Project Data Migration Strategy for Small and Medium Businesses

Elena Humeniuk

PPM Consultant

What is Project Data Migration? 

Project Data migration is transferring data from one project management platform to another. It also involves data preparation, extraction, and transformation. Migrations usually occur when introducing a new project management system and/or consolidating data from multiple platforms into a single one. This process can be done manually or automatically with specialized project migration software.  

Why do Small and Medium Businesses Need to Migrate Projects? 

Project managers and IT specialists in small and medium businesses (SMBs) often must switch between multiple project management systems due to outdated features, company growth, or acquisition. The migration process can be a daunting task, as it can be time-consuming, complex, and risky. Manual migration can lead to data corruption or loss, and using open-source scripts can be challenging and requires technical expertise. 

Data Migration Challenges 

Small and medium businesses (SMBs) always look for ways to optimize their operations and increase efficiency. One area that can cause significant delays and inefficiencies is migrating project data between management systems. Changing storage, applications, or databases is another complex procedure that might arise during data migration. Difficulties may occur if the required plan is not followed or one chooses manual migration. 

• Losing data: Data can be lost during manual migration; hence, it is crucial to back up and plan the migration diligently with help from technical experts. 
• Prolonged migration time: Project migration can take a long time, from a few weeks to several months. This can become prolonged if network blockages that affect transmission times are encountered. Connection speeds and infrastructure limitations can also affect the progress of the migration. 
• Data security: Data security is a significant challenge. In this regard, data should be encrypted before migration to ensure maximal security. 
• Budget constraints: Prolonged, unmanaged, or poorly planned migration can increase costs exceeding the planned budget. Manual migration can require hiring additional technical experts – yet another financial expense. 
• Data complexity: Complexity can arise when data are abundant. Manual data transfer methods frequently lead to confusion, disorganization, and, worst of all, negligence.  
• The compatibility between old and new management tools can influence the data migration procedure. Some information may be lost if transferred, or the destination folder is renamed or otherwise organized incorrectly. 
• Manual work efforts: Manual migration requires much time and effort; however, success is not guaranteed. 

Data Migration Strategies 

Small and medium businesses need a solid strategy to address potential challenges during project migration. When switching from one project management platform to another, all data must be transferred from the old system to the new one; this is why project data migration is an integral element of the Project Portfolio Management lifecycle. 

The most efficient method is to utilize automated software. Fully automated data migration takes less time and is significantly less error-prone. IT professionals and project managers don’t have to perform any manual work. When it’s time to move data from one project to another, all they have to do is direct the tool regarding which data to migrate. 

FluentPro Project Migrator 

Based on cloud data migration technology, FluentPro Project Migrator has received excellent feedback and is widely recognized as the industry’s top option for migrating projects between different platforms. Project Migrator is a fully secure cloud-based application on the Microsoft Azure platform.

It is designed to simplify and speed up the process of migrating project data. The platform can manage labor-intensive and time-consuming data migration processes, such as moving information from one project management system to another. A successful migration only requires you to select the appropriate data. With this solution, project managers won’t have to spend time transferring data and can concentrate on leading projects making it an attractive option for SMBs.

Project Migrator supports multiple migration scenarios with popular project management systems like:

• Microsoft Planner
• New Planner Premium
• Trello
• Asana
• Microsoft Project Online
• Project for Web
• Dynamics 365 Project Operations
• Monday.com
• Smartsheet.  

Using Project Migrator, you can perform the data migration in just four simple steps: 

• Connect source and target project management systems 
• Select all or certain (specific) project data for migration  
• Match fields in source systems to the fields in the target system 
• Start migration and monitor progress in the summary screen 

Project Migrator is fully automated, easy-to-use, cloud-based, and lightning-fast software that helps companies migrate projects between the most popular project management tools. 

Benefits of Having a Data Migration Plan and Strategy 

FluentPro Project Migrator helps SMBs optimize their project management processes. The advantages of having a solid data migration plan and strategy, as well as implementing it with an automated solution, include: 

• Guaranteed complete data security when using cloud storage. 
• Saving many hours of work for project managers and IT professionals with full automation. 
• Reduction of manual work. All processes are streamlined and automated to save time. This, in turn, allows for more efficient use of resources, which is crucial given the ever-increasing demands on company data. 
• Automation of migration to a new project management system allows your team to focus on strategic matters rather than spending time on operational or data correction issues. 
• Saving time and reducing any risks related to human errors or data loss. 
• The safeguarding of data integrity. There has been no mishandling, loss, or compromise of data authenticity. The data is guaranteed to remain precisely the same as when it was first collected. 
• The highest ROI for project management migrations by minimizing cost and transition time.