Data Migration
Data migration is one of the single largest risk factors in any project of this nature and it is critically important that it is well planned and executed.
Initially a review is jointly undertaken into the interim repository in which the different legacy databases should be placed. For smaller supporting databases we usually prescribe a pre determined Excel spreadsheet into which the data should be directly migrated. For larger data volumes we have template SQL tables that are used in a similar form.
Time is then required to understand the logical construction of the proposed Pro-8 configuration. This enables the team to understand how the migrated data will be categorised and segmented within the new system.
Great emphasis is placed at this stage on knowledge transfer between the teams. It is imperative that ProTech understand the types of segmentation that is required from the end production system and vital that the client understands what facilities are offered by Pro-8 to aid in this data formation.
ProTech has a very specialised data migration rules engine that can be configured to manipulate and build data from source data. Based on the initial configuration decisions this data rules engine would be configured for the migration.
Decisions are then made as to how clean the various data streams are, in particular noting the accuracy of addresses, the duplication of records and the redundancy of data. The rules engine can in many cases be configured to accommodate such issues but in some cases 3rd party tools maybe employed to assist in this exercise. ProTech's partner Experian QAS are experts in data quality and data migration. Experian QAS have a complete suite of products, datasets and professional services that dramatically improves the migration process of all name and address data. Their migration tools facilitate database merging and synchronisation, by pulling all name and address data from your disparate databases and legacy systems into one clean, consistently formatted database. Additional data can also be added to contacts' addresses during the process to further enhance the value of your data.
Having cleaned and prepared the data streams the process of an iterative migration would begin.
The data is processed through the ProTech migration routines utilising the rules engine. The initial results are offered to the client for an early evaluation of the results. These results are supported with detailed exceptions and results reports for management evaluation of the level of success.
It is then normally the case that this process is repeated several times; each time the rules engine being tweaked to accommodate exceptions and build further value into the migration process.
All these activities would run parallel with other project items so that by the time the full user acceptance testing migration is run the data is in the best possible condition it can be.