How to Plan a Successful Data Migration for Your Business

[This article was written by Anica Oaks.]

In today’s world, virtually all businesses have vast amounts of data stored on computers. However, as with most things that continue to be improved as time goes by, the day may come when your data needs to be moved to a new and improved platform. Whether this comes from a provider no longer supporting your software or other factors, having a successful data migration is crucial to ensure a smooth transition. If you are ready to avoid the chaos of lost data, here is how to plan for a successful data migration.

Assemble Your Migration Team

Long before your data migration begins, assemble your team that will be responsible for making the movement of data successful. This should include your company’s tech experts, and also key individuals from all departments. By having such representation, business needs as well as any gaps in your existing software can be addressed prior to the migration.

Inventory Data and Applications

Since your business likely uses multiple applications in retrieving and storing data, make a full inventory of your data and the applications used for different types of data. This should include everything from business documents and email folders to invoices, calendars, and other data that can be successfully migrated using Oracle NetSuite cloud ERP or a similar program.

Create a Timeline

While you don’t want to rush through your company’s data migration, you also don’t want it taking far longer than necessary. In most of these situations, the longer a data migration takes place, the greater the likelihood some data may get lost in the transfer. To keep this from happening, create an internal timeline for not only the data migration itself, but also for subsequent training that will need to take place for your employees once the new software is in place.

Secure Your Company’s Data

If there is one time where your company’s data is at its most vulnerable, it is during a data migration from one software system to another. During these events, not only is there the chance certain data could be lost due to unexpected human or system error, but also that hackers could take advantage of the situation to steal customer or financial data. Thus, secure the data at each step of the migration by having data privacy protections put in place by your tech team.

By starting the planning process well ahead of time and gaining input from all areas of your business, a successful data migration can take place.