Recently, I stumbled upon a relatively old article on Data Migration from TDWI that explains what it is, how it is different from other integration patterns, popular techniques and the typical challenges associated with this pattern.
Though the article is more than 5 years old, it still aligns with what we are seeing in the field today. Most of the customers use ETL technologies for their migration projects and thus the problems encountered are very similar to the ones we see in data warehousing patterns.
Data migration can be quite complex for various reasons:
- The source and target are most likely heterogeneous and thus data models will be very different
- Customers take migration as an opportunity to re-factor their current systems. However, this re-factoring often causes additional cost with additional time, effort and unexpected complexities.
- Getting alignment and time commitment from all stakeholders, impacted by the migration process.
It is no wonder that few stats from Bloor Research suggest the following:
- 84% of data migration projects fail to meet expectations.
- 37% of the projects exceed the original budget by ~30%.
- 67% are not delivered on time.
While the risks associated with migration projects may deter organizations from embarking on one, it is unavoidable for them to move away from an older/legacy system to a system that increases their efficiency, mitigates enterprise risk or empowers them to better leverage their data as a strategic advantage and do well in the market.
ETL Validator is precisely designed to minimize the aforementioned risks and to ensure the successful execution of data migration projects. A number of wizards in the tool and the visual query builder make it easy for testing teams to select sources and targets and automatically build and execute test cases.
By leveraging ETL Validator, projects can be delivered on time, in budget and with extremely high quality. In my next blog, I will explain the features in detail. If you are currently involved in a similar project, why wait? Download ETL Validator now and test drive it today.
