The Benefits of Automated Data Migration vs. Manual Migration

Are you spending endless hours copying data, hoping for no errors?

The feeling of continuously tapping your leg and crossing your fingers in fear of no hiccups is common with manual data migration.

So, if you are willing to ditch working endlessly with frustrating delays, inconsistent data transfer and long spreadsheets, consider automated data migration.

Now, stop waiting for a data migration disaster; read the blog to learn how automated data migration can improve your migration process.

Manual data migration is migrating your data from an on-premise system to a new one manually. 

Let's say you are switching to a new CRM (customer relationship management) system. Instead of relying on the automated approach, you decide to take the rein and cling to the traditional manual data transfer method. 

Things you will have to perform with manual data migration: 

Step 1: Data Extraction: Export all data from your old system. For instance, exporting all the customer information such as contact details, customer history and communication records. 

Step 2: Data Mapping: You must match data fields from your old system with the new one. For instance, when labeling customer files, the old system field, "Customer name," should accurately align with the new system field, "Account Name."

Step 3: Data Transformation: It is possible that your data in the legacy system does not perfectly match the new system. So, to do so, you perform data transformations. For instance, you physically convert or change information to fit into the new system.

Step 4: Data Loading: Import all data to your new system. For instance, when switching to a new CRM system, you load all the transformed data into your new CRM platform. 

Of course, during the entire migration process, you get the flexibility to manually customize and optimize each step, but at what costs? 

Is it worth all the long nights and headaches? Let's review the pros and cons of manual data migration and see how it affects your data migration strategy.

Manual Data Migration: The Advantages

Do you know the failure rate of data migration? More than 80% of data migration projects fail or exceed their budgets. 

Now imagine gambling away all the efforts, long working hours and hard-earned money for manually transferring data. Unfortunately, the challenges data migration projects face far outweigh the importance of data migration.

With only two basic advantages, which are low initial costs and simplicity for transferring small data, manual data migration is a no-go. 

Manual Data Migration: The Disadvantages

Do you know the amount of data being created, consumed and stored worldwide each day? Unsurprisingly, global data will reach 180 zettabytes by the (2025) next year.

With the constant increase in data, transferring or managing it is tough. Manual data migration already faces various challenges.

• Expertise: Do you have the time and resources to train your internal team? Data migration is not a cup of tea for anyone and everyone. Your data migration strategy needs to be precise and accurate. 
• Time-consuming: Data migration for large datasets is time-consuming. It may take days or weeks to completely and accurately transfer all your data. 
• Prone to Errors: Are you willing to misplace even one piece of information from your precious data? Data is important, no matter the size of your business. Manual Data migration is prone to misplaced data and missing data points.
• Disruptive: Achieving zero downtime data migration is next to impossible for any business. With manual data migration, downtime and disruption in your overall business ought to happen.

Manual data migration might work for a business with a small customer base and manageable data. However, if and when the company grows and the amount of data and customer base expands, manual data migration becomes impractical.

So, if you are looking for long-term, sustainable and scalable migration benefits, consider automated data migration. Let’s see how it can work magic for your business.

Automated data migration is the process of moving your data from an on-premise or legacy system to a new system using automation tools. 

Let’s explain with the same example of you switching to a new CRM system. But, this time, you switch to automation. From the initial step of extracting the data to data loading, testing and validation, you can use data migration automation tools and techniques. 

For example

• Automated scripts and tools can extract all your necessary data from the on-premise system. 
• Automated data migration can enhance system compatibility to perform necessary changes. 
• The error-handling mechanism can help you locate missing or invalid information. 
• Using automatic data loading, you can load data in your new system, such as add or update files. 
• During different stages of data migration, you can use automated testing and validation to ensure the safety of your data.
• Other benefits, such as data profiling, data quality checks, and data validation, are also automated.

81% of enterprises currently use at least one application hosted in the cloud. This proves that the adoption of automation and cloud computing is significantly increasing.

But, if you are still skeptical about adopting automation, here are a few pros and cons of automated data migration. 

Automated Data Migration: The Advantages 

Running, managing and growing a business is challenging. But with the right tools by your side, you can eliminate the challenges and stressful tasks.

One such task is data migration. By using the best data migration practices and automating them, each step of data migration processing can be handled accurately. 

Here are a few advantages of adopting automated data migration strategies.

• Speed up Your Migration Process: Imagine savings 50% to 80% of your migration time. Isn’t that time a boon for your business? Save days and months with automated migration, depending on the size and complexity of your business. 
• Reduce Migration Costs: Who likes to continuously sit in front of spreadsheets or work on repetitive tasks? Nobody! In the data migration process with automation, you can precisely allocate resources and minimize migration-related costs, such as labor.
• Better Productivity: No matter how you migrate your data, errors are prone to happen. However, automating the process minimizes the risk of human errors and helps you gain insights from your data. 
• Minimize Disruptions: The biggest barrier is the fear of downtime. Automated data migration minimizes the risk of system downtime, data loss and overall business disruptions. 
• Work on Your Business Growth: Every business is working towards developing better innovations, enhancing customer experiences and accelerating their business growth. Automation gives you time to work directly on these transformation goals. 

Every data migration is unique and depends on your business requirements. Even though more businesses are adopting the cloud, there are still a few challenges that need to be addressed. 

Automated Data Migration: The Disadvantages

Even before the pandemic, businesses were embracing the cloud's benefits. However, some are still failing to reap its sizeable benefits. 

Similar to any other modern technology, automated data migration also has its cons. 

Apart from being a complex set-up, automated data migration requires technical expertise and high upfront costs. Moreover, unlike traditional methods, it might not be as flexible and offer fewer tailored solutions.

No matter how challenging or tedious data migration can be, it is up to you whether you wish to migrate and modernize to new systems. If you are unsure, there are several data migration services companies, like Augmented Systems, to help you with the move. 

So, what’s better? Automated or Manual data migration? 

Well, we don’t want to leave you hanging in the air! So, here are a few differences between both automated and manual data migration processes. 

Dig in to decide your best fit.

So, if you are thinking of migrating your data, first understand the process. Before every migration, make sure to implement a data migration strategy and execute a plan.

Finally, get a sense of how big you want your business to be. If you want to adapt to the changing business environment and digital market, consider automated data migration. 

Data migration is like deciphering a coded message. Even if it’s challenging, there cannot be any hiccups. It needs proper planning and execution. Automation makes this process easy, unlike the traditional methods. 

So, if you don’t want to be a part of a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, here are five reasons why automated data migration is better. 

1. Accuracy and Data Integrity

The most prominent benefit of automating your migration process is accuracy. Data migration automation tools are designed to make your process accurate. They will help you unlock new levels of accuracy and data integrity.

Data corruption, data loss and data inconsistency are difficult to achieve with manual data migration. Automation meets legal requirements, keeping you away from data discrepancies. 

2. Enhances Security 

Automated data migration tools encrypt your data, keeping it always secure. The security protocols make the data accessible only to authorized persons. 

Thus the overall risk of data breaches is reduced, therefore enhancing the security of your entire migration process. 

3. Consistent and Reliable 

Many inconsistencies arise with manual data migration. Your team can be rest assured with automated data migration. With pre-build protocols, your data will remain consistence throughout the process. 

Moreover, you can rely on automation tools for data tiering, duplication and compression. These tools will smartly manage your data, identify and eliminate duplicate data and optimize overall performance.

4. Scalable

Automation is the future of data migration, especially with the growing data. As data grows, so will your business or vice versa. The best part is you can scale your database seamlessly with automated data migration. 

Unlike manual migration, automated data migration can handle increasing data volumes without compromising business performance.

5. Saves Time and Money

Last but not least, automated data migration saves you time and money. While data migration processes are costly, the initial investment will yield a good ROI. The process will reduce downtime and the need for human resources.

Moreover, your team can focus on other crucial business tasks rather than spending billable hours on unnecessary tasks.

The benefits of automated data migration are many. But, in the end, its on you and your business requirements how you wish to foster the advances. 

Regardless of the size of your business, focus on the innovations and the modern era. Direct your efforts into reaching new business heights and leave the process of migration in the hands of experts. 

We at Augmented Tech Labs are a team of 70+ data migration experts. Our expertise is tailored to our customers' specific needs. So, let’s talk if you are looking to migrate your data.