Database Migration Services

Database migration services for the cutover where row counts are the beginning of proof.

A database move has to preserve data, constraints, query behavior, permissions, jobs, integrations, and recovery. We inventory the source and application dependencies, choose export or replication from the downtime limit, rehearse at realistic scale, reconcile the result, and define rollback before production changes.

See our work

Bring the problem, the current workflow, or the existing code. We reply with a practical next step within one business day.

The brief

Start with what is not working.

Good software decisions begin with the constraint, not a list of features or a preferred technology.

01

Does the planned engine or version change affect stored procedures, collations, data types, drivers, or query behavior nobody has tested?

02

Is the downtime estimate based on a small staging copy rather than production volume and change rate?

Plain answer

Database migration services move schemas, data, permissions, jobs, and application connections to a new engine, version, host, or managed service. RaftLabs inventories compatibility, chooses replication or restore from the downtime limit, rehearses at realistic scale, reconciles the destination, and tests rollback. A focused migration starts at $15,000 and usually takes six to ten weeks.

The rows matched. The application still failed.

The rehearsal copied every table and returned the expected row counts. At application startup, a case-sensitive comparison changed behavior, one sequence began below the imported maximum, and a background job still wrote to the source. Data presence was correct. Database behavior was not.

Validation has to reach through the application.

Recorded data-migration delivery

customer records moved
300K+
Energia Rewards project record
legacy-data remediation scripts
11
Recorded migration scope
scheduled customer feeds
4
Domestic and commercial joiner and leaver files

The Energia Rewards case study documents a migration with more than 300,000 records, 11 remediation scripts, and four ongoing customer feeds. Those figures come from retained project records and are not independently audited. The case does not publish database size, replication lag, checksum coverage, outage length, or a claim of universal zero downtime.

Migrate a database when the target removes a defined risk or operating burden.

The first decision is not the transfer tool. It is what behavior must remain unchanged and how long writes may stop.

A fit
01

An engine, version, hosting, support, licence, resilience, or scaling constraint creates a clear reason to move.

02

Database and application owners can identify code objects, integrations, critical queries, and acceptable downtime.

03

The team can rehearse on realistic data and keep a recoverable source through the acceptance window.

Not a fit
01

The source schema and data ownership are still changing faster than a migration can stabilize them.

02

No one can approve business reconciliation totals or application acceptance behavior.

03

The proposed destination adds conversion risk without a measured operating, cost, or product benefit.

Offline restore vs continuous replication

Export and restoreContinuous replication
Use whenA planned outage fits the businessWrites must continue until a short switch window
ComplexityFewer moving partsLog capture, lag, consistency, and dual-state operations
RehearsalMeasure full export, transfer, restore, and checksAlso measure catch-up and final write freeze
Main riskRun time exceeds the windowUnsupported objects or lag create false confidence

Scope

What belongs in a database migration release

  • 01

    Engine, schema, and workload inventory

    Record versions, extensions, objects, size, growth, change rate, peak load, critical queries, jobs, users, integrations, and recovery requirements.
  • 02

    Compatibility and remediation plan

    Classify data types, procedures, triggers, collations, constraints, indexes, drivers, and queries as compatible, convertible, or requiring manual change.
  • 03

    Transfer and synchronization

    Implement the simplest method that meets the outage limit, with observable progress, lag, failure handling, encryption, and restart behavior.
  • 04

    Data and application reconciliation

    Compare structural and business totals, test permissions and transaction behavior, run representative queries, and verify application reads, writes, jobs, and integrations.
  • 05

    Cutover, rollback, and stabilization

    Name thresholds and owners, rehearse the runbook, preserve source recovery, monitor production, and retire the old path only after acceptance.

How it works

From source inventory to reconciled database cutover

  1. Phase 1
    01

    Inventory data and dependencies

    Map engines, versions, size, change rate, schemas, code objects, permissions, jobs, integrations, queries, data issues, and recovery needs.

  2. Phase 2
    02

    Design transfer and validation

    Choose export, restore, replication, or conversion; define compatibility work, reconciliation checks, cutover threshold, and rollback window.

  3. Phase 3
    03

    Build and rehearse at scale

    Convert schema and code where needed, move a representative production-sized copy, test application behavior, and time the runbook.

  4. Phase 4
    04

    Cut over and reconcile

    Freeze or synchronize writes, execute the approved switch, validate data and application behavior, monitor the destination, and retain recovery.

Risk

What the database cutover record must settle

Consistency point
State which source position or snapshot the destination represents and how late writes are captured or blocked.
Behavioral compatibility
Test transactions, time zones, collations, sequences, permissions, jobs, and application queries beyond schema conversion.
Go or no-go threshold
Define which reconciliation, lag, performance, and business checks must pass and who can approve an exception.
Rollback and divergence
State how traffic returns to the source and how any destination writes are handled if production acceptance fails.

Scope and price

A focused database migration starts at $15,000.

Start with one database, its application dependencies, compatibility assessment, transfer plan, rehearsal, reconciliation, cutover, and rollback.

The first rehearsal measures transfer time and exposes compatibility work before a production date is promised.

Starting investment

Starts at $15,000

A focused like-for-like migration usually takes six to ten weeks. Cross-engine conversion, high change rates, many applications, regulated evidence, or a short outage window can extend the plan.

No zero-downtime promise before rehearsal

The downtime estimate follows production-sized testing of transfer, catch-up, application switch, and required validation.

Row counts are not final acceptance

Business totals and application behavior must pass alongside structural checks before the destination becomes authoritative.

Related migration and operations services

Common questions

They include source inventory, schema and code assessment, data-quality review, destination design, transfer or replication, conversion, application compatibility testing, rehearsal, reconciliation, cutover, rollback, monitoring, documentation, and handover. The work may be part of a cloud move or an independent engine, version, or hosting change.

No. Low-downtime replication depends on engine support, reliable keys and logs, manageable change rate, compatible schema, network capacity, and an application that can switch connections safely. Some migrations need a write freeze or scheduled outage. We state the expected window only after a production-sized rehearsal measures it.

We compare expected objects, row counts, aggregates, checksums where practical, null and range profiles, referential rules, and high-risk business totals. We also test reads and writes through the application because matching rows do not prove matching query, transaction, collation, sequence, or permission behavior.

A cross-engine move can change data types, defaults, sequences, indexes, constraints, stored procedures, triggers, transaction behavior, collation, date handling, query syntax, and drivers. Automated conversion may provide a starting point, but incompatible objects and application queries need explicit review and testing.

A focused like-for-like migration starts at $15,000 and usually takes six to ten weeks. It includes one database, assessment, transfer design, rehearsal, reconciliation, cutover, rollback, and handover. Cross-engine conversion, high change rates, many applications, very large data sets, regulated evidence, or a short outage window increase scope.

Work with us

Bring the source engine, data size, change rate, and downtime limit.

We will identify compatibility work, choose a defensible transfer method, and define what must pass before the destination accepts production traffic.

  • Scope and cost agreed before work starts. No surprises. No obligation.
  • Working prototype within 3 weeks of kickoff.
  • Pay by milestone. You see progress before each invoice.
  • 60-day post-launch warranty. Bug fixes, UI tweaks, and deployment support. No retainer.
  • All conversations are NDA-protected.