CMS Cloud Migration FAQ

It’s pretty exciting for us, actually. ICG Link has been around for over twenty years and, during that time, we’ve done a LOT of things: custom programmed a bunch of sites and apps; built our own web hosting and email service; launched our own content management system for businesses (Build111) and churches (Church111); created a video production studio; and we acquired and expanded a digital marketing agency. Since 2017, our new owners have had a vision for taking our offerings to a new level of quality, performance and security. You may have noticed how we enhanced customer service with a state-of-the-art ticketing system or how our billing system makes it easier to keep up with invoices and to manage online payments. Well, now it’s time to move all of our technology to AWS. That’s short for Amazon Web Services and it means we are abandoning our aging infrastructure for the most modern and secure cloud-based service on this planet. It means stable, scalable and secure servers for an enhanced customer experience!

 

Some of it has already been happening behind the scenes. We’ve been prepping and planning and the first big thing happens on August 14 at 8pm (CST). All of ourBuild111 and Church111 websites will be moved that evening. Websites will still be viewable but you can’t edit or update your site during the actual migration. We will be sure to announce when the move is completed so that you can resume normal site editing in the same way as you have all along. If you notice any problems, be sure to send us a message at support@oneelevendigital.com (that goes to our fancy ticketing system).     

We will be evaluating and assessing everything as we go but we can always use the input from our customers for additional troubleshooting.

 

Moving the Church111/Build111 customers is just the first part. If you have your email service through ICG Link, you will be pleased to know that we aren’t just moving that. We’re launching an entirely new, vastly improved, and much more reliable email service. That will be complex and tedious and will depend on YOU to change settings in order to avoid a disruption in service...AND we have to do it one customer at a time. So, you need to be on the lookout for a call or email from support@oneelevendigital.com so we can plan your email move. Believe us when we tell you that you absolutely want to do this as soon as the opportunity arises. The improvement will be quite noticeable for everyone. After we have moved the last customer, you can bet that an appropriate viking funeral will be observed for the sending off of our retired email servers. But there’s more...

 

Oh yes, much more. If you do not use us for DNS management (don’t worry if you don’t know... we DO know but we need your cooperation if we don’t manage your DNS), you or your IT person will really need to be on your toes for this. The disruption of your site and email is at risk. We will not do anything until you’re ready but please make sure to respond to us when we reach out so that everything can work out smoothly.

 

Probably. We have 20 years of stuff that we need to move. If you’re one of those long-time customers who had someone at ICG Link custom build something just for your website, chances are already pretty good that you’re on our radar because that “custom-built whatever-it-is” may not work anymore, especially if it is over five years old. We need to talk about it- Are you still using it? Is it mission critical? Can it be upgraded or replaced? Does it need to interact with another part of your site....or another site? Is there a database involved? Websites are like cars or any other kind of equipment. They can break, become obsolete, stop working the same way they did, become less safe, look different on a different browser or portable device...and that’s just on any given day. But when they are moved to a different environment, then the risk of something breaking is exponentially higher. We’ll need to assess what can be done (or not), what should be done (or not) and figure out a plan with your best interest in mind.

 

Nope. That’s not a good idea for anyone. If your site is unstable in the new environment, it’s time to do something about it and the old system is going to be taken down. Yes, this is potentially going to require an investment of some kind but, remember the analogy- your site is like a car or any other asset (a computer; a printer; a refrigerator; a lawn mower, for example). They can only work so well for so long until they need to be replaced, no matter how well they are cared for. If you have trusted us to be your web/app service provider for this long, we hope that you will continue to trust us to do the best we can and take care of you for a long time to come. We will do our best to make recommendations, offer various options, formulate a plan, and work with you. We won’t propose anything that will sacrifice the values that guide our business.

 

Still have questions? Send us an email at support@oneelevendigital.com