. To enable all the integrations you may be using, you will be required to build the integrations either yourself or use a consulting partner to help. A partner with expertise in integrating solutions and ready to deploy connectors can drastically reduce the risk and time involved in launching your Lithium based community.
Q 3. There is a functionality that is missing in Lithium, but I really need it. How do I enable that?
A 3. It is true that one size doesn’t fit all. However, to deliver the right customer experience certain features are of prime use. In case you find your most used Jive-x features or functionality missing in Lithium, then you should ask your migration partner or your Lithium developer to customize your Lithium platform and develop the functionality that is important to you.
Q 4. What is the typical timeframe for Jive-x to Lithium migration?
A 4. The standard migration process provided by Lithium itself takes 3 months, but getting to know the precise estimation of the timeframe requires a thorough understanding of the Jive-x version in use, integrations in place, the extent of UI/UX changes, customizations, and other updates you may want to include in your migration plan. In order to drastically reduce the cycle time of migration, you will need an implementation partner that has sound knowledge of technology stack of both the platforms, best-in-class customizable UI templates, pre-built connectors for integrations, access to dev documentation, and credibility among the Lithium platform users.
Q 5. How do I plan my budget?
A 5. Budget planning would be critical to the success of your migration project. Make sure you understand the cost that you will incur for licensing. Get in touch with Lithium account executives for any information around the pricing, since it won’t be the same for all and will depend on your community size, scope, and requirements. The migration will need services and that is also something you need to carefully plan for. You must conduct an assessment of the migration effort including custom integrations, design, and development.
Bottom line – While you are weighing the pros and cons of migrating your Jive-x based community to the Lithium platform, it may be ideal to consult with service providers that offer consulting and implementation services for the same. Find a partner that has in-depth knowledge about Jive-x and Lithium, and is able to conduct an accurate assessment of the time and effort required and provide a fixed price quote for the migration, so you can make a sound decision.
