Data migration can be daunting and challenging, but there are a few ways to make it less so. According to Gartner, 83% of data migration projects fail or exceed budgets and schedules. In addition, the most challenging part of moving to new systems or auditing existing systems is getting the data right.
Don’t fall for the trap. Instead, be part of the 17% by avoiding the common data migration traps and pitfalls that cause problems, cost overruns and delays. Don’t let customer data migration challenges stand between you and success.
Data migration is complex because it is a process that requires a lot of time, effort, and resources. It can be challenging to get the data from one system to another so the new system can use it. In addition, the data needs to be converted and formatted before you can migrate it.
How to Avoid These Common Data Migration Issues and Have a Smoother Journey
Here are the 5 data migration mistakes to avoid during data migration:
1. Not Sourcing and Cleansing the Data Properly
It is easy to be complacent and believe all your data is ready to be configured for the data migration. However, many specifics are frequently ignored, and exceptional attention to detail is needed to keep it intact. A gap occurs when you’re unaware of issues like duplicity, incorrect data or spellings, and incomplete data.
It would be best to define and carefully evaluate the source data you will be transferring. There could be mistakes in the data, such as repetitions, duplicates, and outdated figures, which can create common data migration risks & issues. Hence, cleaning the source data by conducting a data cleansing audit before the migration process is good. By doing this, you can recognize ways to transition the data into new categories.
2. Unclear Requirements & Poor Planning
Data migration teams face one of the biggest challenges: unclear requirements and hasty planning. Unfortunately, this can lead to misunderstandings between the data migration team and the business stakeholders.
It is essential to have a requirements document that details all the data to be migrated, the data mapping, the data quality requirements, and the timeline for the project. It would be best if you did the planning of this with the stakeholders who know about the data migration service and have deep knowledge of the business.
3. Incompatibility
Incompatibility between the data formats of the new and old systems is another common challenge during data migration. Incompatibility happens when you move data from one system to another that uses a different database structure or when the system that the data is imported into uses another file format. When moving from one platform to another, losing a chunk of your data or getting corrupted is possible.
It is critical to make sure that all your data is backed up before the beginning of the migration, leaving the original data source untouched.
4. Lack of Appropriate Expertise
Data migration services often need a diverse group of people who use multiple technologies and tools. However, if those individuals lack the appropriate expertise to ensure a successful data migration, it can result in data transfer failure. Therefore, companies must select a professional data migration service company that connects all the necessary inputs and outputs, has comprehensive expertise with migration traps, and must to-dos to reduce migration failures and errors.
5. Not Testing and Validating
It’s unrealistic to anticipate you won’t experience issues during your migration. As in any other IT project, testing should be a critical-path activity throughout the process, not just at the end. Define who will test and evaluate data and sign off on the results. After the migration is complete, we recommend that you keep testing. You must schedule follow-up meetings with your stakeholders to discuss issues, lessons learned and action plans.
Summary
Data migration issues are complex, time-consuming and can be detrimental. We are here to help you avoid these mistakes and complete your data migrations faster, more accurately and at lower costs. Contact us to get started.
