Data Migration Services

An effective combination of our Data Management Platform and our consulting expertise

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Here at Sentinel, we can support IT Implementation and Business Transformation projects by providing an effective combination of our Data Management Platform and our consulting expertise.

Sentinel's Data Management Platform is a powerful, functionally rich and fully configurable toolset, ideally suited to the requirements of an ETL, ELT or ETLT data pipeline, providing the perfect Data Migration Software Utility. Our specialist consultancy resources provide an experienced, specialist data team to supplement a client's own project team.

This combination saves time and reduces risk by removing the need for bespoke builds. It provides a fully configurable data transformation and migration toolset, in the hands of experienced consultants, allowing the focus of attention to be on data content from day one.

Our Data Migration Utility works with all data object types such as Master Data (Customers, Vendors, Properties and Products) and Transactional Data (invoices, purchase orders, contractual arrangements and stock movements).

Why use the Sentinel Data Migration Utility?

Without a specialist Data Migration Utility, all migration processes need to be bespoke built to create numerous stand-alone data pipelines. The time estimated for building bespoke processes is usually underestimated and under-resourced, resulting in processes that are not stable or reliable enough until very late in the project timescale. This reduces the time available to test new systems or trial migrated data, posing additional risks to the project delivery.

The Sentinel Data Migration Utility addresses these key issues and provides the perfect mechanism to avoid such risks. This allows our clients to focus on the quality of the source data and on the mechanisms for uploading the data to the new systems.

Key features and benefits

Data Acquistion

Configurable utility: Sentinel's Data Migration Utility can be easily configured to extract data from all structured database types (SQL Server, Oracle, JavaDB, MongoDB, Sybase, MySQL, DB2 etc) plus ERP systems such as SAP, and Siebel with support for text files and XML.

Transformation, Cleansing and validation

Once extracted data is in the Migration Utility, transformation rules are applied to validate and transform it ready for loading on to the new system. As with all data processing rules in Sentinel’s Data Migration Utility, these rules are entirely configurable.

The data can be pre-validated within the utility to monitor data cleansing progress, and to simulate the data load results. There is a clear audit trail of all transformation activities.

The result is strict control and monitoring of data quality and completeness throughout the migration pipeline for all data objects and scenarios.

Safe and compliant use of data for testing

Wherever migrated data requirements exist, the industry best practice is to ensure that as many of the projects functional test phases as possible, are carried out using migrated source data. This means that stable and reliable data migration processes are a dependency on the key test phases and must be ready early.

Sentinel’s software utility and approach have all been developed using the ICO’s ‘data protection by design’ approach. Where required, Sentinel's Data Migration Utility can work in conjunction with Sentinel’s Data Masking for UAT Utility to create realistic but anonymised test data.

Data masking is often required where client data includes personal data and can be accessed by multiple third-party IT and Testing organisations. Masking (or ‘scrambling’) personal data ensures compliance with the Data Protection Act without compromising test objectives.

Reporting and data profiling

Once the data has been extracted into the Data Management Utility, any validation, transformation and load activities will automatically generate detailed reports showing data volumes and exception lists. These reports will support the data reconciliation requirements associated with any data migration process.

Improved data accuracy

Where data errors are found, the transformation rules can be refined and re-run as many times as required until the data is ready for upload. The transformation rules can also include automated cleansing logic to remove or replace incorrect data.

Data staging and cleansing

Where legacy data needs to be cleansed, enriched or enhanced in ways that cannot be supported by legacy systems, Sentinel's Data Migration Utility provides the perfect answer.  

Flexible data upload

Sentinel's Data Migration Utility is not tied down to any rigid API data formats.

Data can be acquired, stored, transformed and published in any format to suit new data requirements. Data upload processes can be supported via any mechanisms such as flat / structured files, direct database connections and web-services.

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Data Project Services

Let Sentinel Partners take the risk out of your data projects

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Migration to Azure Cloud Services

A fast, secure data solution for migrating from legacy databases the the latest database systems.

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Database Migration (incl: Oracle to PostgresSQL Migration section)

Seamlessly migrate to Azure cloud services and increase data quality.

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Data Migration is the process of moving data from a legacy source system to a new target system. This can involve moving data from one format to another, one database to another, one application to another – essentially the movement of data from one location to another.

Types of Data our Migration can Platform Pipeline supports:

  • Storage migration. The process of moving data off existing legacy locations to the required target databases for use. Supporting current processes and applications. This offers significantly faster performance and more cost-effective scaling while enabling expected data management features such as cloning, snapshots, and backup and disaster recovery
  • Cloud migration. The process of moving data, application, or other business elements from either an on-premises data centre to a cloud provider or platform or from one cloud provider to another. Often this requires a stage of storage migration. Saas, Paas, Iaas
  • Application migration. The process of moving an application program from one environment to another. This may involve moving the application's underlying data to a new form of the application hosted by a software provider

Our Approach

  • Planning. Scope and evaluate the data required for migration. Define migration strategy (e.g. Big Bang vs Trickled/Phased) and plan resource requirements for defining required for data. Project initiation. Identify and brief key stakeholders
  • Design. Establish a robust data quality rules management process and brief the business on the goals of the project, including, cut-over processes, shutting down legacy systems. Solution design and data discovery. Defining and documenting data to migrate, and the quality of that data before and after the move
  • Build & test. Code the migration logic and test the migration with a mirror of the production environment
  • Execute & validate. Demonstrate that the migration has complied with requirements and that the data moved is viable for business use
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Business Data Transformation  

Businesses change, it is part of growth and part of sustainability. However, many businesses find change challenging. Data is often at the heart of this challenge. After partnering and guiding our clients through massive business transformations—either to update business processes to use the latest technology to stay relevant, to respond to market shifts, or as the result of merging and growing—our advice is to make the change you need, not the change that is easiest or convenient.  

Business Data Transformation 

Transform data use in your organisation

Book your free data assessment today, and find out how much of an impact Sentinel's Master Data Management tools can have on your business.

  • Strict control and monitoring of data quality
    and completeness
  • Built using the ICO's "data protection by design"
    approach
  • Trusted by public sector organisations and local authorities
  • Experienced, dedicated team of data integration and data sharing specialists

Take the hassle out of data management. Call us on +44(0)800 612 2116 or email us [email protected].