Why The Best Data Migration Strategy Starts With People, Not Platforms
Data migration is often treated as a technology project, but according to Prashanthi Kolluru, founder of KloudPortal, in her recent Forbes Technology Council article, the people who understand the data may be just as important as the platform used to move it. It’s easy to start a migration by comparing platforms, tools and architectures. But before making those decisions, organizations need to understand the data itself—and that means talking to the people who work with it every day. Enterprise data often contains years of business rules, exceptions and workarounds that aren’t documented in technical specifications. A field that looks insignificant to an IT team might be critical to finance. A customer record may mean something different in two systems. And a reporting process might depend on a manual step that nobody thought to include in the migration plan. That’s why Kolluru recommends bringing together engineers, business owners, analysts and compliance teams early in the process. Each group sees a different part of the data landscape, and combining that knowledge can help identify problems before they become expensive surprises.
Clear ownership is another important piece. Large migrations can quickly become everyone’s responsibility—and therefore nobody’s responsibility. A dedicated leader with the authority to resolve conflicts and keep teams aligned can help prevent delays and confusion. The article also points out that change management goes beyond training. Employees need to understand what’s changing, how data definitions may be different, and what to do when something doesn’t look right.
A successful migration isn’t simply about getting data into a new system. It’s about making sure people can trust, understand and actually use that data once it gets there. The right platform can move the data. The right people determine what should move, how it should be validated, and whether the business is truly ready to use it.
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