Four reasons why data migration is stressful during a sales force implementation.

There are many practical reasons why you need to migrate from old-school databases to Salesforce. However, this transfer of data from one storage device or computer system to the Salesforce ERP system can be time-consuming, not to mention, it can pose many risks. Migrating data from your old database into the Salesforce is easier said than done. During a Salesforce implementation, data migration can account for up to 60 percent of all the work involved. This is considering the total cost involved in configuration, training and project management. Now there are four basic reasons as to why this happens.

These include having a messed-up or disorganized data, not having data in the right format, mapping data for migration and the final import of data. And to implement salesforce successfully, you will need to look into each of these four aspects. For example, an organization’s data could be helter-skelter and they would need to have it organized. Or data could reside in an improper format, in which case they would need to format the data to get it to the required format. Also, data may need to be mapped, so that it can be migrated properly. The mapping process has to be done carefully. If not, successful data migration won’t be possible. Finally, data has to be imported to the new data base for the completion of the migration process. So, these are the four stages involved in the data migration process. The organization needs to be extra careful at each stage of the migration process, so that data migration can be implemented successfully.

Messed-up dataIn the beginning, almost every organization’s data is messed up. Even the best ERP software development company in Bangalore can have messed-up data just lying around. And redundant and inconsistent or incomplete are often the major culprits here. So, the data has to be essentially cleaned out and only then can it be migrated to the Salesforce. There are many data deduplication services available, that perform this task in a snap, thereby eliminating redundant or duplicate data and thus, making the process of data migration faster and more cost-effective. However, the bigger challenge here is inconsistent or incomplete data. This is a global problem and must be resolved at any cost, even before the data migration process begins.

Improper data formattingData often exists in a particular, familiar format. And when data exists in such a format, it’s often difficult to perform the migration process. So, therefore, such data won’t be available for use on the Salesforce. This happens mostly because people often load two field values into one field. So, these values need to be parsed before they can be migrated into their respective fields. The opposite can also occur, wherein you will need to merge two data fields into one before the migration can happen. Since both the processes aren’t recognized globally, it consumes much time. So, the assessment should happen on a field-to-field basis. Automation can be used to speed up this process, though.

Mapping data for migrationMapping is essentially a process by which a new destination is selected for the data migration process. If you happened to have had one field in your current legacy system, then you probably will have two in the new database and vice-versa. A good ERP software development company in India always keeps its mapping simple. And for good reason too. This is because if in case you choose to change the names of the fields, there’s a good chance that it can cause confusion in the migration process. This can, in turn, makes the mapping process more complex than usual.

Final import of dataWhen data is moved to the new database, three basic improvements should have occurred. These include better search capabilities, better user interfaces and better reporting. The data importing process requires a separate ‘import session’ for each of the new tables in the database. The process to be followed during this import session is to import data, assign a record number to it and the table associated with it, and finally import the bundled data that matches, back into the database. This process can become quite cumbersome, but at times, you may as well use the import tools, which will help reduce the number of sessions. So, there are a number of reasons why data migration is hard. And a good software development company in India or elsewhere know this for a fact.

Preparing for successful data migrationIn order to be better prepared to successfully implement data migration, you will need to do one or more of the following:
✔ Be sure to provide your consulting group with a long list of reports that you would want to compile before the actual data migration process begins. This gives the consultants an idea about what tables and how many tables to use before the configuration process.
✔ Having realistic expectations about the time, it takes for the entire data migration process always helps. So, ask your consultants to set their expectations only after they have reviewed the data.
✔ Have staff who have extensive knowledge about the data help the consultants in preparing for and validating the data migration process.

So, being prepared for data migration can be of great help to the organization. By following the above-mentioned steps, you can ensure you have a smooth data migration process. In addition, you may also need to verify all the points of integration, have a detailed mapping and migrate only that data which you actually need and use. Also, test and validate the data migration process to ensure that the process has been performed correctly. Testing will allow you to find and fix any errors that may be a hindrance to the entire process.

The process of data migration may not be all that fun to do when setting up your new database, but it’s as important as the design and building phases of the database. You simply cannot do without it. And a successful ERP software development company in Bangalore has a thorough understanding of it, which is why its databases are thriving.