In their Study regarding Data Center Migrations, Gartner examined the following elements of and for a successful data migration:

  • Initiation
  • Risk Assessment
  • Planning
  • Execution
  • Closure

Finding that 70% of data center migrations will incur unexpected downtime or delays, the study notes that such moves hinge not on the physical transportation of servers and computational systems, but on the process itself (which requires a high degree of detail and the use of people who often do not actually work in IT).

Outside of large organizations or those with extensive merger and acquisitions strategies, a group is likely to find that the IT leaders conducting the transition are inexperienced in the process.

Gartner Suggestions for Successful Data Migrations

A data center migration requires an intensive assessment of application service dependencies and business impacts, a clear methodology for the migration, and continuous IT services availability throughout the proceedings. As such, Gartner suggests sustained senior-level management buy-in for the entirety of the project, investment in application service dependency mapping and risk assessment, and simplified business-focused metrics and results. While some of these requirements can be met by a company’s internal personnel, it is unlikely that the full spectrum of migration needs can be satisfied by the average IT department today.

Key Recommendation – Get Help

The main finding of the study is that unless an organization has the existing ability to complete a data center migration smoothly and methodically, using outside expertise is recommended. Among the top five vendors suggested is Altus Technologies, which specializes in data center migration. Such an organization has the ability to manage a data center move successfully, and the benefits of a well-executed migration can far outweigh the costs associated with outsourcing the task.

Read the full Gartner article here: Data Center Migrations – Five Steps to Success

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Finally, please contact Altus when you’re ready to discuss your data center migration project. We’re here and able to be of assistance.