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Data Migration to Small Business Software

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by sleepless in wa 1 view

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I am old time IT guy who left for a teaching career. I am used to 3rd generation file structures. In those days, programmers had direct access to discreet files (tables now). Therefore when converting from one system to another, you would typically get a flat file, write some code, and load it to the new system's file structure.

I am now back in the IT game, trying to see how my small to midsize business can convert to newer software (Netsuite, Great Plains, Everest, Cougar Mountain) or whatever.

Question: What techniques have you folks used to transfer data from an older (70's) system onto these newer systems (let's assume I can get the data from the old system in a flat file or delimited format of some type)? Does the newer software have import type capability that loads the data into the proper fields, tables, rows, columns, files, or whatever they are called now?

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by tbragsda

Flat files, CSV and the like. Nothing that new. XLM has promise, but the real world still works just like when you left. We put our pants on 1-6 (date) 7-16 (Name).... just like you did.

On edit;
Why leave teaching for this?

by sleepless in wa

Hey, thanks for the welcome. It's great to be back in the game. Teaching wasn't all it was cracked up to be (get them little buggers ready to take a 2 week test).

Anyway, so you have these flat files, now the question about populating the new database.

Old days: new data went into a discreet file using programmer written coding

New days: Right before I went into teaching we migrated to SAP. That required special ABAPers since SAP's file structures required that you load the data via a simulated data entry procedure.

Question: Do the small to mid-size business softwares have data import processes prewritten? Do you buy these as add-ons? Curiousity questions: are the new databases more like the old discreet files or more like SAP? Can you load old historical data like AR records that have already been paid, or product sales history (so you can see trends on the new system right from day one)? ps I sure like this online forum for networking.

by tbragsda

I have been doing this for ~15 years (messing with the dam things much longer). I wish I could teach History, but I know its not the fantasy job I have in my mind.

Well, in reply to the questions. Some have utilities to import data from flat files, others you may need to write something. Files are still files. MS-SQL MYSQL Oracle etc. all have files at the end, BUT very different from what you may know of as ?discreet files?. In a database, you will have many tables. You will need a way to import from the flat files into the tables, NOT directly to the files. You can read from the flat files using VB or whatever you know, and push to the DB tables.

Some software vendors don't let you access all tables, and insist on converting for you, or selling you a util to do it.

Can you give more information on what you?re trying to do?

by sleepless in wa

tbragsda, I still can't get over this techic chat room.

At this point in time I am just doing some thinking. In the past week I have spoken with 3 different small business types that wish they had an integrated software system. I'm looking at Quickbooks and thinking that it is perfect for a small business's acctg.

One problem in converting to new software is migrating your existing data (unless you feel like typing alot).

One method for doing it (even in the old days) was to take a flat file and simulate that you were going through the data entry procedure. This would populate the data into wherever the tables required. I would think that Quickbooks (since its a pretty well used piece of software) would have this functionality.

At present this is just theoretical, but for now lets assume you're trying to convert from a legacy system where flat files (or something else) can be exported, and you are trying to load it into Quickbooks (could be Netsuite, Everest, Cougar, Peachtree). I'm guessing once I get involved with one of these packages, the salesman could tell me about a data import utility. I was just trying to get some advance info.

Regards, Sleepless.

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