Embracing the latest versions of technology is part of a strategy to accelerate project success. By adopting innovation, organizations gain a competitive advantage and unlock unparalleled opportunities.
The latest version, Camunda Platform 8, which will completely replace Camunda Platform 7 in the future, has increased productivity and efficiency of its solution through more open architecture. Migration to it allows accelerating your company’s existing process automation initiatives.
Join us on this journey to discover how you can gain a competitive advantage by unlocking the unparalleled capabilities of the latest version of Camunda technology.
Why was Camunda Platform 8 created?
Camunda Platform 8, although released about a year ago (April 2022), was developed for nearly a decade as a response to CTO Daniel Meyer’s vision for a workflow engine. This advanced engine utilizes event streaming instead of relational databases (as it is in Camunda 7). Meaning, it enables asynchronous processing and real-time handling of events. Thanks to this customers can effortlessly create highly scalable and adaptable automation projects, thus empowering their businesses with high-performance, distributed systems.
While this was the seed that planted the vision for the new version, it is not the only difference that Camunda Platform 8 has to offer, and I will show many reasons why companies should think about migrating to the new release now.
Acceleration of existing automation processes with Camunda Platform 8
Below, we will go through some cool key features that Camunda Platform 8 provides, and you will be able to see real-life examples of how Camunda Platform 8 supports automation processes.
Unique values Camunda Platform 8 gives to organizations
Camunda Platform 8 combines the positive features of the previous solution and includes innovative twists that can help develop and accelerate new and existing process automation projects. These include new architecture, openness to the cloud, as well as greater flexibility and more efficient scalability. But let’s walk through it step by step.
Camunda Platform 8’s cloud compatibility
At the core of Camunda’s cloud compatibility is Zebee’s innovative engine. The solution, as I’ve already mentioned, was based on event streaming, designed for maximum throughput.
Zebee emphasizes automation processes by delivering remarkable enhancements in speed, scalability, security, and resilience. It provides scalability both horizontally and vertically, which empowers organizations to effortlessly manage any workload. Camunda Platform 8 with its native cloud workflow engine ensures limitless transaction processing capabilities with consistently low latency and exceptional throughput.
Camunda Platform 8’s new approach also separates business logic from process automation by introducing job workers and Connectors. As a result, business transactions are now handled by separate microservices. This provides better load distribution and leverages the scalability of the platform—one of the advantages of cloud computing.
Low-code vs. developer-friendliness
Camunda is well known among its customers as a solution that builds bridges rather than gaps. Built with developer-friendliness in mind, Camunda has added some low-code features that allow its users to create faster, automated processes with greater ease. How is that achieved?
An example is Web Modeler, which provides deep collaboration between two worlds: business and IT. It provides a visual interface that allows users to design and model business processes using BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation), DMN (Decision Model and Notation). This visual approach reduces the need for extensive coding and programming skills, enabling users to create and modify process models efficiently.
Camunda Platform 8 has taken the synergy between low-code and developer-friendliness to the next stage, by introducing two versions: SaaS and self-managed. It provides developer-friendly automation technology that is simultaneously enterprise-ready. The SaaS offering is far easier to install, as it is a pre-made solution.
Using the event log, exporters, Connectors and workers, you can customize the behavior of the engine to suit your needs and enable development teams to grow in the new architecture. Camunda Community created an interesting project for that purpose – the Cherry Runtime. It is a framework to administer workers and connectors to monitor execution.
Openness with a low-code twist
Camunda Platform 8 opens up a world of limitless connectivity through its innovative architecture. By harnessing the power of the Connectors SDK, customers can effortlessly create secure and intuitive connectors that span across a vast array of technologies. From RPA, CRM, and ERP systems to BI, AI, IoT, APIs, and communication platforms, the possibilities are boundless. The best part? These Connectors can be centrally maintained, allowing others to reuse them consistently and reliably, multiplying their utility across various applications and accelerating progress.
You get the freedom with this unparalleled flexibility, so you can shape automation solutions to perfectly fit your unique business requirements, no matter how intricate or complex they may be. In a world where customization is key, Camunda Platform 8 emerges as the ultimate enabler, revolutionizing the way we connect and automate.
How can Camunda Platform 8 standards help accelerate existing process automation projects?
If your company needs to enhance its automation projects, the best choice is to go with Camunda Platform 8, as it is particularly well suited for developers that utilize modern microservice-based software architectures, work in cloud-native environments, and create high-volume transaction applications.
Migrating to Camunda Platform 8 doesn’t just have to be about switching from Camunda 7. If you’re using other process orchestration engines, but feel they’re not enough, then switching to Camunda can help you improve process automation throughout your organization.
This is what happened with our client.
Previously, the company had benefited from several process engines embedded in the business application, but these systems were no longer sufficient. In addition, many new microservices required orchestration. The client decided to move to a more distributed, cloud native architecture provided by Camunda. What’s more, Camunda Platform 8’s strong scalability capabilities, coupled with the always-on extensibility (thanks to the Connector ecosystem) were key to the customer’s decision to migrate.
To Migrate or Not to Migrate?
The decision to migrate to a new version of technology depends on several factors, and each situation is unique. However, here are some common scenarios that may help companies determine when to migrate or when to wait. You can read two articles that may help you make a decision. In this one, you can find a section on “when to migrate”. And this article also touches on the cases in which it may be too early for migration to Camunda Platform 8.
Migration possibilities from Camunda 7 to 8
Remember that to speed up existing process automation projects, you don’t have to immediately move the entire architecture to Camunda Platform 8.
Again, Camunda’s community creates a project that is built for the needs of the community. The adapter library allows you to convert schemas, highlight differences and give you an overlay on old code to re-use Java Delegates or expressions from Camunda Platform 7 when running Camunda Platform 8.
However, if you want to migrate process solutions developed for Camunda Platform 7 to run them on Camunda Platform 8, read more about migration steps.
Summary
Camunda Platform 8 has been made available both as a service and for self-management, making the solution more accessible. Its technical capacity to handle larger workloads, which is supported by the horizontal scalability of the Zebee engine, is exceptional. This enables an organization to deploy, maintain and support a growing number of automation solutions with little effort.
To get started, check out the migration guide, or dive in and start exploring a free trial of Camunda Platform 8 today.
About Author
Adam Liberadzki is the founder and CEO of Devapo. The company is a gold certified Camunda partner and brings a passion for using cutting-edge technology to optimize business operations to its clients. Devapo’s partnership demonstrates exceptional proficiency in implementing Camunda’s robust solutions to automate workflows and decisions. With a team of highly skilled and certified developers, including a Camunda Champion, our partner excels at seamlessly integrating Camunda into process automation projects.
