Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service (ACCS) Implementation and Migration
Adobe now runs the Commerce application for you. We help you decide whether that trade is right for your store, then rebuild the storefront and integrations so the move actually works.
What is Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service?
Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service (ACCS) is the SaaS edition of Adobe Commerce. Adobe hosts, scales, patches and upgrades the Commerce application. You build the storefront on Edge Delivery Services and extend the platform through APIs, App Builder, events and webhooks instead of PHP modules. Adobe calls it a versionless platform: no more major version upgrades for the core.
What actually changes when you move to ACCS
Four things change. Everything else about Adobe Commerce, from catalog depth to B2B, stays.
Upgrade projects stop
Adobe ships feature and security updates continuously. You get 30 days to test each release in a sandbox before it reaches production, and Adobe guarantees backward compatibility for extensions built on the API-first model.
Scaling is Adobe's problem
The infrastructure scales on its own for traffic, order and catalog peaks, with 99.9% availability. Adobe also runs the CDN, WAF and platform security.
The storefront is rebuilt
ACCS doesn't support Luma. You rebuild on Commerce Storefront powered by Edge Delivery Services, Adobe's recommended path, or as your own headless storefront in Next.js, React or Vue connected over GraphQL.
Customization moves outside the core
Merchants can't modify core code, and in-process PHP modules, plugins and observers no longer apply. Custom logic runs in App Builder, API Mesh, events, webhooks and the Admin UI SDK.
What's included with ACCS
Commerce Storefront
A headless storefront on Edge Delivery Services. Merchandisers edit pages in documents or a visual editor, and A/B tests run natively.
Merchandising Services
AI-powered Live Search and Product Recommendations, plus Catalog Service for faster product data, all served through a GraphQL API layer.
Payment Services
Multiple payment methods, including interest-free installments, with one view of processing, orders and invoices.
Product Visuals powered by AEM Assets
A product-image DAM that crops, resizes and delivers images and video, linked to products by SKU. Upgrade to full AEM Assets when marketing needs a complete DAM.
Developer Platform
App Builder, API Mesh, Events, Webhooks, Admin UI SDK and the Integration Starter Kit for ERP, CRM and PIM connections.
Commerce Foundation
The managed core, provisioned in minutes through Commerce Cloud Manager, with sandboxes on demand.
What ACCS changes for marketers and merchandisers
Most day-to-day storefront work no longer needs a developer ticket.
- Content authoring. Build and edit pages in the Visual Editor or with Document-Based Authoring.
- Localization and scheduling. Localize content for each market and schedule campaigns to go live on their own.
- Built-in GenAI. Adobe Firefly and Adobe Express sit inside the workflow, so teams create and adjust images and content without leaving Commerce.
- Catalog and merchandising in one place. Product data, pricing and merchandising rules are managed from a single Admin.
- Native experimentation. Test storefront content and layouts directly, without a developer setting up the test.
- Faster pages. Edge Delivery Services is built for speed and resilience, which helps SEO and Core Web Vitals.
- The full journey covered. Built-in tools span product discovery, cart and checkout, through to post-purchase support.
ACCS vs Adobe Commerce on Cloud (PaaS) vs on-premise
| On-premise | Adobe Commerce on Cloud (PaaS) | Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service (ACCS) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Merchant or hosting provider | Adobe-managed platform | Adobe-hosted SaaS |
| Application, patches and updates | Merchant | Shared: merchant handles application patches, custom code, configuration and service versions | Adobe |
| CDN, WAF and security | Merchant | Shared | Adobe |
| Core code changes | Allowed | Allowed | Not allowed |
| Customization model | In-process PHP modules, plugins, observers | In-process PHP modules, plugins, observers | Out-of-process: App Builder, API Mesh, webhooks, I/O Events, UI SDKs |
| Version upgrades | Merchant project | Merchant project | Versionless, with a 30-day sandbox preview of each update |
| Storefront | Luma or headless | Luma or headless | Edge Delivery Services or your own headless build; Luma not supported |
| Live Search, Product Recommendations, Catalog Service | Separate licence | Separate licence | Included, within GMV-tier limits |
| B2B | Yes | Yes | Yes, with B2B entitlement |
| Scaling | Merchant | Adobe platform, merchant-managed services | Automatic, 99.9% availability |
What a migration to ACCS actually involves
Moving to ACCS is a re-architecture, not a version upgrade. Every project runs four workstreams in parallel:
01
Data migration
Products, categories, customers, orders and CMS content move with Adobe's migration tooling. Custom tables and third-party extension data need their own extraction scripts.
02
Storefront rebuild
Luma templates, LESS and layout XML have no equivalent, so this is a new storefront built from your existing UX requirements. It's usually the longest workstream, so it starts first.
03
Customization re-platforming
Each PHP module is dropped, rebuilt in App Builder, or moved to API Mesh.
04
Integration re-platforming
ERP, CRM, PIM, OMS, payment and shipping connections move from polling and database access to event-driven patterns with Adobe I/O Events and the Integration Starter Kit.
How your current customizations map to ACCS
| What you run today | What it becomes on ACCS |
|---|---|
| Custom GraphQL resolvers in PHP | API Mesh resolvers for aggregation and transformation; App Builder where logic is needed |
| Observers or plugins on order events | Webhooks (synchronous) or I/O Events (asynchronous) |
| Custom import and export scripts | App Builder actions with scheduled triggers |
| ERP integration module | Integration Starter Kit plus App Builder |
| Custom pricing rules in PHP | App Builder webhook on price calculation |
| Loyalty points module | App Builder microservice plus API Mesh |
| Features ACCS now includes (B2B, Live Search, Recommendations) | Dropped |
Where ACCS migrations go wrong, and how we plan for it
Configuration doesn't migrate
Store settings, payment and shipping methods, tax rules and email templates are recreated by hand in the ACCS Admin. We document all of it during the assessment.
The storefront starts too late
A late Edge Delivery build becomes the critical path. We scope and start it on day one.
Modules look simpler than they are
A few modules tangled with GraphQL can outweigh the rest. The module audit finds them before the estimate.
Migration tool access is requested late
Adobe grants bulk data migration access by support ticket. We raise it at kickoff.
No plan for data changes before go-live
The bulk load is a starting point. We plan delta sync from launch prep so orders placed during the project aren't lost.
Is ACCS right for your business?
We'll give you a straight answer, even if it's "not yet". We build on Adobe Commerce on Cloud and on-premise too, so we have no reason to push you either way.
ACCS tends to fit when:
- Your team spends weeks every year on upgrades and security patches.
- Traffic spikes around sales or seasons and you've had to plan infrastructure around them.
- You run several brands, regions or a B2B and B2C mix and want them on one instance.
- You already use AEM, Adobe Analytics or Adobe Target.
- Your ERP, PIM and CRM integrations already talk to Commerce over APIs.
Think carefully when:
- You rely on many third-party or custom PHP modules that change core behaviour.
- You recently invested in a Luma or other theme-based frontend. Storefronts are rebuilt on Edge Delivery Services as part of the move.
- You need to change core application code, which ACCS doesn't allow.
Our Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service services
ACCS readiness assessment
We run Adobe's Migration Assessment Tool against your codebase and review the output with you: custom modules, third-party extensions, integrations, custom tables, Admin configuration and storefront, plus a performance baseline to measure the new store against. You get a roadmap with complexity scoring and a fixed estimate.
Application modernization
We rebuild PHP customizations as App Builder applications connected through events, webhooks and APIs. Adobe's Commerce Developer Agent and MCP speed up the work; our engineers review every line.
Data migration
Catalog, customer and order data moved and verified with Adobe's Commerce Data Migration Service, plus custom tooling for third-party extension data, which the standard service doesn't cover. We also recreate store configuration, payment, shipping, tax rules and email templates, which don't migrate automatically.
Edge Delivery storefront build
Built on Adobe's Commerce boilerplate and drop-in components, styled to your brand, and set up so merchandisers edit pages in documents or a visual editor.
Content and merchandising enablement
We set up Visual Editor and Document-Based Authoring, localization, campaign scheduling and experimentation, then train your team so they can run the storefront without us.
API Mesh and integrations
Combine your data sources behind one GraphQL endpoint with API Mesh, and connect NetSuite, SAP, Acumatica, Epicor Prophet 21, Akeneo and others through App Builder, Adobe I/O Events and the Integration Starter Kit. See our ERP integration work.
Phased adoption
Not ready for the full move? Keep your current Adobe Commerce backend, move search, category and product pages to Edge Delivery Services with Commerce Optimizer, and complete the migration later.
Support after launch
Monitoring, App Builder maintenance, testing each Adobe update in your sandbox during the 30-day window, and ongoing improvements.
How an ACCS project runs with Evrig
01
Assess
We inventory customizations, integrations, storefront, data and Admin configuration, capture a performance baseline, then turn the findings into a roadmap with effort estimates. Nothing is estimated from a sales call.
02
Modernize the application and migrate data
Customizations become App Builder applications while business data moves into your ACCS tenant.
03
Modernize the storefront
A new storefront on Edge Delivery Services, tested against real checkout, payment, search and integration flows.
04
Cut over and operate
Traffic switches in one planned maintenance window around your trading calendar, legacy systems are retired, and we stay on for support.
Why brands choose Evrig for ACCS
- 17+ years building on Magento, Adobe Commerce, App Builder, ACCS.
- Adobe Silver Solution Partner with certified Adobe Commerce developers.
- Integration-heavy experience: Adobe puts customizations and integrations at the center of every ACCS migration, and that's the work we do most.
- We build on every Adobe Commerce edition, so our advice isn't tied to one of them.
Find out if ACCS fits your store
Send us your extension list and the systems you integrate with. We'll come back with what moves, what gets rebuilt, and what it will take. No slide deck.
Your Competitors Are Upgrading Their Stores, Are You?
Don’t get left behind, Outperform them.
Last month, our Magento 2 development clients saw 40% more conversions after revamping their stores. Imagine what we could do for yours? From lightning-fast Hyva themes to seamless ERP integrations, we build stores that don’t just look good, they print money.
