Dos and Don’ts of Data Migration When Changing Board Portal Providers

All businesses are continually searching for ways to save time and money while boosting efficiency and effectiveness. For many organisations, changing their board portal can help them achieve this. 

However, the transition process itself, specifically data migration, can seem daunting. Ensuring a smooth transfer of critical documents, meeting records and compliance-related files is essential to maintaining business continuity and avoiding disruptions.

A well-planned data migration process helps organisations:

• Preserve the integrity of historical records and ensure no critical information is lost.
• Maintain security and compliance standards throughout the transition.
• Minimise downtime and ensure all stakeholders can access the information they need from day one.
• Avoid formatting issues, missing files or broken links that could disrupt workflows.
• Reduce the risk of errors by following a structured, step-by-step approach.

We understand the concerns that companies might have about migrating their data over to a new system, but as you can see from the list of benefits, it is worth it. Thankfully, by following the dos and don’ts of data migration in this article, you can move to your new platform without any disruption, ready to run your meetings in a more streamlined manner.  

Dos of data migration

1. Do assess your data

Analyse the data you currently store to identify essential documents, such as meeting minutes, board resolutions and other records that you should keep for compliance and for future reference. You can archive or delete redundant data, such as outdated files that no longer serve a purpose. This will make the migration process easier and ensure you begin life with your new portal without unnecessary clutter. 

2. Do plan your migration

You should have a clear migration strategy. If you are moving to iBabs, our team will help you identify the key steps towards a successful migration, based on your particular workflows and structure. Define your key milestones and assign responsibilities to stakeholders, such as your IT team, administrators and the iBabs support team. Identify potential risks and plan contingencies to limit the impact and downtime. 

3. Do prioritise data security

When you migrate confidential information, you need to be sure that it is well protected from unauthorised access. Be sure that:

• You encrypt all data transfers, protecting the data from external attacks
• Only authorised personnel have access rights to the data that you are migrating
• The new portal adheres to the data management protocols laid out in GDPR. 

iBabs is one of the most secure board portals on the market, adhering to ISO standards, featuring robust encryption and providing GDPR compliance as standard.

4. Do back up your data

It may seem obvious, but it can be easy to forget to back up your current board portal data in the midst of a migration. This means you can recover critical files in the unlikely event that data is lost or corrupted in the process and you are sure to keep a record of the original state of your files. 

5. Do test the new system

Before the new system goes live, run through a mocked-up meeting to be certain that all your files have been transferred without errors and the features that you need work as they should, including search, annotations and user permissions. You can also spot any compatibility issues and correct them before you fully launch the new tool. 

6. Do engage your stakeholders

You should make sure all users are happy with the new system or that you can help and support them to get up to speed with the new process. This includes sharing the timeline for migration and keeping them updated with its progress. Offering training is essential to give users hands-on experience with the tool they will be integrating into their workflows. iBabs provides training for both administrators and users, as well as providing access to customer support for ongoing queries. 

Creating feedback channels for answering questions or offering support to users is another necessary step to a successful migration. 

Don’ts of data migration

1. Don’t migrate without a clear plan

When you fail to plan out your strategy for changing your board portal, it can lead to detrimental outcomes regarding your data. You might overlook or misplace critical files and, if you do not migrate data in a systematic manner before launching the new tool, this can result in downtime that disrupts the functioning of your board. It can also cause frustration amongst your stakeholders, who may be hindered in carrying out their duties. 

2. Don’t ignore data cleanup

If you migrate unnecessary or outdated data, you can overload the new system and reduce its efficiency. This makes it harder for users to find the information they need, can cause version control issues and could mean old files containing sensitive information are not disposed of as they should be, creating a risk that unauthorised parties might access it. 

3. Don’t neglect to train users

If you do not arm your users with the knowledge they need to make the most of the new portal, you will fail to take advantage of the features it offers and the efficiencies it brings. This can reduce the effectiveness of your decision-making and meetings in general. It might make users reluctant to use the system, leading to a lack of consistency in how your business runs meetings and how you store relevant information related to them. 

4. Don’t forget to audit the migration

Once you complete the migration, you should audit the process to verify that all files and data are present and intact. Confirm that you didn’t lose data during the process and that nothing was inadvertently altered. This will alert you to any issues that you need to address and confirms the integrity of your data, ready to deploy it in your future processes with your new portal.