ServiceNow Instance Migration Mistake 4 – Taking a Big Bang Approach With Your Data

A common mistake companies make with their ServiceNow® data migrations is to assume that the entire elephant can be eaten in one bite. 

Companies set up ServiceNow instances, get excited about the wealth of customizations available to them, and build out their instances into complex beasts that seem to suit their needs but present challenges when migration time rolls around.

Your Migration Is Bigger Than You Think

Migration challenges are inevitable. A company might find that it has over-customized its ServiceNow implementation, which makes it unable to adapt to the company’s changing business needs. The company may have to pivot due to an acquisition or merger. Or maybe it’s considering a transformation from on-premise management to cloud-based solutions.

Whatever the reason, the ServiceNow implementation needs to change. Highly-built instances with large numbers of records and customized data mappings are not easy to maneuver. Too many companies buy into a data migration project without a full understanding of how big the task is. Conversely, many companies are aware of the scope of the task but aren’t sure of the best way to go about it. Often, they believe that a large-scale data migration is the best way forward.

Many of these migrations are doomed to fail. The movement of large data sets is a high-risk endeavor, and these efforts are prone to error. This means rework, wasted time, and delayed migration timetables—especially when the work is done by hand. Manual data migrations are time consuming, and when they’re coupled with the “big bang” philosophy of doing it all at once, they become difficult to manage.

What if there were a better way to move to a new ServiceNow instance? 

Create a Methodical, Step-by-Step Data Migration

With the right tools, companies can break migrations into smaller chunks, eliminate the high-risk nature of large data migrations, and reduce costs. 

Consider how much easier a ServiceNow migration could be with the Precision Bridge ServiceNow Instance Migrator.

This tool-based approach provides the option to migrate inactive or closed records in advance of cutover. This “sets the table” for the cutover date. When that time arrives, the legwork is already complete, and the company will have only a small set of active records to migrate. This phased approach works in stages by extracting just the records that have been modified since the last migration run, thereby reducing the volume of data moved in each piece, and improving accuracy. 

The Instance Migrator tool has options to define data sets for migration based on variables (date range, status of source records, etc.). These allow operators to move data sets to the target environment in a careful, controlled way. The tool automatically generates import sets and transform maps and delivers these elements into the greenfield instance. There is no need for intermediate storage, export, or import. Operators can also migrate any changes made since the previous execution to be sure that nothing falls through the cracks. 

Complete Migration Efficiency Supported by Templates

Precision Bridge’s suite of migration templates further streamlines the migration process. Each template includes lists of data mappings across different ServiceNow applications. This helps operators maintain data integrity within the target instance. There are over 100 templates within the Instance Migrator tool, and new, custom templates can be added to support each company’s specific applications.  

It's a complete reimagining of how a ServiceNow migration performs. Rather than try to move everything at once, operators can implement the project in steps, then transition to their target with more efficiency and accuracy than ever before. 

The Easiest and Most Accurate Way to Migrate to a Greenfield ServiceNow Instance

Our experience with past implementations proves that the ServiceNow Instance Migrator can save up to 85% in time and cost savings on migration projects. Most projects reach completion within 2-3 months.

It’s a safer, smarter, and more reliable migration approach for any business using ServiceNow.

Schedule a demo of Instance Migrator for ServiceNow® and see how easy it is to separate, synchronize, or migrate applications to another instance.