I often hear the question: "What can I do now, in order to prepare for my Pro/INTRALINK Data Migration?" Obviously, you'll have to install and configure the target system before you can migrate, but what else do you need to be thinking about???

Training:
In case you haven't already noticed, moving from Pro/INTRALINK 3.x. is more than a simple upgrade. Training in the Administration of the Pro/INTRALINK system is going to be critical. If you plan to perform your own data migration, you'll definitely want to attend the Pro/INTRALINK Data Migrator Administrator Training as well. If you haven't already done so, I also recommend reading the Pro/INTRALINK Data Migrator 8.0 Administrator Guide. It can be downloaded from the Reference Documents section of www.ptc.com.

As you go through Administrator Training, you should be thinking about how you will configure the new system to meet your company's needs. You'll need to consider what will be migrated and what won't. Since the Data Migrator will primarily only be migrating the Users, Attributes, and Folders (in addition to the Objects in the database, obviously), you will need to consider how the new system's Access Controls, Release Processes, Groups, Object Initialization Rules, Lifecycles, etc, will need to be configured.

The Data Migration process may offer an opportunity to reorganize your data management system(s), since Data Migration requires that you make numerous Data Mapping Decisions that govern how your new system will look. As you begin planning for your deployment, it's a good idea to do a thorough review of your current 3.x system configuration with an eye toward the new system's capabilities. Below are just a few of the many configuration issues that you may want to consider as you start planning your migration.

• Folder Mapping - Folder Structure Reorganization
• Release Scheme/Release Level Mapping - Consolidation/Restructuring
• Attribute Mapping - Deleting Unwanted/Unused Attributes
• Revision/Version Sequence - Mapping to Version/Iteration
• Removing Unwanted/Unneeded Data (Objects, Folders, Release Levels, Attributes, etc…) prior to migration

I will discuss some of these topics in more detail in future bogs.