How to Plan a Successful Migration From Legacy Systems

The hardest part of any journey is the first step.

Maintaining the status quo of anything is the easiest course of action, and the hurdles that must be overcome to implement change are often enough to ensure we ignore the doubts and niggles.

But there usually comes a time when you can’t ignore the problems anymore. When you decide to change to a new current awareness platform, it is essential to be aware of:

• How to select the right platform
• The benefits of moving
• The challenges of migration
• How to communicate with stakeholders
• How to create a plan for tech success

The biggest hurdles our clients tell us are the costs involved, the potential for disruption to end users, training and integration with existing systems, and technical issues. These are valid concerns and you will need to plan to mitigate them at each step.

However, having a clear understanding of the driving factors behind the decision to migrate to a new current awareness platform - including the cost of doing nothing - can help to alleviate concerns from key stakeholders and make the whole process run more smoothly.

Find the right software

What’s new in library tech? Are all the new features as impressive as they sound? Will the software meet the needs of your team?

Curiosity lies at the heart of the information profession, and this has enabled us to adapt and succeed - it’s why you do what you do! Demos, trials, and testing are essential to ensure that the tools on offer will fulfil our organization’s needs.

While a demo can whet your appetite for a new provider, a trial provides a hands-on opportunity to test a solution in real-world scenarios. Without this step, you can risk investing in tools that may not deliver the outcomes you’re looking for - wasting time, energy, and resources, and making you more wary of migrating in the future.

Before you start the trial, consider your success criteria and set tangible benchmarks against which the trial's outcomes can be measured. These should conform to the SMART guidelines - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.

There are more details about how to assess a new current awareness provider during a trial, and how to set success criteria in our guide - Migration Made Easy.

Outline the Benefits

While it should be clear from your success criteria, you need to spell out to key stakeholders the benefits of this migration. You likely have strong reasons for going through the upheaval of a supplier change, so be explicit.

• How many manual tasks will be automated?
• How much time do you expect to save?
• How will this equate to cost savings?
• How do you expect the new platform to improve end-user experience?
• Will you have access to sources you previously did not?
• Will it allow you to bring all current awareness (including emails) under one platform, improving reporting and insights?
• What services can now be provided that previously were unavailable?
• How will the reporting enable you to identify areas for improvement to further improve ROI?

Being clear on the motivations and benefits of migrating to a new platform, will improve stakeholder engagement and ensure the whole process goes more smoothly. Communication is absolutely essential (more on that later).
Create a clear plan

Now you’ve found your new provider and confirmed your desire to migrate, you need to create a plan of action.

You will likely need a dedicated Project Manager for this process. Migrations are huge undertakings, and library teams are usually already working at their full capacity. A project manager will ensure the rollout is well managed, organised, and engaged with the relevant stakeholders at each stage.

Once you have a project manager in place, you need to create a plan:

• Outline the key stakeholders, define goals, and get initial buy-in
• Align goals with objectives and outline the key milestones
• Create a project scope document
• Create a detailed schedule
• Define roles, responsibilities, and resources
• Define how to manage and measure progress
• Plan for problems!

Remember that any big projects can overrun - including migrations - so ensure you have given yourself plenty of time for a smooth transition between providers.

Communicate with key stakeholders

Communication is central to success. Hurdles along the way will not be as badly received if stakeholders are aware that there is the potential for it to occur, and what you are doing to mitigate the risks.

Every single phase of your project will require you to consider how you meet, discuss, engage, and adapt to your team, end users, and vendors.

You need to communicate both the need for change - speak with key stakeholders in marketing, business development, and IT to identify their pain points - and progress/status throughout the project.

There are a few things you can do to ensure people are informed and excited about the migration, while having realistic expectations.

• Consider teaser campaigns and news releases
• Carry out in-company demos of the new system's features and benefits
• Host Q&A workshops where you can address concerns in real-time
• Create surveys or focus groups to understand specific needs, challenges, and expectations

You also need to build a strong relationship with your chosen vendor. They should be developing an authentic partnership with you, supporting you at each stage, and ensuring you are aligned on goals, timelines, and expectations.

Build a relationship with the vendor that goes beyond a contractual obligation. A vendor who views your success as their success will be a valuable ally.

Navigate the tech challenges

The technical aspects of the migration are the most challenging, but here you can ensure the new platform is not just a replica of the old one but an enhanced, more adaptable version, ready to meet both current needs and future demands.

Before you begin the work of migration, ensure you have the following mapped out.

Your technical non-negotiables - software developments, integrations, source upload, etc, ensure the technical specifications have been discussed and agreed during the sales process.

• Publisher feed and APIs - Integrating services and meeting publisher licence requirements is critical. What are your needs, and are they achievable?
• Existing Asset Audit - What sources, alerts, newsletters, and end-users do you have? Are they all worth keeping? Can you declutter and streamline?
• Data Migration - Determine what data you will be migrating once you have audited.
• Account Configuration - How do you want your account settings configured? Naming conventions, topic templates, search library - everything you do now prepares the groundwork for your future current awareness.

Timetable all of these non-negotiables and configurations into the project plan. Your vendor will be able to offer advice regarding timings, but it is ultimately dependent on your team's resources and how willing you are to learn the workflow.

Get Excited!

Moving to a new platform is a huge task, but you are doing it for a reason, so get excited!

You can read a more detailed look at how to migrate with our guide, Migration Made Easy.  Vable looks to be a trusted partner, working alongside you for the duration of your migration.

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