What Is Data Migration?

The process of data migration is like the art of packing for a move. You've got to make sure you're taking all your stuff and not bringing anything along that you don't need. Data migration is transporting data between computers, storage devices or formats. It's a key consideration for any system implementation, upgrade or consolidation. During data migration, software programs or scripts are used to map system data for automated migration. There are two types of data migrations: physical and logical. Physical migrations involve physically moving a computer's hard drive from one location to another, while logical migrations include transferring data from one location to another without physically moving anything. Data migration is like a three-course meal: storage migration, database migration, and application migration. Not to mention business process migration. We all know what happens when you overeat at one time: you get full and bloated, as do the data centers that hold those servers. Data centers are really just like your stomach. They can only hold so much before they start to shut down their processes. So if you want your data center to keep running smoothly, it's best to spread your migrations over time so that your hardware doesn't get overwhelmed by all that delicious data. Data migration is a tricky business. It's not just about getting your data from one place to another, and it's also about making sure that your business operations aren't impacted in any way by the migration. You can't just move your data and expect everything to be okay. You have to plan it out carefully and ensure that your new solution can handle the load. If you're moving from a cloud-based system to an on-premises solution, you'll need some serious validation that everything will work out okay when you make the switch.