Data Migrations in Hospitality: To migrate or not to migrate, that is the question... (source: depositphotos.com)
Spoiler alert: if you are looking for a quick answer to this Shakespearean-like question, you will not find it. As a matter of fact, you are probably going to walk away from this post with more questions than answers. But this is to be expected. Who said migrating data in hospitality is an easy topic, right? Migrations have some unique characteristics that make them complicated by nature:
All in all: data migrations are an intricate maneuver where things can go wrong at any point in time. Even so, during my prosperous career as a “data migrator,” I came to particularly enjoy the challenges these projects present.
My experiences include migrating the data of kings and queens, presidents, and celebrities, as well as historical records of millions of guests. How could this not be fun?
While every project came with a unique learning curve, over the years, I saw how the advice we gave was critical to guiding people navigating this complex process for the first time.
With more and more customers migrating data, primarily to the cloud, the reason for this blog is to highlight the key areas that will guide you in finding the answer to the question Prince Hamlet probably never imagined would be rephrased in this “hospitality-tech” context.
Please do note that this is the first part of a series on this topic; we will cover tools and specific resources on an upcoming post.
Security should always be our first concern when talking about data and especially data migrations.
Remember my points above regarding the value and volume of data. We have all the ingredients for disaster, so taking all precautions is a must. Using a safe set of tools may seem obvious, but is often overlooked by many.
You should carefully consider regulations such as GDPR and any others that might help you come to the right approach on how much data you should consider for migration.
And remember: hospitality data is one of the most targeted by hackers.
Answer these questions to help guide you:
With security well analyzed, let’s get to another consideration: Is my data worth as much as I thought?
This is a difficult question to answer, especially knowing that the fear of losing something valuable can cloud our vision.
In short, my experience has shown me that hoteliers, like many others, prefer to play it safe and keep as much data as possible, which paradoxically puts them at greater risk for security and data retention concerns.
So how can we get out of this “chicken and egg” situation? Sit down withthe people that are influencing these decisions, and ask questions like:
The quality of a migration will be measured by the quality of the data we migrate. This is something I learned the hard way when migrating data from third-party property management systems into our OPERA Cloud platform, which offers a much higher standard of data quality.
Most data migration projects will require some sort of data quality approach before, during, or after the migration is completed. Don´t underestimate this analysis, as it could influence the decision on what to migrate. Also consider what data will need to be improved, as this will impact your overall migration costs.
Questions that can guide your decision include:
Or simply ask yourself, “Do I really need the profile of a guest that stayed once in 3 years?”
“Costs are never an issue when a solution is right!” While I fully support this statement, it is seldom the case. Resources are always scarce, and costs should always be optimized.
The cost of a data migration project can be easily underestimated or unnecessarily expanded by misguided data selection decisions.
Data migrations normally require specialized technology and resources that can be cost intensive.
Here are some other things you should consider:
Here are some other factors to balance when scoping a data migration project:
Migrations projects can be great fun, but should not be underestimated. Getting the right combination of technology and experience is critical to success and as technology evolves so do the possibilities.
While this is just a summary of the potential courses of action, I do hope these tips provide you with a little extra help the next time you face the inevitable question… To migrate or not to migrate.
Oracle Hospitality has completed thousands of successful migrations worldwide for decades across on-premises, hosted, and cloud solutions; we are ready to help on any data migration project.
Additionally, if you want to expand more on this topic or want to plan a migration project, get in touch with your Oracle Hospitality account representative.
Organization
Oracle Hospitality
https://www.oracle.com/industries/hospitality/index.html
7031 Columbia Gateway Drive
USA
- Columbia, MD 21046-2289
Tollfree: (866) 287-4736
Email: oraclehosp_ww@oracle.com
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