Database Migration Services

Overview

Move Your Data Without Moving Your Business Offline

NCS plans and delivers database migrations across Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL and cloud platforms. Every migration starts with a full discovery of schemas, dependencies, integrations and licensing so nothing surprises you mid-cutover.

We rehearse the move before we make it. Dry runs, reconciliation checks and a documented rollback plan mean your cutover window is short, predictable and reversible if the numbers do not match.

NCS engineers planning a database migration cutover

What we offer

Our Database Migration Services

From first assessment to post-migration tuning, we take responsibility for the whole path, not just the copy step.

Migration Assessment & Discovery01

Migration Assessment & Discovery

We map your current estate, data volumes, integrations and compliance obligations, then size the effort and risk honestly before any work is committed.

Target Platform & Migration Strategy02

Target Platform & Migration Strategy

Lift and shift, re-platform or full modernisation. We recommend the target and the method based on your performance, licensing and cost objectives.

Migration Execution & Cutover03

Migration Execution & Cutover

Schema conversion, data transfer, replication-based sync and a tightly managed cutover window with named owners and a rehearsed rollback path.

Validation, Tuning & Handover04

Validation, Tuning & Handover

Row-level reconciliation, performance tuning on the new platform and documentation your team can actually run the environment from.

Planning a migration this year?

Start with a migration readiness assessment. You get a phased plan, risk register and realistic downtime estimate.

Get a free consultation

Advantages of Choosing NCS

Migrations go wrong quietly. Our process is built to surface problems before your users do.

  • Minimal DowntimeReplication and phased cutover techniques keep the outage window to minutes rather than weekends.
  • Zero Data LossRow and checksum level reconciliation proves the target matches the source before we sign off.
  • Better Performance AfterWe tune indexes, queries and configuration on the target platform, so the new estate is faster, not just newer.
  • Licensing ClarityWe model licence impact before you move, avoiding compliance exposure and unexpected renewal costs.
  • Any Source, Any TargetHomogeneous and heterogeneous migrations across Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Azure and AWS.
  • Rehearsed, Not ImprovisedDry runs in a mirrored environment mean the production cutover is a repeat, not a first attempt.

Why choose

Why choose NCS

We have migrated business-critical databases for UK organisations for over two decades, including estates where an hour of downtime is measured in lost revenue. That experience shows up as fewer surprises and shorter cutovers.

01

Discovery Before Delivery

We refuse to quote a migration blind. Discovery maps dependencies, batch windows, integrations and data quality issues that would otherwise derail the cutover.

02

Reversible By Design

Every cutover has a documented rollback with a decision point and an owner, so you are never committed to a migration that is failing its checks.

03

Support After Go-Live

We stay with you through hypercare, monitoring performance and resolving the issues that only appear under real production load.

Frequently Asked Questions

Most migrations complete with a cutover window of minutes to a few hours. Using replication or log shipping we keep the target in sync with the source, so the final switch is a short, controlled step rather than a bulk copy.

Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB and cloud services including Azure SQL, AWS RDS, Aurora and Oracle Cloud. We handle both like-for-like and cross-platform migrations.

We reconcile row counts, checksums and business-critical aggregates between source and target, and validate application behaviour against the new platform before sign-off. Nothing is decommissioned until reconciliation passes.

Yes. We assess whether lift and shift, managed database services or full modernisation gives the best cost and performance outcome, then deliver the migration and tune the target environment.

Every migration has a documented rollback plan with a defined decision point. If validation checks fail, we revert to the source platform with no data loss and reschedule after fixing the root cause.

A single database can move in a few weeks. Larger estates with heavy integration and compliance requirements typically run three to six months, delivered in phases so value lands early.

We start with a full discovery of all dependencies and integrations to ensure nothing surprises you during the move. We map these connections early to size the effort and risk accurately before work begins.

Yes, we stay with you through a hypercare period to monitor performance and resolve issues that only appear under production load. We also provide documentation so your team can effectively run the new environment.

Contact us

Ready to migrate without the downtime risk?

Talk to our migration specialists about a readiness assessment for your database estate.

Prefer to talk? Call us on 020 3326 7268

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