Enterprise Platform Migration: Zemax → Ansys
Enterprise migration of 80+ pages and 200+ knowledgebase articles into a unified platform.
Summary
Mission
Zemax’s acquisition by Ansys required the migration of 80+ primary web pages along with a large-scale knowledgebase of 200+ articles into a new enterprise platform with a fundamentally different structure, navigation model, and content system.
The goal was not only to transfer content, but to realign information architecture, preserve SEO performance, and maintain continuity for both users and internal teams.
This effort focused on reducing structural friction, improving findability, and ensuring a seamless transition into the Ansys ecosystem without disrupting existing user workflows or business operations.
My Contri butions
I led the execution of the migration from a UX and structural standpoint, working across both the primary website and an extensive knowledgebase system to ensure a scalable and user-centered outcome.
My work included auditing content across 80+ site pages and 200+ knowledgebase articles, mapping legacy structures to the new platform, and defining how pages, systems, and user pathways should translate within Ansys’s architecture.
Role
Web Coordinator
Responsibilities
UX Design Lead, Information Architecture, Platform Migration & Integration
Scope
80+ Marketing Pages + 200+ Knowledgebase Articles
Multi-system migration across website, knowledgebase, downloads, and community
Environment
Enterprise Platform Integration (Post-Acquisition)
Multi-phase migration within a global, multi-region ecosystem
Audience
External:
Engineers, researchers, and technical professionals using high-fidelity simulation tools across industries such as aerospace, automotive, electronics, and energy
Internal:
CMS editors, marketing teams, product stakeholders, and cross-functional enterprise teams
Impact
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Successfully migrated and restructured 80+ marketing pages and 200+ knowledgebase articles into a unified enterprise platform
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Maintained continuity of critical user journeys during a multi-phase acquisition and platform transition
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Preserved SEO structure and discoverability through strategic page mapping and redirect alignment
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Reduced structural inconsistencies by aligning legacy content with Ansys’s standardized architecture
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Enabled scalable content growth by establishing a clean, maintainable foundation across systems
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Minimized disruption to internal teams by supporting a smooth transition across CMS workflows and content ownership
Challenge
Following the acquisition of Zemax by Ansys, the Zemax website needed to be fully integrated into the Ansys digital ecosystem. This was not a simple content migration — it required aligning 80+ pages with a fundamentally different information architecture, navigation model, and design system.
Zemax’s existing site structure, product hierarchy, and user journeys were built around its own brand and engineering audience. The challenge was to transition that experience into the Ansys platform without disrupting user workflows, compromising search visibility, or weakening product clarity.
The migration required careful restructuring of navigation, re-mapping of content hierarchies, alignment with Ansys brand and governance standards, and preservation of a seamless experience for highly technical users accustomed to the legacy structure.
Constraints & Risks
The migration required careful coordination across structural, technical, organizational, and business dimensions. Both Zemax.com and Ansys.com were large-scale enterprise platforms with distinct information architectures, CMS environments, governance standards, and global audiences.
Key risk categories included:
Structural & Information Architecture Risk
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Misalignment between Zemax’s established product hierarchy and Ansys’s navigation framework.
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Potential disruption of technical user workflows accustomed to legacy pathways.
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Risk of content redundancy, misclassification, or hierarchy confusion during consolidation.
SEO & Discoverability Risk
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Preserving high-performing pages and maintaining search equity during URL restructuring.
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Preventing traffic loss through improper redirects or structural misalignment.
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Managing differences between publicly accessible and login-gated content.
Business Continuity Risk
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Maintaining uninterrupted sales, marketing, and event-driven campaigns during phased migration.
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Preserving CTA pathways, lead capture mechanisms, and conversion funnels.
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Strategically timing migration waves to minimize disruption to revenue-generating initiatives.
Technical & Data Dependency Risk
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Differences in CMS capabilities and backend architecture between platforms.
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Dependencies tied to gated tools, product integrations, or authentication systems.
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Predicting and mitigating implementation bottlenecks caused by data structure limitations.
Governance & Brand Alignment Risk
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Aligning all migrated content with Ansys enterprise brand guidelines, design systems, and approval processes.
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Navigating structured governance reviews required for enterprise publishing.
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Ensuring consistency across content, components, and messaging within a larger corporate framework.
Stakeholder Complexity
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Coordinating across multiple internal teams including marketing, product, development, and brand.
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Balancing competing priorities while maintaining migration timelines.
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Reconciling differing perspectives on content ownership and hierarchy decisions.
International & Regional Considerations
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Accounting for global audiences and regional content variations.
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Ensuring structural alignment did not compromise localization needs or regional navigation expectations.
Approach
The integration of Zemax.com into Ansys.com required aligning two large-scale platforms with fundamentally different navigation structures, governance models, and technical architectures. Rather than treating the migration as a page-by-page transfer, I approached it as a structural UX initiative — focused on information architecture alignment, user continuity, and enterprise standardization.
By auditing content hierarchy, analyzing traffic and page importance, evaluating CMS constraints, and coordinating across stakeholders, the migration was executed in phased stages designed to preserve discoverability, maintain conversion pathways, and integrate Zemax seamlessly into the Ansys ecosystem.
Zemax Simplified IA (Pre-Migration)
Ansys Simplified IA (Pre-Migration)
Structural Realignment
Ecosystem Integration
Beyond page-level restructuring, the migration required aligning multiple independent systems within a new platform. Zemax operated across separate environments—including its website, knowledgebase, downloads, and community—which needed to be integrated, restructured, or maintained based on technical and user constraints.
Key Decisions
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Consolidated Zemax’s standalone product suite under the Ansys Product Collection → Optics framework to align with enterprise taxonomy while preserving product clarity.
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Reframed industry categories to align with Ansys’s corporate classification system, ensuring structural consistency across product, marketing, and sales pathways.
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Managed phased integration of critical subdomains, maintaining the Knowledgebase in its standalone environment until enterprise alignment and migration dependencies were resolved.
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Preserved the Zemax Community as an independent subdomain to maintain continuity for active engineering users and protect long-standing discussion archives.
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Transitioned Downloads from a legacy gated system to Ansys’s enterprise authentication framework, aligning access controls with corporate governance standards.
Outcome
The migration successfully integrated Zemax into the Ansys enterprise ecosystem while preserving user continuity and operational stability.
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Unified Zemax’s digital presence within Ansys’s enterprise architecture without disrupting core product pathways.
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Preserved active engineering workflows by maintaining continuity across product, community, and support systems.
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Reduced structural redundancy by consolidating standalone product categories under a unified enterprise taxonomy.
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Maintained gated access integrity during authentication transition to align with corporate governance standards.
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Enabled long-term scalability by aligning content architecture with Ansys’s enterprise framework.