Summary
Sun International’s Adobe AEM to Umbraco migration was about more than replacing a CMS. It created a modern, scalable digital platform capable of supporting multiple websites, brands and future digital initiatives.
The Client
Sun International is one of South Africa’s leading hospitality, gaming and entertainment groups, operating hotels, resorts, casinos and leisure destinations across a portfolio of properties and brands. Its digital channels play an important role in connecting customers with destinations, accommodation, loyalty programmes and hospitality experiences.
As the organisation’s digital requirements evolved, it identified an opportunity to modernise its website platform and create a more flexible foundation for future growth.
The Opportunity
Sun International had already redesigned its website experience and needed an implementation partner with deep Umbraco expertise to bring that vision to life. A key objective was to deliver an Adobe AEM to Umbraco migration that would support the redesigned website and establish a more scalable digital foundation.
The challenge was not simply replacing one content management system with another.
The new platform needed to support a broad digital ecosystem spanning the corporate website, multiple brands and microsites, while providing a sustainable platform for content management, deployment and ongoing operations. It also needed to support future enhancements and integrate effectively with the wider digital environment.
At the same time, Sun International wanted a platform that would give its marketing team greater control over website content and day-to-day updates, reducing reliance on a development partner or internal IT team for routine changes.
The Approach
Bluegrass’ involvement began with a technical audit of the existing Umbraco implementation. Sun International had already selected Umbraco as its preferred CMS and had progressed initial implementation work, but needed an experienced partner to assess the platform, review the technical foundations and advise on the best path forward.
Following the audit, Bluegrass recommended a fresh implementation approach to give Sun International a cleaner, more stable foundation for the redesigned website and future digital ecosystem. From there, Bluegrass took over delivery, working closely with Sun International’s marketing team to refine the implementation approach, consolidate templates and components, define project scope and establish the technical foundations required for the new solution.
Building on Sun International’s decision to adopt Umbraco CMS, Bluegrass designed a scalable cloud architecture to support governance, performance and ongoing development. As the platform moved towards launch, the final hosting model was refined so that the CMS/backend could run on Umbraco Cloud, while the frontend Next.js application remained hosted on Azure as an Azure App Service web app.
Modern deployment practices were incorporated from the outset, including Azure DevOps workflows and CI/CD pipelines to support more controlled releases and future enhancements.
Bluegrass also designed the platform to support a wider ecosystem of websites and digital experiences. Shared templates and components enabled consistency across the main website and additional microsites while reducing duplication and simplifying future maintenance.
To reduce go-live risks, Bluegrass aligned migration, testing and rollback planning within a controlled production release.
The solution was also designed to fit within Sun International’s broader digital ecosystem, including loyalty and booking-related customer journeys that connect website experiences with customer-facing systems and services.
The Solution
Bluegrass delivered a modern Umbraco-based digital platform to replace Adobe AEM. The solution incorporated:
- Umbraco CMS as the core content management platform
- Umbraco Cloud hosting for the backend CMS, with the frontend Next.js application hosted on Azure App Service as a web app.
- CI/CD deployment pipelines to support controlled releases and operational efficiency.
- Support for the main corporate website and a broader ecosystem of microsites and property experiences using shared components and templates.
- Dedicated Umbraco Cloud environments, including development and staging environments to support testing and release management
- Integration planning supporting customer journeys that connect website experiences, loyalty services and booking platforms.
- Sun Vacation Club self-service functionality, enabling members to manage their accounts, update profile information and manage timeshare accommodation bookings online without needing to contact a call centre.
From a business perspective, the solution provided a modern content platform that could support ongoing digital growth, simplify platform management and establish a more structured operational model for future development and support
The Result
Bluegrass helped Sun International successfully move away from Adobe AEM and establish a modern Umbraco-based digital platform supported by cloud infrastructure and structured deployment processes.
The project established the technical foundations required for long-term platform scalability, ongoing content management and future digital innovation. Dedicated cloud environments, deployment automation, structured testing processes and migration planning helped create a more mature operating model for the platform.
The Umbraco implementation gave Sun International a more consistent and cost-effective foundation for managing a complex digital estate. Today, the platform supports nine sites, with Nedbank Golf Challenge set to become the tenth, as well as almost 2,000 content items and around 240 document types, including templates, components and content blocks. The move also gave marketing teams a more intuitive CMS and greater control over day-to-day content updates, while removing Adobe licensing and monthly platform fees from the operating model.
The Bluegrass difference
Bluegrass combined platform strategy, specialist Umbraco expertise and cloud delivery capabilities to guide Sun International from technical audit through implementation, migration and launch within a complex enterprise environment.
Rather than acting solely as a development partner, Bluegrass helped shape the platform approach, guide migration planning, establish deployment practices and implement a support model capable of sustaining the solution beyond launch.
The result was a platform that not only met the immediate requirements of the website redesign but also provided Sun International with a stronger foundation for future digital initiatives.
Key Results
- Replatformed Sun International from Adobe AEM to Umbraco CMS.
- Established a hybrid cloud hosting model, with Umbraco Cloud supporting the backend CMS and Azure App Service hosting the frontend Next.js application.
- Implemented CI/CD deployment pipelines and structured release processes.
- Created a scalable platform and component framework capable of supporting multiple websites and microsites.
Planning an Umbraco Migration?
An Umbraco migration involves more than moving content from one CMS to another. It requires the right platform strategy, architecture and migration plan to protect performance, search visibility and business continuity while creating a foundation for future growth.
