Data migration is a part of life. At some time or another data has to be moved from an older computer to a new one, migrated from on-premises to cloud environments, or moved from one software to another.

29% of IT pros say the main cause of data loss is human error. Problems with migration is a big part of this bucket, because there are a lot of ways that migration can go wrong.

If you don’t migrate data carefully and with a strategic plan, you can end up with data loss, partial data loss, or having to re-migrate data to a new environment because you didn’t do it right the first time.

Data Migration Mistakes to Avoid

How many ways can data migration from one system to another go wrong? Here are several of the things to avoid.

Migrating Old Data That You Don’t Need

When you’re about to go through a data migration from one device or system to another, it’s the perfect time to clear out unneeded data, which makes your storage and searching system more efficient.

Users that migrate everything without first separating “good” data from “junk” data end up with older unused files getting the way of finding data they need. This can make it take minutes longer per user, several times of day to find what the need. All this adds up to lost productivity that could’ve been avoided.

Not Having a Plan to Put Data Where It Needs to Be

When you’re migrating to a cloud platform like Microsoft 365, there are several areas you can put your data to make your workflows more efficient.

One mistake that users often make is to just migrate everything into OneDrive user accounts, which can make files more difficult to find, share, and properly protect.

A proper migration to Microsoft 365, and platforms like it, means having a strategic plan for where data should be stored.

Here is an example:

• Migrate to OneDrive: Files that users work with, but don’t necessarily share often
• Migrate to SharePoint: Corporate files that need to be shared and department specific files so they can be protected with SharePoint site-based permissions.
• Migrate to MS Teams Environment: Files shared by a specific department or project group so they can be easily accessed by all within their Teams channel.

Not Backing Up Data Properly Before Migration

One of the biggest mistakes someone can make before a migration is not doing a proper data backup AND checking to confirm all data has been backed up properly.

Should anything go wrong with your migration, you could end up losing everything if you haven’t properly backed up first.

Missing Important, But Not as Obvious, Data

Not all data is in a file or folder. There are many other types of data that it’s important to capture when migrating from one device to another.

For example, if you don’t properly migrate stored browser settings, you could lose saved passwords, settings, and bookmarks.

Stored email messages are another type of data that can often be missed if you’re not using a professional for your data migration. If you use POP email instead of IMAP, and don’t back up and move your emails over, you could end up losing all your stored email in your email application.

Other types of data you need to keep in mind during migration that might not be as obvious:

• Applications
• Settings
• Formatting (when doing a cloud migration)
• Special fields that you may have added in an application
• User preferences

Not Properly Validating Data Integrity to a New System

Not all data migrations go as smoothly as an online tutorial might make you think. Users that don’t test a data transfer between systems first to validate that the receiving system can properly read the data can end up with a mishmash of garbled data on the other end when they try to migrate all their data.

Systems don’t always read data the same way and sometimes a conversion from one format to another is needed to transfer the information properly. If you don’t know how to validate data integrity before doing a migration, then it’s important to get the help of a professional.

Trying to Do It Too Fast and All At Once

When you’re moving to a new system, it’s natural to want to get your data migrated as fast as possible so you can begin working in the new environment. However, trying to migrate too fast and all at once, can lead to major headaches that end up slowing you down.

It’s important to take migration one step at a time, that way it’s much easier to track down a problem that might have happened during migration and fix it before migrating more data. This helps you avoid rework and wasted time.

Get Your Data Migrated to the Cloud Easily by Working With NMX IT Solutions

You can save yourself a lot of time and effort by having your data migration handled professionally by NMX IT Solutions. We follow migration best practices and will ensure a smooth data transition for your Thames Valley area business.

Contact us today to schedule your consultation! Call 01628 232300 or reach out online.