If you already have a system and are thinking of changing it for another you will need to consider whether you wish to “start again” or if you want to export the data into the new system. Some of the considerations include: - Quality of data and desire to migrate it. Due to replicated data in Windows based systems, you may find that there is a lot of duplicated data or dated information in your old system. A system is only as good as the information within it so importing poor quality data will lead to a poor quality database in the new system. Whilst it can be a laborious process, the diligence of going through old data and manually inputting cleansed data into a new system can provide benefits of knowing that the new system is accurate whilst also providing a very good training process for the new users. Some software vendors will be able to provide a service to migrate data and a quote for undertaking this should be sought.
- Are you a multi-site organisation with data in each office? This may lead to a large amount of duplicated data which will need addressing in a new product. In this case you may well be advised to go down the route of manually entering the data into a new system and resource the transition appropriately.
- What resources do you have in house to dedicate to project managing the transition? . Purchase of a windows based product may require investment in new hardware and changes in the IT infrastructure where as the implementation of web-based products are typically easier. A change in IT will strike fear into some employees and you must consider supporting your staff through the change. Having one person in your organisation who assumes responsibility for managing the transition and liaising between the business and the software supplier can have a significant impact on the smoothness of the process.
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