The Complete Data Migration Checklist for Your Business

Data migration is one of the key tools for making your business a success. There are so many plans to choose from, that it may seem overwhelming at first glance. But when trying to decide the right strategy for you, the smartest decision is to make a checklist.

As your business grows, you’ll inevitably need to migrate your data to a new system, which can be daunting. However, it can be easier with proper planning and preparation. The complete data migration checklist is a step-by-step guide that covers everything from choosing the right tool for the job to ensuring that your data is properly backed up. There are many similar tools to Flatfile, but Flatfile is the only one that offers all the features you’ll need to migrate your data successfully. With Flatfile, you can rest assured that your data will be migrated quickly and efficiently without losing quality. So if you’re looking for a complete solution for your data migration needs, Flatfile is a clear choice.

 Having access to the right checklist can help plan your data migration rather easily.  So here are 9 tips for both understanding the data migration process and making the best of it:

Data Migration Checklists

#1. Picking the Perfect Strategy

The first step is to create an easy to follow strategy for you and your team. IT should include finding the best data migration tools, striking the right balance between the IT and business sections, and vetting all the stakeholders. This would ensure that all the teams will be ready and prepared when the complete migration happens. 

#2. Project Initiation

The project initiation stage will mainly be about finding the best forms of communication between stakeholders. During this phase, you will decide on multiple factors such as the machines, software, tools, and licenses needed. Some specific tools to look further into are:

• data cleansing tools

• quality proofing

• project management software 

• reporting software. 

Don’t forget to give yourself a few weeks to give it all some serious thought!

#3. Landscape Analysis

The phase involves finding information on the structure, context and content of the data you are looking to migrate. Just like with migrating large data, the smaller data needs its own tools. This is so the details won’t get screwed up or affect the big picture. A few of the parameters you would be expected to check in this context can include 

• The amount of data you want to migrate 
• The type of data 
• The attributes of the data 
• Reduction of any redundant data. 

#4.Prioritize Your data

Next, classify the data into multiple categories. A large part of a successful data migration setup is prioritizing such as deciding what qualifies as high quality and where it should go.

You can categorise the data into different categories based on a variety of parameters, some of which may include:

• file type 
• file size
• the age of the file 

Another tip is to focus on different data extraction scenarios, as well!

#5. Prepare for the Migration

This step will include preparing all of the data you are planning to migrate. The steps involved in preparing for the migration can consist of:

• compression of the data
• improving the metadata
• changing the filetype 
• making sure everything is pre-processed

Keep in mind when the data migration begins, just in case anything goes wrong!  You would need to take special care of this period since everything is at its most vulnerable. 

#6. Organize, collect and extract the data

This is the phase where you start transferring your data and keep in mind, that this will be both time consuming and tedious. But don’t rush anything as it could harm the data being transferred. Remember: patience is a virtue.

Pro- Tip: If you are using a third-party data migration tool or software, it would be a good idea to ask them questions. 

#7. Confirm the transfer process

Once the data migration is in process or even completed, you would need to confirm that everything is in order. Try completeing a testing phase to ensure that the tools are running as they should be. If you notice something going amiss, you would want to stop the process and take corrective actions immediately. 

#8. Complete export

Once you have confirmed the migration is processing smoothly, it’s time to export the data wherever it needs to go. Use a software vendor to fix any minor issues and get your IT department to verify that everything has fallen into place. 

#9. Inform Your Stakeholders

In the final stage, inform all the stakeholders about the completion of the data migration process. Be sure to ask for feedback from both your employees and stakeholders about the data migration process outcome. 

The Closing Thoughts

While the process may seem daunting at first, it’s an easier process once you follow this checklist. Through these steps, you should have an impeccable data migration plan for your organization.