Magento 2.4.4 is a very important upgrade with a number of functional enhancements as well as fine tuning of the code base targeting overall performance. Based on testing we’ve completed so far we believe Adobe has achieved their goal of helping their e-commerce merchants to “Future Proof” their business with higher performance and better security. This is a large upgrade; there are some important structural changes to the code base, including new features that are delivered “through independent modular services rather than through core code updates”, so long term we believe there will be hours saved on maintenance and support tasks.
Innovations in this release that Adobe is highlighting include:
- Application speed including “now confidently handle complex catalogs up to 10 times larger, process 5 times higher transaction volumes per hour, and deliver substantially faster API response times.” Adobe has identified 250 “quality fixes and enhancements.”;
- AI-powered product recommendations and search – at speed;
- Expanded API coverage including “GraphQL API coverage for several B2B and admin features, as well as adding new capabilities to PWA Studio 12.3”;
- Expanded availability of the site wide analysis tool;
- Important updates to back end admin including meeting accessibility standards.
This is a powerful list of enhancements and within each of these there are features and improvements that every merchant on earlier versions will notice. But at what cost? For all of our clients we are busy providing levels of effort (LOEs) that outline the tasks and timing required to make this upgrade successful. The new Magento compatibility checker has been a big help here.
What to Consider When Estimating An Adobe Commerce 2.4.4 Upgrade
We are estimating that this upgrade is more time-intensive than other Magento upgrades over the last 4 years. Here are a few reasons why:
Extensions
All of our merchant clients have varying numbers and types of Adobe Commerce (Magento) extensions. A good portion of these extensions need to be touched with this upgrade, and with the structural changes, freed from the core code set. The result is a faster, more efficient application. But many of the extensions and their associated functionality may need to be touched, tested, and potentially tweaked to work properly. The result, however, will be a faster site and faster performance for your extensions.
Integrations
In a similar fashion, each of the integrations with a merchant site can be quite different. And thus with the upgrade to 2.4.4 each integration point needs to be checked and tested scrupulously in order to ensure that they are working properly with the new application. Depending upon how your integration points are structured with your API calls, there may be some rework – especially with integrations that support intensive / constant “real time” data exchange.
Backward Incompatible Changes
It’s awesome that Adobe Commerce 2.4.4 is now compatible with PHP 8.1, OpenSearch 1.2, and jQuery, but there are some documented compatibility issues and that means fixing any parts of your e-commerce application that might be dated, including older extensions.
Bottom Line
2.4.4 is a hefty upgrade and Adobe Commerce merchants looking to improve overall speed and performance will likely be extremely happy with the results. However, it is not a simple upgrade and your development team will have to spend more time than on previous upgrades ensuring all functionality and integrations are properly tested and compatible with the large volume of changes.
If you’d like a quote on the hours and investment required to upgrade to 2.4.4 please contact us at [email protected].
