Service Migration Template for Agile Teams

Simple migrations (single integration point, compatible APIs) take 2-4 weeks. Medium-complexity migrations (3-5 integration points, some capability gaps) take 6-12 weeks. Complex migrations (many integration points, significant capability gaps, large data volumes) take 3-6 months. The parallel run period adds 2-4 weeks regardless of complexity.

First, verify what the provider's data export capabilities actually are. Many providers offer more export options than their standard documentation shows. If data truly cannot be exported, decide whether to rebuild it in the new provider (from source systems), accept the loss, or maintain read-only access to the old provider for historical queries. Budget for rebuilding if the data is business-critical.

Migrate in small batches grouped by dependency. If your web tracking and server tracking both feed the same warehouse, migrate them together. If your email integration is independent of your analytics integration, migrate them separately. Smaller batches reduce blast radius and make it easier to identify which change caused an issue.

Document the gap during the capability mapping phase. For each gap, evaluate three options: (1) build the capability yourself, (2) use a third-party tool to fill the gap, or (3) change your workflow to eliminate the dependency. If the gap is critical and none of these options are viable, reconsider whether this is the right provider to migrate to.

Keep the old provider active and accessible throughout the migration. Your rollback plan is straightforward: revert configuration changes to point back to the old provider. This is why contract overlap is important. If you have already terminated the old contract, rollback is not possible. Define rollback triggers quantitatively (error rate, data loss, latency) and test the rollback procedure in staging before cutover.