Fifteen Best Practices for a Successful Data Center Migration Published: 6 March 2017 ID: G00324187 Analyst(s): Henrique Cecci Data center migrations are often complex and risky. These best practices will help I&O leaders invest the appropriate amount of time and money into planning, execution and testing in order to protect the business and maximize the chances of a successful data center migration. Key Challenges Colocation, merger and acquisition (M&A) activity, outdated facilities, consolidation initiatives and new approaches to sourcing data center capacity often create the need to move IT equipment from one data center to another. Most migrations experience cost overruns and performance degradations due to improper planning or the lack of dedicated teams and resources. Existing staff members often have little experience in planning, organizing and actually moving equipment from one data center to another. Recommendations I&O leaders planning data center migrations as part of an infrastructure delivery strategy: Use outside expertise with a proven methodology, if you do not have the internal knowledge and skills to effectively plan, manage and execute the data center migration project. Design and execute a strong communication plan at all phases of the project to eliminate rumors. Engage all affected constituencies often and with complete information. Develop risk mitigation, migration and fallback plans by using disaster recovery (DR) procedures for test runs. Continuously document the process throughout the project to develop lessons learned and reference materials for postmigration evaluations and closure.
Table of Contents Introduction... 2 Analysis...3 1 Skills and Expertise... 4 2 Project Team...4 3 Preparation... 4 4 Simplification...5 5 Interdependencies... 5 6 Communication... 5 7 Planning...5 8 Contingency Plan...6 9 Premigration Tests... 6 10 Migration...6 11 Testing... 6 12 Postmigration Tests...6 13 Audit...6 14 Closure... 7 15 Updates...7 Gartner Recommended Reading... 7 List of Figures Figure 1. Fifteen Best Practices for Data Center Migration... 3 Introduction This research examines best practices in data center migration. It is not a full examination of all migration methodologies. Rather, it is a list of best practices that are intended to help I&O leaders succeed during a migration process. Data center migration is not merely about establishing an infrastructure and moving workloads from Point A to Point B. It's often a complex and risky project, where the right process and expertise are crucial. Just to illustrate, advanced planning is paramount to a successful migration. Nevertheless, if the organization does not have the right internal resources to plan properly, it must combine those internal resources with external ones in order to effectively plan, manage and execute the migration project. I&O leaders must prevent the migration project from adversely affecting the business. They must ensure that applications and services continue to function normally with minimal downtime and with no degradation in performance. Page 2 of 9 Gartner, Inc. G00324187
To help I&O leaders achieve this goal, this research focuses on 15 best practices for data center migration (see Figure 1). Figure 1. Fifteen Best Practices for Data Center Migration Source: Gartner (March 2017) Analysis Most successful data center migration projects share similar practices, such as expertise, preparation, management, execution, communication and business alignment. The purpose of this research is not to provide an extensive examination of each one of these practices. Rather, it is to provide a pragmatic list of best practices. This list was derived from observations of numerous Gartner clients involved in data center migration projects over the last six years. Based on our guidance in "Data Center Migrations Five Steps to Success," we've organized these 15 best practices into the five major steps shown in Figure 1: initiation, risk assessment, planning, execution and closure. However, organizations may vary the order of these best practices, depending on the circumstances of their migration. They can also apply these best practices to multiple environments (for example, on-premises, colocation and/or cloud). The following sections describe the 15 best practices that should be considered in a data center migration project. Gartner, Inc. G00324187 Page 3 of 9
1 Skills and Expertise Having the right skills and expertise is crucial. Because data center migration is not an everyday activity, existing staff members often have little experience in planning, organizing and actually moving workloads from one data center to another. I&O leaders must assess whether internal resources are available and capable of effectively planning, managing and executing the migration. If internal resources are lacking, we recommend using outside expertise. Note: A key reason why migration projects fail is that I&O teams often think of migration primarily as an equipment-moving project. However, the majority of the work as well as the majority of the risk lies in developing a workload migration plan. The equipment is the easy part workload placement, dependencies, business impact and risk are the hard parts. 2 Project Team Major or complex migration needs a dedicated leader. That leader should establish a team with representatives from all affected constituencies. The leader also should have the authority to allocate resources and to direct people (see "Data Center Migrations Lessons That Will Save Time and Money"). Team members should not only be experts in their domains, but also be willing to learn about adjacent disciplines, because surfacing all the interdependencies will be critical. The more elaborate or expansive the migration, the greater the likelihood that team members will need to be relieved of their day-to-day responsibilities to work on the migration project full time. Be realistic about the experience of these staff members, and be prepared to augment their skills with outside help as needed. For longer projects, be aware that replacement planning will likely be required: As team members move to other roles during the project, their skills will need to be replaced. 3 Preparation A successful data center migration depends on previous preparation and advanced planning. A committee including both IT and business representatives should be established to adequately account for all required resources, including: Migration costs (see "Three Alignments to Achieve Before Using Data Center Consolidation to Optimize Costs") Existing contracts for software, hardware, services (including telecom), maintenance, DR, facilities and other items Preparation should also involve the following tasks: Creating a detailed inventory of both equipment and applications Performing a business impact analysis (BIA) review (see "Use Business Impact Analysis to Enable Effective Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Programs") Page 4 of 9 Gartner, Inc. G00324187
These fundamental tasks should entail a detailed evaluation or audit of exactly what needs to be moved, when and how. Rehearsal is also an essential part of the preparation process. To ensure all units understand the process, organizations should first define the rehearsal on paper, iterating as necessary. Then, the organization should schedule multiple migration rehearsals during the project to validate assumptions and to determine critical information like migration time and resource availability. 4 Simplification The less there is to move, the easier the migration. Therefore, simplify, minimize, virtualize, consolidate and eliminate as much as possible before starting the migration process. 5 Interdependencies Part of the risk assessment stage, often called the "discovery phase," should include a detailed assessment of the interdependencies among applications and IT equipment (servers, storage and networking). This assessment will help define the viability and details of a phased migration. We recommend using several tools, including configuration management database (CMDB) tools and others, during the risk assessment stage. 6 Communication Executing an effective communication plan during all phases of the migration project is paramount to eliminating rumors and false information sources. Communication should engage all affected constituencies, and clearly assign roles and responsibilities. Publicizing the migration to both the internal IT staff and the affected business units is also critical to avoiding surprises. HR can be of great assistance particularly if personnel will be impacted. Publicize milestones, failures and successes. Prepare a detailed employee and management communication plan, and provide updates regularly (preferably through a continuously updated online portal). 7 Planning Data center migrations typically occur in stages. The number of stages often varies according to factors like data center size, service risk levels, budget and time constraints. Most organizations use a variation of the following multistage approach: First, the organization migrates low-risk groups, with the assumption that something in the process will probably need to be corrected. Once the overall process is solid and the staff is well-trained in dealing with contingencies, the organization migrates high-risk groups. Gartner, Inc. G00324187 Page 5 of 9
8 Contingency Plan Problems will arise during the migration. The challenge is to identify these problems ahead of time and formulate appropriate risk mitigations. The key to success is a good, solid preparation phase. For example, a detailed inventory of equipment and network links is typically the foundation of contingency plans. In addition, interim equipment and backup systems should be included in the contingency plans wherever necessary. 9 Premigration Tests Performance improves with practice. Before migrating the equipment, run a complete set of tests to establish a "baseline" of infrastructure and application operability, functionality and performance. 10 Migration To avoid unexpected errors, impose a "change freeze" period starting before the migration and ending after the migration. During the migration, be prepared to face common issues, such as network connectivity problems, incorrect credentials (username and password) and lack of validation/testing. These issues may have a cascading effect on other workload moves, especially if an escalation path has not been properly determined. Thus, such issues may elongate the freeze period and negatively impact the project. 11 Testing For all testing, adopt a risk-based approach that incorporates the BIA results and input from business subject matter experts (SMEs). For example, when performing application-level tests, ensure that application owners/business units participate in the validation effort and sign-off process. Do not forget to include failover scenarios in your testing plan. 12 Postmigration Tests Use the same test cases executed during the premigration phase, and compare the postmigration results with the baseline results. Differences in results may indicate that new problems have arisen during the migration process. Address all issues discovered. After a successful migration, have special support resources on hand for a few days. Pay extra attention to differences in online transaction processing performance, peak performance and batchprocessing performance. Finally, double check that all services were fully tested in terms of functionality, resiliency and performance. 13 Audit A postmove review and audit of the migration project is recommended. The review should include an evaluation of the following: Page 6 of 9 Gartner, Inc. G00324187
The project process Conformity with the initial business plan and design specifications Conformity with the project schedule Feedback from project members and stakeholders This review will provide valuable insight regarding critical success factors, lessons learned and knowledge that can be syndicated for other projects within your enterprise. Lessons learned could make future projects more effective. 14 Closure Execute the closure properly to ensure no hidden costs or expenses will continue to impact IT in the future. For example, take the following steps: Close out service contracts on older IT equipment Close out software contracts no longer in use Degauss leftover storage assets (including copiers) Cancel vendor contracts for building management, maintenance services and supply delivery services 15 Updates Finally, processes, procedures and documentation including DR plans, compliance tests and audit certifications should be updated once the data center migration is complete. In addition, validate whether all support systems (for example, CMDB) were properly updated. The new data center will likely have a different setup, which may also require training sessions for the operational teams. Lastly, recognition and marketing are also important. Recognize the efforts of all parties, and promote the successful migration with the business entities. Acronym Key and Glossary Terms BIA business impact analysis CMDB DR SME configuration management database disaster recovery subject matter expert Gartner Recommended Reading Some documents may not be available as part of your current Gartner subscription. Gartner, Inc. G00324187 Page 7 of 9
"Data Center Migrations Five Steps to Success" "Data Center Migrations Lessons That Will Save Time and Money" "Three Alignments to Achieve Before Using Data Center Consolidation to Optimize Costs" "Use Business Impact Analysis to Enable Effective Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Programs" Evidence The best practices identified in this research were derived from observations of numerous Gartner clients involved in data center migration initiatives. This data was collected from January 2011 through January 2017. The clients involved spanned a wide variety of industries and multiple geographies. Page 8 of 9 Gartner, Inc. G00324187
GARTNER HEADQUARTERS Corporate Headquarters 56 Top Gallant Road Stamford, CT 06902-7700 USA +1 203 964 0096 Regional Headquarters AUSTRALIA BRAZIL JAPAN UNITED KINGDOM For a complete list of worldwide locations, visit http://www.gartner.com/technology/about.jsp 2017 Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Gartner is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. or its affiliates. This publication may not be reproduced or distributed in any form without Gartner s prior written permission. If you are authorized to access this publication, your use of it is subject to the Usage Guidelines for Gartner Services posted on gartner.com. The information contained in this publication has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Gartner disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information and shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in such information. This publication consists of the opinions of Gartner s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice. Although Gartner research may include a discussion of related legal issues, Gartner does not provide legal advice or services and its research should not be construed or used as such. Gartner is a public company, and its shareholders may include firms and funds that have financial interests in entities covered in Gartner research. Gartner s Board of Directors may include senior managers of these firms or funds. Gartner research is produced independently by its research organization without input or influence from these firms, funds or their managers. For further information on the independence and integrity of Gartner research, see Guiding Principles on Independence and Objectivity. Gartner, Inc. G00324187 Page 9 of 9