What You Need To Know About Software Migration: Challenges, Benefits and Types

Any software or hardware that you use will become obsolete in a couple of years. Even if they are usable, they would not meet the performance requirements of ever-evolving industries. 

Every once in a while, for a myriad of reasons, you will find yourself in a situation where you will need to transfer software onto a new operating environment. It can include applications, Content Management Systems (CMS), databases and more. This practice is known as software migration. 

As advantageous as software migration is for businesses, there is also a series of challenges associated with this process. By properly managing the entire project, your business will be able to fully benefit from transferring software onto newer, compatible and advanced systems. Let’s take a look at what the challenges of migrating software is, what its benefits are and what the different types of software migration are. This information will help you hire the best software migration services.

Challenges of migrating software

• Time to complete migration - The successful migration of large systems such as databases and CMS can easily take up anywhere between months to years. It can result in erratic downtimes and hamper ongoing projects. 

• Migration costs - Migrating software on a company-wide scale is an expensive commitment. There is a wide range of costs involving licensing, purchases, labor and support. Moreover, it can hinder your team from performing routine work functions due to temporary migration-related outages.

• Privacy - Data privacy is a major concern when migrating software. Any lapse in migration strategy can inadvertently result in the leak of sensitive and business critical data. This can lead to dented company image and may even go to the extent of eliciting legal action.

• Interoperability - All of your company’s software cannot be migrated at once. They will require frequent testing and only then will they be deployed in batches. As you will still be using legacy systems along with the new upgraded solutions, you may need to decide which system you will use to store your data.

• Retraining employees - Once you begin migrating software, you will need to educate your employees on how to use the new systems. Seeing this process through will require a considerable amount of time and money.

These challenges can be overcome by formulating an efficient migration strategy. It should involve a clear roadmap, thorough testing at each phase of migration, involving in-house experts and more. You will be able to fully reap the benefits of software migration on successful implementation of transfer strategy.

Benefits of software migration

Whether you’re looking to migrate software for better performance, remote operations or any other - on the overall, software migration offers a plethora of benefits for virtually all businesses.

• Reduced costs - Legacy systems are not only barriers to digital transformation, but they are also expensive to maintain. It would be less expensive to upgrade your system and carry out business functions rather than continuing to use legacy systems.

• Increased speed - Migration to new technology lets you perform tasks in a more streamlined and efficient manner. This new capability translates to higher output speeds, allowing you to make more profits in a short span of time.

• Enhanced scalability - Besides the difficulty of integrating your legacy system with new applications, scaling up outdated systems is exacerbating. By migrating your software to newer, smoother and faster technology environments, you can seamlessly scale up when you want to.

• Better security - Outdated systems use an older architecture. Adding to that, they don’t receive security updates. This opens up a lot of room for security breaches to occur. When you migrate your software to newer, support-enabled systems, you can avoid such problems and strengthen your data security.

• Operability - If you choose to move your software applications to the cloud, then you can store information on cloud services. That means remote accessibility to software applications, automatic updates, enhanced collaboration efficiency and more.

Types of software migration

The cost, duration and complexity of migrating software depends on the type of software you want to transfer. Let’s take a look at what they are.

• Operating System (OS) migration

OS migration refers to changing your system’s operating system from one software to another. It can also refer to moving your OS from one hardware device to another. Most popularly known OSes are Windows and OSX. This software migration is done to either improve processing speeds or add new functionality. 

• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) migration

ERP software is a program that integrates with and brings together many business divisions under one roof. Because of how massive and complex it is, migrating such a system requires careful planning before execution. Once an ERP software is migrated, there is usually no need to migrate them again for a long time.

• Database migration

This migration type refers to moving databases from either one location to another, or converting databases into a format that can be understood by a new system. By migrating databases, you can enhance data security and have easier access to all your information.

• Content Management System (CMS) migration

CMS migration refers to transferring tools that help manage and create content from one provided to another. If you choose to use more customization features, get better support, increase website speeds and more, you may need to migrate your CMS. 

• IT infrastructure migration

This migration type refers to migrating a collection of administrative and customer support software applications from one data center to another. IT infrastructure migration is most commonly done when organizations relocate or scale up and down.

Conclusion

Migrating your business software to newer operating environments is highly advantageous. When you decide to make the shift, it is important to consider the challenges associated with the process. With an effective roadmap and systematic execution plan, you will be able to seamlessly migrate your software services. If you’re looking for the best software migration services, contact SmartPoint. They are highly skilled in helping businesses realize their true profit potential by migrating software. Contact them today.

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mayajoseph Joined: September 9th, 2020