Many companies realize that a full rip-and-replace replatforming is not always the right move. Especially in enterprise commerce, legacy systems are deeply embedded, business-critical, and often highly customized. This is where the Strangler Fig Pattern offers a pragmatic alternative: modernize step by step, without replacing everything at once.
If you’re unfamiliar with the concept or want to dive deeper into the background, start here: Read the foundational article.
You don’t need to modernize everything at once. Focus on what matters most. Emporix provides core commerce capabilities—like checkout, cart, and account - as standalone APIs.
These can be deployed exactly where traditional systems struggle:
The benefit? Each API works independently of your broader platform. That means you can fix what matters without a massive replatforming effort.
Approach | Full Replatforming | Strangler Fig Approach |
Method | Entire platform is replaced in one large-scale project. | Incremental replacement of specific functions or processes, integrated into the existing system. |
Timeline | Long project duration - often more than 6 months. | First results within weeks possible. |
Risk | High – “Big Bang” go-live with potential downtime and system failures. | Low – existing systems remain operational, changes are isolated. |
Cost | High investment, difficult to forecast. | Pay-as-you-grow: invest only in the areas that matter most. |
Flexibility | Limited – the new platform must meet all requirements at once. | High – new functions can be added and adjusted independently. |
Technical Effort | High development and migration workload, often with custom code. | Lower effort thanks to modular APIs and low-code/no-code process modeling. |
Organizational Impact | Significant coordination and training effort across teams. | Manageable – existing teams can gradually adopt new functionality. |
Most challenges don’t just sit in the frontend—they’re hidden in the workflows that connect frontend, backend, and everything in between. That’s where the Emporix Orchestration Engine comes in.
It allows you to model, automate, and manage business processes across systems—without code or with minimal code. Common use cases include:
The Orchestration Engine acts like a digital conductor—ensuring legacy and new systems work together without needing to rebuild core infrastructure.
1. Improving Checkout Performance
A manufacturer sees high drop-off rates during mobile checkout. Solution: The legacy checkout module is replaced with Emporix’s checkout API. Traffic is gradually redirected. Once stable, the old system is retired.
2. Automating the Returns Process
A distributor replaces manual email chains with a fully orchestrated workflow. Warehouse, customer service, and accounting systems are connected automatically—reducing delays and error rates.
3. Modern UX, Legacy Core
A retailer wants a modern frontend experience but isn’t ready to touch the backend. With Emporix, selected services are exposed via APIs and integrated, while the legacy system remains in place.
Here’s what an initial rollout typically looks like:
Emporix makes incremental modernization not just possible—but practical. You stay in control of your core systems, modernize what matters most, and gain agility fast. Without risk. Without disruption.
Start small. Improve what counts. Transform at your own pace. That’s the spirit of the Strangler Fig Pattern—and exactly what Emporix is built for.