Data Platform Migration
Navigating Complexities in an Enterprise-wide Platform Migration
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Key Words: Migration, Technical Program Management, API Integration, Data Integrity, Security Management
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Situation:
In a large financial organization, a significant enterprise-wide initiative involved leading a migration to a new platform designed to unify data collection and management across the organization. This initiative included transitioning from disparate data handling systems to using Tealium, which utilizes a Universal Data Object (UDO) to standardize data collection across web, mobile, and server-side systems. The complexity of the initiative was compounded by the need to address various API-related issues, ensure type safety, and manage excessive field exposure through the SDK due to differences in data handling practices across the organization.
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Opportunity:
The migration presented a significant opportunity to enhance the platform’s resilience and improve data governance capabilities across the entire organization. By addressing complex technical issues such as API integration, ensuring type safety, and reducing excessive field exposure through the SDK, the initiative aimed to facilitate a smoother, more unified approach to data handling, ensuring that data is consistently managed and utilized to drive strategic decisions.
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Obstacles:
Key challenges during the initiative included adapting existing APIs to work seamlessly with Tealium’s UDO and ensuring that data flow from all sources was consistent and reliable. The migration also faced significant technical hurdles, such as maintaining type safety to prevent data corruption, handling complex API integrations, and mitigating risks associated with excessive field exposure through the SDK. These issues required extensive technical revisions and the development of new integration points to align data handling practices across multiple systems.
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Activities:
Ongoing collaboration between technical staff and business representatives was instrumental in comprehensively addressing each technical challenge. Enhanced API documentation established clear guidelines and standards, specialized training sessions maintained data consistency and integrity, and code base revisions improved data handling and facilitated seamless API integration.
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Results & Impact:
Despite the initial challenges, the successful migration significantly strengthened the data management infrastructure and optimized tag management processes across the organization. Resolving issues related to API handling, type safety, and SDK field exposure contributed to substantial enhancements in data governance capabilities and improved operational efficiency.