Success Story: Migrating 12 Million Records from Zuora to Chargebee

Upgrading your enterprise billing system is a strategic opportunity to increase the efficiency of your operations and create a better quality customer experience. Given the complexity and scale that come with an enterprise-level business, these transitions require meticulous planning and an appropriate level of support to ensure success.

This blog narrates the success story of a leading media giant that collaborated with Chargebee to migrate 12 million records from Zuora to Chargebee. This transition involved more than just data transfer; it ensured seamless customer continuity across eight distinct entities and mobile subscriptions, all within a challenging five-month deadline. We’ll explore the meticulous planning, innovative problem-solving, and strategic execution that contributed to the successful completion of this massive migration within the ambitious timeframe. If you want additional insights on migration strategies, check out our blog on migration best practices.

Overcoming data export challenges

The first stage of this migration involved unraveling Zuora’s complex data structure. Numerous tables, intricate dependencies, and the need to export data with all mappings intact posed a significant challenge. Zuora’s export API lacked field mapping capabilities, and ZOQL (Zuora Object Query Language) restricted data extraction to 50,000 records at a time. We combined data queries to identity field mapping and the ZOQL to migrate over 12 million records to manage the large data volume effectively.

From inaccuracies to integrity: The ETL advantage

Once the data was extracted from Zuora’s system, the next step was to address data inaccuracies. Some previous billing logic no longer matched the business requirements, and a few subscriptions had negative subscription amounts. We needed to handle these inaccuracies before importing them into Chargebee. Chargebee’s robust ETL pipeline, powered by Talend ETL, automates the extraction, transformation, and loading process. We used the Talend Data integration tool to transform and import the data. We also identified and handled any edge cases during our data analysis. This process ensured accuracy and efficiency, laying a solid foundation for future migrations.

Testing the arena

A successful migration requires rigorous testing to ensure everything works flawlessly before the final transition. Before importing the data to Chargebee’s live site, we migrated the data onto a test site and set up a billing workflow to verify the configurations and ensure reporting was accurate. We did extensive testing and data checks with the client. Once the client was confident with the data and workflows, we migrated the data to the live site. Then, our team and the client’s team did another round of verification and validation to ensure all data points were accurate.

Cutting downtime with phased data import

The next step was to strategically pre-load data into Chargebee before the migration day to minimize downtime and ensure zero impact on end customers. The Chargebee team pre-imported data to the live Chargebee site in batches over two weeks, accounting for ongoing changes in the source system. During this period, our team also identified delta changes and transformed and imported them before the final migration day. This approach minimized the volume of changes needed during the live migration, saving time and reducing business downtime to four hours. Pre-loading key data elements in advance reduced downtime and boosted confidence for the final transition.

Go-live – The showtime!

A go-live day requires meticulous planning and precise execution to ensure success. Extensive planning sessions, API optimizations, and timeline alignment facilitated a seamless transition. By increasing API limits and allocating dedicated resources, the team completed the migration in just five months, significantly faster than the 10 months it took for previous migrations with Zuora.

Key elements that made the migration process successful 

API limit expansion: To improve the performance of the data load, we increased the API limit significantly, allowing for a faster flow of information and helping us complete the live migration in 9 weeks. 

Preloaded live environment: The production environment was prepped with data four weeks before going live, minimizing downtime during the final migration.

Delta approach mastery: A well-defined delta migration strategy ensured that only new or updated data was migrated during the final push, reducing downtime.

The Strategic Impact of Successful Migration

Ultimately, this migration story isn’t just about data—it’s about strategic foresight, innovation, and the resilience needed to overcome challenges. By opting for Chargebee, the media giant streamlined operations and accelerated its growth, completing the migration in just five months—a stark improvement over the 12-month process with Zuora.

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