Migrating to a Modern Workload Automation Solution

Job Scheduler Migration Strategies

Deciding to migrate from your legacy scheduler to a modern IT automation solution like ActiveBatch is a big decision. Your organization can go about the workload automation migration process in many ways, but the most successful migrations follow proven strategies that benefit your company and fulfill your organization’s specific needs. Here are 3 Strategies to Consider for a Successful Migration:

1. Automated Migration

One approach to migration is to use the new solution’s automated migration tool. Typically, the migration of the legacy scheduler’s applications to the new solution will be carried out via a command-line program. For organizations who want to minimize the risk of losing critical workflows/processes and the risk of manual errors, an automated migration provides a secure, proven migration process that keeps your existing data intact.

Automated migration also provides a number of benefits:

• An extra layer of security
• No need for the added expense of building a migration strategy or program 
• Faster time to deployment and go-live
• Less downtime
• Faster realization of ROI for new automation solution 

2. Build a New Automation Strategy

Alternatively, an organization might want to start from scratch. Existing processes or workflows may have grown overly complex over the years. A new automation refresh can help optimize those workflows and eliminate manual dependencies.

We’ve seen several organizations take this approach after initially deciding on an automated migration. The organizations started using ActiveBatch and realized that instead of bringing over all of their old problematic workflows and processes, they could create a better, more elegant automation strategy from the ground up. This would make it easier to accommodate changing business and technology requirements.

Creating a new workload automation environment from scratch often works best for smaller IT environments that do not have as many existing workflows and processes, and for organizations with the time and people resources to commit to building out a new, holistic automation strategy.

3. Take a Hybrid Approach 

Organizations that want to mitigate the risk of carrying objects over from their existing workload scheduler ,and also want the flexibility to build a new automation strategy, should consider a hybrid approach. 

In this approach, an organization will first migrate its existing processes to the new solution using an automated migration tool. Once the automated migration is complete, the organization will build out other existing and new processes. This leverages the advanced functionality and features of the new automation solution.

Deciding to migrate from your legacy scheduler to a modern IT automation solution can be a complex and stressful decision. However, with the right migration strategy, organizations can overcome any challenges and ensure a successful move to their new solution.

Our IT Automation Blog features more posts on how to approach a migration from legacy schedulers like Tidal, IBM Tivoli Workload Scheduler (TWS), or AutoSys alternatives to a modern workload automation solution like ActiveBatch. 

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