SPECIAL REPORT SERIES

ERP IN 2014
AND BEYOND
SEVEN WAYS TO HELP
DATA MIGRATION DURING
IMPLEMENTATION
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
DEVELOP A DATA MIGRATION PLAN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
PERFORM A THOROUGH GAP ANALYSIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
COMMIT RESOURCES TO DATA CLEANSING . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
CAPTURE DATA REQUIREMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
PRODUCE DETAILED DOCUMENTATION
FOR DATA CONVERSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
PERFORM ITERATIVE CONVERSIONS
AND TEST THEM REPEATEDLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
DEVELOP A MASTER DATA MANAGEMENT STRATEGY . . . 16
YOUR BEST-PRACTICE CHECK LIST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
ABOUT COLUMBUS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Columbus RapidValue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Columbus Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Columbus Data Migration Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
CONTENTS
D
ata migration is one of the hardest
parts of an ERP implementation project.
It tends to present a high level of
complexity and can be challenging to
accomplish with the desirable accuracy
and reliability. However, data migration is also one of the
key turning points where you ready your ERP system
to become an enabler of your growth and goals by
bringing into it the wealth of data from your business
history. Committing the appropriate strategic thinking
and resources to data migration will help ensure your
long-term ERP success.
Because data migration is an important strategic
concern, you need to ensure that you have the buy-in
from all business stakeholders. All participants on your
project team must understand their roles along with the
sources and types of data they are responsible for. They
also need to be aware of the potential risk to business
operations and organizational viability if data is fawed
or damaged. Every data migration project is diferent
and every legacy system presents a specifc source
format with certain felds and tables. Of course, many
tools and templates can help you with the importing and
exporting of data, but they only go so far.
There are no standard scripts available, and the bulk of
the work needs to take place outside of your new ERP
environment. To ensure that you get the right data
into the new solution, in the right format, you need to
set realistic time estimates for analysis, development,
and testing. Based on our experience in thousands of
challenging but successful ERP implementation and
data migration projects, we have documented seven
practical steps that will help keep your data migration
on track and deliver the results you want. This is not a
defnitive list, but it will help you reduce the complexity
challenge with some insight into the key areas you
need to focus on. Remember what is at stake: Without
the right, intact data in the right format, your new
ERP solution will not be able to generate the business
benefts you want to achieve with it. With the right data
and a sound strategy to manage it, the ERP system can
perform well in 2014 and for years to come.
Introduction
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Develop a Data
Migration Plan
M
any experts agree that data
migration should be seen as a
separate project or sub-project
to the main ERP implementation.
This helps set the right mindset
within the organization to appreciate the importance
of this process. The practical starting point is to
establish a data migration project team and ensure
that you have the right people involved, with support
and buy-in from the board. The participants of the
project team do not need to be the same people
who already take responsibility for the entire ERP
implementation. But, as a group, they need to
understand the strategic thinking behind your ERP
deployment and the goals for the new business
management solution. They also have to be fully
familiar with your legacy systems and the kind of
information that resides in them.
Just like the ERP implementation, data migrations
will involve your colleagues as well as third parties
from consultants and contractors. It often helps
to build a matrix or spreadsheet to document the
names, contact detail, roles, and accountabilities
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ACTIONS
Make sure the
organization
understands the
importance of data
migration
Involve
all key
contributors and
document their
accountabilities
Plan data
migration
collaboratively
in a practical
workshop
of these contributors. You will also want to enlist
the participation of the IT specialists or consultants
who perform the data cleansing we discuss below.
Because data cleansing is a very complex sub-project,
you should document and obtain sign-of for all the
individuals and responsibilities involved.
Once you have your team in place, you facilitate a data
migration workshop to plan your data migrations in a
collaborative manner. A data migration workshop is a
meeting to set out the approach to be taken during
the data migration project. It should take place as
early in the ERP implementation project as possible,
preferably at the same time as the scoping activities.
A good time might be following any early solution
familiarization for key users, because many of the
required skills and architectural considerations will be
fresh in attendees minds.
The workshop should include all areas that matter
for data migration, including the scope, data
sources, roles and responsibilities, timescales, data
repository, cleansing, gap analysis, data requirements
capture, loading, testing, and future master data
management. The output from the meeting is a data
strategy document to be signed of by the project
board. This document should detail the approach and
plan for your data migrations along with roles and
responsibilities. It will serve as a shared reference
throughout the project.
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D
ata migration involves much
meticulous work that takes time
and needs careful planning. There
are no quick answers or accelerators.
Proven, reliable tools, templates, and
the knowledge of experienced consultants will
help the process run smoothly, but it still needs
your company and team to make a substantial
commitment of time and resources. A thorough
gap analysis, performed very early in the
data migration process, is a critical juncture
where many companies fall short because they
underestimate its importance or the amount of
work needed to complete it. The purpose of a gap
analysis is to ensure that your migration will capture
all data that is essential for the new ERP system,
as well as all customer data.
Perform a Thorough
Gap Analysis
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Analyze
source data
against
data schemas
in the new ERP
solution
Involve data
cleansing teams
to help ensure all
data is captured as
needed
Realistically
plan for the
resources and
tools you need in
data migration
ACTIONS
To verify this, it is necessary to analyze and compare
the source data against the new ERP data schemas.
An efcient way to do so is by extracting key
tables within the scope of the migration out of the
ERP system into Microsoft Excel for feld-by-feld
comparison with the source data. Any major gaps you
fnd here should be communicated to the cleansing
teams, who need to make sure that data is captured
properly.
Fields with customer information are fundamental
to the functioning of the business. If there is no
acceptable, simple workaround when any such
customer data felds are missing from the new ERP
system, once again your data cleansing and project
teams need to become involved. They will then need
to investigate which modifcations are necessary to
ensure complete data capture.
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Commit Resources to
Data Cleansing
T
he frst step in your data migration
should be ensuring that the data
you want to bring into the new ERP
solution are of sound quality and
uncompromised. Basic cleansing
of data sources should take place as promptly as
possible after your data migration workshop.
Following an analysis of the source data, certain
obvious issues and gaps will become apparent
immediately. The cleansing teams should
address these as soon as they can. Some of
the data quality issues you are likely to run into
are fairly predictable. For example, the structure
of the tables may be diferent. Concepts at work in
one system may not be present in another. The data
itself may be of poor quality, with lots of outdated,
incorrect, or redundant information. Given changes
in the business and the way it takes advantage of
technology, the way the organization will use the
new ERP system might not even be compatible with
the data in legacy systems.
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Create
a process
to maintain
consistently
excellent data
quality
Ensure buy-in
and commitment
from technical
and business
stakeholders
ACTIONS
Plan for data
cleansing early in
the process
The decisions and practical steps needed to perform
successful data cleansing that efectively supports
the ERP deployment require the agreement and,
very possibly, a signifcant efort from your cleansing
teams. Of course, many of the people involved will
need to perform their regular jobs in addition to this
assignment. The company and everybody working
on the ERP deployment should understand that good
data husbandry pays of and needs to become a part
of the regular IT process.
Data of any real worth to a business usually does not
exist in isolation. As soon as it is clean, there is the
immediate risk of it becoming compromised again.
Therefore, you will need to fnd a way to monitor
continuously that the data you wish to bring into
the new ERP environment is within your quality
criteria. Doing so will require regular reviews of the
data against the operational rules that apply to your
deployment project.
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Capture Data
Requirements
Y
ou need to document data
requirements table by table and feld
by feld. The result of this step should
be a document which combines the
new ERP database schema
with any new tables or felds which are being
added to the solution. We recommend that
you place all documentation generated in
capturing data requirements under change
control in the same central repository where
you maintain all essential documents related to the
ERP deployment.
Foundation data should also be included in the scope
at this stage. Foundation data documentation should
be subject to change control as well. Ideally, any
additional values required in any lookup table
should be communicated by means of a
formal change request. Following this
practice will help ensure that all data
environments remain in sync and the
change request will receive the proper
attention.
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Establish a
change process
to keep foundation
data in line with
business needs
Document data
requirements
in a centralized
reference resource
ACTIONS
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O
nce you have defned the schema
of the target ERP database and
modifcations become available
according to a release plan,
technologists can document
how data conversion will take place. The output
of this step is a specifcation document which
details the mapping and transformation of
data from the source to the target format. The
target format should be one which the standard
ERP import routines can recognize. For that reason, it
should be based on previously taken extracts. This
avoids the need for custom loading scripts.
Produce Detailed
Documentation for
Data Conversions
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Consider
generic
source formats
to simplify
conversions
Perform
additional
data cleansing
as it becomes
necessary
Maintain
complete
documentation
of data conversion
mapping and steps
ACTIONS
It is necessary to defne the source format for each
table. In ERP deployments that involve multiple
companies or multiple legacy systems, you may
need to defne a generic source format which each
source system must follow. This step will also provide
you with a repeatable conversion process for each
company.
Detailed data conversion documentation may surface
additional cleansing and completion requirements
that you need to pass on to your very busy data
cleansing team. The immediately subsequent task
for them, of course, will be to plan the appropriate
actions to address these requirements.
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E
ach source of data in your operation
may well require a diferent
method of conversion. Some data
sources may be a good ft for
automatic conversion with readily
available software tools, and others may
need to be manually converted
by team members who follow
the specifcation documents.
There is no one recommended,
optimal method of developing a
conversion script. Technologists
may want to use a combination
of tools to complete conversions,
including SQL Server Integration Services,
third-party code-building products,
custom code in X++ or other languages,
and Excel macros.
Perform Iterative
Conversions and Test
Them Repeatedly
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Evaluate
the actual
benefts and costs
of fully converting
legacy data
Test
conversions
repeatedly,
and then again
Set proper
expectations for
conversion results
and timelines
Closely defne
conversion
actions and
responsibilities in
your plan
ACTIONS
Your conversion execution plan should defne who is
responsible for the conversion of each data table and,
most important, the sequence in which conversions
should take place. In the conversion plan, you want to
clarify and defne the target environment as well as
the company or companies afected by the planned
conversions.
Your planning should also document for the project
team what data conversions are scheduled for which
times. It may not be possible to release a full data set
in the frst instance of a conversion, and a phased
release may be necessary. You want to set the
right expectations to make sure your stakeholders
understand that the loading process using Excel
imports can be time-consuming. Other methods
which avoid these delays require more specialized
developer skills. Your ERP implementation partner
should be able to assist with resources and expertise.
We cannot emphasize enough how critical the testing
of your conversions is. Once a converted data set
exists in a company, it should frst be sense-checked
before being released for testing by the project team.
You need to allocate enough time in the project plan
for conducting tests of key processes to ensure that
the conversion is valid. In an activity of this complexity,
re-work is inevitable and not at all an indicator of
failure. But you need to allow time for it as well. We
recommend that you plan for at least two releases of
data.
Many organizations are anxious to transfer their
transactional history data so that they have a
complete record in the new ERP system. However,
the beneft of doing so is never as great as the
time and cost it requires. Therefore, when it comes
to converting your legacy or historical data, you
should carefully weigh its benefts and costs. We
recommend that you migrate legacy data into a
separate, referenced SQL database or cube for
cross analysis with the new system. Once legacy
data is reliably archived, you can think about the
best business intelligence tools to access and make
sense of the information. As an alternative, you could
simply leave the data in the old database for user
reference.
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M
uch like the initial
implementation is just
one critical step in the
long lifecycle of the ERP
solution, data migrations are one
phase in the life of your organizations wealth of data.
Your data projects should not end with the solutions
go-live date. Strategic, consistent data management
is vital throughout the life of the ERP solution to
help your company obtain the business benefts it
seeks to achieve with ERP. Standardized workfows,
process maps, templates, and mandatory felds all
help to ensure that users enter the right kind of data
at the right time and do not develop bad habits, such
as taking short cuts.
Throughout the life of your ERP solution,
you need to have the assurance that a
team or person in the organization takes
responsibility for monitoring and analyzing the
cleanliness and integrity of your data so that your ERP
solution can always enable the best possible business
results.
If your organization does not yet have a master data
management strategy, the implementation of an ERP
solution would be an opportune time to articulate it
and put it into practice. As opposed to transactional
data, master data pertain to the people, things, places,
and concepts that are essential to your business.
Develop a Master
Data Management
Strategy
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Develop
a strategy
for managing
information
throughout the
ERP lifecycle
Consider the value
of master data
management for
your organization
Involve your
technology
partner in
helping you plan
information
management
ACTIONS
Closely connected to your business processes and
strategic objectives, master data management
primarily includes the processes and technologies you
use to create and maintain accurate and consistent
master data. Within your master data management
discipline, you defne data formats, sources, use
models, and users; devise a data governance program;
monitor and maintain data quality and integrity;
manage data hierarchies; keep data stewards
informed and accountable; and other important
tasks. Many consultancies and technology providers
ofer valid, proven tools and approaches to assist your
master data management. Your ERP implementation
partner will be the best resource to get you started.
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Make sure the organization understands the
importance of data migration.

Involve all key contributors and document their
accountabilities.

Plan data migration collaboratively in a practical
workshop.

Realistically plan for the resources and tools you
need in data migration.

Analyze source data against data schemas in the
new ERP solution.

Involve data cleansing teams to help ensure all
data is captured as needed.

Plan for data cleansing early in the process.

Ensure buy-in and commitment from technical
and business stakeholders.

Create a process to maintain consistently
excellent data quality.

Document data requirements in a centralized
reference resource.

Establish a change process to keep foundation
data in line with business needs.

Maintain complete documentation of data
conversion mapping and steps.

Consider generic source formats to simplify
conversions.

Perform additional data cleansing as it becomes
necessary.
Your Best-Practice
Check List:
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Closely defne conversion actions and
responsibilities in your plan.

Set proper expectations for conversion results
and timelines.

Test conversions repeatedly, and then again.

Evaluate the actual benefts and costs of fully
converting legacy data.

Develop a strategy for managing information
throughout the ERP lifecycle.

Consider the value of master data management
for your organization.

Involve your technology partner in helping you
plan information management.
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AND BEYOND
S
uccessful data migration strategies
are as individual as the companies that
implement ERP systems. In every case,
they require a signifcant commitment
of resources and careful planning. If
you perform these critical steps diligently, take the
time for extensive testing and quality assurance,
and keep business stakeholders involved in critical
decisions, your ERP deployment enjoys a high
probability of being able to deliver the business
results the company hopes to achieve in 2014 and
future years. Your trusted technology partner will
be your best go-to resource to plan data migrations
in line with your goals for the ERP implementation.
The practical guidelines we share here from our
experience reinforce that data migration is a critically
important task, but they can also help you tame its
complexity and speed you on your way to generating
measurable benefts from your ERP solution.
Conclusion
Contact us to fnd out more or receive assistance with
your ERP project.
You may also fnd the other papers in our ERP in
2014 and Beyond series helpful:
Seven Ways to Avoid ERP Failure
Seven Ways to Optimize Your Existing ERP
Solution
Seven Reasons to Consider ERP Deployment in
the Cloud
Seven Ways That Business Process Management
Can Improve Your ERP Implementation
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AND BEYOND
Columbus is an industry-based consultancy and
award-winning technology developer focused on the
manufacturing, food processing, and retail industries.
We are the preferred consultancy for ambitious
companies wanting to streamline business processes,
improve operational efciencies, reduce costs, and
improve visibility into their businesses.
Our approach to solving our clients issues can
best be described as proactive. We challenge our
clients traditional ways of thinking, help them see
new opportunities for improvements, and take
responsibility to drive change in their organizations.
Weve delivered these business benefts for over 25
years to many of the leading companies worldwide.
About Columbus
Columbus is a long-time developer of award-winning
industry software and has recently become well
known for developing Columbus RapidValue.
RapidValue is a business process management tool
that drives increased client value for ERP solutions.
It delivers a shorter implementation with more
predictable results by incorporating hundreds of best
industry practices accumulated through in over 6,000
Columbus implementations. This allows Columbus to
focus on streamlining the processes that make our
clients unique.
Companies all over the world are investing in
RapidValue and enjoy the benefts of shorter times to
value, quicker and less risky implementations, and the
industry leadership and knowledge acquired from the
thousands of Columbus deployments that preceded
theirs.
Columbus RapidValue
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ColumbusCare
ColumbusCare is unique to Columbus it is how
we take care of our clients, 24/7 worldwide.
With ColumbusCare, you get a well-trained team
dedicated to improve your systems efciency,
cost-efectiveness, and risk resistance. Whether
youre looking for enterprise-level support, upgrade
options, or system enhancements, ColumbusCare
provides fexible service levels to meet the needs of
your business.
Columbus Data
Migration Studio
Columbus Data Migration Studio enables streamlined
and cost-efective migrations that minimize
difculties, time and costs, while ensuring the
reliability and integrity of your data. Data Migration
Studio can help you unleash the potential of your ERP
solution and enable your organization to efciently
migrate large amounts of data quickly and easily.
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AND BEYOND
For more information please contact Columbus NSC
on +45 70 20 50 00 or www.columbusnsc.dk
SPECIAL REPORT SERIES:
ERP IN 2014 AND BEYOND
Columbus is a part of the registered trademark Columbus IT
Seven Ways
To Avoid ERP
Implementation
Failure
Seven Reasons
To Consider ERP
In The Cloud
Seven Ways
To Help Data
Migration During
Implementation
Seven Ways
To Optimize
Your Existing ERP
Solution
Seven Ways That
Business Process
Management Can
Improve Your ERP
Implementation