Data Migration & Transformation Services – 84% of Data Migrations fail. Make sure it’s not you

2011-08-01

According to a 2007 report[1] 84% of data migrations will fail. Migration isn’t simply an act of moving data from one place to another, data may be represented and recorded differently in your new system, there may be more or fewer fields, data may contain inaccuracies. How organisations deal with these obstacles is as much a part of the success of a data migration as the physical movement of data.

A Successful Data Migration

Several steps are needed. Firstly source and target systems need to be mapped, i.e. where is data going from and to. Transformations will need to be defined, data enhancements identified and incorporated, information cleansed and relationships captured and reapplied.

If you’re worried that you could be the 84% who won’t succeed then you might consider our help. DataConsulting has a wide range of skills and experience in all aspects of data migration.

• Mapping – Where is data going from and to, how much are you migrating, will your two systems align?
• Transformations – Where fields and options differ, data will need transforming – perhaps there are fewer address fields in your new system, or first and surname are combined?
• Enhancements – Where additional information is required but not included in the source system, data may be augmented or enhanced – e.g. contact data, DUNS numbers, credit history.
• Cleansing – Where inaccuracies or duplications exist in the source data, these need resolving pre-migration – perhaps records need to be merged, converged, or deleted? Or address data is incorrect or incomplete?
• Relationships – Where relationships between contacts and suppliers needs to be maintained these relationships will need to be captured and migrated. Migration isn’t just the movement of physical data.

Got everything covered? Using our tools and methodologies, we’ll help you achieve a successful data migration. Get in touch today and find out what we can do for you.

[1] Data Migration in the Global 2000, Bloor Research (September 2007)