There’s no doubt that data migration in an estate agency software implementation is a complex process and there are so many things to consider. 

More than 80 percent of data migration projects run late or over budget, which can put your estate agency software deployment at risk and negatively impact your business operations. What may seem like the straightforward task of moving data from an older system to a new enterprise application actually involves much more strategic planning and thought to successfully deliver trusted, accurate information that your business can run and rely on.

But hopefully our top 10 tips for data migration success by Eurolink Client Services Director Ariana Pampoulides will give you a good place to start.

1. Use an experienced partner
A successful data migration project can revolutionise and streamline your estate agency business operations and efficiency.  But by cutting corners and using anything other than an expert will cost you time, money and inconvenience.

2. Get the experts involved at an early stage
Your data migration project is a big deal.  Time and effort should be put into creating an initial brief as well as agreeing on a budget. This will ensure the best possible management, and outcome, of your project.

3. Understand your data
Get your data right, from the beginning. By having a clear understanding of the purpose of your data, you’ll ensure that relevant information is captured from the outset and irrelevant data is not transferred.

4. Budget correctly
Just like all other business initiatives, you need to justify the return on investment. Data migration should be no exception.

5. Plan
This is the most important part of a data migration project and must be done properly before the process begins. This will reduce developer work, save money and allow you to decide the full scope of the project.

6. Resource
Get your resource right, internally and externally, and make sure all relevant areas of the business are aware that their input may be needed, for example, Finance, Property Management, Sales, Marketing and Senior Management.

7. Future proof your system
What you need from your system now may change radically in the future. Allow the flexibility for different scenarios, for example – if you decide to expand your business into sales or lettings or take your property management service in-house.

8. Clean your data and keep it clean
Clean data saves time and money. Data migration is the ideal opportunity to conduct data cleansing and then put the relevant data protocol in place to keep it clean.

9. Use data migration as a reason for change
This is the ideal time to decide what your estate agency business actually needs – with the correct business rules and without those historic workarounds . The likelihood is that the new system will be different so train staff and make sure they utilise it correctly.

10. Space
Establish the scalability of the data migration across the lifetime of its usage. This should include an understanding of the volumes now and in the future.