Planning and methods for a secure data transfer in your application production environment.
After reading this article you’ll know the following:
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Identifying and creating a data transfer plan
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Data cleanup and validation
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Backing up your data in the old system
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Secure data transfer methods and their suitability for your case
This article covers the topic of transferring data from a development environment into a production environment. Depending on the specific case and with the help of Betty Blocks, you are going to create a data transfer plan for transitioning all your previous data. Although there cannot be one universally accepted guide for data transfer, here we will lead you through the key steps involved in a successful transition into a new production environment.
Planning and preparation for data transfer
As with many other processes of going live with your application, you need a solid plan before you dive into the process of transferring data in your production environment. This small chapter explores two of the essential steps for that: identifying and creating a data transfer plan and data cleanup and validation.
Identifying and creating a data transfer plan
Before you initiate any data transfer project, it’s important to identify what data needs to be moved and to create an understandable data transfer plan. This plan has to outline the scope, objectives, and timeline of the transfer as sometimes this process can take up to 5 days, for instance. Assign the responsibilities for each step of the transfer process, ensuring accountability for those and transparency of course, as you don’t want some sensitive data to be leaked somewhere else.
Data cleanup and validation
You should really care about data quality, thus ensuring that it is transferred clean and free of errors. Identify any inconsistencies, duplications, or missing data. Validating data before transfer reduces the chances of having issues in the production environment. Set the required standards for your data to meet. Remember: garbage in - garbage out!
Why do we emphasize the importance of planning? Well, some businesses still need to go on working or some data needs to be accessible, therefore your organization must bring as few inconveniences as possible. So think ahead.
Data transfer methods
Once you have your plan in place, it’s time to have a look at methods for moving your data. Here, we’ll pay attention to backing up your data in an old environment, providing safety for the transfer, and choosing the most appropriate data transfer methods, taking into consideration the nature of your data and the source you’re transferring from.
Backing up your data
There's not much to say here: always back up your data in the old environment. This step serves as your guarantee that if something goes wrong during the transfer process, you can roll back to a known good state and avoid data loss.
Suitable transfer methods
As mentioned above, the method you choose highly depends on the nature of your data and the data source from which you’re transferring it.
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Using settings models. In many cases, especially for configuration data like settings and models, the process can be automatic. When your application uses settings models and configuration data, the data transfer becomes effortless. As you merge the application into the production environment, these settings models will automatically copy the configurations. This ensures that both environments are in sync with the required configurations.
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Transfer from another system. Transferring data from an external system or source, such as an old system or Excel document, requires a different approach. In such cases, you must create a detailed plan for transferring the data into the production environment before going live. The planning process should include:
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Deciding what data to transfer: determine whether you want to transfer all the data or only some that are relevant to the new system. For example, if you’re replacing an Excel-based task management system, decide whether you want to move all the tasks or only the open ones.
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Data transfer method: collaborate with your team and data delivery managers (from Betty Blocks’ side) to decide on the most suitable data transfer method. This could involve making files available for export (for Excel files) or creating an export process (for old systems). In some cases, you may need to convert the data to fit the new application, which could involve creating SQL dumps or other data transformation methods.
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Security measures: data transfer often involves sensitive information. It's essential to ensure the secure transfer of data, whether it's through encrypted email, secure file transfers, or other methods. Establish clear protocols and agreements with all involved parties to safeguard the data during the transfer process.
Although data transferring cannot be called something very difficult to execute, there are still quite a lot of things to consider. By identifying your data transfer needs, preparing your data, and selecting the most suitable transfer methods, you can minimize risks and ensure a successful transition.