Thank you to everyone who joined our Migrating from Pega Deployment Manager 5.x to PDM as-a-Service (aaS) webinar! The interactive session generated fantastic questions that showcase the depth of interest in our latest capabilities. Here are the key questions and answers from our expert panel discussion.

🎥 Watch the Recording: Migrating from Pega Deployment Manager 5.x to PDM as-a-Service (aaS) webinar

🎥 Watch the Demo: Migrating from Pega Deployment Manager 5.x to PDM as-a-Service (aaS) demo

Key Questions and Expert Responses

Migration Process & Timeline

Q: Can pipelines be migrated gradually, one at a time? A: Yes, pipelines are migrated gradually during the migration process. You don't need to migrate everything simultaneously.

Q: After submitting the migration process, what happens if we need to do an urgent deployment? A: During migration, you can continue using PDM 5.x with no disruption. You can also use PDM 6 and run new pipelines. After migration acceptance, PDM 5 becomes read-only after 7 days, and we recommend using PDM 6 for all upcoming deployments.

Q: Are previous pipeline audits moved to the service environment? A: Yes, historical data and audit information are migrated to the service environment.

Customizations & Integrations

Q: We have created an application on top of Deployment Manager 5. How will it affect us? A: Deployment Manager service doesn't allow Dev Studio access, but Deployment Manager APIs are available for any kind of automation. You can build customizations on Route-to-Live environments, and existing customizations can be moved from DevOps to Route-to-Live environments. The level of impact depends on your specific customizations.

Q: How do we categorize if there are any customizations, and how can they be addressed? A: Customizations can include custom tasks, external integrations (like Jenkins), or reporting customizations. Deployment Manager Service supports the same APIs as PDM 5, so you can use APIs for integration needs. Custom task definitions migrate automatically, but implementations need to be moved to candidate environments.

Q: We integrated Jira Cloud to on-premise Jira. How does it affect Deployment Manager service? A: If Jira integration is implemented as a custom task, you may need to update auth profiles, but Deployment Manager as-a-Service supports custom tasks for Jira integration.

Authentication & Access Management

Q: Is it possible to use our company SSO with PDM 6, or is it restricted to Pega community SSO only? A: Yes, single sign-on is supported. Please refer to the user management documentation for implementation details.

Q: We have multiple projects. How can we ensure that after migration, all PDM users are mapped to the right project? A: Migration happens in the context of one Route-to-Live environment. You'll need to manually add users to other Route-to-Live environments through the Deployment Manager interface, assigning appropriate DM-specific roles.

Testing & Quality Assurance

Q: Is there any improvement in regression automation testing from PDM as-a-Service? A: There are ways to run Pega Unit tests and Selenium tests during deployment on specific environments. Currently, this is supported through Jenkins integration.

Q: Do we need to validate all pipelines using diagnostic pipeline, or will it be handled during migration? A: Diagnostics are not run automatically during migration. Once pipelines are migrated to PDM Service, you can run diagnostics on the migrated pipelines for validation.

Q: Is there a way to configure our own regression test suite to run during merging? A: This would typically be handled through Jenkins or Azure DevOps integration as extension points in your merge pipeline process.

Rollback & Recovery

Q: Is there any improvement related to the rollback feature? A: PDM Service introduces rollback at the environment level and performs application rollback for various scenarios:

• Versioned Rules: Yes
• Unversioned Rules: Yes
• Data instances with associated Ruleset and history enabled: Yes
• Data instances without associated Ruleset but with history enabled: No
• Data schema changes with column additions: No
• Work instances: No

On-Premises & Cloud Considerations

Q: We're running our environments on-prem. Usage of cloud services is prohibited as a government entity. What happens after September 2026? A: The migration process and service are exclusively available for clients on Pega Cloud. For on-premises scenarios, please reach out directly to discuss available options, as there isn't a direct answer currently available.

Q: Can deployment manager as-a-Service be used for deployment to Pega stacks on Cloud 2? A: No, it supports only Pega Cloud 3 and later versions.

Pricing & Licensing

Q: Is there any separate pricing model for PDM as-a-Service? A: No, there's no additional cost for PDM as-a-Service. It's included in your Pega Cloud subscription.

Advanced Features

Q: You mentioned GenAI capabilities & multi-region deployments. Could you elaborate? A: GenAI provides suggestions when tasks fail, offering guidance based on errors and recommended steps. For global deployments, refer to the deployment manager documentation for detailed information.

Continue the Conversation

These questions represent just a portion of the rich discussion from our webinar. We encourage continued engagement through:

• Expert Circle Community Site - Share your experiences and ask follow-up questions
• Upcoming Webinars - Join our specialized sessions on Azure DevOps integration and deployment strategies
• Direct Feedback Sessions - Contact your Account Executive to arrange dedicated feedback sessions for your organization

Thank you for your active participation and insightful questions. Your feedback directly influences our product roadmap and helps us deliver the capabilities that matter most to your success.