All good things must come to an end; this is especially true in the world of technology. What was once cutting edge and essential quickly becomes obsolete and even a liability. Businesses can’t be successful simply by doing what they’ve always done; they have to continually improve themselves and use the latest data and strategies to do so.
Yet more often than not, this same ethos isn’t applied to legacy software. Despite an increasingly digital landscape, it’s far-too-common for modern organizations to continue using their outdated systems simply because that’s what they’ve always done, and because the idea of overhauling decades of system infrastructures layered atop one another is frankly overwhelming.
At the same time, 67% of enterprise infrastructure is cloud-based, and high-performing modern businesses are seeing the benefits of migrating from on-premise document management systems like Documentum to newer, alternative ECM systems that offer more flexibility and room for business growth.
There are some interesting myths surrounding the migration process. Let’s explore these myths, and then debunk them one by one.
1. Myth: “If it Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It”
This can also be phrased as “why change systems when my current legacy Documentum system is working just fine?” While true that yes, your Documentum system might be working now, what happens if it does break? If your system goes down, you may not be able to get it up and running again, or if you can, there may be a lag period. This is the problem with old software that is no longer supported or has been manipulated by employees long since gone. A business with unusable software is a soon-to-be-dead business.
2. Myth: Cloud Migrations are Too Expensive
Perhaps the greatest myth surrounding large migration projects — and the cloud, in general, is the cost. But a well-planned, well-executed migration project can ultimately help save major dollars with an ROI that makes the investment worth while. Common residual costs including losses in productivity due to vacated facilities and hardware, or unused software licenses can easily be avoided with careful planning. While prices for setting up cloud infrastructure may initially seem overwhelming, according to a BCG survey, businesses of all sizes can trim 15% – 40% off their infrastructure cost by migrating to the cloud.
Cloud service providers have flexible subscription options lower than fixed infrastructure, maintenance, and upgrade costs. With data stored on the cloud, there is no need for expensive servers or maintenance costs, with an architecture that can be scaled up or down, allowing custom control over IT costs for the enterprise.
3. Myth: You’ll Lose Control of Your Business Data
Losing control of your data and applications is one of the most common misperceptions about cloud adoption. Moving to a cloud-based environment doesn’t mean giving control of your business and data to external IT experts. Rather, organizations can choose the level of control and flexibility based on individual business requirements.
While business data is migrated to the cloud, your IT department can maintain complete access to encryption keys and passwords and easily configure who can and cannot access the data. Cloud providers manage the data workloads according to your unique business strategy and provide complete, granular control of who has access to what sensitive data.
4. Myth: The Cloud is Not Secure
Keeping company and customer data secure is paramount, so organizations may have valid concerns about data safety on the cloud. Isn’t data safer on a server on-premises than stored somewhere in cyberspace? Of course, good data security starts with every employee, and every solution has its flaws, but research has shown that a cloud environment can actually provide security benefits over insufficiently managed data centers, by offering built-in security, automation, backup solutions and access to security experts. In fact, 48% of businesses now store their classified and most important data on the cloud, with more joining every day.
5. Myth: Cloud Migration is Too Complex
With so much information and data stored in so many different systems, applications, and on-premises repositories, approaching a migration project can easily seem daunting. However, with the right tools and enough careful planning, migrating to the cloud can not only be a seamless process, but it will also be hugely beneficial in the long run.
While changing long-used systems can seem fraught with complications, migrating from Documentum to a cloud-based ECM system has a whole host of benefits that will bring your organisation well into the 21st century. But to truly decomplexify cloud migration and ensure a seamless move to the cloud, it’s important to make sure you have the right tools and partners at hand.
Fast2 simplifies the entire migration process. With a migration solution designed to quickly and securely move up to billions of documents for organizations of any size and industry, it’s not too late to embark on an accelerated legacy transformation with minimal business impact.
Aging on-premise solutions lack the agility and breadth of services that modern enterprises require, so get your migration process started the right way and reach out to Fast2 today!