Several organizations are doing data migration, which transfers data from one system to another for various reasons. Data migration can also mean moving data from one format to another. The migration may be due to overhauling an entire system, upgrading databases, establishing a new data warehouse, or merging newly acquired data with existing ones. The process involves three stages: extraction, transformation, and loading.
Generally, data migration occurs because the organization uses a new system or changes locations for their data. This is often due to replacing legacy systems or augmenting existing systems with new applications that share the same set of data. Moreover, data migrations are employed when organizations move their on-site infrastructure and applications to storage and applications on the cloud.
Data migration is not a straightforward process
Data migration can be risky and difficult, as moving data to cloud infrastructures can be challenging. Moving data and applications to another environment requires disentangling to subdue data gravity. It means spending time sorting all the complexities of applications and data at the beginning of the projects. The organization can use professional Azure managed services to improve data management, data governance and facilitate application mobility.
Data migration is a complex project because every application affects data management. Each one introduces elements of application logic into each level of data management, which is not related to the next set of data. In addition, each business process uses data in isolation, and the output corresponds to their format, which may change when another process uses the outcome. Therefore, every business process, data architecture, and application design must coordinate to facilitate migration.
However, this is not always the case when one of the groups is not willing or cannot change. Resolving the issue takes some time. Thus, some application administrators sidestep the ideal and straightforward workflows, resulting in less than optimal designs. It is critical to address these issues before embarking on data migration.
Data migration types
Data migration may be the trend today, and many businesses are making the data migration journey to avail of the benefits they can gain from the project. After all, companies want their employees to concentrate on their business priorities, reduce their capital expenditures, increase agility, boost business growth, and pay only for what they need when they need it. But everything, including how much time can be freed from the project, will depend on the type of migration they employ.
- Database migration means transferring your organization’s database from one system to another. As it can affect protocol or data language, it needs in-depth planning and testing. In addition, it requires the assessment of the storage space of the target database, application review, and data security maintenance.
- Application migration means transferring apps from one vendor or framework to another.
- Storage migration involves transferring data from one storage option to another, from on-site storage to the cloud, or vice versa.
So many approaches and strategists are involved in data migration, and slight missteps can cause the project to fall apart. However, you can ensure its success through proper planning and hiring a professional service provider with skills and expertise to provide you with the analysis, solutions, migration methodology, and project management capabilities.
