You’ve heard the term “data migration.” You may be in the middle of a project right now. You may still be in the planning stages. Either way, you know one thing. Moving data between systems is rarely as easy as it sounds.
Data migration is the process of moving your records and files from one system to another. You keep the data intact. You keep it accurate. You keep it ready to use. You may be switching to a new CRM. You may be moving servers to the cloud. You may be consolidating ten old databases into a new data warehouse. Either way, the goal remains the same.
The hard truth is, data migration is risky. Bloor and Gartner research found that more than half of data migration projects end up ahead of schedule or over budget. That number is not small. It’s like flipping a coin.
The good news is simple. Most failures come from the same five mistakes. If you avoid them, you’ll be ahead of half the market.
What Makes Data Migration So Important?
Data migration does more than move files from one place to another. It affects almost every part of running a business.
- It helps with data center relocations and server upgrades.
- It helps different file formats work together.
- It helps website migrations and updates run smoothly.
- It keeps systems up and running during platform changes.
- It keeps your business’s daily records secure.
If you treat data migration as a trivial matter, you risk losing the most important thing in your business—clean, usable data.
The 5 Biggest Data Migration Mistakes
Let’s walk through the five mistakes that most often derail data migration projects. Catch these early. You will save time, money, and a lot of stress.
1. Leaving Business Users Out of the Process
Your project will impact your field staff. Sales teams, finance teams, support teams—anyone who uses the systems you’re changing. If you ignore their input, you’ll be fumbling in the dark. You won’t understand the real intricacies of how people use data. You won’t catch any problems that will arise once you start working with the new system.
You’ll also miss the opportunity to build trust before problems arise. The solution is simple. Involve business users early on. Ask them what they need. Tell them what’s changing and when. A five-minute discussion now could save you five days of fixing mistakes later.
2. Sticking With Outdated Business Rules
The old system has outdated rules. Your business model has probably changed since you last built your database. Your reporting needs have also grown. If your rules haven’t kept up with the times, your new system will have the same flawed logic.
This is your chance to fix it. Ask three questions when migrating:
- Which rules still make sense?
- Which fields are missing?
- Which definitions need to be changed?
Write it all down. A new system built on old, flawed rules isn’t really anything new. It’s just a faster version of the same problem.
3. Skipping Data Link Testing
Every migration project involves gathering data from multiple sources. Some connections are easy to spot. Others come up halfway through the process and throw your entire schedule into disarray. Before migration day, know the answers to three clear questions:
- How will the data connections be tested?
- Who will be responsible for this testing?
- When will the assessment be performed?
By skipping this step, you’ll be migrating data that you’ve never tested. As a result, faulty records and broken connections can go unnoticed. Often, the client will catch the error before you do.
4. Waiting Until the Target System Is “Ready”
Some teams pause their entire migration process while waiting for the new system to be fully set up. This tendency is reasonable. But it’s also costly. The longer you wait, the more your data quality improvements will go unnoticed.
Your business rule updates will also stall. Worse, your clients will notice the slowdown, and your deadlines will start to slip. You don’t need a perfect target system before you start data migration work. You need a clear plan that works alongside your setup, not after.
5. Going In Without the Right Expertise
Ready-made tools may seem tempting. They often cost less up front. But not knowing how a tool actually works can end up costing you a lot more later. Data migration is not a side project. It requires:
- Business consultants who know your system
- Migration architects who design the path
- ETL developers who build the pipeline
- Data quality specialists who catch issues before they go live
Skilled experts reduce the amount of broken data. They catch costly mistakes early. They get your project done on time. Saving money on experts now almost always ends up costing more to fix later.
A Better Way to Approach Data Migration
ExistBI solved exactly this problem for real customers. Boyd Corporation needed a single system for data across 26 plants. Those plants were using 18 different ERP systems. ExistBI built a data warehouse using Azure SQL, Informatica, and Power BI. This gave Boyd the first-ever view of all their operations in one place.
Idaho Power had a different problem. They needed to migrate data from SAP while maintaining data accuracy. The ExistBI team built and tested a new data pipeline to ensure the migration process went smoothly.
Both projects followed the same five-step plan that ExistBI uses for any migration:
- Start with an impact assessment before migration
- Involve business partners early
- Use a proven, agile-based migration methodology
- Choose the right tools for profiling, quality, and integration
- Work with a team skilled at managing complex data
Final Thoughts
There are always risks in data migration. But these five mistakes are responsible for most of the failed projects you read about. Involve your users. Update your business rules. Test your data links. Don’t wait. When you need it, get help from real experts.
ExistBI has guided companies of all sizes through these projects. This includes both decommissioning legacy systems and complete platform upgrades.
Planning a migration? Talk to an expert first. Don’t wait until something breaks. Visit www.existbi.com to book a free call with a data migration expert. Or call the team directly at +1 866 965 6332 (US/Canada) or +44 (0) 207 554 8568 (UK/Europe).
