Method and apparatus for migration of data from a source enterprise application to a target enterprise application

#An example embodiment of the present invention relates generally to the migration of data between enterprise applications, and more particularly, to more reliably and efficiently migrating data between enterprise applications using a conversion plan including validated migration maps.

#Enterprise applications may be used in numerous environments to store various types of data. These enterprise applications may routinely be updated and revised, or replaced with alternative enterprise applications. However, data from an original enterprise application may be needed in the updated, revised, or replacement enterprise application in order to maintain continuity between enterprise applications. Further, most businesses employing enterprise applications cannot afford substantial downtime to accomplish a transition between an original enterprise application and a new enterprise application. Further, it is often imperative that no data is lost in a transition between enterprise applications. When the volume of data files is high, particularly when those data files may have numerous versions and associated metadata, the transition between enterprise applications is complex, time consuming, and error prone.

#A method, framework, and computer program product are provided according to an example embodiment in order to migrate data files associated with a source enterprise application to a target enterprise application. Embodiments may include a migration utility framework including processing circuitry configured to: generate a migration map to map a plurality of data files from a source enterprise application to a target enterprise application; validate the migration map, where the processing circuitry to validate the migration map includes processing circuitry to determine if target enterprise application requirements are met for both file types of the plurality of data files and metadata of the plurality of data files; generate a hash value of a validated map in response to validating the map, where the hash value represents only the validated map; and migrate the plurality of data files from the source enterprise application to the target enterprise application according to the validated map.

#Having thus described certain example embodiments of the invention in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

#FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a system for implementing a migration utility in accordance with an example embodiment of the present invention;

#FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a computing device that may be specifically configured in accordance with an example embodiment of the present invention;

#The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the inventions are shown. Indeed, these inventions may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

#A method, framework, and computer program product are provided in accordance with an example embodiment in order to migrate data files from a source enterprise application to a target enterprise application by establishing a conversion plan, generating a migration map for mapping a plurality of data files from the source enterprise application to the target enterprise application, validating the migration map, and using that validated migration map to perform the migration. Enterprise applications are typically applications used by businesses to manage various activities. Enterprise applications can include financial management or accounting applications, computer-aided-design (CAD) applications, health information management systems, docketing systems, email applications, file-sharing applications, or virtually any application in which data is stored. As businesses develop and as software development progresses, new enterprise applications become available as do revised versions of existing enterprise applications. However, businesses or individuals may be reluctant to change their enterprise applications or upgrade their enterprise applications due to the complexities involved in managing such a change or upgrade, including the potential to lose or damage large amounts of information related to their existing enterprise application. As described herein, embodiments of the present invention provide a reliable and repeatable mechanism to migrate data files from a source enterprise application to a target enterprise application.

#Migrating data files from one enterprise application to another involves numerous difficulties and barriers that must be overcome for the successful migration of the data files. Barriers may include the need for specialized development resources to develop software to execute the migration, and the migration process may take a substantial amount of time to complete, when sufficient downtime on many enterprise applications is unavailable or unacceptable. Further, a substantial portion of the time to complete the migration of data files may be spent troubleshooting or triaging lost or improperly transferred data. Implementation resources may lack sufficient expertise to complete the migration successfully due to the specialized nature of many migration projects. Each of these barriers may further dissuade businesses from updating or changing their enterprise applications, which may leave some companies technologically behind the state of the art, including related potential security issues, but may also reduce the likelihood of a customer purchasing and implementing a new enterprise application.