Data Migration to Garradin for a National Wealth Provider

A leading Australian wealth and retirement provider initiated a strategic program to transition its core registry operations to Bravura's Garradin platform, aiming to modernise its technology stack, improve data quality, and streamline operational processes. With more than 65,000 client records spanning 30 years of historical data and multiple product sets, the migration required precision, strong governance, and a repeatable approach to ensure continuity for advisers, members, and internal teams.

The program carried significant business importance: the new platform underpinned future product flexibility, reporting uplift, and operational efficiency. The migration needed to be delivered with minimal disruption, tight regulatory alignment, and a high degree of confidence in data integrity. Desda was engaged to lead the end-to-end ETLR workstream, applying a structured, transparent, and quality-driven approach from scoping through to hyper-care.

~65K

Client records migrated

Data entities mapped

Critical defects at go-live

100%

Reconciliation accuracy

The Challenge

The client sought to migrate all member and client data from an ageing registry platform into Garradin while maintaining business continuity and meeting strict regulatory obligations. The legacy system had inconsistent data structures, historical anomalies, and limited documentation — all of which increased the complexity of mapping and transformation.

The migration also needed to align with a broader program timeline involving platform configuration, integration uplift, and operational readiness. This created dependencies, sequencing constraints, and a narrow window for testing cycles. The stakes were high: inaccurate or incomplete data migration would directly impact members, advisers, and compliance outcomes.

Systems in Scope

Legacy Registry (Oracle) — source of 65K records
Garradin — target registry platform
ETL Tooling — MS SQL, Pentaho, R-based validation scripts

Key Complexities

Fragmented and inconsistently structured legacy data requiring deep analysis and cleansing.
Regulatory obligations around member data accuracy, historical preservation, and auditability.
Multiple transformation layers across SQL, Pentaho, and R-based validation scripts.
Tight sequencing between trials, defect cycles, exception handling, and sign-off gates.
High-stakes go-live window with no tolerance for member-impacting errors.

Our Approach

Desda applied a structured ETLR methodology anchored by a comprehensive mapping playbook, a repeatable trial-execution framework, and a strong governance model. Each phase emphasised transparency, traceability, and quality — ensuring every transformation was understood, validated, and signed off by the client before progressing.

1. Scope Definition

Established the full migration scope, including all data entities, dependencies, and quality expectations. Facilitated workshops to confirm inclusions/exclusions and documented the ETLR strategy. This created a clear baseline for all downstream work.

2. Data Mapping & Sign-Off

Obtained source and target schemas, analysed structural differences, and produced detailed mapping artefacts across ~15 data entities. Conducted iterative walkthroughs with SMEs and secured formal sign-off, ensuring alignment before development commenced.

3. ETL Development

Developed SQL-based extraction and transformation logic and Pentaho workflows to automate the end-to-end load process. Ensured modularity, reusability, and clear logging to support repeatable trial execution.

4. Independent R-Script Validation

Built R-based validation scripts to independently verify transformation outcomes, reconcile record counts and field-to-field matching, and detect anomalies. This dual-layer validation significantly strengthened quality assurance and reduced downstream defects.

5. Trials, Dress Rehearsal & Go-Live

Executed multiple trial migrations, resolving defects, agreeing exceptions, and refining mappings after each cycle. Conducted a full dress rehearsal to confirm readiness, followed by a controlled go-live and structured hyper-care period.

Outcomes

The migration was delivered successfully, with all ~65,000 records transitioned to Garradin with complete traceability and no critical issues. The client gained a modernised registry platform with improved data quality, stronger reporting foundations, and a repeatable migration framework for future transitions.

Desda's structured approach, transparent governance, and dual-layer validation model gave the client confidence at every stage — from initial scoping through to hyper-care — ensuring a smooth transition with minimal operational disruption.

Go-Live: Near-Zero Member Impact

100% reconciliation accuracy across all mapped entities
Independent R-script validation ensured data integrity and auditability
Strengthened compliance posture through complete transformation traceability
Delivered on schedule with no critical defects

What Was Achieved

A fully reconciled migration of ~65,000 client records with zero critical defects.
15 data entities mapped, transformed, validated, and signed off.
Dual-layer quality assurance (SQL/Pentaho + R scripts) reducing defects across trials.
Independent validation artefacts supporting audit and regulatory assurance.
A reusable ETLR framework and mapping library handed back to the client.
Improved data quality, operational efficiency, and platform readiness for future growth.

"The validation approach gave us confidence at every stage — strong governance and transparency throughout, with clear documentation supporting audit and compliance."
— Client feedback

Why Desda

Desda was the right partner for this engagement due to our deep data-migration expertise, sector knowledge, and proven ETLR methodology. Our structured, transparent, and quality-driven approach ensured the client achieved a clean, confident transition to Garradin.

Deep superannuation and wealth-sector expertise
Hands-on registry and data-migration capability
Proven structured delivery approach
Track record delivering complex migrations at scale