Don’t migrate storage… Get unified access instead.
Migrating data from one storage provider to another can be a real hassle to both plan and execute. Moreover, it can prevent you from moving forward with your other important initiatives…
Are you excited about rolling out that new software package but are now worried your users won’t be able fully bridge the gap until all your data is moved over from the older system?
Are you trying to get off one storage provider to save costs or meet compliance needs, but the thought of doing a migration is a total buzzkill?
Don’t let the soul-crushing anchor of past data be a barrier to doing something better with your new data. Here’s an alternative that will let you move forward.
The Best Migration = No Migration
Why don’t you just leave it where it is? Migration is costly, error-prone, and usually not that high value. Data also tends to decay in value and relevance with the passing of time. Old files need to be kept for archival purposes, but these files are rarely accessed or needed. Corporate data actually becomes stale fairly quickly. With storage costs being so low (and continuing to fall), along with the diminishing returns on accessing inactive data, the cost of migration will usually far outpace the cost of just leaving the storage where it is and letting it age out.
If you could provide users with a simple and convenient way to access both the old system and the new system, then you could be free to launch your new initiative and give you more time to migrate existing data at your leisure.
(Or… here’s an edgy thought. Just keep the old data there until it has no value… and then delete it. There, I said it. Data hoarder, I’m talking to you… but I digress…)
Users simply use the new system for new data but have access to the old system in case they need it, which should naturally be less of a requirement over time. Eliminate the system barriers first, and then you can let your systems usage and adoption organically evolve.
Also, keeping your data in your old system — and not having to justify the cost of potentially yet even more migrations — allows you to preserve maximum optionality. Investigate new potential options with ease, and allow yourself to make a decision without being locked into a path in case you need to change your mind quickly for whatever reason. This doesn’t have to be a one-off solution, either — it can be a team or corporate mindset that provides the agility needed to benefit from the best solutions available at any given time.
Unified Access is the Answer
odrive is a multicloud-enabled solution that is free and easy to use, giving you Dropbox-style sync that is integrated into Mac Finder and Windows Explorer. Simply sign up and connect both storage accounts. Get access to cloud storage, applications (e.g. Slack, Facebook, Procore), and even to file servers you still use all under one login and with only one app.
The odrive sync app is also very efficient, showing you your files that are available in remote storage as placeholder cloud files first that don’t take up any space. Only when you need to access a file the first time does the full content download, saving you disk space and bandwidth. So if you’ve got a lot of storage on your old system, don’t worry about adding unnecessary costs or having too little hard drive capacity on your end-user machines to consume all of your data.
Example: Application Rollout (Procore)
In speaking with customers and sales reps from one of our partners in the construction management industry, we’ve learned about some of the challenges facing Procore admins in rolling out the Documents tool in Procore to their user bases.
One of the commonly raised concerns was that companies had data from their prior projects in other repositories such as SharePoint or Google Drive. They were concerned that it would be difficult to get everyone onboard if they had to constantly deal with two systems.
Using odrive as a bridge to give access to both repositories was an unexpected benefit for these customers. They initially came in just looking for a basic sync app for the Documents tool to simplify their users’ workflows by allowing them to work straight out of Finder or Windows Explorer. As they discovered that odrive could link other storage, they wondered if they could use odrive to migrate their data from their old projects into Procore to consolidate it.
We never fail to smile when, for the customer, it becomes clear that just leaving the storage where it is and using odrive to access both is the simplest solution for everyone. It’s just one other thing that Procore admins could be relieved about in getting their organizations to fully adopt their investment in Procore.
Example: Multicloud Storage (Amazon S3, Amazon Cloud Drive, Google Drive, File Server)
One approach that we’ve seen work at our own company is unifying all of the data we’ve accumulated over the years. We’ve used everything from NAS and file servers to S3, Amazon Cloud Drive, and Google Drive in house for files over the years. (And I think I overheard one group looking at using Wasabi the other day…)
Being able to leave data in place has helped us try out different storage offerings and cost models. When Google became the last unlimited plan (alas, no more), we were able to jump on it. Since all remote storage sources are presented similarly through odrive, using one storage was really not much different than using another.
In theory, it can feel a little disjointed if you think about where we’ve stored things through the history of the company. But in practice, we only ever really look at 2 or 3 storage locations at most at any given time. A lot of our old data is just no longer relevant, and anything important has since been migrated as needed by hand.
As a result, we have even more of an adaptive outlook here than I’ve ever seen at my previous companies. I can’t even count all the different software packages and platforms we’ve tried over the years.
Conclusion
Don’t migrate. Adopt a unified view of your storage and application data instead. You’ll find that you can lower barriers to adoption and enable your business to be more successful at executing systems change.
Interested? Get odrive and try it out… it’s free! There is a Premium subscription available, too, but you only need it for power user capabilities.
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