What Is System Migration?

What's the difference between a system migration, a software upgrade and a file transfer? System migration is like buying a new car but keeping your old house. You're still in the same neighborhood but got a better ride. A software upgrade is like moving from one room in your home to another. You're still in the same house and on the same street, but you've got a more excellent view now. A file transfer is like moving out of your home entirely. You've got to find somewhere new to live, but at least you're not still paying rent at the old place anymore. System migrations are often done when the aging infrastructure can no longer support current processes or technology requirements. It is also done to take advantage of new technologies developed since the last time a company migrated its business process IT resources. A system migration might also be triggered by a change in an organization's business requirements, such as the need to comply with a new regulation or the introduction of a new technology that can be used to improve the current system. Regardless of its reason, system migration is a challenging and costly process that requires significant planning, investment in tools and expertise, and careful preparation of the end-users. Poorly planned system migration can result in considerable downtime and productivity loss, which can be avoided by extensively preparing and testing the migration plan. When migrating your system, you can do it manually or automate it. If you choose the manual route, be prepared for sleepless nights and plenty of stress. But if you want to save yourself much trouble, you should consider automating your migration process. This way, you'll be able to get rid of all the hassles associated with moving data and software from one system to another.