Making a case for (some) legacy data migration

[Robert Maxwell]

An ever-present but rarely simple question as digital transformations and legacy modernisations proceed is how much, if any, legacy data should be brought along for the ride.

Any decision to migrate data from legacy business applications to modern enterprise platforms such as ServiceNow requires careful consideration and planning by solution architects, system/product owners and data stewards.

The case against migration of, for example, old incident tickets has been well made and is generally encouraged with its drawbacks usually, if not almost always rightly outweighing the benefits, with cost versus value typically the key deciding factor.

However, a regularly overlooked benefit of migrating large legacy datasets into ServiceNow is that it can be a valuable initial source of training data for machine learning and artificial intelligence applications.

Assuming the quality, validity, accuracy and not least the currency of legacy datasets is both sufficient and acceptable, leveraging historical data can provide a head start on the not-insignificant amount of data needed to develop robust predictive models.

The minimum recommended dataset size is 30,000 records to train Predictive Intelligence models. Having a ready made set of data can boost time to value for implementing training solutions. As the legacy data ages out of the training frequency windows it can easily be archived (or eventually disposed) as it’s value and currency diminishes.

Additionally, legacy data can also support the initial seeding of Performance Analytics indicators thus providing day 1 visibility against past trends and performance. This in turn can then provide some part of the data that goes toward measuring overall implementation success.

In closing, while migrating legacy data to ServiceNow can present challenges and require investment of time and resources, there are several compelling reasons to consider this approach in a targeted manner. By striking the right balance and identifying value in legacy data, organisations can begin to realise the benefits of their ServiceNow investment from the day of go live.

Cross-posted on my personal website @ https://www.rjmaxwell.au/making-a-case-for-some-legacy-data-migration/