Cutover: How to reach the migration pinnacle!

Preparation - attention to detail matters!

Have all aspects been considered? Do all team members know about their responsibilities? Are all organizational and technical tasks addressed and assigned? During a cutover phase, many smaller and very specific tasks are to be identified and coordinated including their dependencies and executed by a interdisciplinary team. The complexity of the cutover continuously increases with the number of factors that are to be considered. Accounting for these factors requires meticulous planning to the minute, and this level of detail consumes considerable time — time which involved teams do not have due to regular day-to-day business activities. As a result, the additional workload caused by a cutover is to be reasonably managed in terms of duration and peaks.

Execution – regular status updates for transparency

A cutover and with it the go-live of a new system environment is typically scheduled over a long weekend to keep business disruption at a minimum. The tedious task of overseeing everything falls to the cutover team's lead. Supervising the activities includes contacting those responsible at the scheduled time, typically by phone and email, and communicating unplanned changes. In most cases, the cutover plan is documented in an excel table, which makes close monitoring and required dynamic adjustments difficult to keep up with. In this setup, the management team still demands regular accurate status updates on the cutover progress. Experienced cutover managers and the implementation of special tools can help to ensure that these complex and tightly timed processes are executed smoothly, not derailing the overall plan.

The Natuvion Cutover Management Duo

Preparation and execution, Natuvion is well-positioned to support both phases with a cutover expert equipped with the right tool. This duo ensures a holistic transition process where all relevant parties become an integral part. The foundation for Natuvion’s expertise is the broad technology and methodology competence gained in many successful cutover projects.

In a collaborative effort, the Cutover Manager works along the customer during the entire process. After having identified the responsible contact persons at the beginning, an iterative process determines the required activities, individuals are specifically nominated, and relationships set up. Eventually, the outcome is a complete, well-orchestrated, and optimized cutover plan.

Our team of experts is supported by the perfect tool for the job. The Natuvion Cutover Application (CORA) which brings cutover management and task management together in one place for efficiency with real time monitoring. Natuvion CORA is a cloud-based SaaS solution that is device agnostic and runs in any web browser. The solution’s multi-language features support the global setup of project teams. Furthermore, Natuvion CORA offers users an individual dashboard to focus and accomplish the tasks according to the assigned project role. Automated communication allows for immediate notification, keeping responsible team members informed about status, completion, or delay of activities. Being able to act right away saves valuable time and manual effort. Automation means significantly reducing project risk.