IT Migration in a Nutshell

IT Migration

When you switch to a new system, transfer operations to the cloud, or replicate the data from one app to another you need an IT migration. For a new product launch you require a migration strategy, a clear plan and specific tools. This article outlines the essential aspects of data relocation and what to focus on when launching data migration services.

TYPES OF IT MIGRATION
There are a lot of times when you need to migrate data. For instance, you may upgrade your app or system, migrate data from one database to another or relocate your software from on-premise to a cloud infrastructure. Each time you may require a different type of IT migration. What are the most common types of IT data migration?

  • Database migration
  • Application migration
  • Operating system migration
  • SAP migration
  • Cloud migration
  • Business process migration

EVALUATION OF IT MIGRATION COMPLEXITY
Another thing to consider before launching the migration process is how complex it will be. There are a few factors you can evaluate to determine the complexity of the process:

  • Size. It refers to the size of the data and the number of users. Assess the extent of the migration first. It will be easier to migrate a few gigabytes and 1,000 users than thousands of users and hundreds of gigabytes of data.
  • Apps. Another indication is how many apps you will need to migrate and which ones have alternatives.
  • Customization of system. You may have some custom fields, apps or unusual data shapes for migration. Understand first how you will run this custom migration.
  • The number of products. Another essential thing you need to figure out for successful migration planning is how many products you will migrate. More products will make the whole migration process more complex.
  • Consolidation. Do you need to migrate the data from one site to another or to consolidate the data from a few spots to one? Consolidation will make the IT migration more complicated.
  • User management. And the last thing that will affect the complexity of migration is how many inactive or anonymous users you have and how you will migrate their data.

When you understand your migration’s complexity, you can also define the most difficult or problematic phases of migration. In other words, you will be able to predict where your IT migration may fail.

TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL IT MIGRATION

  1. Run the old system in parallel. A great tip to protect your work from data loss. You can keep the old system running while testing a new one. In this case, you will have access to the data even if something goes wrong with a new system.
  2. Find all data inputs. It will save you a lot of time during migration if you identify all ins and outs of the legacy system. It can be complicated at first, but it will help the process run more effectively.
  3. Understand all the business processes in the old system. It is not enough to be aware of the technical side of migration. You also need to leverage inside intelligence to ensure that the new system will work correctly.
  4. Operations first. The DevOps methodology is highly efficient in terms of legacy migration. Focus on continuous integration and continuous deployment first. Monitoring, alerts and logging systems will keep development teams accountable for their work. Also, it will ensure that they can fix potential issues faster.
  5. Use microservices. It will help you tackle different problems with different approaches, apply various data models and lower risk performance issues.
  6. Modernize the security system. In a migration of an IT system, pay special attention to security practices. Launch security protection as early as possible.

HOW TO PLAN AN IT MIGRATION
An IT migration checklist consists of three major phases: pre-migration, migration and post-migration. You will plan the process and define the strategy at the pre-migration stage by assessing the planning and test phases. The migration phase is only for a particular migration process. And finally, the post-migration assumes the launch of the new system or app and optimization.

Let’s look more precisely at the pre-migration planning stage. At this point, you need to focus on the following steps:

  1. Decide what you will migrate and outline the scope of data that will be transferred.
  2. If you migrate the data to a cloud, use a free cloud trial.
  3. Assess sources and target systems to understand how old system requirements will be represented in a new one.
  4. Define data standards.
  5. Choose an IT migration strategy.
  6. Develop a detailed migration plan.

THE GOLD STANDARD FOR IT MIGRATION
Finally, a few rules are well-known as migration standards for IT. We hope these rules will help you with migration planning.

    • IT migration is an opportunity to fix data quality issues.
  • Minimize the data that you will migrate.
  • Hire professionals with relevant experience.
  • Ensure that you have enough time to design and plan the migration. It will have a determinative influence on the whole process.
  • Do not switch off the old platform too fast. You may need to fix some problems in the new system, and you will need to have a working one for managing organizational processes.

CONCLUSION
This article introduces the IT migration process by defining what you need to consider for successful data relocation from one system to another. You also can find more detailed information on each step or phase of migration on the Cprime blog.

If you decide to change a system, update an app or move to the cloud, you will need to run a data migration process. Cprime can handle custom migrations or provide a professional team to undertake migrations on your behalf. Contact us to discuss your case and needs.