According to the results of a research of Xceed Group , which involved interviewing over 125 technology experts, just 1/3 of the migration projects went smoothly.
It means that the majority of migrations are likely to fall short, negatively impacting BAU, not being on time or on budget.
On that note, below are 4 of the most common challenges that affect migration projects:
Organisational change management
Resourcing can be tricky, hence it is crucial to engage early with HR and make them an integral part of the migration project.
- Do you have enough resources for work nights / weekends?
- How will the project affect full time staff?
- Avoid too many resources with dual BAU/ Project remit
Sponsorship visibility
Have a communication plan including executive sponsorship.
Make sure you have clear and concise message from top to bottom.
- Have relevant and appropriate communications to the right people.
- What about setting up a communication committee?
- 60% to 70% of a program project manager job should be around communication!
License reconciliation
Licensing can have a dramatic impact on project cost and budget.
- Navigate and negotiate them with different vendors.
- Involve procurement department, business, solution architects and vendors as soon as possible.
- Plan them ahead of time.
Application engagement
Nowadays data center migrations are more about business apps, than just technical infrastructure.
- Interview application owners
- Prepare and schedule testing plans
- Get applications owners involved, interview them for discovery, testing and post-migration troubleshooting
Reference: Xceed Group Predictable Datacentre Migrations Webinar