Oracle’s Bronto users recently received this cold message: “This notice is to inform your company that the Bronto Marketing Platform has been assigned End of Life status and the last date of service will be May 31, 2022.”

That could not have been good news to email marketers that use Bronto.

For one thing, they must now decide “whether to stay with its Customer Experience Cloud or search for a new ESP," says Chris Marriott, president and founder, Email Connect. 

And it puts pressure on those “with deep integrations and sophisticated programs to find the right solution and manage the migration successfully,” Marriott adds. 

One answer is being provided by a trio of email services agencies: Email Connect, Inbox Army and RPEOrigin Email. They have formed a new consulting service called BrontoMigration.com. 

The goal is to help brands evaluate platform options, create and deploy expedited requests for proposals, and migrate to a new platform. 

Email Connect is an RFP management company. Inbox Army is an email production and design agency. Ad RPEOrigin is an agency that provides strategic help and assistance in migrating projects between vendors. 

 “We’ve all worked inside the Bronto platform as well as the other top platforms in the email industry,” says Ryan Phelan, CMO, RPEOrigin. "We know their capabilities and suitabilities.”

What made Oracle kill a service that many firms apparently found effective?

“Over the coming year we will migrate our marketing automation technology and resources to the Oracle Customer Experience Cloud,” it says in its email to clients. “We believe this will create an overall superior customer experience.”

Well, maybe. But that could put a serious strain on companies already dealing with the pandemic and the scaling up of their online services as consumers switch to digital. 

Oracle concludes with these definitive words: “You will be able to continue to use the Bronto service until the end of the last date of service and if you choose, you may renew your services until our last date of service, May 31, 2022. 

“Please ensure that all appropriate contacts in your company are made aware of this notice.

“Thank you for being a valued customer. Your account manager will contact you shortly to discuss next steps.”

Better get on it.