Key Benefits of Data Migration You Should Know

You’re a modern business doing your best to stay ahead of trends, meet customer expectations, and adapt to constant change. But when you’re always in a rush to overcome challenges, you may be overlooking something foundational – the benefits of data migration. 

Try to stop for a moment and think: how is it possible for organizations to operate efficiently if their data is not accessible or trapped in old systems or disconnected platforms? It’s not – because the risks are high: losing sales trends and customer history, missing patterns and growth opportunities, and even compromising security. The good news is that data migration services can help you avoid all these headaches. 

While the process of data migration itself might seem opaque to those who aren’t familiar with the technology, trust us – we wouldn’t create this article if we weren’t excited about sharing the advantages of performing data migration. 

Are you ready to dig deeper and get an understanding of all the details of data migration in each of its different types and their benefits? Great! CHI Software is here to walk you through the essential steps and help you get off to a flawless start. 

Article Highlights:

• The benefits of migrating data include simpler and more secure management and storage of data in one easy-to-use place, so that teams can work better together, especially when two companies collaborate;
• Application-to-application migration saves your team from constant struggles in looking up customer records and manual checking to make sure nothing is stuck in the old system;
• Technical consulting will help you choose the best approach and environment for the migration. For instance, with CHI Software’s guidance, a food tech client benefits from real-time reporting and cuts processing time by 40%.

The Main Reasons to Migrate Data and Types of Data Migration

Data migration is the process of moving all your business data to a new and more reliable system. You might not realize why data migration is important now, but if your systems are outdated and your data is scattered everywhere, your business growth will likely stall sooner than you think. 

Main Triggers to Migrate Data

CHI Software have worked with many businesses that faced the exact issues, and every time, data migration was their solution. Let’s talk about those warning signs.

Outdated Systems

If you’re experiencing slower request processing than in the past, or if your storage systems are no longer supported, these are pressing reasons to migrate data.

Growing Data Volumes

If your business has grown from a startup to a medium-sized company, you are now dealing with a bigger amount of data. Chances are, your existing systems are struggling to keep up with your data, so it’s time to build a modern data warehouse and migrate everything there. 

Mergers and Acquisitions

When two companies come together, they will need to share and align their information – and to keep everything running smoothly, you need to gather all this data from different sources in one secure and well-organized place.

Low Accuracy in Decision-Making

If the system you are using to store your data is built on slow infrastructure, then naturally, it will take longer to get the information you need, and mistakes or delays will result when making major business moves. 

Software Updates or Changes

When your team switches to a new software or updates their existing tools, you should also consider transferring your data and updating it to the new configuration.

Types of Data Migration

Depending on the reasons for migrating, there are different ways to go about it.

Application migration is the process of moving your data into a new platform that works better for your needs. For example, you may see that you’ve outgrown your current CRM or ERP tool, or it’s not working fast enough, and decide to switch to a more optimized solution. Of course, you will need to take all the information with you when moving to new software.

Storage migration will be helpful to you if your current setup can’t keep up with the volume of data, or if your systems are no longer supported. Of course, it often means building a scalable data infrastructure and shifting your data to systems that have more space and power.

Cloud migration could be the right move for you if your data is growing rapidly, or if you’re struggling with accessibility. Transferring your data from local systems such as on-site servers to cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud provides the flexibility of having virtually unlimited space and speed available on demand. 

Database migration is a common option during company mergers or when teams using different systems need to combine and collaborate. This type of migration brings data from separate databases into one place, so that everyone has access to the same up-to-date information.

How Data Migration Can Benefit Your Business

How might the decision to move your data influence your workflows? Let’s look at some of the benefits of database migration that every company can experience.

Long-Term Cost Savings

After migrating from on-premise to cloud platforms, you no longer need to purchase and maintain expensive servers or physical infrastructure. Instead, you only pay for what you use. 

Your cloud provider distributes resources across all customers so that each one can use and pay for what they need. Moreover, a cloud provider will be responsible for system updates and complete support. For you, it means no upfront equipment costs and less time spent on routine maintenance.

With time, you can optimize your spending with cloud-to-cloud migration: find a provider that offers better pricing or features that align with your business better.

Enhanced Data Security

Сloud security measures usually go far beyond what legacy systems offer. Your provider will:

• ensure compliance with all necessary regulatory requirements (HIPAA, ISO);
• clearly define and control who has access to your data;
• monitor and record all activity related to your data;
• respond to suspicious activity with immediate checks;
• encrypt your data so that even if it is stolen, no one can read it;
• conduct regular security checks of cloud storage.

Also, one of the key data migration benefits for business is enhanced access control. Migrating to structured databases gives you full visibility into who is accessing what data and when – a level of oversight that basic file systems typically lack.

Flexible and Accessible Workflow

Flexibility is vital in today’s hybrid and remote work environments. In some industries, up to 67% of employees now work remotely, so it’s important for teams to access tools and data from anywhere.

With data warehouses and data systems, employees can securely access data from anywhere with an internet connection. Moreover, your team only works with up-to-date data, and authorized users can share essential insights with colleagues quickly without compromising security.

Unlimited Scalability

You need huge server farms and data centers to scale effectively, which are often unavailable to small and medium-sized companies. However, scalability won’t be a concern if you store data on cloud servers. A recent Gartner study found that 40% of participants consider scalability to be the biggest advantage of cloud computing.

The ability to scale on demand underscores the importance of data migration to modern cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud. If you need more storage or more processing power, then you can simply adjust the settings in a web dashboard or through application programming interfaces (APIs) and get what you need without hardware upgrades or server downtime.

Improved Productivity

One of the most frustrating experiences for teams is when they can’t access the data they need. If you change systems but leave the data behind, for example, you move to a new CRM or ERP without migrating your records, your team’s work may grind to a halt. 

Imagine if a team spent 30% of their time just trying to locate their internal information and work files. That won’t be the case if your data is stored in an efficient system – so that they don’t need to waste time digging through old systems because every detail is already in its right place.

Access to Powerful Analytics and Insights

When your data is accessible and organized in one place, it is much easier to analyze. Data migration can benefit this process by moving your information into modern data warehouses like Snowflake, BigQuery, or Amazon Redshift. These platforms offer built-in analytics tools (DBT, Looker, Power BI, or Tableau), dashboards, and AI services that help you understand customer behavior, product performance, and market trends.

And the payoff is real: according to a Forrester study, companies using modern analytics platforms like Tableau reported a 127% return on investment, driven by faster reporting, better visibility, and smarter business decisions.

Better Customer Experience

A recent study found that as many as 86% of customers decide to stop interacting with a brand due to poor customer experience. What might be the root cause of that? One example could be a frustrating experience that arises from mismatched records or slow service responses caused by the use of outdated data infrastructure.

Fast systems mean fast service. When your team has access to the latest data and analytics in real time to build or change strategies faster, obsolete or repetitive data – which is a common problem of outdated services – no longer gets in the way.

What Are The First Steps of Data Migration with CHI Software?

Now that you understand the benefits of data migration, you should plan the process carefully. At CHI Software, we know that any successful migration begins long before you move the first byte. Here’s what a well-built workflow looks like and where we can help. 

Step 1: Define Your Goals

Define what you want to achieve with the help of data migration. For example, you might want to:

• Speed up reporting;
• Consolidate data from multiple systems;
• Improve data security;
• Make analytics accessible to more teams.

Identifying even one key goal is a good start and can help the engineering team in determining the project’s technical strategy.

That is how it happened when CHI Software worked with a global performance marketing company. During the consultation process, we were able to understand the aim of cutting costs on Azure Analysis Services and bringing all marketing data together. This helped us set clear success metrics and quickly get to work on delivering precisely what the client expected.

Step 2: Conduct a Data Inventory

Now, you need to review your data and understand where it is stored. Inventory is necessary in a solid data engineering strategy because your technical specialists need to have a firm grasp on what they are working with. 

Whenever CHI Software’s team has a new project, we conduct a full data audit and help classify data by type, use, and risk to find the best approach and select the most powerful tools. 

Step 3: Consider Security and Compliance

Do you need to comply with GDPR, HIPAA, or other data protection laws? What internal security policies must be followed? A trusted technical partner can help you implement policies, identify the right tools, and set up everything correctly. 

That’s another reason why data migration is important – it gives you the opportunity to strengthen security, improve data quality, and align your systems with compliance requirements from the ground up. For example, CHI Software developers often turn to OpenMetadata to track data lineage, control data quality, and make sure all departments meet audit standards.

Step 4: Assess Your Current Infrastructure

Define the pros and cons of your current systems: are they based in the cloud or on your local servers? Do you plan to keep some of your data, or transfer over everything? What are the known limitations?

This is where technical consulting is crucial: a reliable data engineering company will help you choose the right migration approach and the best environment. 

Imagine you’re running a food tech company. Your analytics aren’t giving you the whole picture, and you know it’s time to move on from your current BI platform to something more powerful. That was the case where CHI Software helped one of our clients in food tech. We looked at the company’s current setup and future goals, switched to Power BI, paired with a Snowflake-based staging schema and DBT for transformations. The combination was truly successful: resulting in 40% reduced processing time and real-time reporting.

Step 5: Develop a Migration Strategy and Timeline

Check out this short migration planning checklist from CHI Software so you understand what to include in your plan:

• Choose a migration approach (lift-and-shift, replatform, refactor);
• Define the scope (what data, systems, and apps to move);
• Select tools and technologies;
• Map and transform the data as needed;
• Set a timeline with phases and milestones;
• Prepare a backup and rollback plan;
• Outline testing procedures.
  

Conclusion

Many companies don’t realize the importance of data migration until their corporate information has already become a barrier instead of a useful tool. But the truth is, you can start to see the advantages of migrating data much earlier, if you follow the right steps – and that’s exactly why we created this article.

At CHI Software, we’ve seen what a well-planned migration can do: faster reports, real-time insights, reduced operational costs and processing time, and improved security. 

FAQs

• What business risks can I avoid by planning data migration properly?

  Here are the issues you are likely to avoid by building and executing a solid data migration plan:
  
  - Data loss or corruption that can happen during poorly executed transfers;
  - Unexpected costs from delays or rework due to unclear goals or system mismatches;
  - Compliance violations if sensitive data is mishandled;
  - Downtime that can impact daily operations.
  

• How does data migration support my digital transformation goals?

  By properly migrating data, you will be able to:
  
  - Move your data to modern and scalable platforms that grow with your business;
  - Enable real-time analytics and make faster, data-driven decisions;
  - Improve security and foster seamless collaboration across teams;
  - Support cloud adoption, which is the backbone of most digital transformation strategies.

• Why should I partner with an experienced provider like CHI Software for data migration?

  Partnering with CHI Software gives you the following advantages:
  
  - A well-defined strategy that minimizes risks and guarantees the project's outcome aligns with your needs;
  - Proven expertise in working with leading cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) and modern data storage solutions;
  - Deep knowledge of regulatory compliance, making sure your migration meets industry standards with industry regulations and internal security standards;
  - Knowledge of the latest tools and frameworks, such as Snowflake, Power BI, OpenMetadata, and others, providing advanced analytics and data management capabilities.

• Can I migrate data while keeping my systems running?

  Absolutely! At CHI Software, one of the key priorities during data migration is to keep your business running smoothly without interruption. That’s why we design migration strategies that:
  
  - Include phased approaches or hybrid models;
  - Ensure critical systems remain available during the transition;
  - Set up well-planned transfers and real-time syncing where needed.

• How long does it take to migrate data with CHI Software?

  The timeline will depend on your project scope, but we can provide you with a general idea:
  
  - Small projects (simple storage migration) can take from two to four weeks;
  - Medium projects (cloud migration) – from one to three months;
  - Large projects (complex migrations with multiple systems, mergers and acquisitions, data warehousing) – from two to six months.