IT Migration Ahead? Why You Need to Reassess Your Strategy
If you’ve spent more time in the software industry, you’ve likely encountered an IT migration at some point. Migrating systems can be one of the most challenging phases of product development, often filled with unexpected hurdles.
Unfortunately, the statistics aren’t encouraging. Over 80% of migration projects either exceed their budgets or end up being abandoned altogether. These figures emphasize the importance of having a solid plan and strategy in place to navigate the migration journey successfully.
IT migrations can take many forms, here are some typical examples:
Data Migration involves transferring data from one storage location to another.
Application Migration occurs when software needs to be refactored, rebuilt, or replaced entirely with a new system, often requiring also migration of data.
Cloud Migration refers to shifting systems from traditional on-premise data centers to cloud environments or moving from one cloud provider to another.
This article covers:
➤ Examples of IT migrations and when do you need them?
➤ What makes an IT migration project so complicated?
➤ How can you navigate the risks to ensure a smoother transition?
When Do IT Migrations Become Necessary?
There are many reasons why software companies may face the need for migration. Let’s look at some of the most common scenarios:
Outdated Technology
Technology evolves rapidly. New, more efficient solutions enter the market, offering improved performance, better ROI, and lower maintenance costs. This evolution often necessitates moving away from legacy systems. In some cases, companies are forced to migrate to a newer technology because the one they rely on is no longer supported.
A good example is COBOL-based systems, which many businesses had to retire due to a shrinking talent pool, lack of support, or high mainframe costs.
Another example is the shift from on-premise systems to cloud applications, as cloud solutions provide greater flexibility and scalability and have become the new norm in the market.
Scalability Limitations
Another very common driver for migration in growing companies is the inability of current systems to scale with business growth. Often, architectural or technology decisions made during the early stages of a company’s development—while suitable at the time—become bottlenecks as the user base expands and business needs evolve.
It’s a harsh reality, but at some point, investing in an upgraded, scalable solution becomes inevitable. Otherwise you can’t keep pace with future business demands.
Mergers and Acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions often create an urgent need for migration. Companies must consolidate multiple systems into a unified platform to streamline operations effectively.
The primary drivers for this consolidation include reduced maintenance costs, improved scalability, and enhanced return on investment (ROI).
Accumulated Technical Debt
Migration due to accumulated technical debt is not something to be proud of. However, if you haven’t kept an eye on continuously optimizing the quality of your product, rebuilding becomes the most viable option at some point.
When teams rush to meet deadlines or prioritize short-term deliverables, corners are often cut in code quality, architecture, or documentation. Eventually, companies reach a point where a tough decision must be made: either refactor or entirely rebuild the platform to regain efficiency and lay a solid foundation for future growth.
The Compelling Benefits of Migration
Whether migration is a necessary transition or a strategic choice, the advantages are clear and substantial.
A successful IT migration can unlock significant financial and operational benefits:
Enhanced development productivity
Decreased maintenance costs
Accelerated development cycles
Improved scalability
Stronger positioning to meet evolving business needs
The Biggest Challenges of an IT Migration
While the benefits of IT migrations are real and appealing, the reality often strays far from the plans laid out on paper.
Why is this the case?
What are the most significant challenges companies face when tackling an IT migration?
Legacy Systems as Revenue Drivers
The current systems may be outdated and costly to maintain, driving the need for migration.
However, these "legacy" solutions often form the backbone of revenue generation. Typically, they are stable and reliable, having undergone years of stability improvements.
Replacing them too quickly or without sufficient planning can risk essential business operations, leading to potential revenue loss and customer dissatisfaction.
Knowledge Gaps and Unsupported Technology
Migrating a system effectively requires a deep understanding of the current solution.
In many cases, the developers who have built the software are no longer available, and documentation is sparse or outdated. This forms a lot of critical knowledge gaps.
Without access to the expertise needed to interpret or rebuild these systems, teams can struggle to understand how they function, making the migration complex and prone to errors.
Resistance to Feature Deprioritization
Imagine the following scenario: multiple company divisions are running their own platform, each tailored to specific customer needs. To reduce maintenance costs and enable scalability, a migration project is launched to unify these platforms, migrating all customers to a single, centralized system.
The new system must meet the diverse requirements of each division, but ensuring full functional compatibility can be extremely challenging.
This approach not only places a heavy burden on the migration project, but also makes the new system highly complex and difficult to maintain. Deprioritizing certain features and finding the right balance is essential, but it can generate substantial resistance from stakeholders who fear the unified system won’t fully meet their needs.
The Need of Extensive Testing and Iteration
Legacy systems have achieved stability over time. The new system will still require rigorous testing and refinement to reach an acceptable level of reliability. Underestimating the time needed for testing and rushing to go to production to soon can lead to disruptions and unexpected bugs.
With many customers already using the current platform, there’s little tolerance for issues. Whether the migration is invisible to them or changes their experience, the only acceptable outcome is a system that performs as good as, or better than, the old one.
The Human Challenges of Migration
Migration is not just a technical challenge—it can significantly impact people and can pose considerable obstacles.
Employees workflows and customer interactions are often disrupted. Employees need training on new processes, and customers may need to adapt to different ways of engaging with your product or services.
Without a comprehensive change management strategy that includes training, clear communication, and a gradual transition to ease adjustment, the risk of a failed migration is too high.
Maintaining Dual Platforms During Transition
During the migration, you need to maintain both the old and new platforms. This duality can be resource-intensive and costly.
Next to that, customers expect continued improvements to the legacy system even as the migration is underway.
Deciding how much to invest in the old platform versus focusing on the new system becomes a strategic balancing act, adding pressure on resources and timelines.
A Realistic Approach to IT Migration
Successfully managing an IT migration requires a realistic strategy that accounts for its complexities. Here are some practical strategies to consider:
Plan Realistically
A migration project is rarely a quick fix. Depending on the complexity of your systems and business needs, it will likely take more than a year—not weeks.
Treat migration as a complex project requiring dedicated time and attention. Be prepared for unexpected challenges, and set clear expectations early to avoid unnecessary frustrations.
Dedicate Migration Teams
Managing both the current platform and a migration simultaneously is resource-intensive and often unsustainable. It is unrealistic to rely on a single team for both.
Instead, consider setting up dedicated migration teams who can focus fully on the migration project.
You might also choose to outsource specific tasks, like data migration, to specialists. A data migration specialist would bring expertise in anticipating potential complexities and would follow a robust process to ensure high data accuracy, making the migration more efficient and reliable.
Does the migration impact operational workflows or directly affect customers? Be sure to include these considerations in the migration roadmap. If the scope is significant, it’s worth dedicating a team specifically to manage change. As this is essential prerequisite of a successful migration.
Migrate in Phases: A Cohort-Based Approach
Phased migration is one of the most effective ways to reduce risk.
When migrating customer data, consider a cohort-based approach. Cohorts are groups of customers segmented by specific criteria, such as feature usage, migration ROI, or migration risk level. For example, you might start by migrating new customers to the new platform, followed by those using only core features, and finally, customers with more complex or customized needs.
This step-by-step approach allows for gradual learning and adaptation. It gives you time to identify and resolve issues early, while minimizing disruption and risk for both customers and your business.
Resist the Urge to Improve the Old System
One of the difficult decisions during a migration is whether to continue enhancing the old system while transitioning to the new one.
Unless there is a compelling return on investment or a significant risk in leaving the old system as is, avoid investing resources in it. Focus your efforts on the new platform instead.
This will reduce the time it takes to deliver the new system. It will also ensure that any effort spent on improvements has long-term benefits.
Be Prepared to Lose Some Customers
During the migration, there will likely be features that some existing customers won’t have immediate access to.
Are you prepared to say "no" to certain customers, knowing there is a potential risk of churn? If you are not ready for this, you may need to reconsider whether your migration strategy will truly deliver the expected benefits.
Avoid falling into the trap of making the process too complex in an attempt to please everyone. This can drain resources, delay the migration project and make the product overly complex to maintain on long term.
Final thoughts
IT migrations are never simple. They involve technical challenges, change management, and detailed planning.
AI can help make parts of this process much easier. By automating tasks like data mapping and error detection, there is a lot of potential to reduce errors and save time.
However, significant challenges will still remain—particularly in managing expectations, ensuring system compatibility, maintaining operational stability, and adjusting workflows for employees and customers.
Avoid the temptation to rush your next migration project. Stay alert to the complexities that may arise, and regularly reassess the feasibility of your plan to ensure a successful transition.
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