"Ric" wrote
| What may happen is that teh new systems will need to have the
| old data rolled onto them. Its quite a job really. Especially
| if its a new software system they are using.
| Yes, but as part of the development of the new system, processes
| to amalgamate the old data will be incorporated. It wouldn't be
| a case of a thousand monkeys copying all the data from one screen
| to another - it would programmatically be transferred from the
| old database and really shoudn't take very long.

It depends on how old their existing computer system is and how easy it is
to get the data off it in a form intelligible by the new system. Sometimes
it is cheaper and quicker to use skilled data preparation personnel. I once
worked in a toffee factory for three weeks retyping last year's copy
invoices into next year's accounts system.

Owain