Camunda 8 vs Camunda 7 – migration and implementation challenges

End of Support – What Next?

As Camunda 7 approaches end-of-life in April 2027, more and more companies must seriously consider upgrading to the newer version. After this date, Camunda 7 will only receive essential security patches – no new features or further development. This makes migration a strategic decision, crucial to maintaining business continuity and minimising technological risk.

While migration to Camunda 8 presents challenges, with the right plan and approach it is completely achievable without disrupting your business. Below, we explain what has changed, how it impacts your organisation, and how to approach migration effectively.

What Has Changed in Camunda 8?

Camunda 8 is designed for modern, cloud-native organisations – fast-moving, scalable and distributed. It introduces several major changes that boost performance and flexibility, but also require careful implementation.

Key Changes

• New system integration approach: Camunda 8 replaces the widely-used REST API with a more efficient but less familiar protocol – gRPC. As a result, existing integrations may need to be rewritten or adapted.
• Different data persistence model: Camunda 7 used a traditional relational database to store process states. Camunda 8 eliminates this, improving performance but creating challenges for organisations that require strict transaction control (e.g. in finance). Additional custom mechanisms may be needed.
• New deployment architecture: Camunda 8 is modular – based on microservices. It is best deployed using technologies such as Kubernetes or public cloud (e.g. AWS, Azure). This increases scalability but may require changes in IT infrastructure and team skills.
• Changes to operational tools: Tools like Operate and Tasklist are only free in development environments. To use them in production (with real users), a commercial licence is required.
• Process models cannot be migrated 1:1: BPMN models from Camunda 7 are not automatically compatible with Camunda 8. In many cases, they require adaptation or complete redevelopment.

Licensing Changes in Camunda 8

The Community Edition of Camunda 8 (free version) includes only the core process engine – Zeebe. This is the engine that executes BPMN workflows, but it does not include the monitoring, user task management or analytics tools needed in production environments.

In Camunda 7, tools like:

• Cockpit (process monitoring and admin),
• Tasklist (user task interface),
• Admin (user and role management),

were available in the Community Edition – with limitations, but usable without commercial licensing.

In Camunda 8:

• Operate, Tasklist, and Optimise are only available in developer mode (during project development),
• To use these tools in production, a commercial licence is required.

What Does This Mean for Businesses?

• Increased operational costs: Organisations that previously relied on Camunda Community without paying licence fees may now face recurring subscription costs, or need to develop their own replacement tools.
• Licensing model decisions: You’ll need to choose between paying for robust, supported commercial tools, or investing in the development of your own management and monitoring interfaces.

The Good News

It is technically possible to combine Camunda 8 Community with custom-built management tools, allowing you to use the process engine without a commercial licence.

This approach is often taken by:

• Organisations with strong internal development teams or technology partners,
• Businesses seeking more control and customisation,
• Companies aiming to optimise costs without sacrificing process automation.

For example, you can build your own status dashboards, user interfaces for task handling, or notification systems based on Zeebe’s data and APIs.

However, keep in mind

• Camunda does not expose APIs for Operate, Tasklist or Optimize in the Community Edition – you must build everything from scratch, using low-level APIs (e.g. gRPC) or event-stream processing.
• It’s not quick or easy – building robust, production-grade tooling requires significant technical expertise.
• There is no official support – the Community Edition comes without vendor support. You will need internal expertise or a technology partner.
• Long-term maintenance is your responsibility – your tools must be kept compatible with future Camunda releases.

How to Approach Migration – Step by Step

Migrating to Camunda 8 is not just a software upgrade – it’s a foundational change in how your automation platform works. Recommended approach:

1. Audit your current processes and integrations: Identify key workflows, system dependencies and bottlenecks.
2. Evaluate infrastructure readiness: Are you cloud-ready? Do your teams have skills in containerisation and microservices?
3. Choose your migration strategy:
   • Run Camunda 7 and 8 in parallel,
   • Gradually move processes one by one,
   • Perform a full switch (for smaller systems).
4. Plan for testing and reliability: Include performance tests, disaster recovery and real-time monitoring.
5. Financial planning: Consider licence costs, team time, infrastructure and potential savings from building your own tools.

Is It Worth Migrating to Camunda 8?

Yes – especially if:

• Your business is growing fast,
• You plan to move to the cloud,
• You need flexible, scalable and modern automation infrastructure.

Camunda 8 is designed for the future – but migrating takes preparation.

How Altkom Software Can Help

We help organisations:

• Plan and execute migration from Camunda 7 to 8,
• Optimise implementation and licensing costs,
• Build custom tools to replace commercial components when needed.

With experience in both Camunda 7 and 8, we know what to expect, how to avoid common pitfalls, and how to ensure a smooth transition.

In Summary

Migrating to Camunda 8 is a strategic decision. Technically complex – yes – but entirely achievable with the right partner and proper planning.

Don’t wait until the last minute. Prepare now – before Camunda 7 reaches end of support.