Storage migration can be tricky for a lot of reasons. Researching and choosing the right storage system, predicting storage needs, managing downtime, testing, and scheduling each have their own set of important considerations and potential pitfalls.
Give Yourself Enough Time for Your Migration Project
One of the most common mistakes that managers and administrators make is not building enough time into the migration project schedule. Here, we highlight some of the components of the process that can easily be forgotten or underestimated as you plan your storage migration timeline.
Continuing Other IT Duties: Especially in small and mid-sized businesses, the IT team members rarely wear just one hat. If you’re trying to manage a migration while juggling other duties at the same time like network administration, security, or support, anticipate some delays for lower-priority deliverables. Adding a new responsibility also adds switching time between tasks. Make sure you plan for all of this. Get management’s understanding and buy-in for some possible temporary changes to business operations until the migration is complete.
Mapping and Documentation: Prior to moving a single file, you’ll be spending time mapping out your current data – where it is, where it’s headed, and what systems and processes will be affected. This is a big area in which an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so don’t rush. In some industries, regulatory compliance may also require you to document the process in case of an audit. Again, you’ll save yourself a lot of trouble down the road by making time to address the details properly.
Phasing Your Migration: Depending on what data you’re moving and how much there is, chances are you won’t be migrating it all at once. Build in time to phase the migration, starting with applications and data stores that will be easier and lower-risk to move.
Data Cleaning and Deduplication: Have you been putting off data cleaning and deduplication? Now is the time to take care of it. You won’t just be removing this nagging task from its usual position hanging over your head. By cleaning and deduplicating now, you’ll reduce the risk of data corruption and loss during the move.
Communicating with Users: Especially if they’ll experience downtime for critical applications, you’ll need a solid communication plan for letting your users know what to expect. Even if you intend to migrate outside of business hours, give users a heads-up and plenty of reminders. You never know if someone will be expecting to access an application late at night due to an unexpected deadline. Management buy-in and understanding of the risks and implications of the project is also critical. It’s hardly possible to communicate too much about these types of undertakings. Both before, during, and after the project, have a plan for keeping everyone informed of the migration status and how it will affect them.
Testing: Once the migration is done, you’ll want to test the data before unleashing the entire user base onto it. All the better if you can get some real users to do this. They’re the ones who will know whether the migration was truly successful when they validate that their job function can be seamlessly continued.
Know When to Ask for Help
Storage migrations aren’t for novices! What seems like a straightforward project can quickly spiral into a time-consuming and expensive mess if your team doesn’t possess the right skills and experience. If in doubt, it’s a good idea to explore your options for having an outside vendor or consultant assist. There are of course budget implications for doing this. But the cost of getting it wrong can also be huge – think of business disruptions, investments in the wrong equipment, and lost IT team productivity due to rework. Know your team’s limits and when to ask for help with planning or executing the project.
Planning a storage migration? Before you jump in, we also recommending checking out The Importance of a Smooth Migration. You might also be interested in our post about comparing file storage systems.
To discuss your new or refurbished storage equipment options, contact a Summit representative.
