Our Services
Data Migration Services
Move off legacy systems without losing the data, or the trust in it.
Data migration services for UK government and regulated organisations: profiling, cleansing, mapping, reconciliation and cutover, so that data moves from legacy systems to modern platforms complete, correct and governed.
Data migration is where legacy system modernisation most often loses time and credibility. Old systems hold years of data with undocumented rules, duplicate records and quality problems nobody has measured, and a new platform will only be trusted if the numbers reconcile on day one. We treat migration as a data problem first and a technical one second. We profile and cleanse the source data, agree mapping and business rules with the people who own the data, rehearse the migration until reconciliation is routine, and plan cutover and fallback with the teams who will run the new service.
Key Capabilities
- ›Migration strategy and option appraisal, including replace versus upgrade
- ›Data discovery and profiling of legacy sources
- ›Data cleansing, de-duplication and quality remediation
- ›Source-to-target mapping and business rules agreed with data owners
- ›Master data and reference data management
- ›Migration pipelines and cloud integration on Azure, AWS and Google Cloud
- ›Trial migrations, reconciliation and data validation
- ›Cutover planning, fallback and legacy decommissioning
Who We Work With
Our migration work comes from central government legacy replacement. For the UK IPO we led the data mobilisation phase of the five-year ONE IPO transformation, delivering master data management and cross-system APIs to replace legacy systems from the early 2000s. For DWP we transferred a large data pool from an outdated solution to a simplified new platform. For the Infected Blood Compensation Authority we unified 100% of case data on a new Azure platform, eliminating spreadsheet sprawl.
Frameworks & Accreditations
Our Approach
How we work.
Discover
We profile the legacy sources, measure data quality, and agree scope, business rules and success criteria with the people who own the data.
Prepare
We cleanse and de-duplicate the data, build source-to-target mappings, and design the migration pipelines and reconciliation checks.
Rehearse
We run trial migrations against production-like data until volumes, timings and reconciliation results are predictable.
Cut over
We execute the migration to an agreed plan with fallback, validate the result with the business, and support decommissioning of the legacy system.
Common Questions
Frequently asked questions.
What do data migration services include?
Everything needed to move data from an old system to a new one without losing it or its meaning: profiling the source data, cleansing and de-duplication, mapping to the new structures, building the migration pipelines, trial migrations, reconciliation and validation, and the cutover and fallback plan. The technical transfer is usually the easy part. Data quality, business rules and reconciliation are where migrations succeed or fail.
How long does a data migration take?
It depends on the number of source systems, data volumes and data quality. We start with a discovery phase, usually four to six weeks, that profiles the data and produces a realistic plan and timeline before a cutover date is committed.
How do you make sure no data is lost or corrupted?
By reconciling rather than assuming. Every migration run is checked with record counts, control totals and field-level validation agreed with the business in advance, and we rehearse the full migration against production-like data until the results are predictable. Cutover goes ahead only when reconciliation passes, and there is a tested fallback if it does not.
Should we migrate to a new system or upgrade the legacy one?
It depends on the cost, risk and strategic value of each option, and it is worth answering properly before committing. For HMRC's Anti-Money Laundering Supervision service we provided DV cleared architecture and data analysis that built the case for a full system replacement over a costly incremental upgrade of limited strategic value.
Do you work with Azure, AWS and Google Cloud?
Yes. We have experience across all three major cloud platforms. Most UK government data programmes we work on use Azure, but we work within your approved technology estate and the migration tooling it supports.
What security clearances do your teams hold?
Our data engineers and architects hold clearances including Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), Security Check (SC) and Developed Vetting (DV), so we can migrate sensitive government data.
Related case studies and reading.
- Case studyUK IPO: ONE IPO data mobilisation
- Case studyDWP: Job Centre asset facilities management
- Case studyHMRC: Anti-Money Laundering Supervision modernisation
- ServiceData governance consultancy
See how our services come together for government in public sector consultancy.
Discuss your requirements
Speak with our team about how we can support your organisation's specific challenges. We respond within one working day.