How to Upgrade Pega in 9 Steps

Mateusz Trebus

02.05.2024

Regular upgrades of Pega software are important to take advantage of the many benefits and improvements. Each new release brings exciting new features, enhancements, and innovations. Upgrading gives you access to these new features, which can help you streamline business processes, improve the user experience, and keep pace with the latest technology trends.

New Pega releases often include critical security patches and updates to address potential vulnerabilities and ensure system security. By upgrading, organizations minimize the risk of security breaches and ensure they meet current compliance requirements. Potential performance issues are addressed and system reliability is increased. As a result, organizations can ensure smooth and uninterrupted operations.

A new release may also offer improved compatibility with other systems, platforms, or tools. This allows for seamless integration and data exchange with other critical systems in your IT infrastructure.

With each new version of Pega, the company typically discontinues support and maintenance for older versions. Keeping your Pega software current ensures that you receive the technical support and ongoing maintenance necessary to ensure system performance and availability.

In general, Pega recommends regular product updates to take advantage of the latest features, security updates, and performance enhancements. Pega Systems regularly releases new versions and updates based on customer requirements and needs. It is recommended that you follow Pega's upgrade cycles and consult the upgrade documentation to determine the best time to upgrade.

9 Steps

Upgrading to the latest version of the Pega Platform requires a number of steps. Here is an overview of the typical upgrade process:

1. Check the upgrade documentation

First, carefully review the Pega Systems upgrade documentation. This documentation will provide you with an overview of the specific steps and requirements for upgrading to the desired version.

2. Run a Pre-Check

Before you begin the upgrade process, perform a pre-release audit of your existing Pega implementation. This review will help identify potential issues or customization conflicts that may arise during the upgrade process.

3. Prepare the Upgrade Environment

Create a separate environment for the upgrade. This will ensure that the production environment remains unaffected during the upgrade process. Install the new version of the Pega Platform into the upgrade environment.

4. Analyze and update customizations

Review customizations made to the existing Pega implementation, including custom rules, user interfaces, or integrations. Identify and modify customizations that are incompatible with the new version. This step ensures that customizations will work properly after the upgrade.

5. Test the upgrade process

Create a comprehensive testing plan to validate the upgrade process. Thoroughly test core functionality, customizations, and integrations in the upgraded environment. Identify and resolve any issues or inconsistencies.

6. Upgrade the Pega platform

Once all preparations and testing are complete, begin the actual upgrade process. Follow the steps in the upgrade documentation, which may include running specific upgrade scripts or utilities from Pega Systems. Carefully monitor the upgrade process and troubleshoot any issues that arise.

7. Validate the upgraded environment

After the upgrade is complete, perform extensive testing to ensure that all features and customizations work as expected in the upgraded environment. These tests should cover standard features as well as specific frameworks or applications in use.

8. Upgrading Applications with Frameworks

If your Pega implementation includes frameworks such as Sales Automation and Customer Service, additional steps are required to upgrade the corresponding applications. This typically involves importing the new version of the framework, migrating customizations, and validating functional aspects specific to these frameworks.

9. Deploy the Updated Environment

In this final step, the new version of the Pega Platform goes live in the production environment. All updates from the test environment are applied and system monitoring is enabled.

To ensure a smooth process, organizations should use the tools available to migrate and update Pega. These include upgrade tools, validation tools, rule conflict reporting, and compliance tools in App Studio. If you are considering migrating your application to the cloud, you should also consider the tools and resources available from Pega to assist you.

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Conclusion

Successfully modernizing the Pega platform requires careful planning, identification of critical steps, and application of best practices. This is critical to ensuring competitiveness and efficiency in an ever-changing business environment.

Regular updates not only introduce new features and enhancements, but also close security gaps, making the platform more resilient to threats. Updates also enable adaptation to changing business needs and ensure smooth integration with new technologies. This helps keep the Pega platform's performance, scalability, and usability up to date, resulting in optimized operational efficiency and an overall positive user experience.

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