In the world of ERP implementations, a controversial truth remains largely unaddressed: technical expertise alone is woefully insufficient for data migration success. While organisations continue to prioritise technical capabilities when staffing these critical roles, they repeatedly overlook the equally vital client-facing and interpersonal skills that ultimately determine project outcomes.
The Uncomfortable Reality
The notion that a data migration specialist can succeed purely on technical merit is a dangerous misconception perpetuated across the industry. This perspective has led to countless implementation failures characterised by technically sound migrations that nevertheless failed to meet business objectives. The reason is clear yet controversial: data migration is fundamentally a people problem disguised as a technical challenge.
Many technical professionals will bristle at this assertion. After all, data migration involves complex technical tasks: data mapping, transformation logic, validation protocols, and execution strategies. But this perspective misses a crucial insight: these technical elements exist to serve business objectives defined, understood, and evaluated by non-technical stakeholders.
Why Client-Facing Skills Are Non-Negotiable
The data migration specialist occupies a unique position at the intersection of technical implementation and business process. This role requires not just translating business requirements into technical specifications, but also navigating organisational politics, managing stakeholder expectations, and driving consensus across diverse business units.
Consider these critical capabilities that purely technical approaches fail to address:
1. Extracting the Unspoken Requirements
Technical requirements documents rarely capture the complete picture. Business stakeholders often cannot articulate their data needs comprehensively until they see the results—and by then, it's often too late.
A data migration specialist with strong interpersonal skills can:
Read between the lines during requirement gathering
Identify unstated assumptions before they become issues
Recognise when stakeholders don't fully understand the implications of their requests
Negotiate realistic solutions when requirements conflict
2. Managing the Inevitable Scope Evolution
Despite the best planning efforts, data requirements evolve throughout an ERP implementation. New business processes emerge, regulatory requirements change, and organisational priorities shift.
The effective data migration professional must:
Communicate impacts of changing requirements to both technical and business teams
Negotiate reasonable timelines when scope expands
Build credibility that allows for difficult conversations about trade-offs
Present technical constraints in business-relevant terms
3. Driving Data Governance Accountability
Perhaps the most controversial aspect: data migration specialists must often challenge powerful stakeholders about the quality and governance of their data. This requires significant interpersonal skill to avoid becoming the scapegoat for pre-existing data issues.
This includes the ability to:
Hold business units accountable for data cleansing without alienating them
Escalate governance issues effectively when they threaten project timelines
Transform data quality conversations from technical discussions into business risk discussions
Build coalitions across departments to address cross-functional data challenges
The Measurable Benefits of Client-Facing Skills
Organisations that prioritise both technical and interpersonal capabilities in their data migration professionals realise several measurable benefits:
1. More Accurate Initial Scoping
Data migration specialists who can effectively engage with business stakeholders produce more accurate initial estimates, reducing costly mid-project adjustments. They identify potential issues earlier by recognising hesitation or uncertainty in stakeholder responses.
2. Higher Business Adoption Rates
When data migration is led by professionals who can explain technical concepts in business terms, stakeholders develop greater confidence in the migration process. This leads to higher adoption rates and fewer post-implementation complaints about data quality or functionality.
3. More Effective Resource Allocation
Strong communicators can articulate resource needs more effectively to project leadership, ensuring data migration activities receive appropriate attention and resources. They can justify additional cleansing resources or timeline adjustments with business-relevant rationales.
4. Reduced Implementation Risk
Perhaps most importantly, data migration professionals with strong interpersonal skills reduce overall implementation risk by:
Creating early warning systems through stakeholder relationships
Resolving cross-functional conflicts before they impact timelines
Building trust that facilitates faster decision-making
Managing expectations realistically throughout the project lifecycle
The Path Forward
The industry must acknowledge this controversial reality: technical skills alone are necessary but insufficient for data migration success. Organisations must evolve their hiring and development practices to prioritise both technical acumen and interpersonal capabilities.
This shift requires:
Redefining job descriptions to emphasise communication and stakeholder management
Incorporating interpersonal skill assessment into the interview process
Providing communication and conflict resolution training to technical specialists
Recognising and rewarding both technical and interpersonal contributions
For technical professionals in this space, the message is clear but challenging: developing client-facing skills is not optional—it's essential to your effectiveness and career progression. The most successful data migration specialists are those who can bridge the persistent gap between technical possibility and business reality.
The controversial truth remains: in data migration, how you engage with people ultimately determines your technical success. Those unwilling to develop these skills will find themselves increasingly limited in their ability to deliver successful outcomes, regardless of their technical expertise.