Article summary:
There are plenty myths about data migration. The article debunks six common myths about data migration that can lead to costly mistakes.
Content Writer, Ispirer Systems
IT modernization often includes the need to migrate legacy infrastructure. That is why modernization always goes hand in hand with data migration. Why? Migration is a critical process that holds a lot together. Modernization is like building a skyscraper, where data transfer is its foundation. If the foundation is flimsy, then the entire building is at risk.
However, despite the importance of the migration stage, many migration myths still surround this topic. Today, we will debunking the most popular of them so that you do not mislead yourself and take the right path regarding data transition. Let's get started!
Myth 1. Data migration is just copying and pasting
Thinking that data migration is simply unloading data from a database into an Excel table is a strong simplification. Such a view can lead to serious consequences because migration is not just an administrative transfer task. Data migration involves a complex and multi-stage process. Firstly, data migration is not just transferring data from point A to point B. It also includes changing the data to fit the new database's architecture and cleaning, mapping, and validation. In addition, the original data may contain duplicates, gaps, misspellings, and errors that could lead to failures and extra hours of work to fix all the issues.
Second, companies underestimate the risks of migration. Based on the Gartner stats, data transfer is a significant risk in 38% of ERP projects. In addition, 75% of migration projects exceed the initial budget, negatively affecting the business due to poor planning or implementation.
Myth 2. All Data Must Be Migrated
Migration projects often miss deadlines due to a large data scope. In order not to waste time migrating unnecessary data, it is worth starting with an audit of your scope. Why? Because a large data scope 100% contains a large number of duplicates, inaccuracies, and errors. It is worth making it easier for yourself to work with data in a new environment and determining at the initial stage: Do we really need all these petabytes of data?
Myth 3. Migration is a one-time process
Many people perceive data transition as a one-time process. However, data migration is an ongoing, continuous process. As a business develops, organizations face the need to transfer their data to another, more efficient storage to optimize costs or improve processes. Therefore, it is worth treating migration as an ongoing process to which you will return again and again.
Some business owners often perceive data migration as a one-time action, considering only the task of transferring the data itself. In cases where transferring a prepared data scope is necessary, this can indeed be a one-time task. However, if we are talking about enterprise data transfer, such a project consists of several stages:
- Pre-migration. The first step of any data migration project is planning. Before starting the project, it is necessary to make a detailed plan, define the migration strategy, prepare the data, analyze the system requirements, estimate the project budget, determine the deadlines, ensure the data privacy compliance and choose the migration tool.
- Migration. This step includes migrating the data itself but also implies application and code changes, developing new infrastructure, and setting up a new system according to the business requirements. Testing is also a must after the transition stage.
- Post-migration. This stage usually involves supporting and maintaining the new system, providing additional data security measures, and administering and monitoring it.
Myth 4. We are too big and complex to run on migration
Many organizations have used their outdated infrastructure for years, feeling stuck with large volumes of data. You might think, “What migration are you talking about? We have petabytes of data, so data transition would be too risky and cost a fortune”.
These words have some truth. But in reality, many organizations today opt for cloud migration in such cases. The thing is that large businesses do not need to migrate all data at once. The bigger the business, the more flexible it can be in terms of transfer to the cloud. It can migrate step by step, focusing on the areas that benefit the most first—whether that's applications, storage, or disaster recovery.
Overall, the cloud isn’t an “all or nothing” decision. The bigger your company, the more cloud flexibility helps.
In reality, there are plenty of migration tools that streamline data movement regardless of the size of the scope. SQLWays is one of them. The tool uses multithreaded migration to ensure your data migration is fast and efficient. So, there is always a way out.
Myth 5. Cloud migration is too expensive
There is a popular migration myth about the cost of migrating to cloud. Many tech experts believe that migrating to the cloud is too expensive and difficult. Given that data migration requires careful preparation, planning, and the right expertise, such projects cannot be cheap.
There are factors that determine the cost of cloud migration, including the data scope, moving, integration, testing challenges, and the cost of ongoing support services after the transition. However, in reality, maintaining legacy software costs way more than cloud adoption. Some of the hidden costs of legacy databases:
- Vendor lock-in. Many businesses are tied to their database providers and, as a result, pay substantial renewal fees every year. Instead of investing in their business growth and innovation, companies have to waste their dollars on maintaining legacy software. Apparently, such an approach may hinder business development in a competitive market.
- Overhead costs. Maintaining legacy software often leads to increasing support and maintenance costs over time. In 2019, the US Federal government spent 80% of the IT budget on operations and maintenance.
- Downtime due to failures, system crashes, or slow performance
So, in reality, cloud migration can seem costly, but it is an investment that saves a lot of resources in the long term. Adopting cloud technologies may optimize data management and enhance operational efficiency.
Myth 6. Data migration isn't worth it because it’ll take too long and it’s too risky
Before assessing migration risks, it is worth asking yourself the following questions: What risks await us if we do not migrate?
As a rule, the issue of migration does not arise out of nowhere. There are always reasons why an organization is asking about migration, which means there are sore spots that push the company to migrate. Sometimes, the reason is that the company wants to implement a new system but cannot because of an outdated system that supports outdated data formats, architecture, old protocols, etc.
Before migration, it is worth weighing all the pros and cons. But it is worth remembering that it’s always riskier not to migrate data because businesses then run the risk of being unable to leverage new technologies and analytics in the market that could improve their product offerings and customer experience — and, ultimately, the chance of being left behind by their competitors.
The longer you wait, the more it costs
Data migration is not only transferring data from one location to another - it is often about staying competitive. The longer a company waits, the more risks, higher costs, security gaps, and falling behind.
Use SQLWays to avoid lagging behind and migrate data effectively. This tool will reduce migration time, automate processes, and save your resources on switching to a new technology. Book time to communicate with our experts and discuss all the details. You can also calculate the cost of your future project in our calculator.
