In the age of digitization, the relevance of cloud-based CRM is on the rise and is certain to dominate the years to come. Businesses around the world are switching from legacy platforms to advanced and automated platforms to make themselves future-ready. Salesforce has been providing CRM services to organizations across the globe for more than two decades. Owing to the seamless functionality and high credibility of the platform, more and more companies are willing to avail themselves of Salesforce migration services.

Salesforce migration services allow businesses to move their data from a specific platform/data warehouse to Salesforce. It helps you switch to Salesforce for recording, storing, tracking, and assessing your business data.

However, Salesforce migration is not a simple process. It takes a lot of precision and decisiveness to shift your data to Salesforce. Right choosing the right Salesforce migration tools to prepare the data to be moved, it is important to get the migration process right to operate efficiently on Salesforce.

Setting Up Salesforce Data Migration

Along with the migration process itself, setting up Salesforce data migration is of the utmost importance for making the much-needed shift to Salesforce. According to the volume, quality, and complexity of your business data, Salesforce migration can become a tedious, time-consuming, and hectic process. This makes it important for users to set up the migration process effectively to ensure seamless movement of data between the different platforms.

Here are some of the most important activities involved in setting up the Salesforce migration process and preparing your system for the shift to Salesforce:

Understanding The Scope Of Your Salesforce Project

Before performing any activity related to Salesforce data migration, it is important to understand the scope of your Salesforce project. What will the CRM platform be used for? What are the datasets required for helping you achieve your goals? Which departments would be working on the data? Who is going to lead the project?

Answering all these questions would help you understand the scope of your project and provide you with a sense of direction regarding Salesforce data migration.

Auditing Your Data

Before you start with the migration process, it is always advisable to conduct a thorough data audit and visualize the data to be moved to Salesforce. Even if it is merely a list of databases in a Word document or email, make sure that it is shared with every member of your team before migration. Analyze the data you are willing to migrate and undertake a thorough assessment of the same. Identify the records to be moved and clean the data before starting with Salesforce migration. This would prevent you from having to deal with multiple unnecessary spreadsheets at the time of migration.

Grouping Your Data

Especially if you are dealing with large and complicated datasets, it is advisable to group your data into suitable groups before going ahead with the migration process. Ideally, you should segregate your data into at least three groups – the data to be deleted, the data to be archived if it is required in the new system, and the data to be migrated. This would help you streamline and expedite the process of Salesforce migration.

Cleaning Your Data

Before heading towards Salesforce migration, it is important to clean your datasets to make the shift smoother and more effective. Make sure that the chosen datasets have no duplicates, are relevant to your project, are not dated, and are free from errors. This would prevent users from having to make changes after the data has been shifted to Salesforce and ensure the consistency of records transferred.

Choosing The Custom Fields

If you are willing to add custom fields, it is always advisable to choose single-select picklists and optional fields instead of multi-select picklists for collecting additional data. The single-select picklists run faster when it comes to monitoring and distributing your data.

Organizing Your Data

This activity is often overlooked when it comes to preparing your data for Salesforce data for migration. Make sure you organize your datasets based on the purpose for which they are moved to Salesforce, the users who would be working on them, and the objectives they would help you achieve. Keeping all your records logically ordered would help you optimize the functionality of Salesforce for managing your records.

Testing The Migration Process

Many Salesforce migration services providers offer self-service features to their clients to help them assess the migration process. It is always advisable to test the migration process by selecting sample datasets and passing them through the entire process. This gives you a clear idea about how the process would look and helps you make necessary changes before carrying out the actual migration process.

Backing Up Your Data

Arguably, the worst mistake that you can make while migrating your data to Salesforce is failing to create a backup for your data. Always make sure that you have a backup plan in action to retrieve any data lost during the course of migration. Most migration tools and service providers offer advanced features to businesses to ensure that their datasets are safe.

Creating A Project Timeline

Always have a project timeline charted out before going ahead with Salesforce migration. Make sure that your project manager is thorough with the objectives to be achieved and creates a project timeline along with the milestones to be achieved along the way. This would help you get an estimate of the time it would take to bring your Salesforce migration to fruition.

While Salesforce migration can get really tricky, complicated, and tedious, preparing yourself well for the project always helps. Make sure that you work with trusted and genuine data migration services providers who understand our business needs and help you make the most of your datasets.

Salesforce Migration Checklist

Apart from the activities important to prepare your system for Salesforce migration, here is a quick checklist to follow as you implement your project:

Have The Right People On Board

The first and the most important aspect to include in your checklist should certainly be that of having the right people on board. At the end of the day, it is the professionals you work with and the tools they recommend that help you undertake the migration process successfully. Create a team of skilled, passionate, and like-minded professionals who are dedicated to your Salesforce migration project.

Right from hiring Salesforce migration services providers to selecting the most suitable project manager, make sure you have the best people in your team to ensure efficiency and productivity.

Choose The Right Method Of Migration

There are multiple ways in which you can migrate your data to Salesforce. Choosing a suitable method helps you allocate the right resources at the right time.

Here are some ways in which you can go ahead with migrating your data to Salesforce:

• Migrating the data yourself using CSV files – This is the best alternative if you need to migrate datasets that are smaller and simpler.
• Hiring a Salesforce Consultant – If you feel you or your team need professional assistance in migrating your data to Salesforce, you can always hire a Salesforce Consultant to guide you throughout your project.
• Using dedicated Salesforce migration tools – If you are willing to implement advanced tools and technologies for shifting your data to Salesforce, you can use dedicated Salesforce migration tools to do so. These tools often simplify the process of data migration and allow technical as well as non-technical users to carry out seamless Salesforce migration.

Choose The Data You Want To Move

Unless you are willing to shift the entire system/business to Salesforce CRM, you need not always migrate all your datasets. It is important to select the records that you are willing to move. Scan your database and select the records that need to be shifted to Salesforce based on the processes you want to automate and the objectives you want to achieve.

Prepare Your Salesforce Org

Before you move your data to Salesforce, make sure you set up the CRM platform by carrying out the following major tasks:

• Setting up specific fields for accommodating your old data
• Adding specific users and making sure that they have the necessary permissions for using the CRM data
• Turning off validation rules, workflows, and/or triggers within your Salesforce org that would affect data migration

Setting A Cutoff Date

This is the date when you should shift your data to Salesforce and stop using it in the older platform. Always make sure that you involve your entire team in deciding upon the cutoff date to keep everyone on the same page. Also, having a clear cutoff date in mind would help you undertake a clean, organized, and timely migration.

The Final Word

These were some of the most important aspects to keep in mind before you go ahead with Salesforce migration. Irrespective of the type of data you are willing to move, the migration tools you want to implement, and the complexity of your data, the key to a successful Salesforce migration will always be to stay prepared and equipped well in advance.