Informatica Launches Data Migration Suite

February 26, 2008 Alex Woodie

Informatica last week launched a new suite of software and services aimed at migrating data among enterprise systems. The offering, called the Data Migration Suite, includes specially packaged versions of Informatica’s popular data integration and data quality tools, along with professional services.

Moving large amounts of data among critical business systems can be a harrowing task. Whether it’s for a new ERP application implementation, a consolidation of enterprise systems, or as part of a merger or acquisition, a data migration project should be planned well in advance to minimize the chance of errors.

But that’s not how organizations typically approach data migration projects, according to Girish Pancha, an executive vice president and general manager in Informatica’s enterprise data integration business unit. “Data migration is invariably part of strategic initiatives such as M&A consolidation or new application implementation, yet most organizations treat it as merely a tactical challenge,” he says. “It is usually addressed in an ad hoc fashion, contributing to the high rate of failure.”

Organizations will have a better shot at success with Informatica’s Data Migration Suite doing the heavy lifting, the company says. The suite is composed of specially packaged versions of several existing products, including PowerCenter, PowerExchange, Data Explorer, and Data Quality, which are often used in data warehousing environments or moving data among applications, including i5/OS and common midrange applications. Wrapped around these tools are Informatica’s Velocity migration methodology, and enough global services to get the job done.

The first step in Informatica’s migration process is the Migration Jump Start, which takes about 10 to 15 days, and involves doing the first pass at data conversion. After the Jump Start, Informatica will have a better idea of how to accomplish the rest of the migration to minimize costs, and to build migration templates. After that, the customer is given the opportunity of keeping the Informatica service representatives around through the design, test, and deployment phases.

The Data Migration solution is generally available and licensed for six-, 12- and 18-month term-based migration projects. For more information, visit www.informatica.com.