Back to data migration talk. Although DM might be associated with significant efforts and costs, it’s still better than leaving everything as it is (in a mess).

Here are some reasonable reasons to migrate:

• Increased compliance
• Improved functionality
• Future proofing
• Reduced total cost of ownership (TCO)
• Performance, reliability, scaleability
• Reduced risk of scope cutting, cost overrun, or project delay
• Improved data consistency across systems, processes, and organization
• Increased responsiveness to the business

CleanUp! You first hear these words as a kid from your parents. Clean Up! When you hear this you usually know you’ve made a mess. Clean Up! This is what you shouldn’t be hearing, or, for that matter, thinking, in regards to your company’s data. Or, at least, if the prospect ever crosses your mind, it shouldn’t look as nasty and unpleasant as it used to in your childhood. =)

But nonetheless, clean up you should. If your source systems and initial data are a mess, of course. The obcession with clean data is only justified in this world of Business Intelligence, where looking at the picture as a whole and thinking big is not an encouraged, yet infrequent occurance anymore, but a requirement.

One of the key elements to having your data clean and having a global view of your organization’s lifecycle is data migration. Wise data migration with an appropriate strategy and the right tools, not the sort where you splash money and remain in the same spot you started.

Anyway, a whitepaper I came across got me thinking about this, so you can download it and check it out for yourself over here. It’s called The Hidden Costs of Data Migration and it touches upon the issue of data migration, whether to employ it or not, and the costs associated with it.

Data migration has become a routine task in IT departments. However, with the need for critical systems to be available 24/7 this has become both increasingly important and difficult. This White Paper will outline the factors that are driving data migration and examine the hidden costs that may be encountered when data is moved.

While reading the news this morning, I stumbled upon a link to this new website called DataMigrationPro. Apparently, the new web site is devoted entirely to data migration!

Thoughts upon checking it out: although it’s new and there isn’t too much user activity going on, I think it has enough potential to become a useful data migration database. Looks like a great opportunity for professionals to share knowledge, find relevant information and enrich their networks. There are interest groups and blogs focusing on the key areas of data migration, top data migration-related news and events, and much more.

Data Migration Pro is a global community platform that enables members and organisations to deliver more successful data migration projects by enabling knowledge, opportunities and best-practices to be shared and developed.

Membership is free and we welcome registration from all professionals and organisations connected with the data migration profession