Move to Oracle Cloud - Successfully Migrate Your Data to the Oracle Cloud

OCTOBER 21, 2021 11:58 PM

Listen to article

Organizations are putting their best foot forward in converting their On-premises applications to the cloud - the shiny new toy that every enterprise is after. Although many businesses comprehend the importance of cloud systems and are willing to spend billions of dollars migrating data between information-intensive applications, up to 75 percent of these new systems fail to meet expectations due to flaws in the migration process.

Businesses that take the right cloud migration approach will be able to take advantage of the cloud's abundant benefits while transporting their businesses to the future.

On-Premises to Cloud Migration - This involves migrating your digital infrastructure from your on-premises environment (e.g., mainframes) to a cloud infrastructure through a cloud consultant.

Cloud-to-Cloud Migration - This involves migrating your digital infrastructure from one cloud infrastructure (usually outdated or less functional) to another (latest technology cloud infrastructure).

Understanding the hidden challenges in managing the migration process, it's essential to choose the best provider to optimize your investment; Oracle ERP Cloud's vast and significant functionalities go beyond the competition by delivering accurate data while mitigating the risk of delays and budget overruns.

Smooth Path to Successful Data Migration

Define and refine the project's scope by profiling and auditing the source data before mapping.
Investigate the length and breadth of data to be migrated and plan for the actual budget and timeline.
Perform unit-level testing and volume testing and secure sign-off at each stage.

1. Planning

Begin the migration process with a detailed cloud readiness assessment of your company's digital infrastructure; define what is achievable in terms of what the data sources will support.

High-level analysis of the source and target systems data migration scope refinement is integral due diligence to the success of the migration. The project's consulting resource should have in-depth knowledge of the business issues' past, present, and future.
Time and Material Costs: Analyze a realistic budget and timeline (in reality, a project is managed between 6 months and 2 years) for the following: auditing and profiling data; solution development for mapping; code creation for migration; data build and transfer; cleansing methods; and loading and testing the volume of data.
The Data Governance Team plays a vital role in migration, along with the business owner of the data, to ensure success.

2. Comprehension of the Data

Use top-down and target-driven approaches, such as region, line of business, and product type, to help the business owner refine the data, save time, and minimize effort. This also helps detect possible conflicts and identify what data needs to be migrated from the core source tables to assist users in resolving issues. Identify any inconsistencies in the data being migrated against the complete scope and assess its impact at an early stage before it occurs.

3. Mapping

Create Mapping Specifications by developing specific rules for transferring data from the source to the target system. Ensure the documentation is articulated and signed off by the business owner. Segmenting the migration of source data into increments will make it more efficient and easier to audit, map, and test. In addition, it will help the team make any necessary changes while still meeting the committed deadlines and set budget.

Before going live, test the mapping specification individually against the rules created to fix the errors in the testing environment before migrating the data.

4. Migration

Execute the migration rules, and the data will be extracted from the source system, transferred, cleansed, and loaded into the target system correctly without any data loss.

5. Testing

Once the data is migrated to the new system, perform the unit, system, volume, online application, and batch application tests-rerun the process if required at any stage. It will be expensive to rectify the data being changed in the source systems while the migration is in the development stage, so test the data as early as possible for each unit of work and get the business owner's signature.

6. Maintenance

Once data migration is complete, businesses can effectively manage their cloud infrastructure. Data audits can be carried out at any time on any set of data to check the project's scope. Deploying data quality tools helps maintain data in a consistent, high-quality state of readiness for future data migrations and cuts down cloud maintenance costs by a considerable margin.

7. Upgrades

This is one of the main benefits of migrating to the cloud-upgrading to the latest technologies is easier than ever. Cloud consultants perform these upgrades regularly and are based on the requirement to keep your cloud infrastructure updated on the latest technologies.

FAQs

What are the primary types of cloud migration, and why are they essential for businesses?
There are two main types of cloud migration: on-premises to cloud and cloud to cloud. On-premises to cloud migration involves moving digital infrastructure from a company's physical servers to a cloud environment. Cloud-to-cloud migration involves shifting data and applications between different cloud platforms, often to leverage newer or more functional technologies. Businesses undertake these migrations to improve scalability, reduce costs, enhance agility, and take advantage of advanced cloud capabilities, aiming for a more efficient and future-proof IT infrastructure.
Why do many cloud migration projects fail to meet expectations, and what steps can be taken to ensure success?
Despite substantial investments, many cloud migrations fail due to flaws in the migration process. This often stems from inadequate planning, poor data management, or selecting an unsuitable provider. To ensure success, organizations should meticulously define the project's scope, conduct thorough data profiling and auditing, invest in detailed planning, including budget and timelines, and implement rigorous testing at each stage. Choosing an experienced consultant with expertise in Oracle Cloud is crucial.
What are the key stages involved in a typical cloud data migration project?
A typical cloud data migration project encompasses several crucial stages. These include planning with a detailed cloud readiness assessment, understanding the source data through a top-down approach, carefully mapping data from source to target systems, migrating data using defined rules, testing data through various stages, implementing maintenance protocols, and performing upgrades when necessary. These stages, executed thoroughly and correctly, ensure a smooth and successful transition.
What is the significance of the 'Data Governance Team' in a cloud migration process?
The Data Governance Team, along with the data owner, plays a vital role in migration projects. This team ensures that the migrated data is accurate, complete, and conforms to established standards. They also help refine the data, identify inconsistencies, and ensure that the migration process meets the business's specific needs, thereby contributing to the project's overall success.
How does data mapping contribute to a successful migration, and what are its best practices?
Data mapping involves creating specific rules for transferring data from the source to the target system. Thorough documentation of these mapping specifications, signed off by the business owner, is crucial. Segmenting the source data into increments allows for more efficient auditing, mapping, and testing and facilitates easier adjustments. Rigorous testing of mapping specifications in a testing environment before the data migration helps identify and rectify errors early, reducing the risk of issues later on.

End note

This high-level cloud data migration process includes various intricacies at every stage that the Oracle Cloud consultant will address. The success lies in choosing the right cloud consultant as a partner. Contact us today to start your cloud migration!

About SMACT Works

SMACT Works is a technology-focused systems integrator and IT/ERP consulting firm. We deliver end-to-end consulting, managed, and implementation services for Oracle Cloud Applications, IaaS & PaaS, On-Premise PeopleSoft & EBS Applications. Headquartered in Dublin, OH, we have a global presence with North America and Asia offices. We are an Oracle Gold Partner Cloud Standard, ISO 9001, and 27001 certified delivery organization serving customers with Excellence and Integrity.