M&A in the UK has seen a steady increase in spend, all the more staggering given this has happened during the turmoil of Brexit. It is estimated in Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2018, the total value of inward mergers and acquisitions was £33.3 billion – the highest value since Quarter 4 2016 (£85.2 billion).
As a result of an acquisition between two large IT suppliers, expertise was required for the data content migration management to occur in a short time frame. T-Systems’ content migration practice, Vamosa, was selected to complete the task. It was important to all parties involved that the correct level of access was provided to relevant content as quickly and smoothly as possible to ensure business continuity.
The task
- After acquiring the x86 Server Hardware business arm from IBM, our customer needed to move their ‘on premises’ IBM Connections content into their Connections Cloud environment over the course of just six weeks.
- The content resided in 30 source communities, with each instance using different content types/structures which had to be aligned to the target Connections structures. In addition, all members of relevant communities had to be maintained.
- Although the platforms are both IBM Connections, there are differences in the underlying technology and functionality, but our Vamosa content migration software bridges the gap to facilitate the move.
Repeatable and efficient migration
With 30 source communities to move, a repeatable and efficient migration strategy was needed. Using Vamosa technologies as the main migration tool and our best practice methodology we were able to support the journey through a successful migration. The Vamosa tool allowed for tested, repeatable and efficient migrations to be achieved on a community by community basis.
- Structured approach – The migration approach included a dedicated mapping for source to target content types, and was all completed using the published Connections API to ensure supported channels were used for the extraction and creation of content.
- Flexibility – Our flexibility was emphasised by our ability to work within the tight time constraints of the short project, along with reacting to customer requests to ensure the content was migrated in the best shape possible, as soon as possible.
- Understanding the data – Automated analysis was completed to obtain an understanding of the content types, verify the number of migration candidates and understand the readiness for migration.
- Synchronisation – A short delta migration was included at the request of the customer. We could identify content that was new or had been modified since our production migration began. Once identified, these items would go through the same migration process to be created or updated in Connections Cloud, bringing each community in sync with its source.
- Best Practice: Extract, Transform and Load – Extraction of source content into the Vamosa migration engine was completed using the published API. Content was then processed in preparation for the target environment, and finally recreated in Connections Cloud, again via the published API.
Benefits
There are three areas that any organisation undertaking an acquisition needs to ensure are handled effectively;
- Firstly, that the information they are extracting is obtained with minimal disruption to users, and that the content migrated remains unchanged.
- Secondly, the organisation releasing the content wants be assured that they are divesting the correct data and no more.
- Thirdly, security; the appropriate content must be available to the correct users once the acquisition is complete.
T-Systems were able to deliver a migration from on premises IBM Connections into IBM Connections Cloud to satisfy these three areas. This was achievable by using our expert migration consultants with our dedicated migration Software, Migration Architect.
Seamless working for users – The migration was applied with zero impact to the source system. Content authors and system users had no awareness of the migration process so could continue to work as normal prior to the switch over.
Seamless data divestment for IBM – Content specifically related to the acquisition out of an IBM controlled on premise environment was identified, extracted and migrated into IBM Connections Cloud instance dedicated to the customer. Using our migration reports, IBM could accurately divest themselves of the data that was now owned by the customer, without impacting on their own data.
Removal of unsupported functionality – Content that included functionality driven by on premise customisations to use JavaScript was not a feature Cloud users could edit. We therefore transformed the content into a more user friendly stylesheet (CSS) solution that was editable in Connections Cloud, ensuring that the authors retained control over ‘look and feel’ of content, with no degrading of context.
Effective governance – Our team and technology unlocked sensitive content from its source and ensured it was accessible from its correct location, with the correct access levels intact. Historical dates and ownership were maintained, which is very important for traceability and governance when content and documents move between organisations.
Take the next step!
A division of T-Systems, Vamosa Technologies specializes in content migration to cloud, on-premises and hybrid cloud systems. With two decades of customer migrations, Vamosa Technologies has experience with a comprehensive range of leading enterprise content management systems. To learn more about services from Vamosa Technologies, please read our case studies and whitepapers or contact us.
