Transitioning business platforms promises enormous capabilities but equal measures willingness accepting short-term adoption uncertainties until stakeholders fully assimilate new workflows. However, realistically expectations set stages mitigating go-live disruptions while accelerating value realization continually reinforcing change communications demonstrating success.
Central platform transitions live or die by historical data importance. Meticulously orchestrating customer, financials, inventory and operational records cleanly into modern solutions makes go-live continuity possible. Let’s examine how to migrate legacy data into NetSuite without losing sleep.
Legacy System Data Extraction Fundamentals
Entrenched business systems accumulate years of transactions driving day to day operations including sales histories, vendor purchases, payments made, fulfilled orders, booked travel expenses billed and general ledger entries leading balanced financial books monthly.
While teams focus on configuring improved future transaction processing elegantly, reliable extracts comprehensively presenting accurate historical views correspondingly matter ensuring continuity trends businesses steered previously.
Carefully orchestrate data migration answering questions like:
- What is the optimal extract mechanism and format? APIs, flat file exports, direct DB connectivity?
- Which NetSuite modules and date ranges provide sufficient operational history?
- How does data completeness reconcile fully and traceably?
- What are transitional mechanisms bridging missing elements?
Resist temptation transitioning all records without governance. Establish data principles guiding viable extractions, transformations and migration.
Map Legacy Data to New Data Models
Software data models define structures optimally organizing business information for consumption. Table relationship diagrams codify architectures navigating efficient storage selective retrieval applications generate.
However standardized schemas welcoming external data establishing residency require reasonable fits structurally, procedurally, functionally before granting tenancy. Mappings resolve gaps reconciling originating composition misalignments carrying forward intelligently.
For example, harmonizing disparate customer naming conventions or addressing conventions collates interaction histories completely despite nuances losing fidelity filtering strictly without tolerances swapping old for new characterized representations reasonably.
Accommodate legacy collisions:
- Customer / Vendor consolidation into single entities
- Chart of accounts changes
- Item harmonization and segmentation
- Sales hierarchy adjustments
Data Migration Waves Mitigate Risk
Risky bang transitions cutover entire data estates single instances risk continuity exposing complex transitions likely remediations. Failure recovery rebuilt records manually from archives laboriously ensure integrity restored verifying confidence expressed in figures ultimately is challenging.
Phased migrations affirming milestone successes in stages instill confidence minimizing surprises downstream excelling flexibility resetting deviations
1.Stage finance general ledger consistently balancing reduction liabilities temporarily warehoused sales orders history provide foundations Sales
2.Core purchasers, suppliers and item conversions believer essential order orchestrations priorities coming purchasing generating payables flip
3.Inventory and Sales roll next validating clean bidirectional ERP information exchanges fulfilled confirming Platform stability cut customers over last master data validation cycles worried reconciling all open balances owed before this fiscal calendar kicking new one
No business accepts enterprise data loss or corruption recovery prolonging years historically without questioning competence managing foundational information reliably representing health indicators changing circumstances.
Validate Converted Data Early and Often
Trust verifying accuracy converted migration extracts transformed fitting new environments ultimately determines usability new systems downstream operationally.
- Scrutinize samples first defending validation practices
- Reconcile record counts balancing categories consistently
- Resolve data exceptions through root cause evaluation
- Inspect result set details verify patterns making sense
- Perform simulated operational simulations ensuring configurations align
Repeating inspection phases uncovers flaws systematically until stakeholders satisfied results indeed remain consistent with legacy sources genuinely convincing everyone transition integrity meets expectations realistically achievable.
Post Go-Live Data Remediation Expectations
Despite extensive preparations reconciling record counts, validation checks and operating simulations confirming migrations, temporarily warehouse supplemental records collecting problems reported but awaiting conversions batch updated until operational calm returns weeks after launching modern solutions.
Common remediation examples include:
- Stragglers tied up administratively from legal holds
- Delays sourcing reference archives remotely
- Prioritization gaps late stage creeping before cutovers planned begun
- Special request late arrivals fitting smoothly weekly not blocking reconciliation signoff cycles downstream unnecessarily
Establish NetSuite post go-live cleanup processes supporting datastore rechecking suspected missing pieces incrementally without raising alarms by disappearing historically. Reassure groups records don’t evaporate persistently backed up physically even batch cutover processes restart accommodating lagging change normally.
Trust process continuity assurances, you’ll prevent problematic data loss however remain flexible gaps filled reasonably Mitigate deeper architecture constraints allowing intermediate workspace flexibility without introducing temporary processing exceptions handled manually downstream production systems directly. We specialize recommending custom programs reconciling late loading records seamlessly week over affected groups easing transition frictions
Lean on Specialists 1 Connecting Complex Systems
Realistically, orchestrating transitions involving arrays of stapled software dynamics introduces risk profiles escalating beyond resource experience thresholds manageable internally. Supplementing attempts interim advisory engagements diminishes uncertainties substantially through unbiased expertise recommend guardrails preventing unnecessary derailments. External specialists bring multiplied lens magnifying gaps unrecognizable business stakeholders proximity focused singularly limit visibilities missing interconnections surrounding integration dependencies.
At SuiteRep, our teams specialize migrating 300+ customers onto NetSuite seamlessly through proven methodologies repeatedly. Learn how our data transition experts cases losses keeping everyone sleeping soundly.
