Interview with Kognitio CEO Roger Llewellyn

In this interview we speak with the CEO of UK based data migration technology and services provider - Kognitio.

We discuss their experiences from carrying major data migration initiatives and also explore their goals for the future.

For the benefit of our members, please tell us your name and role.
Roger Llewellyn, CEO at Kognitio.

What is your personal background?
I joined Kognitio in April 2003, having previously been Managing Director of Arelon for two and a half years - a company acquired by Cedar Software.  I then instigated the Management Buy Out of Cedar and the formation of the Redac Group with the investor group Alchemy in May 2002. Over the years I have started the European presence of a number of American companies including WICAT Europe and Macromedia. I also spent four years at the helm at VINCA Europe, until it was purchased by Legato, now EMC.  Before venturing into the world of full-time employment with a job at hp I trained as an Electronic Engineer.  During my tenure at Prime Computers I also spent some time in Switzerland as the country Managing Director for the company.

What is the overall approach of Kognitio with regard to data migration projects?
When it comes to data migration, resources are much more critical than tools and Kognitio provides the whole spectrum of resources. It is interesting how projects fail because people underestimate the timeliness and quality of resources.

Data migration makes financial sense when you have more than just one project; the more instances you have the more cost-effective it becomes, especially if you outsource support. Hiring a car and a driver to take you to the restaurant might be expensive but if there are four of you in the car then it might be cheaper than using public transport and it is certainly less hassle.

Kognitio's experience and capabilities play a vital role in reducing the cost, risk and timescales associated with data migration projects. Our focus in this area has enabled us to develop our own robust approach and methodology and a fully integrated toolset to support the migration process.

Kognitio has a very flexible approach to engagement - ranging from the strategic consultancy, provision of specialist data migration resources, collaboration in joint client/Kognitio project teams, to full end-to-end project delivery.

So what are your thoughts on outsourcing/offshoring data migration projects?
As a rule of thumb we say that it is difficult to take migration offshore as you cannot take more than 20% of services resources offshore. And yet, offshoring comes in to its own with the testing aspect of data migration, where you can take cycle times down from eight to one hour. It’s interesting to note that the industry is now shifting to an on-demand model because customers are reluctant to outsource. The on-demand model in fact does not compromise on the core a successful data migration project i.e. people, process, technology, methodology, and infrastructure. With on-demand you get the latest and best of them all without the traditionally associated outlay.

What is your approach towards data migration technology?
By talking to our customers we have found that they are not using that many tools to carry out data migration projects; they are still hand-cranking them. Kognitio’s FastTest appliance has transformed the process. We can ship this testing and auditing box and install it safely behind the customer’s firewall for them to speed up the entire UAT (user acceptance testing) process, arguably the most time-consuming element of any data migration.

Our approach is as follows: our tools solve up to 90% of the most widespread problems; the remaining 10% of customer issues can be addressed with the comprehensive skill set we offer.

Our Data Factory Toolkit for example is a series of tools that help customers easily resolve their complex questions. Some of the tools are scripted, others are drag and drop. We say to our customers: ‘You can start the data migration project yourself and we'll help you incrementally.’

What are the types of projects Kognitio are most involved with?
Life & Pensions is a core market for us. Genworth Financial, Wesleyan Assurance, Allianz Cornhill Schemes and a well-known healthcare provider are just a few of our many blue chip clients; however with growth on our minds we are looking to explore areas such as SAP migration projects.

You have a strong emphasis on testing can you explain more?
At the moment we are very focused on the testing aspect of DM projects because this is where they tend to stumble. We can help customers get the testing cycles shortened before they get to the UAT phase. The main route we rely on to getting people to test is to set a target of shortening the testing cycle by 10-20 times.

The secret is the core testing engine we have. We simulate queries on testing, and are looking to focus on the bigger SAP migrations; we are keen on high-end migrations with high volumes of data.

What are the challenges customer organisations face with regard to migration projects?
Over and over again customers are underestimating the complexity of a successful data migration project; they tend to go over budget most of the time and this is usually due to sheer lack of proper planning. As they say ‘fail to plan and plan to fail’; never has it been truer than with data migration.

Can you summarise what makes Kognitio different within the data migration marketplace?
Unmatched expertise, unique toolkit and our brand new FastTest appliance

What are Kognitio’s plans for the future?
Right now we are looking to broaden our market presence by expanding into the area of SAP migration projects. We also want to build a bigger community resource for people who are interested in supporting Kognitio migrations. And of course we are still planning to consolidate our position as the largest independent provider of data migration solutions and services in the UK.


For more details regarding Kognitio please visit: http://www.kognitio.com