There are many reasons why database migrations are performed. But the most common reason is to move to a new database engine or to replace an old one with a newer and more powerful one.
The process of migrating databases can be time-consuming for the company as it requires a lot of work and resources. However, they have significant benefits, such as modernising your systems, reducing downtime, and saving on costs.
What is a database migration?
Database migration is a process of moving data and apps from one database to another. The process includes converting the data into a proper format, migrating the data, and verifying that the new database has the same information as the original.
The most common use cases of database migration are:
- Moving from an old server to a new one.
- Migrating databases between different software packages or platforms.
- Migrating from one server to another server in order to upgrade hardware/software packages.
- Migrating databases between different vendors.
Why are database migrations useful to businesses?
First and foremost, database migrations can be helpful for saving money on your IT infrastructure. You can avoid spending too much money on hardware upgrades as a result of an influx in data growth. There will be less worry about installing new hardware should your system run out of space or need more processing power. Additionally, your business will suffer less downtime during installations, as there will be fewer changes required in order to make the transition between systems effective.
Another benefit of migrating your database is the fact that it allows you to save time by not having to perform backups, restore data, and recover files (as well as other tasks) every time something happens.
With your migration taking place all at once, you’ll be able to save a lot of time and effort in comparison with these complicated tasks taken individually. This makes it easier for you to focus on what matters most: growing your business.
A lower cost of storage
The first step to saving money on your IT infrastructure is to calculate the cost of storage. This will help you determine how much of an investment you can make in order to store your data without breaking the bank.
Storage is expensive, and it isn’t always necessary. Before you decide to migrate your database, it may be worthwhile for you to consider if the cost of storing and maintaining your current database makes sense given its current size and usage.
Data migration also has a significant impact on hardware costs. If you are looking for ways to save money on your IT infrastructure, data migration may be the best option for you to lower hardware costs.
Save on overhead expenses
With a database migration, there’s always an opportunity cost. If you have to put your IT infrastructure on hold for too long, you may lose out on revenue until your database migration is complete.
Additionally, if you find that you’re spending too much time and resources managing your IT infrastructure, consider outsourcing IT services to a company that can manage these tasks for less and give you back more time to focus on business growth.
Cut down on data storage costs
One of the things you can do to make your database migration go smoother is to consider the data storage costs. In order to reduce these costs, you should implement a strategy that limits redundant data.
Redundant data doesn’t provide any additional value. Redundant data can include duplicate data, multiple copies of the same data, and unused data. Removing redundant data from your systems is tedious and time-consuming, but ultimately worth the task.
The easiest way to reduce this redundant data is by deleting it. It will not only save you time and money, but also helps reduce your storage costs by reducing how much space you need on your servers.
Upgrade to new technology
If you are using a lot of older software that is not well suited to modern needs, you should evaluate the potential cost savings that could be achieved by migrating to new technology. If you have an older database and you can’t migrate it, it might be time for an upgrade.
Another way to save money on your IT infrastructure is by considering the development costs involved in migrating your database. The cost to develop the necessary software to migrate your database will vary depending on the complexity of your application. You might be able to get good estimates from experts in the field.
Save time and money on maintenance
You can save a lot of time and money on maintenance by simply implementing a database backup. Then, you can use software to quickly restore the database in case of an emergency. This is helpful for your IT team because it prevents them from having to spend time restoring the database and performing other tasks.
With this method, however, backups will take up storage space, which can be costly. If you have limited storage space, this would make migrating your system even harder. Nonetheless, it’s still a smart idea to implement a backup system as part of your new database migration process.
Get the right advice from the database migration experts
Database migrations will help your business save money on IT infrastructure by cutting down on redundant data, overheads, and upgrading to new technology. A data migration can also help improve the competitiveness and processes of your business, boosting the overall performance and giving you that much-needed edge.
The database migration engineers at Everconnect will help you reduce your costs, increase your ROI, and improve your business continuity with a migration plan customized to your exact business needs. Talk to them today and find out more.
Last time we checked we found a LOT of redundant data. It’s so amazing to see how many copies of the same thing employees make just because they are unsure if there’s another copy or don’t want to lose anything, etc. Although this took a lot of time we now know no duplicates are present and we intend to keep it that way from now on.
I think that this is worth the investment. Some people need for something bad to happen to them before they understand why this is worth it and so important. A backup system should always be in place whether you do database migration or not.
It’s (almost) always better to upgrade even if costs seem high short term. You’ll always save yourself and your data from serious problems and maybe save thousands or tens of thousands in the long term.
Database migration can be extremely difficult and even dangerous when the wrong people do it. I’ve seen this happen at a certain company where the owner did indeed try to save money and hired an inexperienced team to handle this. It was a complete fiasco. If the company doing the migration doesn’t have a good track record then don’t hire them.