Services · Data Migration
Data Migration Services
Moving your records out of an old database, a set of spreadsheets, an end-of-life ERP or CRM, or an on-premises server, and into a new system or a cloud database. The migration is tested in staging and validated against the source before cutover, as a standalone project or as part of a larger rebuild.
What are data migration services?
Data migration services move a business’s records from one system to another and check that they arrived intact: out of a legacy database, spreadsheets, or an end-of-life application, and into a new system or cloud database. The work covers assessing and mapping the old data, test migrations, validation against the source, and a planned cutover.
Copying a database is the easy part. The new system rarely stores data the way the old one did, and years of workarounds leave duplicates and gaps behind. A migration maps each record to its new home, proves that what arrived matches what left, and only then switches your team over. Code and Trust offers data migration as a standalone service, and as one phase of a larger legacy system modernization.
When you need a data migration company
You need a data migration services company when records have to move between systems and getting it wrong is expensive: replacing an ERP or CRM, moving a database from an office server to the cloud, consolidating several databases into one, or retiring spreadsheets that became the real system of record. Small, simple copies rarely need outside help.
You are replacing a system
An ERP, CRM, or in-house application is reaching end of life, its vendor has stopped shipping security patches, or it no longer integrates with the tools you depend on. The records it holds have to land intact in whatever replaces it.
You are moving to the cloud
The database lives on a server in a closet or a data room, and you want it on managed cloud infrastructure with backups and monitoring.
You are consolidating databases
The same customers, products, or vendors live in several databases that disagree with each other, and you want one system of record.
Spreadsheets became the system
Your team keeps shadow spreadsheets beside the primary system, or moves data between tools with manual exports and imports, and that data needs a real home.
Often the migration comes with a new system attached. If you are replacing an operations platform, see our custom ERP software development work; if the records are customers and deals, see custom CRM development and CRM replacement.
How we migrate data and validate it before cutover
Code and Trust migrates data in stages: an assessment that maps the old schema and integrations, dry-run migrations in staging that validate counts, checksums, and business logic, a parallel run with automated reconciliation where the project calls for it, and a cutover only after your team signs off.
Assessment and mapping
We document what the current system does: its data structures, table schemas, business logic, and every internal and external integration point. The result is a written audit report with a data schema, an integration inventory, and a roadmap you keep whether or not you proceed.
Test migrations in staging
Migration scripts run in dry-run mode first, in a staging environment, validating record counts, checksums, and business logic against the source. Production data is moved after the dry run passes, not before.
Parallel run, where the project calls for it
The old system keeps running while the new one is validated, and transactions processed by the old system are processed by the new one as well. Your team is trained on the new system before cutover is attempted.
Validation and reconciliation
Where the project calls for a parallel run, automated reconciliation scripts compare record counts, field-level checksums, and business logic outputs between the old and new systems, and a discrepancy pauses the migration until it is investigated and resolved.
Cutover and fallback
Cutover happens after your team signs off, and the old system is decommissioned only then. Where the engagement provides for it, the old system is archived in read-only mode rather than deleted, so there is still a path back.
If you want data migration consulting services before committing to the move, the assessment can stand on its own: you keep the audit report and roadmap whether or not you proceed. Prototype, staging, and deployment milestones are agreed in the written scope.
Data migration vs. a full modernization
A data migration moves records into a system that already exists or is being bought. A full modernization rebuilds the system, and the data migration is one phase of it. If the data model is still sound, a modern API layer or front end on the existing database can be the faster path. The assessment tells you which fits.
| Dimension | Lift-and-shift copy | Migration with cleansing and remapping | Full system modernization |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope | Data is copied as it is, same structure, onto a new server or host. | Data is mapped to a new schema, cleaned up, and validated against the source. | The application is rebuilt too, and the data migration is one phase of it. |
| Risk | Low technical risk, but every duplicate, gap, and bad record moves with it. | Moderate: mapping mistakes are the main risk, which is what test runs and reconciliation are for. | Highest effort, managed with an audit first and a parallel run where the project calls for it. |
| Downtime approach | Usually a planned window while the copy runs. | Dry runs in staging first, then a planned cutover after the data reconciles. | Old and new systems can run side by side, with cutover after your team signs off. |
| When it fits | The data and application are sound and only the hosting needs to change. | The data is valuable but messy, or it has to fit a new system with a different model. | The system holding the data can no longer support the business. |
When a business needs data migration and modernization services together, the migration runs inside the rebuild: audit, build and data migration, then a validated cutover. Read how that works on our legacy modernization and system replacement page.
Cloud data migration services
Cloud data migration services move a database off an on-premises server or an aging host and onto managed cloud infrastructure. Code and Trust migrates legacy databases such as Oracle, MySQL, and MSSQL to PostgreSQL, running on AWS RDS, Google Cloud SQL, or Neon, with infrastructure defined in Terraform and covered by monitoring and alerting.
PostgreSQL is our primary database platform, and we consider it the right target for most migrations. Schema design, query optimization, and indexing strategy for the target database are part of our database design and development services. On the infrastructure side, we set up cloud environments on AWS and Google Cloud, automate database migrations as part of the release pipeline, and add monitoring and alerting, as described on our DevOps and cloud infrastructure page.
What drives data migration cost
Data migration cost depends on how many records move, how clean they are, how many sources must be merged, whether the old schema is documented, how many integrations need repointing, and whether the project calls for a parallel run. Code and Trust agrees the scope, price, and milestones in writing before the work starts.
Volume and history
How many records move, and how many years of schema changes and workarounds they carry.
Data quality
How clean the source data is, and how much has to be deduplicated or remapped to fit the new model.
Number of sources
One database, or several databases and spreadsheets that have to be merged into one.
Documentation
Whether anyone can explain the old schema, or the assessment has to reconstruct it.
Integrations
How many other systems read from or write to the data, and have to be repointed at cutover.
Parallel run
Whether the project calls for running both systems side by side, which adds validation work.
When the migration is part of a new build, builds start from $15,000, depending on scope. Post-launch support and maintenance are scoped per engagement. To put a number on your project, get an estimate for your data migration.
Related services
Related services cover the work around a data migration. Legacy modernization replaces the system the data comes from, database design shapes the schema it moves into, DevOps builds the cloud infrastructure it runs on, and custom ERP and CRM development build the new systems that most migrations feed.
Have data stuck in a system you need to leave?
Tell us where your records live today and where they need to go. We will tell you what the migration involves and how to run it.