Governance, SLAs, and KPIs: What Enterprise Clients Expect in Data Migration
- raki88
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Every enterprise data migration sounds straightforward at the start.
The scope is defined. The timelines look reasonable. Ev eryone agrees the data is critical.
But as soon as real data is touched—legacy structures, historical transactions, edge cases—the tone changes.
Suddenly, the questions aren’t technical anymore. They’re operational. They’re commercial. They’re about responsibility.
Who approves this exception? What happens if this data isn’t ready on time? How do we know migration is actually on track?
This is the moment enterprise expectations surface. And they almost always come down to three fundamentals: governance, SLAs, and KPIs.
Enterprises Don’t Just Want Data Moved—They Want Control
In large organizations, data is shared across finance, supply chain, operations, compliance, and leadership. That means data migration can’t operate in a vacuum.
Enterprise clients expect clear governance from day one:
Defined data ownership by domain
Clear escalation paths
Decision-making frameworks
Change control processes
Auditability and traceability
Without governance, migration decisions become reactive. With governance, they become intentional.
Strong governance ensures that when something goes wrong—and something always does—everyone knows who decides, how it’s resolved, and what happens next.
SLAs: Because “We’ll Fix It” Isn’t a Plan
In enterprise programs, good intentions aren’t enough. Clients expect commitments.
That’s where SLAs come in.
Data migration SLAs bring structure to chaos by defining:
Response and resolution times for data issues
Reconciliation and validation timelines
Cutover readiness criteria
Issue severity levels
Responsibilities across teams
SLAs turn vague promises into measurable accountability.
They also protect the business. When finance is waiting on balances, or operations can’t proceed due to data gaps, SLAs ensure migration doesn’t become a blocker—it becomes predictable.
KPIs: Measuring What Actually Matters
One of the biggest mistakes in data migration is measuring effort instead of outcomes.
Enterprises don’t care how many scripts were written. They care about whether the data works.
That’s why mature programs define KPIs such as:
Data accuracy and reconciliation rates
Defect leakage into UAT and production
Migration cycle success rates
Rework percentages
Post-go-live data issues
Business sign-off readiness
These KPIs shift the conversation from “Are we busy?” to “Are we ready?”
And they give leadership confidence that migration progress is real—not just reported.
Where Things Often Break Down
Here’s the reality: most system integrators are focused on getting the system live. Data migration is one of many workstreams competing for attention.
That’s when governance weakens. SLAs become informal. KPIs turn into afterthoughts.
And the business feels it.
Why a Dedicated Data Migration Partner Makes Sense
This is where having a specialist data migration partner changes everything.
A dedicated partner brings:
Independent governance focused solely on data
Clearly defined SLAs aligned to business risk
Meaningful KPIs that reflect readiness, not activity
Structured validation and reconciliation frameworks
A buffer between business expectations and technical execution
More importantly, they bring experience.
They’ve seen how migrations fail—and how they succeed. They know where risk hides. And they design controls before problems show up, not after.
At DDPTech, governance, SLAs, and KPIs aren’t documentation exercises. They’re how we de-risk enterprise transformations.
Because when data migration is governed, measured, and accountable, something powerful happens:
The business stops worrying about data. And starts trusting the system.
Final Thought
Enterprise clients don’t expect perfection.
They expect clarity. They expect accountability. They expect control.
And in data migration, that only happens when governance, SLAs, and KPIs are built into the foundation—not added as damage control.
That’s why having a dedicated data migration partner isn’t overhead.
It’s insurance.
DDPTech specialises exclusively in enterprise data migration, helping organisations deliver controlled, measurable, and low-risk ERP transformations through strong governance and data-first execution. Contact us to know more about our capabilities.
