Data Migration

What is Data migration?

Data migration is the process of transferring large amounts of data from one place to another. Such transfers are often carried out in connection with system upgrades or replacements. You may consider moving PC files to an external hard drive as a simple form of data migration, but many migration processes can be very complex and time-consuming.

What is data migration used for?

Data migration is used to update enterprise technology, to either improve efficiency or increase security. Replacing old systems and having up-to-date technology is an important and unavoidable aspect of modern business.

A good strategy is essential for successful data migration. Unless you establish a good plan in advance, you risk losing data or experiencing downtime, which is clearly undesirable.

These are just some of the important factors to consider before your move:

• Understand the data quality; look at the current data status, how sensitive is it, what format is it in, and will the migration change this?
• Backup – If the migration fails, it is important both to know that all the data will be safe somewhere and to have a recovery plan.
• Timeframe – Data migration is often a major task and if you think it can be completed quickly, you should think again. Moving job data, for example, will affect many people, and downtime may be necessary. It is often a good idea to schedule migration for a weekend. You should not press the "start" button until you know exactly what you are getting into.

What types of data migration are there?

There are various types of data migration for different uses:

• Storage migration: This is when data is moved from one storage format to another, e.g. the digitisation of paper archives to online storage.
• Application migration: This is when you move from one application to another.
• Database migration: This is when the entire database is moved to a new location, e.g. from on-prem to cloud-based.

Cegal and Data migration

At Cegal, we perform all types of database migration, including database migrations from on-prem server to cloud solutions. These includes both Azure and Oracle migrations. It could be a subset of a customer's databases or the entire database.

When a database is moved and data migration is performed, it is up to the customer to decide whether to move the entire database or just a part of it, as some data may no longer be required. Cegal will choose the best method for migration based on the specific situation, ensuring that data is moved correctly and that the quality of the data is not affected during the process.

The data migration is first performed on the customer's test system(s) in order to test the method and determine how much downtime will be necessary in connection with the migration in production. With this type of migration, the on-prem database will act as a fallback if something does not go as planned.

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