Southwest: A CMS/DXP Upgrade Story

You know on your iPhone when it starts acting wonky and you finally notice the notification symbol on your settings app? That notification is a clear indicator that it is time to download the latest iOS ... it's time for an upgrade. Every minute that you wait, you start to notice a slow down of the system: apps crashing more, your phone might freeze more often. Your phone isn't what it used to be because once that notification comes on its a clear indication that the software running your phone is outdated and running outdated tech has repercussions which we saw first hand this holiday season.

Watching all of the Southwest travel drama unfold over the last few days and learning that the cause of this mess was due to outdated technology, I couldn't help but draw parallels to what I have seen with companies and their MarTech investments - specifically their CMS's and DXPs.

In a recent article I read it stated, "Southwest COO Andrew Watterson admitted its current systems are “overmatched” by the latest winter storm, but said technological improvements could have prevented employees and crew members from being grounded and saved customers from being stuck over the Christmas holiday travel rush ... We’ve talked an awful lot about modernizing the operation, and the need to do that"

Southwest left tens of thousands of people stranded, frustrated and frankly pissed off all because they didn't pay enough attention to their technologies and didn't prioritize making sure their systems were modernized or future-proofed.

I have seen this before. Having worked with a number of clients implementing, maintaining and maximizing their MarTech investments, it is a tale as old as time. Tech and software upgrades are not easy. They aren't fun. Teams will constantly move these necessary upgrades to the backlog for a number of reasons, with the number one reason often being that upgrades are expensive.

Know what else is expensive? Southwest having to deal with all these cancellations, reimbursing flyers, tarnishing their reputation and frankly, angering employees and losing previously loyal customers. If this Southwest fiasco has taught us all anything, it is that there is no time to waste when it comes to keeping your tech up to date and it is worth the cost.

The time to modernize is now.

Most organizations are expanding their use of cloud-native SaaS solutions at an accelerated pace to avoid issues just like what Southwest faced: they are moving to the cloud to maintain their competitive edge, accelerate innovation and transform interactions with customers, employees and partners. According to the?IDC , spending on cloud IT infrastructure increased by 47.8% in 2020, exceeding non-cloud IT infrastructure spending for the first time. Further reinforcing that point, Harvard Business Review research notes that 83% of business leaders say that cloud is very or extremely important to their organizations’ future strategy and growth.

When it comes to a CMS or DXP, not all organizations can make the move to the cloud, but those that can are able to look at this Southwest situation and proudly say "that won't happen to us." If you are currently evaluating your MarTech stack and considering making investments in cloud technology, my advice is to do it! Make the move to the cloud, and do it soon.

With SaaS solutions like Sitecore XM Cloud or other cloud-native applications, updates are available with the click of a button (just like your iOS updates) and are less time consuming and laborious than your standard on-prem version upgrades which can oftentimes take months. Investing in cloud today means that you are making an investment in a more future-ready, flexible and scalable solution.

That being said, if your organization is in a spot where you need to keep an on-premise or managed cloud hosted solution, let this Southwest debacle be a lesson: stop delaying your upgrades, and constantly evaluate the state of your MarTech to support your business needs. Having been in the Sitecore ecosystem for a while - both on the partner side and in-house - I know the shocking number of clients who are on outdated, completely unsupported versions of the technology and honestly, it makes me sweat a little.

Please, for the sake of your business and customer experience, upgrade as soon as possible and make the move to the cloud when you can.

Let this be a lesson for all of us - change may be hard, but it is necessary for all businesses today because we have now seen first hand what happens when tech gets stale and isn't prioritized by a business.