So, you’re migrating from RDIMS to GCDOCS. We have 10 tips that will help you get through the migration successfully. Here are the first 5.
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There is no magic wand for migration.
As much as we would like to be able to flick a wand and migrate content with a little “bippity, boppity, boop,” we can’t. Good migration products can, however, reduce the effort and cost of a migration. It is safe to say that any migration product or serve group that promises an “overnight” or “push-button” migration is not going to be the best option.
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Migration requires a considerable investment of time and resources.
Avoid any timeline commitments until you have developed a solid migration plan. Go through all of the early pre-migration steps to ensure the best understanding of how your users are interacting with content. Things like what they like and dislike about their ECM is vital to a successful migration. Also, consider outside resources to ensure the sanity of your current IT team.
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Source environments change over time.
You can’t assume data structures have been fixed and unchanged since the system was implemented. Look for previous data imports, line of business process integration, and user error to complicate your migration. Ignore historical changes to data at your peril. That might sound daunting, but it is most definitely the truth.
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Your RDIMS and GCDOCS experts are not migration experts.
It is true that they are experts in those particular ECMs. However, they are not experts in how to go from one to the other. Assemble the proper team to guide you through this complex process. Strongly consider outside sources with relevant migration skills and experience. Don’t let the other guys get in the way and tell you how to do things. Let your team work through each step without interference.
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Things are going to break and get lost.
From the discovery of old, corrupted data to incompatible features, there is no migration that offers 100% parity. However, if you take the time to do all of the planning that is involved in a migration, you can minimize the effects of these things. We cannot stress enough about how important migration planning is to the migration itself.
It isn’t all doom and gloom when it comes to migration, but there are some very serious considerations that need to be made before the actual migration. Check back here for five more tips for migrating RDIMS to GCDOCS, and download our whitepaper to help you with your migration. Also, join us Tuesday, January 31, 2017 for a webinar that will explain these in greater detail!
