Mind the Gap: Migration Projects –
Hardware and software migration projects are like crack for IT executives. Especially when the number on the new invoice is smaller than the number on the old invoice. Even better when the products can be folded into a previously negotiated enterprise agreement and made to appear free. Add to that an audience with the vendor company’s CEO, a seat on the executive advisory board, and a keynote at the annual conference along with a VIP backstage meet-and-greet with the top-40 ’80s germany rcs data rock band playing for the gala. This deal is awesome! My job here is finished. Now you go get rid of all that old legacy stuff and replace it with this new modern stuff. It shouldn’t take very long. After all, you’re already familiar with the data and the reports and the applications and everything.
Sound familiar?
Migration projects fall into two categories: those that you want to do and those that you are told to do.
A migration that you want to do is exciting. It’s typically motivated by problems you’re having with the current environment that the new one promises to solve. Probably some combination of performance, reliability, manageability, and functionality. The driving force for change is usually the user community and/or system team, and they know that something better is waiting on the other side. The benefits are well articulated and quantified, and it is often management that has to be convinced to support the project.
A migration that you are told to do can be agonizing. It’s typically motivated by factors that have nothing to do with solving business problems or generating business value. Instead, it’s usually cost, standardization (another word for cost), corporate strategy, and/or politics. The driving force for change is management. Benefits beyond a smaller check written to the vendor are rarely identified, and the real migration costs are rarely considered. And after all that, you hope that when you’re finished you and your users can still do what you all are doing today.