Data Centre Migration Risks
Your business has decided that it’s in its best interests to perform a data centre move. Between you and your migration service provider you’ve formulated a relocation plan, created a migration checklist, observed best practice and set a date. What can possibly go wrong?
Hopefully nothing, but a data centre migration can potentially be everything from a bumpy ride to a disaster. At this stage, it’s of paramount importance to review the risks associated with this project. Here are some of the most common pitfalls –
- Unrealistic timeline: It’s key to build adequate contingency into the migration timeline (and then add some!). Hopefully, you won’t need it, but always consider the worst case scenario. Conducting a Test Migration is a very good idea at this stage, as it can give you some idea of the ‘best case’ entire duration of a project. It will also allow you to avoid any unpleasant surprises, as well as highlight problems that can be fixed in advance of your move. However, keep in mind that the actual production migration often takes longer than the dummy run – at your new data centre, you won’t be in your familiar test lab.
- Hidden data and software complexities: This is a good point at which to create a detailed inventory with your employees and customers, documenting all relevant information in a solid migration management database. Hidden complexities can and will arise, such as the presence of back-end attachments to critical applications you plan to migrate. You may also be dealing with legacy applications in your current database that you might not be aware of. They may or may not play ball, and you need to be aware of them now.
- Lack of post-migration testing: Prior to migration, engage your network staff in measuring and recording the performance of critical applications through specific transactions. This will prepare everyone for the post-migration testing process. Document these tests and repeat them after the relocation. Post-migration testing can be a challenge, but issues can be mitigated by involving your staff in advance.
- Failure to estimate downtime: Some disruption to work schedules will inevitably happen. A well-executed project plan will minimise this, but inform your support teams and end-users well in advance. See ‘unrealistic timeline’ above!
- Poor communication: A lack of transparent internal communication throughout a migration project can lead to inconsistencies and problems. This is another reason why it’s a good idea to involve an impartial third party migration service provider who will be across the entire data centre move, and can remain outside any internal company politics. Your migration service provider will also be chief communicator for all relevant stakeholders (old and new data centres, IT departments, compliance etc).
- Failure to recognise interdependencies: Upgrading different parts of your data centre infrastructure without acknowledging their interdependencies can potentially pose a significant challenge. Whilst it’s acceptable to upgrade critical components during migration, fractional upgrades often have a trickle-down impact. Therefore, it’s crucial to highlight planned updates and their interdependencies during the project planning stage.
- Failing to back up: This may seem obvious, but it’s fundamental to maintain secure backups of your data and applications at all times. This is crucial for disaster recovery and immediate restoration in the event of natural disaster, system failure, cyber-attack (including ransomware, malware, and data breaches etc.) or just simple old fashioned human error.
Third parties
If you’ve created a good, solid data centre relocation plan and checklist with your migration service provider and are aware of the points above, you should have a smooth transition. Be aware, however, that you will be interfacing with some third parties during the operation – logistics providers perhaps, or not least the new data centre. Once again, contingency is key. Give yourself plenty of it. The best laid plans……
