Database modernization
Database modernization for databases you are ready to leave.
Four platforms account for most of the requests we see: Oracle, Greenplum, Teradata and Netezza. Each has its own exit path, and each starts with the same question: what does your code assume about the database?
The short answer
Database modernization moves data and the code around it off a costly or closing platform onto a supported one. Common exits are Oracle to PostgreSQL, Greenplum to Apache Cloudberry or Postgres-based MPP, and Teradata or Netezza to Snowflake, Databricks or Postgres. Ace8 converts schema and SQL with tools, then engineers prove the data matches.
Overview
Which database exit fits your platform?
The source platform decides the work. This table is the short version. Each row has its own page.
| Source | Typical targets | Hardest part | Page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle Database | PostgreSQL | PL/SQL packages and Oracle-specific SQL | Oracle to PostgreSQL |
| Greenplum | Apache Cloudberry, WarehousePG, Snowflake, Databricks | Choosing between staying and leaving | Stay, upgrade or exit |
| Teradata | Snowflake, Databricks, Postgres-based MPP | BTEQ scripts, macros and Teradata SQL dialect | Teradata migration |
| Netezza | Snowflake, Databricks, Postgres-based MPP | nzsql scripts, distribution design, loaders | Netezza migration |
| Any warehouse | A lakehouse or cloud warehouse | Downstream reports and feeds | Data warehouse modernization |
Scope
What does a database migration include?
Moving rows is the smaller half of the project. The larger half is everything that talks to the database: stored procedures, views, scheduled jobs, load scripts, drivers, reports and the applications themselves. A migration plan lists all of it before any data moves.
- Schema objects: tables, indexes, constraints, sequences, partitions and views.
- Procedural code: PL/SQL, BTEQ, nzsql scripts and stored procedures.
- Data movement: bulk load for history, change capture for cutover.
- Application changes: drivers, connection strings, query dialect.
- Validation: row counts, checksums and report-level comparison.
- Cutover and rollback, rehearsed at least once.
The platforms
Where to start for each platform
Method
How does Ace8 run a database migration?
The same five steps apply to every source. What changes is the tooling inside each step.
- 1
Inventory
Count objects, lines of procedural code, jobs and consumers. Find what is unused.
- 2
Choose the target
Match workload shape, data volume, skills and cost to a platform. See the assessment.
- 3
Convert
Run schema and code conversion tools, then fix what they flag.
- 4
Move and compare
Bulk load, keep in sync with change capture, and compare results against the source.
- 5
Cut over
Switch consumers in groups, keep the old system read-only until the comparison holds.
Motive
Why are teams leaving these databases now?
None of these means you must leave. Staying is a legitimate answer, and we say so when the numbers support it.
- Licence and support cost that recurs whatever the usage.
- A vendor decision that changes the product: Broadcom closed the Greenplum source in 2024.
- Appliance hardware reaching end of support.
- A move to cloud or a lakehouse, where the old platform fits poorly.
- Engineers who know the old platform are retiring.
After go-live
Who supports the new database?
Ace8 is the modernization practice of AceMQ. For PostgreSQL, OSSeva provides support so a migration does not leave you with an unsupported database. If Greenplum stays, AceMQ supports it. See supported after migration. For regulated industries, see insurance and financial services.
After go-live
Keep it running after cutover.
It is moving data and the code that uses it from an expensive, aging or closing database platform to a supported one. It covers schema, procedural code, data, applications and validation.
Oracle to PostgreSQL, Greenplum to a Postgres-based MPP or a cloud warehouse, and Teradata or Netezza to Snowflake or Databricks.
It depends on object count, procedural code volume and how many consumers read the data. A single application database can take weeks. A warehouse with hundreds of jobs takes months. The assessment gives the range for yours.
Often close to it. Change data capture keeps the target in sync, so the cutover window can be short. Some sources and workloads still need a planned pause.
No. Support for Greenplum continues through AceMQ. The decision is covered on the stay, upgrade or exit page.
AI-assisted tools help convert SQL and procedural code. Deterministic converters such as ora2pg handle much of the mechanical work. Engineers test and review everything.
Know the cost before anything moves.
A fixed-price assessment gives you the inventory, the risk score and a phased plan. Scope and cost are fixed before the migration starts.
Book a Fixed-Price AssessmentGet in touch
Talk to a modernization engineer
Tell us what you run today. An engineer, not a sales script, replies within one business day.