What to Expect From Your Storage Data Migration in 2017

If you’re planning a storage migration this year, you may want to start preparing as early as possible. Having a thorough roadmap for your project is one of the most critical factors for success when undertaking a data migration. Poor planning, on the other hand, can add months or more to your migration project—not to mention the cost of extending legacy storage system leases. More importantly, it can put your data at risk, resulting in corrupted or lost data.

In a new report entitled Data Migration Services, Hardware and Software, Storage Strategies NOW identifies the questions that need be answered before you move a single byte of data. These questions include:

How much capacity will we really need in the new storage system?
Moving to a storage system that’s too small can be a big problem. Enterprises often overlook the amount of overprovisioning required to accommodate storage growth on the new platform. Make sure your new storage platform can support your growth over the next three to five years.

Do we have the network bandwidth to complete our migration on schedule?
Data migrations can consume significant amounts of network bandwidth. Check that your network—and, if you’re using a hosted storage provider, their network as well—can support the data transfer speeds you need to complete the project on time.

What will your disaster recovery plan look like after the migration?
If you’re migrating to a cloud storage platform, it can impact your disaster recovery plan. That’s not a bad thing; cloud providers can offer important benefits such as geo-redundancy. But it is important to alter your disaster recovery plans based on any new or different cloud capabilities.

What will the new storage system cost you in terms of ongoing fees?
Maintenance costs can often equal or exceed initial storage costs over time. Discover how much you can expect to spend on maintenance, operations, etc. to ensure that your new storage platform is sustainable over the long term.

If you’re moving to the cloud, is it the right cloud for you?
Clouds are flexible and scalable, yes, but they’re not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Particularly in the case of sensitive enterprise data, you need to select a cloud provider that can meet specific compliance requirements (if applicable to your industry) and align with your service expectations in terms of data access and availability.

Do you have the right migration tools?
There’s more than one way to move data, but only one best way to do it. Depending on the amount of data you need to move, your internal IT resources, data uptime requirements, and other considerations, choosing a solution such as Cirrus’ Data Migration Server can dramatically reduce the cost and complexity of your migration.

Do you have the right security provisions in place?
For cybercriminals, your data migration is a golden opportunity for data exfiltration. Particularly when moving data into the cloud, enterprises need to ensure that they have the right levels of security and encryption in place to protect their data in transit.

The time you invest in proper planning will ensure your migration isn’t sidetracked by surprises that could result in costly delays or data quality issues down the road. To learn more about data migration best practices, request a free copy of the Data Migration Services, Hardware and Software report today.