Buy an off-the-shelf replacement for Myriad

Could we buy an off-the-shelf software solution to completely replace Myriad and modernise subscription management in one step?

We conducted a light-touch market research exercise, benchmarking five alternative software vendors, including Pelcro, Affino, AdvantageCS, and ChargeBee, and obtaining quotes. We also ran cross-departmental SWOT analyses on Myriad and interviewed other publishers about their experiences with alternative systems.

Every alternative system evaluated was significantly more expensive than Myriad. Internal teams had mixed feelings: Customer Service valued Myriad's rigid controls, while Client Management found it clunky and limiting.

Most critically, we discovered that our bespoke external systems were so tightly coupled to Myriad that a direct "lift and shift" migration was impossible. A direct replacement would require unpicking years of custom integrations before any new system could be brought in.

We decided not to migrate to a new system immediately. Before any replacement could be viable, we needed to "detangle" our custom systems from Myriad by building a middle integration layer. This would allow ESco to integrate payment processing and eCommerce out of the box in the future, and make any future CRM swap far more straightforward.