PatronManager Help

An Introduction to Data Migration

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An Introductions to Data Migration: https://help.pm.leapevent.tech/a/1253729

Data migration is, in many cases, the most labor-intensive component of the implementation. The historical data migration will involve exporting critical data from your legacy systems, cleaning the data, and manipulating it to fit into its new home on PatronManager.

Why is data migration so important?

One of the most valuable assets your organization has is its historical data, the map of your past relationship with your patrons. Having the ability to access, interpret, and utilize that information in the future will help you make clear-eyed decisions about the direction of your organization. This is why it's incredibly important to migrate your data from your existing system(s) to PatronManager in a way that will be useful to you in the future.

With that in mind, it's also important to realize that not everything can or should be migrated from your legacy system. Your Implementation Manager will work with you to determine what's most important about your legacy data to your organization, and to formulate a game plan for the transition.

Do I need to be worried about data security?

We will not accept any data or files sent to us by email, and none of your customer data will ever reside on the hard drive of any computer in our office. We work on your data entirely in a password-protected environment, on systems designed specifically for data security.

Your patrons entrust their personal information to you, and you must take steps to ensure the safety of their information while you move it. We are all aware of many cases in the news describing breaches, hacks, or leaks of data, some in very high-profile companies.

At PatronManager, we employ strict safeguards when handling your data to ensure that we, and you, never suffer a security mishap. We do this by utilizing a secure web-based server in Google Drive, designed to protect you, your patrons, and us.

Data Migration Stages

1. Discovery and Data Preparation

Your Implementation Manager will conduct an initial Data Discovery call to review the data that you intend to migrate into PatronManager and to provide guidance as you begin to prepare your data for the transition. You'll be responsible for extracting your data from your legacy system(s) and reformatting the data as necessary.

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2. Initial Data Transfer

Once you've submitted your extracted data, we will review your files to ensure that the data isn't corrupted in any way and that the quality of the data meets our basic formatting standards. Our team will then migrate your data into its new home in PatronManager over the span of a few weeks (depending on the volume and complexity of your files).

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3. Cleanup and Deduplication

After the data has been migrated, we will discuss any remaining "housekeeping" items that may need to be cleaned up before your Operational Date. The Deduplication is a critical cleanup item; this process involves merging any duplicate patron records within the system, to ensure that your team is able to see a full picture of a patrons' transactional history on a single record.

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4. Gap Data Transfer

We'll run one last "gap" migration after your Operational Date, transferring any records that were created or edited in your legacy database after your initial data files were submitted. We'll coordinate the timing of this transfer with your team to align with your needs.

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