Data Migration Strategy – Planning & Executing

Data migration is never been easier, unless it’s planned well and the right migration strategy is used. Data migration typically accounts for more than 60% of the total hours in a database development project and requires a lot of engagement and input. Data migration is different from database migration and involves translating data itself from one platform or device to another. A good Data migration strategy should take into account the tasks that needs to be performed in Pre-migration, Migration and Post-migration

Pre-migration

The pre-migration phase includes all the tasks which are to be carried out before the actual data migration takes place

Understanding the Data

Selecting the right data migration strategy starts with understanding the data. Before migrating data, data models needs to be analyzed.  If the database vendor are same like Oracle to Oracle, then copying total database schema would suffice the requirement. If it is from one DB to the other like Oracle to MySQL then we need to take care of data type and database specific issues.

Setting the expectation with Business:

Data migration is often done to introduce a new system or upgrade the current system. This may require the business to adapt their operational process or create additional processes to support the system.  It is important to set the expectation with the business about the changes, downtime and the new process that needs to be followed after data migration. The business managers who knows the data of the system should be well informed about the data migration process. 

Business planning should also include task owner chart where each task assigned to the owner, who will be present on the day of migration and takes predefined actions in case something goes wrong.

Phasing

Phasing is a good idea if the data involved in migration is huge or affects multiple systems. Understanding how the data is put together can help in migrating data in phases. Phasing will also help in data cleansing and integration issues, where the Data expert can focus on particular area and resolve issues quickly.

Data Validation

Data validation can be viewed as an extension of “Understanding Data” stage. Source data validation may be required in cases where the target system has specific mandatory attributes. Some cases may also require one to one detailed mapping or user defined source data manipulation.

Data Cleansing

Poor data quality in a legacy system can affect the data migration in numerous ways. Inaccurate data can be both costly and time consuming. Data cleansing would ensure that the source data is in fit to be sent to the target system.

Testing

Perhaps the most important task of the pre-migration process is testing. Everything and anything that might go wrong should be tested and necessary back up plan should be made. Testing should be carried out with different data sets repeatedly until the process achieves the target system quality check criteria consistently.

Migration

The migration process should ensure that the data is transferred from source to target system seamlessly. As mentioned earlier, the task owners should be present during the migration. Migration downtime should allow unexpected delays and source systems should be frozen before the migration begins. Production run and communication of status are two important phases of migration.

Post Migration

It’s the final and most important phase of data migration. Depending on the quality checks at the Target system, the source system can be on standby or run parallel. Cleanup of the temporary system process and ensuring the final data is complete is important aspect of the post migration process. Fallout assessment must be done and any manual intervention should be carried out while keeping the business users in the information loop.

Top 5 trends that will drive custom software development in 2014

1.Cloud is the new Hardware:

Industry shifts have always been driven by emerging computing platforms. Computing has evolved from PC to client server base to Web based. Companies are cutting down costs on servers, storage and networking equipment by software defined cloud computing. Not to mention the benefits of scalability, upgrades and maintenance of Cloud computing. This trend is set for 2014 and beyond.

2.Mobile Mobile everywhere:

The explosion of mobile devices would push the limits of technology to offer customized solutions that can enable users to work from anywhere. Mobile enabled apps offers seamless connection between computing and communicating. Machine to Machine (M2M) Technologies will push the industry to create more of mobile operated machines where the apps acts as key to remotely control door or room temperature etc. The keyword to emphasis is higher security without compromising on usability and accessibility.

3.Big Data Big rewards

Industries like health care, hospitality and life sciences are adopting big data analytics to understand and predict future trends. This in turn would create high demand for Interactive Data visualization offered by Business Intelligence tools. Managing big data to make sense for making business decisions has always been in the agenda of customized software creation. 

4.SQL Returns

New database developments are evangelizing the return to SQL, although not by better hardware or architecture but through NewSQL solutions.  NoSQL initially perceived as “No more SQL” has been praised for performance, scalability and availability. However the development cost and data refactoring efforts seems to be higher than those associated with SQL data stores.  This has prompted users to turn to NewSQL which combines the advantages of NoSQL with the power of SQL. Differences aside SQL is definitely back in Fashion and trending in 2014.

5.High five to HTML5

HTML5 has been around for quite some time, but business have started understanding the advantages of HTML5. More and more applications are using HTML5 for its sheer benefits of write once, play everywhere concept. HTML5 makes creating accessible sites easier for two main reasons: semantics and ARIA. Popular browsers all support HTML5 (Chrome, Firefox, Safari IE9 and Opera) and the HTML5 “doctype” was created so that all browsers, even the really old one can use it. Thanks to audio and video support of HTML5We can forget about Flash Player and other third party media players. So let’s hive five to HTML5, its here to stay.

Customer requirement or problem can demand either engineering-based approach for developing business solutions, or an incremental approach, where software evolves as it is developed piece-by-piece. Regardless of the approach we choose, at PsiberTech we follow the Apps Development Model, ADM. ADM design model ensures that Simple, effective and good quality software is delivered to the customer. 

Here’s why Apps are better than Solutions when it comes to SharePoint

The world is getting smaller day by day, thanks to technology. Big desktops became Bulky laptops, then they became Notebooks. Notebooks became Ultra-thin books & now the trend is moving towards Tablets and Smart phones. And applications are catching up to them. Web applications are becoming web apps. When it comes to SharePoint "Apps" is not just a marketing strategy to increase use of SharePoint in wider markets, but also a complete replacement of sandbox approach with many other Pros for both Development, Deployment and Usage.

At PsiberTech, we create apps using SharePoint to do interesting & informative things, such as:

1. Reading documents, 

2. Adding posts, 

3. Performing searches, 

4. Connecting people, and so on. 

SharePoint 2013 provides a wide variety of features, including Search, workflow, social networking, taxonomy, user profiles, BCS, and much more. We can help you connect to and integrate with these features from within an app using SharePoint APIs.

Here’s why we could be your partner in this endeavor

PsiberTech is engaged in offering end-to-end business solutions for Microsoft SharePoint Server and SharePoint Application Development. We offer complete solutions that include planning, installation, implementation, development, customization and deployment for Microsoft SharePoint Solutions. 

We have several years of experience in creating custom applications. Hence, we understand the requirements for the Business and build best of classic solutions via apps that increase employee productivity. Our uniqueness is the blend of experience, creativity and technical skills that when combined deliver extraordinary digital experiences with the perfect balance of form and factor. We are a Microsoft Strategic partner and are regularly singled out for incorporating cutting-edge design and technical excellence into all of our customer engagements.

Cloud BI – Tops the list of the Business Intelligence Trend for 2014

Cloud computing is set to dominate the IT trend this year because of three main reasons:

1. Availability
2. Cost efficiency and
3. Flexibility

When it comes to Business Intelligence tool these three factors plays a vital role. Cloud BI applications continue to gain popularity among companies of all sizes as they seek to optimize efficiency and effectiveness and gain a competitive edge. Cloud Business Intelligence (BI) applications are simply BI applications hosted on the internet. They provide organizations with easy access to BI-related data such as dashboards, KPIs and other business analytics.

PsiberTech’s Cloud Business Intelligence application “purple” allows managers, decision makers and end-users to analyze the data visually thereby providing them an overview of their business performance and trends instantly.

Cloud BI “purple “application offers some significant advantages over on premise BI applications:

Ease of use:  
End users can setup and access it in no time.

Deployment speed:
Deployment and updates require no additional hardware or software installations.

Scalability and elasticity:
It can be easily scaled to support big or small organizations

Accessibility:
It can be accessed using any web browser from any mobile devices.

Cost efficiency:
One of the greatest advantages of Cloud BI “purple” are cost savings and reduced capital commitment. In the cloud, the software and system upgrades are done almost in near real-time.  This means that the users can focus completely on data consumption and analysis, getting the most from BI without having to deal with the infrastructure.

Click here to find out how cloud BI “purple” can help your business.