Common Challenges In Salesforce Data Migration

Effective Strategies To Solve Salesforce Data Migration Challenges

Did you know Salesforce has become a global leader in the CRM market? It holds around 19.8% of the market share, which is enough reason for businesses to migrate to Salesforce.

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Data Migration refers to shifting digital data from old CRM systems to Salesforce. Transferring data might sound easy, but it comes with a lot of analysis and multi-processing. Besides, there are many challenges in Salesforce data migration. You cannot imagine how bad data migration can go.

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Studies by Forbes indicate that only 46% of migrations are completed on time, and nearly 64% of projects go out of budget. Understanding the pitfalls is essential, as they can impact data integrity, compliance, and efficiency.

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With this blog, Minuscule Technologies has highlighted the top salesforce data migration challenges that can potentially impact your business operations. With that, we have also provided the solutions to overcome these obstacles.

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Top 8 Challenges in Salesforce Data Migration

Inefficient Data Mapping Process

Data Mapping is the bridge between your old legacy systems and Salesforce. It is one of the most critical steps in data migration and usually takes a lot of time. You can have a whole migration checklist, but if you don’t follow it and move ahead without proper planning, it can result in :

• Complex field relationships and inconsistent data structures.
• Problems with reporting and analysis due to mismatched data formats.
• Data ending up in the wrong fields in Salesforce.
• Duplicate entries and incompatible formats.
• Repeated errors causing delays.
• Increased project costs.

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To resolve these issues:

• Use predefined mapping templates.
• Implement automation tools to streamline the process.
• Perform thorough testing before migration. This will help to check for any discrepancies beforehand.
• Use data migration tools to track the real-time status.

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Poor Data Quality And Integrity

When loading your data from the data loader, the most critical yet underrated aspect to look for is the quality of the data. If your data is messy, any reports you generate will also be unreliable. You want to contact your leads or find out last quarter's sales reports. But you have poor-quality data that cannot be trusted. Now, that results in lost leads, lost customers, and ultimately lost revenue. No business wants that.

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To solve such issues,

• Always have data cleansing practices.
• Perform a data audit to remove duplicates.
• Set up rules in Salesforce to prevent bad data from entering the system.
• Limit the access to the number of data inputs from people or departments.

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Handling Large Volumes Of Data

The more the volume of data you deal with, the more time it will take to migrate it from the system. If not handled properly, it can overwhelm systems and lead to costly downtimes. Businesses often fail to implement Salesforce data migration properly, especially with large data sets.

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Besides, Salesforce has API call limits, which restrict the number of data requests that can be made within a specific timeframe. So, migrating large volumes of data can:

• Cause slow migration, i.e., take longer than expected time.
• Delay Your Go-live date.
• Disrupt your business operations.
• Leads to lost revenue.

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To resolve these Salesforce data migration challenges:

• Break the migration into smaller, manageable chunks based on data type, object, or business unit. It reduces the migration load on the system.
• Schedule migrations during off-peak hours, i.e., when employees do not use the system.
• Compress all your data and reduce their file sizes. This way, the transfer process will take less time.
• Employ specialized ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) tools designed for Salesforce migrations.

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Limited Technical Expertise

Not everyone is a Salesforce expert, and without the right skills, businesses often face setbacks. A lack of expertise shows:

• Inability to troubleshoot migration errors.
• Improper configuration of Salesforce settings.
• Overreliance on manual processes.
• Misaligned workflows and processes.
• Wastage of time and resources.
• Difficulty in training users
• Lack of knowledge about Salesforce best practices

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You can mitigate these issues by hiring Salesforce data migration services from a certified Salesforce consulting partner like Minuscule Technologies.

Security And Compliance Risks

Data security and compliance have become a grave concern today. They can tarnish reputations and result in hefty fines. Last year, approximately 43% of organizations reported experiencing a data breach. Such data breaches :

• Expose customers' sensitive information. This can be personal information such as income, address, contact details, and more.
• Bring heavy fines to businesses for non-compliance with GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA.
• Cause harm to company reputation.
• Operational disruption and recovery costs.

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To address these risks and safeguard the migration process:

• Encrypt data both in transit and at rest.
• Secure your APIs.
• Establish role-based access control policies and multi-factor authentication (MFA).
• Use Firewalls and VPNs to protect your network from cyberattacks.
• Conduct regular security audits to respond to issues in real-time.
• Comply with all regulations like CCPA, GDPR, etc.
• Educate your staff on security protocols and best practices to prevent errors and insider threats.

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Change Management Issues

Migrating to a new system like Salesforce often requires changes in workflows and processes. But it’s also about changing the people so that they adapt to new methods. This can come with rejection, fears, delayed acceptance, and reduced efficiency. That is why change management becomes essential. Start by :

• Communicating the benefits of the migration.
• Give a listening ear to your employees. This makes them feel valued.
• Provide hands-on training to employees on the new Salesforce system.
• Involve all stakeholders early to get their buy-in.
• Offer ongoing support post-migration.

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Downtime And Business Disruptions

Migration is an ongoing process that may require system downtime. But, if you have to literally pause your entire business just to migrate data, then there is a serious issue.

To resolve this :

• Always have a backup system ready in case of failures.
• Plan the migration during weekends so that work does not stop.
• Thoroughly test the migration in a sandbox environment.

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Testing And Validation Errors

When you fail to do tests, you may face errors even after the migration is complete. This can be because of:

• Missing data during validation.
• Incomplete test cases lead to undetected errors.
• Compatibility issues with the Salesforce platform.
• Lack of performance testing causing delays after migration.

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To avoid such last-moment situations, start by:

• Performing pre-migration tests to verify data compatibility.
• Breaking down the testing process into stages to catch discrepancies.
• Creating detailed test cases covering all data scenarios, including edge cases and unexpected inputs.
• Using automated testing tools to identify errors quickly.
• Developing rollback plans for error recovery.
• Conducting post-migration audits to see if all records and relationships are correctly transferred.

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Overcoming Key Salesforce Data Migration Hurdles

Migrating data to Salesforce can be complex, but approaching it with a strategic mindset and the right expertise can make every challenge seamless.

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From every error, be it inefficient data mapping, compliance, and testing errors, there are solutions. Therefore, these challenges shouldn't discourage you. With proper planning and execution techniques, a successful migration is achievable.

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Need assistance migrating your data to Salesforce? Trust Minuscule Technologies for the best Salesforce data migration services.

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Why Choose Us?

• For tailored solutions that solve your problems.
• Team of certified professionals with proven track records.
• Flexible services that grow with your business needs.
• Unlimited post-service support.

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As a leading Salesforce data migration company, we offer customized solutions that set your business up for success. Contact us today for a free consultation.