Before you begin any steps to migrate data, you should think about your new Zendesk setup for optimal functionality for your support team. You'll need to complete some of these steps prior to performing your data migration, to ensure an accurate and seamless transfer. Others are up to your discretion, and what will work best for your team.


Must-haves for a Successful Migration

Tackling these items will ensure you've covered all the major components that will directly impact your Zendesk migration. The end result is a mess-free, accurate and efficient data transfer.

1. Agent setup
   One of the first things you should do is to setup all of your support team as agents in Zendesk. Zendesk has options for what permissions you can provide to your agents, depending on the plan your are, which you can find in more detail here.
   
   
   
2. Adding custom fields in Zendesk
   It's likely that you use custom fields to house data specific to your business. If you have those setup in your old helpdesk, you will need to recreate those in Zendesk so there is a place to import that data during the migration. In Zendesk, you can create custom fields on both users and on tickets, to capture any detail you require for your business reporting.
   
   When creating your custom fields, don't forget to select the correct "type" which mirrors that in your previous helpdesk. For example, if a field is setup as a dropdown in your old helpdesk, setup that field as a dropdown with the exact same options in Zendesk.
   
   

Additional Items for Database Functionality

These items are common elements of a standard Zendesk setup. It's helpful to review which you'll find helpful for your support team and your business processes, and plan the best time to set these up (whether before or after your Zendesk data migration).

1. Setup macros/saved replies
   In most cases, you'll have an existing set of macros and/or saved replies from your old system that you wish to carry over into Zendesk. We recommend taking a step back at this stage, and assessing which ones are useful and which may need to be updated or excluded altogether. Then, you can move over exactly what will be best for your team to use once you start receiving tickets in Zendesk.
   
   
   
2. Setup triggers and notifications
   These can be automated notifications to go out to your customers when they submit a ticket, or when your support team updates a submitted ticket, etc. You may wish to setup these automations prior to your migration, but, it is critical that you turn them off before you migrate any data (including test data!).
   
   If you are using Import2 for your data migration, the standard Zendesk notification triggers are bypassed during the migration. However, if you've setup any yourself, it's best to double check and disable those to be safe. This ensures that no unwanted customer notifications go out during the testing or actual migration.

Thinking about your Zendesk setup prior to migration is a very helpful exercise. Even better, completing the setup before you start testing an import can help you visualize how your support team will work in the system and allow you to identify any changes you wish to make before going "live" with your new Zendesk.