Evaluating data migration service providers

We are planning a system implementation of a new bespoke application in about 10 months time.

The data migration is my responsibility and we are going to tender this work. As I don't really have a technical background I would really welcome some pointers on how we should critique/benchmark potential service providers. I recognize data migration is a very specialized field judging from all the articles and blogs I've read on your site so I want to be sure that we select the appropriate provider.

Welcome any feedback you can offer.

Comments

[Dylan Jones (Founder)]

We will be developing a benchmark for this shortly and sharing it with members but here are some of key focus areas...

Experience

How many previous clients can they connect you with? Make sure you take the time to speak with each ex-customer, have a standard script of questions to ask, use the comments here as a basis.

What type of projects did they deliver? Are they the same type as yours? Migrating a CRM system from one version of Oracle to a new version is totally different to migrating multiple inventory systems into a new bespoke application!

What size of projects have they delivered? Were previous projects a similar scale to yours? Many companies try to punch well above their weight, pulling in partners and freelancers in an attempt to tackle bigger projects than they are experienced to deliver.

What team delivered the previous projects? Establish exactly who will be delivering your project and which projects they delivered in the past. Companies will tell you what you want to hear so ask to speak with previous clients to confirm the same staff were present.

Can you meet the key specialists who will deliver your project? Many providers have been known to bid for projects without any available resources in place. If they win the project they go onto the market in search of the right skills. Favour providers who have permanent team of specialists that have considerable experience at working together.

Technology

Does the provider have the experience of working with the various technologies required on your project?

I recommend that you ask an independent technology specialist to create a separate benchmark to vet the provider and their specialists on technology matters. (If you cannot find one, contact us and we'll connect you with technology specialists within the community).

Will the provider include additional software that will benefit the project eg.data quality, data discovery, data modelling, testing, configuration management, project management - if you do not possess these tools and an integration provider will bundle them into the deal, score them higher than companies who expect you to provide everything.

Approach

What engagement model will the provider take? I recommend a joint engagement model, both parties working together to discover and resolve DQ issues etc. Some specialist providers accept full responsibility and some accept no responsibility. The latter should be afforded the lowest score.

Does the provider have a thorough data quality management methodology? This is a complex area but at the least I would expect the project to cope with data discovery, DQ measurement, root-cause analysis, improvement (cleansing) and ongoing monitoring and control.

Will the provider deploy a business and data rules discovery capability? Documentation of legacy systems is often out-of-date or non-existent, favour providers who have the capability to gather vital intelligence about legacy data rules.

Does the provider have a well-documented security policy? If your data is of a sensitive nature it is important that the provider has the experience of dealing with this challenge, award higher scores for providers who demonstrate credibility in this area.

Can the provider demonstrate credibility at delivering different data migration strategies? Modern migrations are steering towards shorter, more agile migrations where phased deliveries linked to business priority are important. If the service provider has experience of delivering big-bang, phased, parallel, trickle type migrations then afford them a higher score as it is clear they have the ability to manage different scenarios as the business need changes.

Does the provider have a firm idea on how they will minimise user experience disruption? If they can demonstrate that they have delivered migrations with limited business and user impact in the past, afford a higher score.

Is the vendor capable of supporting re-use? It sounds as though your project is part of a much bigger project. There may well be potential for re-use of core modules of the migration, if so afford a higher score if the provider recognises the importance of this.

How will the provider prove the success of the migration? Knowing what data has been migrated is vital so afford higher scores to organisations can demonstrate credibility in this area. Key things here are management reporting, dashboards, good stakeholder communication etc.

Does the provider have a fully defined stakeholder communication strategy? Many client-side program managers complain of a lack of visible progress in migration projects so award higher scores for companies who have demonstrated that they will deliver continuous reporting in a format that is applicable to the appropriate management level.

How will the provider gather and supply knowledge? If the provider supports an integrated knowledge management repository eg. Wiki, project portal etc. then award a higher score as these have been proven to afford greater access to vital information.

These are just some basic measurement criteria, we will comply a full list and update these on the new site wiki.