Challenges Related to Data Migration
Data migration continues to be a challenge for many organizations. Although data migrations have been a common occurrence in the IT industry for many years, stories of unfortunate experiences are still the norm.
Let's summarize some generic challenges that most organizations face when migrating data.
Failure to Engage Key Stakeholders
Irrespective of the migration scale, it is crucial to identify and involve individuals who have a vested interest in the data being transferred.
Before commencing the task, contact them and explain the project’s necessity and its impact on their part of the organization, its processes and their roles. Neglecting this step may result in disruptions and delays later on.
Inadequate Involvement of the Business
After briefing the stakeholders, ensure ongoing involvement and communication to inform them about their progress and roles. Regular updates build trust with all affected parties, especially when facing obstacles.
Absence of Data Ownership and Governance
Clearly define who possesses the rights to create, authorize, modify, or delete data during the migration and who is responsible for what goes into the new system or platform. Document this information as part of the project plan.
Insufficient Expertise
While data migration may seem straightforward, it involves considerable complexity. Engaging experienced professionals with solid references ensures a smoother process.
Lack of Planning and Methodology
IT teams often allocate too little time to data migration planning, lack experience, and lack an appropriate methodology. While planning doesn’t guarantee success, a well-structured data migration approach saves time during the actual migration.
Insufficient Data Preparation Tools and Skills
In the case of large migrations involving complex structures and millions of records or hundreds of tables, it is advisable to invest in top-notch data migration software and consider hiring specialized firms for assistance. Additionally, external firms often provide software licenses to minimize costs.
Waiting for Perfect Specifications for the Target
If the implementation team is still finalizing the target system design and configuration, it’s advisable to proceed with the migration specification and test. While target readiness is important later in the project, it shouldn’t impede progress at an early stage.
Unproven Migration Technique or Method
Before commencing the data migration, conduct thorough research to ensure the procedure chosen for the early stage has proven successful for data migrations similar to yours. Avoid simply accepting a homegrown or generic approach offered by a vendor.
Project and Supplier Management
Effectively managing vendors and projects is crucial. If you are already occupied with your regular responsibilities, ensure that you have sufficient time to oversee the project and any related suppliers. As data migration is high risk, some attempts to pass risk on to others are bound to occur.
Dependence of Cross-Objects
Despite the advancements in data migration and management tools, it’s still surprising to find interdependencies between data elements that were not initially known and, therefore, not included in the plan.
Incorporate a contingency plan to account for these unexpected dependencies and avoid derailing the entire delivery timeline.
What is Data Migration Software?
Data migration software refers to a type of software application or tool designed to facilitate the transfer or movement of data from one location or system to another. IT can be viewed as a middleware between the source and target systems or storage places.
It is mostly used when companies need to migrate from one application or data storage system to another, like upgrading to a new system or database platform or moving data to a cloud-based application or storage solution.
Data migration software typically offers a range of features and functionalities to ensure a smooth and efficient transfer of data. These may include:
- Data extraction: The software can extract data from the source system or storage location, ensuring all relevant information is collected for migration.
- Data transformation: This involves converting the data into a compatible structure and format that can be understood and utilized by the target system or storage environment.
- Data mapping: The software helps define the mapping or correlation between the data elements in the source and target systems. This ensures that data is correctly matched and transferred to the appropriate fields or structures in the new system.
- Data validation: The tool can perform data integrity and business rule checks to find inconsistencies or errors during the migration process. This helps ensure that the data remains accurate and reliable after the transfer.
- Data loading: The software facilitates the loading or importing of data into the target system or storage location, ensuring that it is properly organized and accessible.
- Data testing: Both during and after the migration is done, the software may offer verification mechanisms to compare the migrated information with the original source to ensure a successful and accurate transfer.
Data migration software helps organizations streamline the process of moving data from one system to another, reducing the risk of data loss, corruption, or disruption. It often offers automation and scheduling capabilities to manage large-scale migrations efficiently.
Types of Migration Done by the Data Migration Software
A data migration tool can undoubtedly make the tricky and time-consuming procedure more straightforward and quicker. But which types of migrations can you do with them?
Let’s look at some categories of data migrations.
- Storage or Archive Migration
The storage section of an organization will always be highly convoluted to migrate due to the amount of data it contains, typically historic data. However, you may complete the process before the timeline with a dedicated data migration tool.
As the name implies, you can also migrate the data supporting an application by using a migration tool. It may be done to move from one system to another or even from a system and back to the same system after cleansing, validation and maybe even some transformations.
Furthermore, moving the underlying data to a brand-new application or hosting platform might also be a part of this process. So, it’s a pretty all-around procedure, no matter how you look at it.
Conversely, this process can include moving your entire application to a cloud from an on-premise IT platform. Sometimes, you may have to move between different cloud platforms, too.
And yes, in some cases, this type of migration can include moving your storage. So, we ask that you plan the transition procedure accordingly to ensure its success.
How Will Data Migration Software Help?
Data migration is undoubtedly challenging. However, in most cases, a good migration tool will make the job much easier and more secure. Here’s how!
Efficiency
Data migration software automates the process of transferring data from one system or storage environment to another. It helps save time and resources compared to manual data migration methods, which can be error-prone and time-consuming.
Data Integrity
Migrating data manually can introduce the risk of data corruption or loss.
Data migration software is designed to handle data securely and ensure its integrity during the transfer process. It employs validation mechanisms and error-checking to minimize the chances of data corruption.
Seamless Migration
Data migration software simplifies the migration process by providing a user-friendly interface and step-by-step guidance. It reduces the complexity associated with data migration, allowing organizations to migrate their data smoothly without disrupting business operations.
Data Transformation
Data migration software often includes features for data transformation and mapping. This means you can restructure, convert, or format the data according to the requirements of the target system. It enables companies to adapt their data to fit the new environment seamlessly.
Reduced Downtime
Data migration can involve downtime during the switchover from the old system to the new one. With data migration software, you can minimise downtime by efficiently transferring data in a shorter time frame. This ensures that critical business processes can resume quickly, reducing the impact on productivity.
Scalability
Data migration software is designed to handle large volumes of data. It can efficiently migrate massive datasets and handle complex migration scenarios. As your organization grows and data volumes increase, the software can scale accordingly to meet your needs.
Data Validation and Auditing
Data migration software often includes features to validate the migrated data, ensuring its accuracy and completeness. Additionally, it provides auditing capabilities to track the migration process, allowing you to trace and verify the data transfer for compliance or regulatory purposes.
Cost Savings
By automating the data migration process, organizations can save costs associated with manual labour, potential data errors, and extended downtime. The software streamlines the migration process, reducing the overall time and effort required.
Risk Mitigation
Data migration software helps mitigate the risks associated with data loss or corruption during the migration process. It employs techniques such as data backup, verification, and rollback options to ensure the safety of your data.
Compatibility and Platform Independence
Data migration software is designed to work with various systems and platforms. It supports compatibility between different databases, file formats, cloud platforms, and operating systems, allowing you to migrate data seamlessly between diverse environments.
How Does a Data Migration Tool Work?
Data migration software uses software code to automate the process of transferring data from a source system or storage environment to a target system or storage environment. Here’s an overview of what steps data migration software typically covers:
Step – 1: Analysis and Planning
The software helps you analyze the source data to determine its structure, format, and dependencies.
It assesses the target system requirements and compatibility to identify the need for data transformations to ensure a successful migration.
The software helps structure and operationalize the migration strategy, including mapping, validations, data transformations, and, finally, testing.
Step – 2: Source System Extraction
The software connects to the source system and extracts data based on predefined rules or configurations.
It may extract the data by using APIs, database connectors, or file system access methods.
Depending on the source system, the software may perform data filtering, data segmentation, or incremental extraction to optimize the process.
Step – 3: Data Transformation and Mapping
The extracted data is transformed, validated and mapped to match the structure and format of the target system.
The software may provide tools or options to define and configure data transformations, such as data type conversions, column mappings, or value mappings.
Complex data transformation rules and data validation criteria can be applied to ensure data quality and integrity during the migration process.
Step – 4: Data Transfer and Loading
The transformed data is transferred to the target system or storage environment.
The software uses secure transfer protocols or APIs to move the data, ensuring its integrity and confidentiality.
Depending on the target system, the software may perform bulk loading, streaming, or batch loading techniques to optimize the data transfer process.
Step – 5: Verification and Reconciliation
The software verifies the integrity and completeness of the migrated data.
It should help perform data validation checks, such as comparing source and target data, verifying data relationships, or applying data quality rules.
The software should generate reports or logs to document the migration process and highlight any issues or discrepancies.
Step – 6: Post-Migration Activities
The software may assist in post-migration tasks, such as auditing or updating system configurations.
It may provide options for data backup or rollback to the previous state if required.
The software may even generate completion reports, summarising the migration process and identifying any outstanding actions or follow-up tasks.