SPARK
SharePoint to Sitecore Migration
SPARK is the rail knowledge hub managed by The Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB). It was launched in 2011 as a key resource for the international rail research community to find information on past and current work. This site works to reduce duplication, increase awareness and encourage networking and collaboration across the network.
The Challenge
RSSB's SPARK website was released on SharePoint 2013, which has since become an unsupported software. The existing SharePoint website had become outdated, making it increasingly challenging to maintain and deliver an optimal user experience. To address this issue, SPARK needed to be migrated from SharePoint to Sitecore to provide consistency across the technology stack.
The Approach
For the rail knowledge hub, 22,000 records with multiple documents had to be migrated to a new SPARK area within the RSSB Sitecore platform. To accomplish this, ClerksWell developed a bulk upload function which contained a separate script capable of reading data within Excel files and performing a mini migration.
ClerksWell utilised Sitecore Experience Accelerator (SXA) components, making it easier for RSSB to maintain the solution, streamline development and reduce the amount of back-end. A user-friendly, interactive and visually appealing design was produced, building on wireframes provided by RSSB and incorporating unique, clear icons to emphasise simplicity and ease of use.
The Impact
Overall, this was a very successful migration to Sitecore 10.2. The new site allows users and rail organisations worldwide to access important research and documentation. The SPARK site maintained a distinct identity with front-end customisations on top of SXA components.
Moving the website to Sitecore meant that SPARK had a fresh new site, fit for users and internal teams, allowing RSSB to facilitate knowledge sharing within the international rail research community. Custom indexing and filtering mechanisms were implemented to ensure the most relevant content surfaced, further improving the overall user experience. The support of the Sitecore team who manage the website creates less dependency on other technologies and external support for these systems.
