This is part 1 of a 4-part series on how to set up your data center migration for success. Here we go over the data discovery phase of a data center migration.
If you’re looking for the other steps in this journey, check out our other blog posts in the series:
If you are tasked with managing your enterprise data center migration project, nobody would blame you for feeling overwhelmed. Whatever you are considering – consolidating on-prem locations, adopting the public or private cloud, or a hybrid solution – any data migration project is a complex and risky process.
So how can you reduce those risks? One way is to conduct a thorough investigation during the discovery phase. Understanding your current infrastructure and application requirements, together with what your organization needs to achieve strategic goals, will allow you to successfully plan and make informed decisions throughout the entire project.
Step 1 – Inventory your Assets
First you need to understand what physical and virtual assets you currently have and what your asset and user requirements are including:
Start by pulling data from your tools including server management software, data center infrastructure management (DCIM) platforms, network monitoring and management software, IT infrastructure management packages, configuration management databases (CMDBs), Shadow IT discovery tools, cloud management tools and static spreadsheets. Once you have collated and cleaned that information you’ll need to investigate further:
Once you know what you have, you need to understand your requirements. You aren’t going to be running this type of project on a regular basis, so you need to right-size data center facilities for foreseeable demands. Think about:
With all your data on current and future requirements at your fingertips – now’s the time to think about future data center capabilities. Take into consideration:
Once you complete these steps, you’ll have the information you need to decide on and plan your data center migration. But be aware, if you’ve completed the discovery phase manually, it’s likely that your data won’t be as accurate as you’d like. It’s going to take the work of multiple team members many months to complete. By the time you’re done, the rate of business change will mean the information is already old. And that’s not including the oversights and errors that inevitably occur.
If you’re only ever working from static spreadsheets, you’re going to have to accept some margin for error. But what if you don’t have to? If you leverage automation to manage the discovery phase you can drastically reduce the time, headcount and effort throughout your data center project – including across the planning, execution and optimization phases.
ReadyWorks automates 50% or more of tasks to shorten project timelines by at least 30% . ReadyWorks connects to and orchestrates all your systems, tools, and databases. Using ReadyWorks during the discovery phase you can:
Up Next in our 4-part series: Data Center Migration Success: Planning
Ready to find out how ReadyWorks can cut the time and effort you spend on the discovery phase to ensure a successful data center migration? Schedule a demo today.