Database Migration Checklist

View our site for more about our Miami database migration services. 

A new data migration project can be a seemingly challenging process. We put our experience into the below checklist in the hopes that it will help you with your next data move. Feel free to suggest your own tips in the comments.

Data migration checklist

Step 1: Pre-migration project plan

Pre-migration impact assessment: Enthusiasm is to be admired, but data migration should be carried out     in as systematic a manner as possible. Here focus on answering questions such as:

• Is this project viable?
• What is the timeframe?
• What deadlines exist?
• What resources are required?
• What software is needed?
• What hardware is needed?
• How will this disrupt the business? Will there be downtime?
• What are the risks and costs?
• Initial Next Steps: Make stakeholders aware of the pending tasks.
• Are stakeholders aware of the benefits?
• Are stakeholders aware of key dates and activities?
• Have all decision makers signed off on the project?
• Have resources been effectively allocated? Are they aware of their roles?
• Is the optimal project delivery structure defined? Does it include highly focused milestones?
• Have you created a structured workflow with tasks, dates, and deliverables?
• Are documentation and the training plan in place?
• Is the collaborative environment/platform in place?

Step 2: Database migration kick-off

• Have you shared the stakeholder communication plan and directory with the team?
• Have well-defined project policies been shared?
• Does the high-level project plan exist?
• Have you begun to analyze the data?
• Have timelines been refined after data analysis?
• Have standard project docs and templates been shared with the team?
• Have 3rd party agreements and requirements been formalized?
• Have future hardware and software requirements been shared with the team?

Step 3: Landscape analysis

• Has the data dictionary or project wiki been created?
• Has the high-level source to target mapping been specified?
• Has the data been sufficiently pruned, and the scope defined, to result in a fast-loading database?
• Has risk discovery and analysis been revised?
• Are users aware the old system is being retired? Is a strategy in place?
• Have all modeling layers being created and revised?
• Have estimates been adjusted for new information?

Step 4: Solution Design

• Has the detailed mapping design document been completed, reviewed, and understood?
• Have all sources and targets, down to the attribute level, been defined?
• Have interfaces for data extraction and loading been designed and prototyped?
• Have the data quality management routines been specified?
• Is the plan ready to go to the developers?
• Has hardware been specified?
• Are all service level agreements in place?

STEP 5: Build It and Test It!

• Has the migration logic been documented?
• Has the migration been tested on a cloned staging set-up?
• Is the data validation routine or engine ready to go?
• Will data quality be monitored in an ongoing fashion? It should be!
• Is there a migration fallback system in place?
• At this point all strategies should be defined.

Step 6: Migrate and Validate!

• Are you keeping an accurate log for compliance?
• Has the migration been independently verified?

Step 7: Decommission and Monitor

• Have all system retirement validations been completed?
• Once all preconditions have been met terminate the legacy system.
• Have responsibilities been fully transferred over to the client/user?

By all means this is not a complete list or relevant to every project. Data migration requires a great deal of planning, experience, and expertise, some of which was covered here. For data migration solutions contact SDSol Technologies.

Facebook thought police in action

As online spendthrifts know LimeWire was shut down this week by court order. As usual, when you poke a hornets' nest there are consequences. In response, on the way out the door, "somebody" released "LimeWire Pirate Edition," which is actually a better version than LimeWire Pro (faster and no advertisements.) I figured I would spread the news via facebook, but was unable to. Instead I received:

That bothered me, but when I received the same message while sending a PM my mood went from "that sucks" to "deeply troubled." Facebook is now censoring my thoughts!

As a technology company we support the free exchange of information. This is the opposite.

SDSol Mentioned in Newsweek

SDSol Technologies is proud and privileged to be mentioned in R. M. Schneiderman's article, "The Stars of the Recession." Excellent article covering opportunities in times of crisis and the flattening/globalization of the business landscape.

Mobile Telecom Network News

Some interesting items on the web regarding mobile the past few days:

Dead-on roundup of Smartphone users and their perceptions from the folks at C-Section Comics

According to CNet, Netflix is responsible for a full 20% of fixed downstream traffic during peak time. This 8 P.M. to 10 P.M. prime-time number not only shows just how much consumers are adopting mobile technology, but also the threat facing the traditional broadcast/advertising revenue model.Why the networks don't simply break away from the cable providers and shift to a streaming-advertising model is still unanswered...

Chetan Sharma, whose knowledge of the telecom industry rivals that of Alexander Graham Bell, states that mobile data traffic will top one billion gigabytes (an exabyte!) by the end of 2010. The folks at Phandroid saved me the fast math and determined that this is equal to 50,000 years of DVD video. Further, Sharma predicts that in 2013 the carriers should be looking at a 50%/50% split of data and voice in their revenue pie. I'm personally very interested to see how the carriers adjust to this changing model-- reminds me of the old "are rail companies in the business of rails or transportation?" debate from 75 years ago.

Finally, I am told that we Samsung Galaxy S users will be receiving the Froyo update by the end of this month (November.) Finally indeed...

Stay tuned...

What is Kik Messenger, besides popular all of a sudden?

My Facebook is being inundated with strange updates from friends such as “kik: Miamigurl.” As I laced up the Timberlands and set out to find her, I realized my friends are referring to a new(er) messaging platform and not the art of putting rubber to behind. Kik Messenger is rapidly growing, taking in 150,000 new users in a single day. From 30,000 to 450,000 users in a week is very impressive indeed. The re-branding of 2009’s “Unsynced” has worked out very well for the Waterloo, Ontario development team.

Being the sucker for early adoption that I am I quickly downloaded it on my Samsung Fascinate, registered, settled on a user-name, and was up and running within 30 seconds. My initial impressions and thoughts:

•    BBM functionality – kinda creepy really.
The big feature of Kik is that users can see when contacts have opened and read their messages. This is a very popular feature of BlackBerry’s messaging service as people appreciate confirming delivery. However, to me it just seems like a great method to get into trouble with an overbearing spouse or girlfriend. I can hear the “I know you received my message, so where is the dry-cleaning?” argument now.

•    Who doesn’t have unlimited text these days?
Kik uses your data plan, as opposed to your SMS/text plan, to send messages. This is a great way to stay within your text messaging plan. However, I am not sure who exactly would be using this application that doesn’t have unlimited text in the first place.

•    Who are these people?
I’m not sure where Kik is pulling my suggested contacts from, but I do know that I don’t know over 75% of them. Weird.

Kik provides a very user-friendly interface, more functionality than traditional texting (platform independent smilies!), and a great way for iPhone, Droid, and BlackBerry users to stay connected with each other. I think it will stick around and be heavily used, just not by me. Kik gets a 5/5 for young adults who constantly text each other, but not very useful for everyone else.



Kik is a great example of just how explosive adaptation of simple, custom software programs can be. Want to develop your own idea? Contact SDSol Technologies, Miami’s custom programming experts.

UNFRIENDED: Friend or Salesman? Miami Social Media

When I was at the University of Iowa (Go Hawks!) we were one of the first dozen or so schools to use Facebook. This is back when it was thefacebook and an .edu email was required for sign-up. I fell in love with social media as friends shared pictures, updates, and events. I was able to find old girlfriends to ask if they still love me and everything. Over the years I have had accounts on plenty of sites (LinkedIn, Friendster, MySpace, Blogger, Yelp, DeviantArt…) but chose Facebook as my preferred social platform. This was not because of the technical terms I use during the day such as system architcture, functionality, or technical specifications, but rather because of the users. This is where my friends are and I need to be here.

As Facebook experienced astronomical growth in their user base the owners began searching for ways to monetize the site. Business, fan and group pages began creeping in and Facebook launched their PPC model shortly thereafter. I have no problem with businesses establish a presence on the site; it’s a valuable medium and companies deserve to have their voices heard. When I “like” a business page they have earned the ability to actively sell to me. However, “friends” have begun selling from personal pages. As the frequency and redundancy of the pitches has grown, it has begun troubling me. I can no longer tell if someone is recommending a product in earnest, or if they are simply trying to make a few bucks on ShareAShale. I have decided to strike back.

 Sales pitch from a very savvy marketing pro. We worked together on several projects in college and she does great work; fantastic to see her putting it to use… I just don’t want to hear it.

I’ve thrown the gauntlet down via my status. Seller beware! It is followed by the pointless ramblings that Facebook is supposed to be comprised of. A dirty innuendo, a quote from Super Troopers, and a link to a YouTube remix video.

What do we have here? It’s exciting that you work for a premier concert promoter, but I’m not even in Chicago…how could I possibly attend?

I appreciate the apology, but I am a man of my word and you are selling from a personal account. Nice Farmville mention!

Goodbye. One less sort-of-friend shilling their products to me. 

Did I overreact or are you guys getting tired of social media sales as well? Let me know in the comments. 

Miami Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO), (vMNVO) and (MVNE) software and development

Over the past several years SDSol Technologies has been fortunate enough to work with leaders in the telecom field. This has sharpened our skill set in the telecom programming world, enhancing our service offering to include network programming services for MVNOs, MVNEs, and private label cell phones.

Our solutions now integrate billing, customer management, and 3rd party APIs of some of the premier cellular networks.

We look forward to working together in this coming year to increase the functionality of our client's networks and devices.

We are the leader in Miami Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO), (vMNVO) and (MVNE) software, scripting, and development and we would like to thank our clients for getting us there.