Data migration, or the transfer of data between computer storage formats or computer systems, may become necessary for your business, so knowing the best way to accomplish this is essential.

The necessity of data transfer often occurs during these conditions:

1. Moving your company data from one data center to another
2. PC program migration may be needed when a software program is upgraded
3. Data migration services or data migration software may be needed when your operating system is upgraded
4. Data migration services or data migration software may help move your rarely-used data to the appropriate backup system
5. Data migration services may help seamlessly migrate website data from one Internet Service Provider (ISP) to another

This guide may enable you to address these issues.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Get specific information from experts to help you understand data migration

The functions at the heart of data migration are Extraction, Transfer, and Load (ETL). Data extraction is the process of successfully importing unstructured or corrupted data from one computer source to another. Transferring data is the process of converting one computer's data to a compatible format with the destination computer. The data is then loaded into the end target computer or data warehouse.

I recommend: DataMigrationPro is a major online resource and information forum for data migration professionals. Use the Ask the Expert service for businesses looking for specific information about the data migration process, along with how it applies to their company. Their Knowledge Index is a tool that locates information resources inside and outside their website, including blogs (or web logs), articles, and other content related to data migration. SAS Institute, a company specializing in data migration, has an informative overview of the data migration process, and available tools and services.

Visit leading data center migration service providers' websites

If your company is large- to medium-sized, you may need to consult a third-party service to help migrate your business's data from one data storage facility to another. Start with service providers with a long track record to understand typical data migration services offered.

I recommend: A data-center design pioneer, Sun Microsystems offers Migration Programs that help businesses move their data to new servers, storage systems, and operating systems. Novell, another major data-center industry player, recommends ways to move all or some of your company data center functions to a less costly and more adaptable Linux operating system.

Find the right PC migration software to move your data to backup storage

Some businesses may not want to hire a data migration service, and may want to purchase software and hardware to migrate their data themselves.

I recommend: See a demo of StorMagic's SM Series self-managing storage software, and find out more about the product. Astera offers its DataMapper software, a transformation tool that helps ease the movement of data between databases and files. See a demo of this product.

Find the right PC data migration tools when upgrading software or a computer operating system

A computer's data sometimes corrupts with certain software upgrades, or during the installation of a new computer operating system. Certain PC migration software or hardware accessories can help avoid these risks.

I recommend: DataMigrationPro, the online resource and information forum for data migration professionals, maintains a long list of data migration software vendors. Pervasive Software's website offers a series of data-migration product demos as well as specific company data-migration case studies.

Find data migration services to help move your website from one ISP to another

Depending on the size of your company's website, migrating data and multimedia objects from one ISP to another can be a long grueling process. Sometimes mistakes occur. This daunting task could require outside help.

I recommend: FindMyHosting.com has a search engine that helps ISPs that might meet your company's needs, including those offering data migration services. CWIhosting is an example of a hosting service that offers a managed data migration service. Smooth Web Move prefers hiring Web designer services instead of ISPs to help migrate your website data. Their service may help you find the right designer.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Reasons why a business might move their website data to a new ISP may include inadequate customer support from the old ISP or a reduction of services because the service provider is going out of business.
• •  Consider the advantages of hiring a data migration service for a one-time-only operation, for a limited period of time, or as an ongoing function during the life of your business.