Are You Facing Data Migration Challenges During ERP Implementation?

What is the best way to accelerate operations in an institute? Stakeholders of institutes have found the answer to this question in ERP solutions which enables them to execute many functions effortlessly.

Besides, it helps them to manage day-to-day activities, including accounting, onboarding new students, processing fees, organising exams and results, etc. However, sometimes it just so happens that institutes make an error in choosing a suitable tool which leads to inaccurate ERP implementation.

Consequently, when they have to migrate student or institute data, they face further issues; hence it is imperative to develop and follow an ERP data migration checklist. With the help of the checklist, one can gradually verify all the prerequisites leading to a systematic implementation.

Major Data Migration Challenges During Erp Implementation

Repetition of data

An institute has different departments such as admission, fees and accounts management, and library, with each having its own responsibilities. Despite the automated assistance provided by the software, it does require manual intervention, without which it may become obsolete.

Therefore, it is extremely crucial for administrative staff to identify and search the required data but ineffective communication and lack of concentration during the data migration time lead to many issues.

For instance, if the admin fails to keep track of which data needs to be transferred from manual to ERP software, it could lead to data repetition. Therefore, they need to be mindful of the entire process and keep cross-checking the data.

Data Migration Is Expensive

Here, there are two scenarios that need equal emphasis:

In the first instance, when the institutes implement tools like an education ERP, the team need to put effort into extracting the important data, which goes beyond the determined budget. On the other hand, in the second instance, moving the data from an older system to a new one involves quite a lot of challenges.

Although in the second case, the cost of migration could be less depending upon the discussion between the organisation and the software implementation team. Also, it is imperative to remember that successful data migration takes a lot of time, effort and coordination.

The institute may try to cut costs by choosing the least expensive migration partner/vendor, but their decision could cost them more if the service provider makes several mistakes in the process.

Third-Party Involvement

Even while introducing any changes or systems, the institute cannot stop its operation; its different department needs to continue to operate efficiently. Hence, when there is a need for ERP implementation, it becomes difficult for the admin to give priority to it. As a result, this creates an internal conflict within the institute because professionals involved in different institutional departments are unable to keep track of the data migration process.

During the process, other task administrators give the ERP implementation trainer most of the tasks and responsibilities. When there are no individuals who are directly involved with the institute checking upon the data migration process, it creates a lot of inconsistencies.

Relying On Outdated Validation And Regulatory Rules

Educational institutes must follow multiple regulatory issues directed by higher authorities depending on whichever state, country or city they are located. However, if they blindly follow validation rules without checking their validity, it could result in transferring data they need or use.

Therefore, it is vital for the admin team to check the data and comply with the regulations to facilitate systematic, smooth and flexible operations in the institute.

Solutions To Overcome The Erp Implementation Challenges

Prioritise Data Migration

An institute always aims to provide the best educational facilities to their students; no wonder they integrate tools like a student information system to ensure academic success. Therefore, during the time of shifting the data to a new and improved system, the institute needs to develop a task force.

This task force would comprise individuals who can chalk out a plan for systematic workflow until the process concludes successfully.

Due to the fact that the implementation process is time-consuming, the team members must discuss and divide the responsibilities to avoid any conflict later on. The team must work together with the ERP trainers to carry out the process efficiently.

At first, they need to extract and cleanse the important data from the source systems so that the institute can use them in the future.

Conduct A Thorough Analysis Of The Data

When people talk about institutional data, they wonder how much it could be; it is a lot more than one can guess. Apart from student information, it includes crucial data about finances, analytical reports etc., which the team can account for via the campus management system.

Besides, they need to analyse the entire institutional data and understand how it can integrate with the ERP system to improve the organisational operations.

As mentioned above, the process needs to follow a specific plan wherein, after the data extraction and cleaning, the team needs to map it according to the ERP database’s structure. After that, they need to establish rules for translating the data into the structure during migration.