Use Case : XWiki x The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
2024/09/02
Over the past 15 years, KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) has seen a significant increase in the costs associated with its existing documentation management solution. They have also encountered maintenance difficulties. The problem worsened with the announcement of a compulsory migration to another cloud platform incompatible with KIT’s local integration needs.
Faced with maintenance costs becoming unsustainable, KIT explored alternatives and chose XWiki for its open source nature, efficient migration tools, and the technical support provided, enabling a smooth and successful transition. Discover this exciting case study from XWiki, Silver Sponsor of the Open Source Experience 2024.
About The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is one of the largest research centers in Europe, being the only German university that combines a long university tradition with large-scale national research. The institution has a strong focus on energy system transformation, climate and resource protection, mobility and transportation, as well as data and information.
KIT is renowned for its numerous inventors and entrepreneurs who studied or taught there: Karl Benz, the inventor of the first self-propelled automobile, Heinrich Hertz, who first conclusively proved the existence of the electromagnetic waves, Emil von Škoda, founder of Škoda Works, the predecessor of today’s Škoda Auto and Škoda Transportation, and many more. Professors and alumni have received 6 Nobel Prizes and 10 Leibniz Prizes, the latter being Europe’s most prestigious and well-funded award.
Context of the project
Over the past 15 years, KIT faced escalating costs and maintenance challenges with Confluence. The critical turning point came when Atlassian announced the mandatory migration to their cloud platform, which was incompatible with KIT’s extensive on-premises integrations needs, including their local databases like Jira for IT system insights and GIT repositories. These integrations were crucial for maintaining a single source of truth, preventing documentation discrepancies that could arise from data being stored in multiple, potentially unsynchronized systems.
Furthermore, the price for maintaining their Confluence instance became financially unfeasible, leading KIT to explore alternative tools. After a thorough evaluation of options on the market, which included a detailed analysis of macros compatibility and integrations through APIs, XWiki was chosen as the optimal solution. XWiki’s open-source nature, combined with its ready-to-use Confluence Migrator (Pro), and the technical consulting offered by XWiki’s highly competent Client team, enabled KIT to migrate and transition to the new solution in a seamless and timely manner.
What were KIT’s Needs?
The KIT team required a solution that could provide a robust Data Management System (DMS) that integrates seamlessly with their existing infrastructure while offering granular access controls. The new solution had to be able to:
- Offer on-premises hosting for maximum security and data privacy;
- Be flexible and customizable, with extensive integration capabilities to maintain a unified documentation environment;
- Handle efficiently large volumes of data;
- Offer API support for ongoing integration with both existing and new on-premises systems.
Solution proposed by XWIKI
The entire consulting, planning, migration and customization process was completed within 6 months, resulting in a highly tailored intranet and documentation system that met all of KIT’s stringent requirements. The migration was realized with the help of XWiki’s Confluence Migrator (Pro), which facilitated an efficient and accurate transition of data, including 50 spaces, 9431 pages, 250 users, and their permissions.
*In XWiki, bridge macros are custom macros developed to replicate the functionality of specific Confluence macros. When migrating content from Confluence to XWiki, some Confluence-specific macros may not have direct equivalents in XWiki. Bridge macros serve as a “bridge” by allowing the content that relies on these Confluence macros to be rendered correctly within XWiki.
The collaboration between KIT and the XWiki Client team was very efficient, from communication to technical diagnosis, solutions, and implementation. During the project, the XWiki consultant (also a KIT graduate), with deep knowledge of XWiki and extensive programming experience, provided invaluable support throughout the consulting, development, and migration process.
Significative results
KIT’s migration from Confluence to XWiki represents a significant enhancement in their DMS capabilities. By selecting XWiki, KIT not only transitioned fast to a much more cost-efficient solution, but also benefits from unmatched flexibility, security, and control over their data and hosting. The tailored intranet and documentation system allows KIT to manage and develop their knowledge base on their terms, free from the constraints of a cloud-only vendor platform.
XWiki was the most open alternative with the least amount of effort to change from our side. These were our two essential criterias for choosing the new tool. – Wolfgang Mexner, Head of IT department
Key Benefits:
- Seamless Migration: 9,431 pages, 50 spaces, and 250 users were migrated with full retention of structure, content, attachments, history, and permissions.
- Enhanced Security: On-premises hosting ensures that KIT maintains complete control over their data, aligning with their privacy requirements.
- Customized Solutions: XWiki’s flexibility allowed for the development of custom features and enhancements, such as multilingual search and improved navigation, tailored to KIT’s needs.
