Migrating from AEM 6.x to AEM as a Cloud Service: What Developers Should Expect

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Migrating from AEM 6.x to AEM as a Cloud Service: What to Expect ?

Introduction

If you're currently managing an AEM 6.x project, chances are you’ve heard about AEM as a Cloud Service (AEMaaCS). Adobe is clearly shifting toward this cloud-native model for low/medium complex customers and while there are definite benefits, developers should be prepared for a few surprises too.

I recently worked on a migration project and wanted to share what developers should expect , from code refactoring and CI/CD changes to losing root access and dealing with strict dispatcher rules.

 

 

Whats is Great about AEMaaCS 

1. Automatic Upgrades

Say goodbye to manual patching. AEMaaCS updates automatically.  Adobe handles the platform updates, with no need to plan downtime or test service packs.

2. CI/CD with Cloud Manager

Deployments go through Adobe Cloud Manager, which checks for code quality, security, and performance before pushing to prod ( same as AMS ) . It's stricter than your usual Jenkins pipeline, but safer in the long run.

3. Scales Without You Touching It

Auto-scaling is baked in. Publish nodes scale up or down based on traffic. No more logging in to restart instances during peak load.

4. Built-in Monitoring and Security

Log forwarding, Adobe’s hardened infra, and default security practices all come standard. DevOps work is lighter, and your SecOps team will thank you. It is all standard practice same being followed in Adobe Manged Services end. 

 

What They Don’t Always Mention

1. You Can’t Just Copy-Paste Your 6.x Project

AEMaaCS requires modernization:

  • Static templates - must be Editable Templates

  • Classic UI - not supported (switch to Touch UI)

  • Hardcoded configs - need to be externalized

  • Oak Indexes - severely limited in cloud

Expect to rewrite or refactor major parts of your codebase.


2. Cloud Manager Is Rigid

It's great for enforcing best practices — but you can't fully customize your pipeline stages. If you’re used to custom Jenkins workflows, prepare to adjust.

 

3. Dispatcher Configs Are Different

Adobe enforces a strict structure for dispatcher rules and caching. Your old AMS-style configs likely won’t work without cleanup. All dispatcher rules are packaged and deployed through the pipeline — not edited on the fly.

No Server Access

There’s no SSH, no Felix console login, no direct CRX/DE updates. You debug through logs and cloud tools. It’s secure, but debugging is slower, and much painful find any issue and its fixing.  

 

5. Performance Optimization Is Mostly Adobe’s Job

If you're used to tweaking JVM flags or heap sizes, you can’t. Adobe manages performance at the infrastructure layer. This hands-off approach has pros and cons.

 

6. Delay in debugging & Fixing issue, No customization

You can not do customization on platform as per the need as everything is blocked.  Like crons, schedules jobs, scheduled workflow etc.. is not possible at server level. Every thing needs to be handled from code. 

If in case of any issue one can not hope for a super quick fix , as developer do not have access to admin tools or server, it takes time to debug and even put a fix. 

 

7. Working via Ticket pool 

AEMaaCS comes with standard ticketing pool mechanism for any support from Adobe end. It does not have any SPOC like AMS to help and troubleshoot problems for you.  If you encounter issues or need assistance, you'll need to raise a ticket through Adobe’s support portal, and responses are managed by a broader support pool , not a dedicated engineer familiar with your environment. Having said that Adobe have recently launched a dedicated spoc model but it comes with a additional good cost. 


Developer Tools to Use

Make sure you use these tools early:

  • Best Practices Analyzer (BPA) - scan your current project for cloud compatibility

  • Cloud Readiness Analyzer - checks code and project structure

  • Content Transfer Tool (CTT) - helps migrate content/assets safely

  • AEM SDK - for local development and testing


What You’ll Need to Rework

During migration, expect to touch the following:

  • Static templates - must become Editable Templates

  • Classic UI - needs to be Touch UI

  • Dispatcher configs - must follow Adobe’s cloud repo structure

  • Custom indexing - extremely limited in the cloud

  • OSGi configs - externalized and environment-based now

  • Local dev - done via AEM SDK, not your old local setup

 

And yes, you’ll likely need to refactor parts of your codebase to align with Adobe’s cloud guidelines.


Content Migration Isn’t Magic

Adobe’s Content Transfer Tool is solid, but you’ll still need:

  • A content freeze window

  • A full round of validation testing

  • Clean asset metadata and user permissions

Don’t expect a perfect migration on the first try.

Final Advice for Devs

  • Start with a small site or subdomain.

  • Refactor early, especially your templates and dialogs.

  • Set up Cloud Manager pipelines as early as possible.

  • Involve DevOps from day one - AEMaaCS is pipeline-first.

  • Document everything. You’ll thank yourself later.

So, Is It Worth It?

If your team is aiming for a modern, scalable digital experience platform — yes. AEMaaCS gets you out of the infrastructure business and lets you focus on building experiences. But be ready for the upfront effort. The migration is a few months project, not a weekend job.

The key is planning. Start small with a pilot or low-risk site, get used to the tooling, and build out from there. Once you're running in AEMaaCS, the day-to-day maintenance is

Conclusion

AEM as a Cloud Service is a big step forward in how Adobe handles experience management, but it also demands modern development practices and clean architecture. It's a blackbox for dev team, more scalable, and container based.

It’s not just a technical migration ,  it’s a mindset shift.


 


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