Put simply, data migration is moving data from one location to another. Whether you need to move data from an on-premise system to a cloud-based system, data from an on-prem or cloud-based system to a data lake, data from one app to another, or any other scenario, eOne Solutions has the tools you need to migrate your data quickly, easily, and cost-effectively.

When and why do you need to migrate data?

In many cases, companies need to move to a different hosting system for the data because their old system will no longer be updated and supported, or they want to renovate the way their company operates. Sometimes infrastructure needs to be upgraded, the company is moving from an on-premise system to a cloud-based environment, or they’re trying to consolidate data sources.

Whether they have 2 years or 20 years of data to migrate, companies switch service providers all the time, and they need an efficient, affordable way to migrate their data.

One crucial requirement most companies have is transferring years of historical data to the new environment. They need to bring months or years of data with them, but this can often be a hassle. Major cleanup operations should be involved before trying to move every piece of data over to the new system. This is important because bringing years upon years of data will slow down the performance of your new system, and chances are, you don’t need every bit of data from bygone days.

Best practices for data migration

Know your team

Before the project ever begins, you need to take your departments’ needs into account. Which data do they need to accomplish their everyday tasks? What applications are they using to get their work done? How can you make data more easily accessible for them? How much access and power should each team member have to manage or view data? How will their access and abilities change after the migration is over, and should it change?

By making the data more easily accessible, you’re helping employees do their job more efficiently and successfully. Instead of having to spend hours searching for the right data, it’s possible for them to view data in the new system or within the interface in which they are already working. This is why it’s imperative you take into consideration how every team member or department needs to use data. Don’t make it harder for your team. Make it easier.

Know who’s in charge

Choose the right project manager. While there are often many people involved in the migration process, this position is vital. You need a good communicator; someone who is committed to keeping themselves and the rest of your team on task and on time.

Know your data

Whether it feels like it or not, data migration projects can be a huge benefit in more ways than one. Not only are you moving to a new and hopefully improved system, but you’re also getting a chance for a clean(er) slate.

Data cleanup projects that have been pushed aside for years must now be at the forefront of your to-do list. Doing so can improve data access issues for your team, the quality of the data, and the performance of your systems. It can also unveil discrepancies and duplicates along the way, leading to less data storage requirements. All those positives mean more efficiency for you and your teammates, all while saving money and time.

Know your new system

Before you jump headfirst into your new system, you need to know how its environment is laid out. You need to know how data will behave and interact in its new home, how the system is organized, where things are, and how you will access what you need, etc. Take some time to research it before jumping in.

Know your steps

Keep track of all steps along the way; what went well, what errors were made, etc. This makes it easier to diagnose issues that may arise, and it can help future migrations be a smoother process.

Know the timeline

Create reasonable due dates and milestones for the project’s timeline. By having a goal in mind, you and your time will be able to plan ahead and stay on track much easier. Be sure to make it feasible.

Know the impact

Just as you need to research and explore your new system before migrating the data, it’s important to be mindful of how your new environment will impact the way your company operates.

Also, make sure you communicate the reason for the migration and the anticipated benefits it will produce for your company’s operations.

Creating a migration strategy

If your company is planning a migration, it’s imperative to identify needs, begin planning the details of your migration strategy, pick the right migration product, clean up the data, and migrate the data after systems are prepared and the new system is ready to receive data.

Come up with a plan

To reach your desired end result, you have to plan accordingly. With your project team, come up with a list of project needs, goals you want to accomplish, and who is responsible for each task along the way. Figure out a reasonable timeline and when you would want your new system to go live.

A few additional business operations aspects you should consider as you begin planning your data migration strategy include:

  • Who will be included in the project team and who needs to be informed.
  • How your business operates right now.
  • How you would actually like your business to function.
  • How the data has been managed and stored and how you would like that process changed.
  • How many source systems are hosting data that needs to be moved (in many cases, there are multiple sources that must be moved because of using third-party products and apps).
  • How to organize and use add-ons.
  • What your department(s) needs for applications and other tools, etc.
  • Which migration products you’re considering and why.

Cleaning up data before the migration and validation

No one wants to waste money. If you don’t clean up years of data before moving it to the new system of choice, you will undoubtedly pay more for storage than necessary.

Cleaning up data means reducing the number of systems hosting data, going through data to discover which records are still relevant, and archiving and deleting data when you no longer need it. This will improve the quality of the data as well and won’t result in moving empty files.

Data moved to the new system should have a purpose. It shouldn’t make the trip just for the fun of it. Throughout the data migration process, it’s important to validate transformed data often. Ideally, this would be done before moving the data to the new system. This helps your project stay on time by catching errors earlier.

Choose your migration product(s) to move data

To ensure your data migration is a smooth, swift, and affordable process, eOne Solutions created SmartConnect and Popdock.

With SmartConnect and Popdock, eOne’s two iPaaS (integration platform as a service) migration products, you can migrate and synchronize data between your old and new systems and data lakes.

SmartConnect

SmartConnect, our traditional integration tool, is ideal when you want to move data to your new system. SmartConnect can seamlessly move data in a fraction of the time and cost of typical migrations. It’s configurable, secure, flexible, and scalable and is a top-rated iPaaS and data integration platform.

You can run your integrations in SmartConnect’s iPaaS or on-prem software much faster than other methods of integrating systems. Integrating with SmartConnect will save you time and money by doing the heavy lifting for you with app connections, templates, and service offerings.

SmartConnect can:

  • Allow you to customize and manage integrations without code.
  • Provide quickstart templates, pre-built connections, an integration framework, universal API integration, error management, and more.
  • Offer native application search options in some systems.
  • Connect your online sales channels with your back-end systems and automates.
  • Connect to Dynamics 365, Dynamics GP, Dynamics NAV, Dynamics 365 Business Central, Salesforce.com REST & SOAP web services, ODBC, SQL, Flat file, Excel, Folder data source, multi-data source, and much more.

SmartConnect is ideal for the following migration scenarios:

  • When you need to generate data between systems with the correct timing for in-bulk, changes-only and real-time triggers.
  • If you need an item, invoice, customer, currency, or other factors created, updated, or deleted, you need to incorporate traditional integration.

Popdock

If you don’t want to move all your old records over, but you still need viewing access to certain historical data, choose Popdock, the virtual integration tool by eOne Solutions.

Instead of duplicating every record, Popdock copies it to the applications you’re working in, saving you from unnecessary expenses and frustration by making the entire process simple, cost-effective, and fast.

You can view all your important records and information from GP in any other system. It doesn’t matter if you have thousands or millions of records. Popdock can handle it.

Popdock can:

  • Allows you to leave old systems behind and turn off old SQL Servers
  • Save you money by removing the need to move every piece of data to your new system
  • Save you time because you don’t have to spend hours researching, which enables you and your team more time to deliver results with instant data access to critical business data
  • Empower financial, sales, support, marketing, and operations teams of all kinds to solve reporting, integration, and migration challenges
  • Allow you to access data from both on-premise and cloud apps: ERP, CRM, payment gateway, eCommerce, shipping, and more
  • Reduce IT requests because you can resolve data questions quickly with easy options to self-service, look-up, and filter
  • Allow you to integrate, migrate, and create reports without a single line of code or traditional custom development projects

Prepare the next system

After you have chosen SmartConnect, Popdock, or both to suit your migration needs, before starting the data migration, you must ensure the next system is ready to accept source data and that it has the required access rights and storage capacity.

When all of these steps have been completed, you will be able to access whatever data you need in your new system.

Data migration doesn’t have to be disruptive

It’s not uncommon for data migrations to go awry. Even when they don’t, it’s still expected that carrying out a migration while systems are still up and running can cause discrepancies in the system, inaccurate data, and unexpected downtime.

There is also the risk of losing data or uploading corrupt files. Losing data can majorly affect your business. This is yet another reason why planning and preparation is so important.

Since data migrations can make data more exposed and vulnerable, an even worse possibility is a data breach.

These are some of the many reasons why eOne Solutions created SmartConnect and Popdock. They can make your migration a secure and seamless process without disruptions.

In the event that a file didn’t upload correctly, or it was empty in the first place, with eOne’s tools, you can always check on each file’s status and re-upload a single file if need be.

Reach out for more information

Do you have more questions about data migration? Would you like some help learning more about SmartConnect and Popdock?

Whether you need to migrate historical data to your new system, connect and work amongst multiple cloud-based apps, perform seamless integrations from your on-prem systems to a cloud-based app, or several other scenarios, eOne’s iPaaS solutions, SmartConnect and Popdock, are able to provide exactly the help, support, security, and performance you need to work efficiently and surpass your goals.

Don’t waste time, money, and effort. Contact our sales team at sales@eonesolutions.com or 888-319-3663 ext. 1 for more personalized help answering your questions. They are always eager to provide help and answers for your migration needs.