SIILI-HMS-mobile-1 SIILI-HMS-hero-1

Case Study

HMS Networks

Consolidation with Sitefinity Cloud migration

From fragmented digital infrastructure to a unified, customer-centric platform and 94% leads increase

Executive summary

HMS Networks, a global leader in industrial communication technology, faced significant challenges managing its growing digital presence across multiple websites.

Operating five different brand sites and a corporate site, HMS struggled with outdated technology and fragmented product information. Their existing OnPrem Sitefinity implementation was no longer scalable, and multiple failed attempts to upgrade to Sitefinity Cloud left HMS seeking a trusted partner to lead their digital transformation.

Siili was appointed to take on this challenge, successfully upgrading and migrating HMS’s web infrastructure to Progress Sitefinity Cloud. The migration enabled HMS to benefit from enhanced security, improved performance, and reduced infrastructure costs. Siili consolidated HMS's five websites into a single, unified platform, enabling seamless product discovery and improving the overall user experience.

Cases_2024-images-HMS

 

Challenge

Having been a loyal Progress Sitefinity customer since 2013, HMS initially relied on its previous implementation to meet their digital needs. However, their product portfolio had grown rapidly, creating the need for a unified platform.

The company attempted multiple times to upgrade to Sitefinity Cloud but failed due to the complexity of their infrastructure and previous partner's limitations.

Siili led HMS's Next Level Web transformation project, aimed at standardizing their platform on Sitefinity Cloud and consolidating their digital assets.

Solution

1. Prerequisite: Upgrade and lift and shift to the cloud

Siili successfully upgraded HMS’s existing Sitefinity platform and migrated it to Sitefinity Cloud, a PaaS solution offered by Progress. The migration allowed HMS to benefit from Sitefinity Cloud’s improved security features, scalability, and 24/7 managed services, drastically reducing infrastructure costs and technical complexity.

With Siili’s expertise in Sitefinity and digital experience solutions, HMS could consolidate its previously fragmented websites into a single, unified platform.

The seamless integration capabilities of Sitefinity played a crucial role, allowing HMS to connect various systems—such as Microsoft Dynamics, inRiver for PIM (Product Information Management), and Cloudinary for DAM (Digital Asset Management). This integration provided HMS with a “single source of truth” across their digital properties, ensuring accurate, up-to-date product information and improving website performance.

2. Brand consolidation, merging websites and products

One of HMS's main challenges was that their product offerings were scattered across five different brand-specific websites, which created inefficiencies in product discovery and customer experience. Siili's solution was to consolidate these websites into one centralized platform, allowing customers to find products based on their needs rather than by brand.

Consolidation of systems
Siili integrated inRiver for product management, allowing HMS to centrally maintain and streamline product information. Cloudinary was integrated to manage HMS’s vast collection of digital assets, optimizing image and video performance for better customer engagement.

Sitefinity as enabler
The seamless integration capabilities of Sitefinity played a crucial role, allowing HMS to connect various systems—such as Microsoft Dynamics, inRiver for PIM (Product Information Management), and Cloudinary for DAM (Digital Asset Management). This integration provided HMS with a “single source of truth” across their digital properties, ensuring accurate, up-to-date product information and improving website performance.

3. AI-driven translation and multilingual optimization

As a global company, HMS needed an efficient way to manage multilingual content. Siili implemented Microsoft Azure Translation services, leveraging AI and custom-trained language models to automate and improve the translation process. This allowed HMS to quickly generate translations for markets like Sweden, Germany, and China, reducing their reliance on external translation agencies and speeding up their time-to-market.

For the Chinese market, Siili also helped HMS build a separate website due to local SEO and regulatory requirements. By partnering with a local Chinese CDN, HMS ensured that the website met all necessary compliance standards.

Project execution

The partnership between Siili and HMS has been a great experience for both parties, and HMS really understood the MVP.

To meet HMS's strict deadlines, Siili adopted an agile approach, delivering an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) with core functionalities such as product search and filtering. Post-launch, Siili continued to enhance the platform by improving the search, filtering, and marketing tools. Moreover, HMS’s acquisition of the American brand Red Lion introduced new integrations that Siili is currently managing, ensuring the platform’s scalability and adaptability for future needs.

Agile collaboration and the next steps

To meet HMS's strict deadlines, Siili adopted an agile approach, delivering an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) with core functionalities such as product search and filtering. Post-launch, Siili continued to enhance the platform by improving the search, filtering, and marketing tools.

Moreover, HMS’s acquisition of the American brand Red Lion introduced new integrations that Siili is currently managing, ensuring the platform’s scalability and adaptability for future needs.

Results

 

The transformation project enabled HMS to move from a fragmented digital infrastructure to a unified, customer-centric platform. The transition to Sitefinity Cloud significantly improved performance, enhanced security, and reduced infrastructure costs. Customers can now navigate HMS’s product offerings more efficiently, benefiting from streamlined search and better product information management.

The integration of AI-driven translation tools also allowed HMS to quickly localize content for global markets, improving operational efficiency.

Reduced reliance on development and IT for content management. The intuitive interface of Sitefinity enabled HMS’s marketing team to manage and update content independently, reducing their dependence on development and IT support.

Siili’s continuous partnership with HMS has ensured long-term success, with plans to further expand the platform’s capabilities and integrate additional brands like Red Lion.

1960

Products on the website

10% lower

Bounce rate

94%

More leads generated from website contact forms compared to previous sites

SIILI-Sitefinity_team

Project methodologies and technologies

    • Agile development methodology – Close collaboration with HMS to deliver a minimum viable product on time, with continuous enhancements post-launch. 
    • AI-driven translation – Automated translation processes with AI-powered tools, reducing costs and accelerating global content delivery. 
    • Brand consolidation and product search optimization – Merging five websites into one cohesive platform, improving user experience and product discovery. 
    • Multilingual site management – Ensuring compliance with local SEO and regulations through separate sites, particularly in the Chinese market. 

  • The following technologies and methodologies were employed in the project:

    • Sitefinity Cloud – Progress’s PaaS solution, providing managed hosting, security, and scalability. 
    • Microsoft Azure Translation Services – AI-driven translation tool with custom-trained models tailored to HMS’s domain-specific vocabulary. 
    • InRiver – Product Information Management (PIM) system for centralized product data. 
    • Cloudinary – Digital Asset Management (DAM) system for optimizing images and videos. 
    • Dynamics 365 – Integrated for marketing automation and lead generation. 
    • .NET Core – Microsoft’s latest stack, ensuring long-term scalability and a modern web development framework. 
    • Content Delivery Network (CDN) – Partnership with a local Chinese CDN provider to ensure compliance with Chinese regulations. 

Contact us

Want to be the next success story with us?

Siili is the go-to-partner when you want to work with brilliant and honest experts that are not afraid to challenge back. We truly work with you, not for you, in the pursuit of the right solution.

Looking for the next step in your career? Join us: Join Us at Siili