Doesn’t it seem like only yesterday that Google made publishers using its DoubleClick Sales Manager (DSM) tool go through a painful upgrade? It was actually a few years ago, but the screams of agony I heard at PubForum commiseration sessions still reverberate ‘round my skull today.
Maybe that’s why it felt like insult added to injury (or maybe just compounded injury?) when Google announced it was sunsetting DSM in 2019. Similar to Obi Wan Kenobi when Alderaan was destroyed, I felt a great disturbance in the Force—as if thousands of ad ops souls collectively groaned and banged their heads on their desks.
Here at AdMonsters, we’ve tried to stay positive about selecting a new order management system—it’s actually a great opportunity to re-evaluate all of your offerings as well as workflow and processes. But there’s no skating around the fact that tech migrations suck. There’s little bright side to the whole affair—even when it’s over, you likely have a lot of staff to train and plenty of bugs to iron out.
So migration management is all about reducing pain, and nothing quite avoids pain-clusters like a good schedule. Fortunately, PGA Tour Director of Advertising Products and Technology Mike McLeod was kind enough to share this flow chart from his company’s recent migration. Hopefully it will inspire you as you venture into the choppy waters of bringing on a new OMS.
And feel free to download a copy of the spreadsheet: OMS-Timeline-Generic_7-30-18