Operations and Asset Management
Plan and track maintenance, failures and work orders by asset.
Migration
If you are changing systems.
Migration is a method, not a risk. Measurement, not guesswork.
Replacing a system means finding the work that actually lives in the old tool and moving it completely to the new place before shutting down the old tool’s license.
Butterfly doesn’t have to replace your existing systems; it can sit on top of them and manage the work between them. If needed, it can replace all of your work management, asset and maintenance, and approval/BPM tools.
Organizations that trust Butterfly
Which system are you moving off?
Three migration paths, one method.
01
Work management
With project, issue, sprint and time log history
89 projects · same day 02Asset and maintenance
Assets, periodic and meter-based maintenance, failures
~55,000 assets · ~2.5 months 03Approval and BPM
Approval flows, forms and steps that spill over into email
Payment approval for 6,000 employees
Method
Measure first, then migrate.
Every migration follows the same 6 steps; no irreversible step is taken without control.
Discovery
which system you’re moving off and why; process owners and the decision maker
Measured inventory
structure (projects, fields, workflows, scripts, integrations, permissions) and usage (record volume, flows that actually run)
Target design
data model, state machines and integrations in Butterfly, plus an open questions list with blockers flagged
Pilot
testing the riskiest process with the organization’s own data
Phased migration
data transfer, parallel running, comparison of metrics with the legacy system
Closure
cutover, freezing and shutting down the legacy system
The hard parts of migration
Today
Known risks, measured answers.
The five concerns we hear most often in migration conversations, and our answer to each.
With Butterfly
We measure first. We read the source system’s structure and usage data, and compare what is documented, what is installed and what is actually used.
OutcomeUnused structures are not migrated; hidden scope is visible from the start.We split the migration into phases. We pilot the riskiest process with a small team first, then migrate gradually.
OutcomeEven under schedule pressure, no irreversible step is taken without control.We leave changes to you. Process steps, approval rules, forms and permissions are stored as data on the platform; a change is configuration, not software.
OutcomeThe process owner makes changes on their own schedule.We bring steps from email back into the process. Steps that spill over into email, such as additional documents and additional approvals, are added to the flow with a rules table.
OutcomeOff-record work comes back on record; the audit trail is complete.We run both systems together for a while. Butterfly runs on top of existing systems; during the migration, the old and new systems run integrated or in parallel.
OutcomeChange becomes controlled configuration, not a one-off project.Readiness test
How ready is your organization for migration?
8 questions, two minutes. For each question, pick the answer closest to you; at the end, see your migration scorecard and the first steps you should take.
- Data
- Connections
- Validation
- Team and cutover
Approval and BPM
When moving off your approval system.
In approval tools with fixed forms, the process spills over into email and off-the-record work grows. In Butterfly, approval steps, forms and permissions are stored as data; a change is configuration, not a software project. Additional approval and document steps that spill over into email are brought back into the process with a rules table.
Payroll for 6,000 employees is sent to the bank through a dual e-signature approval flow; approvals are routed to the relevant manager according to the organizational hierarchy (in production).
Approval and BPM migrations follow the same method: measured inventory, pilot, phased migration.
Approval and BPM migrations follow the same method: measured inventory, pilot, phased migration.
From the field
Migrations by the Numbers
Customer names are not shared for confidentiality reasons.
89 projects · 32,000+ issuessame-day migration from a work management tool (our own use)
~55,000assets migrated from a legacy asset and maintenance system (in production)
~2.5 monthsasset and maintenance migration duration (in production)
6,000 employeespayroll payments, through a dual e-signature flow that replaced the legacy approval tool (in production)
Frequently asked
Short answers about migration.
Do we have to replace all our systems to move to Butterfly?
No; Butterfly can sit on top of your existing systems and manage the flow, rules and visibility between them. If you want to replace a system, it’s done gradually, based on a measured inventory.
What access do you need for the assessment?
Read-only access to the source system or database, or a representative export; actual usage data; existing documentation, if any; and short interviews with process owners. No live changes are made to the current system.
If we decide not to migrate after the assessment, what do we have?
You have a complete and current description of your application: a capability inventory, process flows with their real exceptions, and proven pain points. This document can be used regardless of the migration decision.
Are our historical records migrated too?
Yes; work history, comments, attachments, time logs and change history can be migrated. If needed, very high-volume technical transaction history is left accessible in an archive instead of being moved to the new system.