How to successfully achieve data platform and database modernisation without down-time

No business wants to experience down-time or lose business continuity. For this exact reason, many IT leaders and business decision makers reject the idea of a data platform or database modernisation project, choosing instead to persevere with ageing systems.  

And while it may be common to delay modernising your data platform in order to avoid risks like down-time, failing to modernise your data platforms and databases presents even greater risks to your data and AI projects.

If your data platform or database is running on an old version, it may be approaching end-of-life or end-of-support from its vendor. When that time comes, your mission-critical system will be entirely vulnerable to failure without support, which would cause even greater down-time than a planned migration.  

Even when a vendor still provides patching and version support to your ageing platform, the outdated architecture of that platform is likely creating security risks that would not be present in more modern versions. For example, an older system is far more likely to cause problems with data governance, as outdated access controls may leave you with a large group of unauthorised users capable of accessing systems containing sensitive data.    

Lack of integration capabilities is another disadvantage to retaining out-of-date technology, as this limits your options when introducing new, more innovative systems into the organisation. For instance, being unable to integrate old platforms with new transformational AI tools.

Of course, with data standards evolving so much,   it’s often necessary to update general-purpose data platforms that are becoming harder to govern, as well as harder to support. You’ll find it more difficult to hire specialists who can manage old systems moving forward as those skills are rarely cultivated by modern professionals.

Read our related article for a great example of when it’s more sensible to retain an older platform in special cases.

The business benefits of modernising your data platform

On the flip side of those risks, there are a wealth of business benefits to be gained from modernising your data platform or database.

Newer versions of the same data platform or database will invariably have better features and greater capabilities than their older counterparts. This could also mean they’re better optimised for the workloads your teams are running.  

Greater data processing or analytics capabilities can also create competitive advantages for your business as data becomes increasingly influential to business growth and success.  Other advantages include speed-of-development and faster time-to-market.  

Of course, more modern data platforms and databases will enable more advanced use of AI and automation for your workforce as well, which in turn opens up a whole other range of opportunities

It’s therefore an intelligent business decision to modernise your data platform or database. Those who recognise that the risk of down-time outweighs the risks of working with ageing – or even obsolete – technology will gain an advantage over their slower competitors. 

How to deliver a modernisation project without down-time

Plan ahead

The first – and arguably most important – step in any successful migration or modernisation project is careful forward-planning.  

Without this, your projects will come with a high risk of data loss, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and painful down-time in critical areas of the business.

Additionally, trying to “lift and shift” your data platform or database to the cloud will almost always incur higher costs than anticipated. This is usually the result of selecting the wrong storage type, or solution tier, for the amount of data stored and how often you need to access it.

A high-level example of this planning process for a project like this may be: 

• Hold a discovery session to identify areas of need  
• Define your use-cases  
• Conduct tailored solution design for those specific use cases  
• Deliver technical implementation and solution roll-out
• Conduct regular testing  
• Transition into regular usage and system management
• Review and assess the solution’s effectiveness

Know your requirements

There are two types of migration projects: in-place migration and parallel migration.

1. In-place migration
   
   This takes the current server or the database and upgrades it. This should only be done for non-critical systems, as it does entail some down-time and the system will be compromised if the upgrade fails.
   
   This is simply a case of keeping the existing system and upgrading it to the latest version. In-place migration is normally the quicker option, but will incur down-time and can reduce roll-back options.
    
2. Parallel migration
   
   This takes the database or data platform over to another server, then replicates the data and underlying system into another environment and upgrades it.
   
   This allows for more reliable testing, and a planned switchover, leading to a drastically reduced risk of any down-time.
    

Don’t suffer alone

One of the most costly mistakes businesses make when modernising or migrating a data platform is to try to take on the burden alone, relying on in-house teams to do the majority of the work. In this scenario, the cost to the business if issues arise and systems are compromised, and the down-time resulting while rebuilding or restoring them, is often too great to risk.  

It can be tempting to try to do this in-house, but these projects are highly complex and challenging, and there are still risks involved whichever approach you take.  

Migrating a mission-critical system like a data platform or database is a project that requires expert support if you want to  ensure business continuity with minimal down-time.  

From planning, to requirements, to solution design, to implementation, to onboarding, and everything in between, minimising down-time is best achieved when working with a trusted Managed Service Provider (MSP) that specialises in such projects. You’ll benefit from the efficiency gains they bring from having executed such projects before and the increased scrutiny used by organisations evaluating the work of third-party vendors.

Working with an experienced managed service provider can enable you to execute a modernisation or migration project within working hours, without any down-time, rather than paying overtime for database administrators and data engineers to make changes out of business hours.

As well as guiding you through a modernisation or migration project, a trusted partner can also manage and monitor your data platform or database for you, ensuring you gain maximum value while optimising your spending.  

For example, database-as-a-service (DBaaS) and data platform managed services can provide always-available access to a seasoned team that provides expert administration and engineering support. This allows you to reduce the costs associated with the management of your databases and data platforms.  

Remove the stress, complexity, and risks from your data platform or database modernisation projects. Get in touch with our team today to discover how our proven approach can modernise your platforms at industry-leading speed without any down-time.