Who is this article for?

Administrators and IT Administrators who want to learn more about the database infrastructure.

No elevated access or permissions are required.

This article provides answers to frequently asked questions about upcoming infrastructure improvements. Our goal is to keep you informed about what’s changing, why these changes are necessary, and how they may impact your experience. 

We want to ensure you feel confident and supported throughout this transition.

1. Overview

As part of our ongoing commitment to improving system performance, scalability, and long-term sustainability, we are upgrading our database infrastructure. This initiative is a critical component of our broader strategy to modernise our technology stack and deliver a faster, more reliable experience for our users.

2. Benefits

Performance and scalability

• Optimised Storage and Network Efficiency: Enhancements reduce latency and improve overall application stability.
• Support for High-Concurrency Workloads: Designed to handle large datasets and multiple users simultaneously, ensuring smoother and faster operations.

Security and compliance

• Modern Encryption Standards: Enhanced data protection through up-to-date security protocols.
• Improved Regulatory Compliance: Aligned with the latest standards to support your organisation’s governance and data protection needs.

Advanced data capabilities

• Support for Modern Data Types: Enables more flexible and innovative data handling, paving the way for future updates.

3. Frequently asked questions

General migration questions

1. Why is Ideagen performing this infrastructure modernisation?

 This Infrastructure modernisation provides enhanced performance, better scalability, and improved reliability for IQM Professional. It ensures we can continue delivering robust quality management capabilities while reducing infrastructure complexity and supporting long-term platform growth.

2. When will the infrastructure modernisation take place? 

The modernisation timeline will be communicated individually to each customer based on your validation status and operational constraints. We'll work with you to schedule the upgrade during a maintenance window that minimises impact to your operations.

3. Will there be any downtime during the modernisation? 

Yes, there will be a planned maintenance window during the upgrade. The duration depends on your database size and complexity, typically ranging from 4-8 hours. We'll coordinate timing with you in advance.

Validation and compliance 

4. Will this modernisation affect my validated system status? 

It is recommended that the infrastructure upgrade be assessed by all regulated/validated customers to determine the extent of revalidation activities required based on internal procedures and intended use cases. 

5. What validation documentation will Ideagen provide? 

As the migration requires a minimum IQM software version 7.9.0.1, Ideagen will provide Phase I software validation package paperwork up to and including the 7.9.0.1 release documentation. This includes: Validation Strategy Plan, Impact Assessment, System Requirement Specification, Installation & Operation Qualification (IOQ), Trace Matrix, Validation Summary, and all related addendums required for a comprehensive validation package to support IQM software. It is the customer’s responsibility to assess the documentation and release notes for impact and determine any supplementary validation work required, as well as internalising according to the customer’s specific change control process for validated systems/inventory. Ideagen can be contracted upon request for additional validation services and support (see Question 9 below).  

6. Do we need to perform a full revalidation or can we do a change control? 

The extent of revalidation requirements depends on your internal procedures. use case and approach to software risk/assessment. We recommend consulting with your Quality/Validation team to determine the appropriate approach per your SOPs.

7. Will all our existing data be preserved during the upgrade? 

Yes, complete data integrity is maintained. All records, documents, workflows, audit trails, electronic signatures, and historical data will be migrated with full fidelity. 

8. How will you verify data integrity after the modernisation? 

We conduct automated data integrity verification including record count reconciliation, checksum validation, and schema integrity checks. 

9. What supplementary validation documentation can Ideagen provide to support our revalidation efforts? 

Ideagen provides comprehensive packages for validated releases that inherently include baseline validation documentation, as described in Question 5 above. Additionally, CompliancePath can be contracted to provide additional supplemental validation services (“Phase 2”), including:

• Installation Qualification (IQ) protocol(s) and report(s) for the client’s live database
• Performance Qualification (PQ) protocol and report for assessing and testing the client’s workflows based on client configuration and workflow impact/risk
• Traceability matrices
• Final summary report summarizing all Phase 2 validation deliverables

10. Where can I find details related to the operational, functional and performance-related changes imposed by modernisation to assess impact?

The following inherent documentation is provided to clients migrating to modernised infrastructure: 7.9 & 7.9.0.1 release notes, Additional modernisation release notes/evaluation paperwork and Phase 1 validation package documentation referenced in Question 5

Functional impact

11. Will there be any changes to IQMP functionality or user interface? 

The infrastructure modernisation itself is a backend change only. However, as part of the modernisation process, your system will be upgraded to IQMP v7.9.0.1 or a higher version that is available at time of upgrade, which includes user interface and user experience enhancements in the Workload area. These improvements modernise the interface and streamline task management workflows. All other functionality, workflows, and interfaces outside the Workload enhancements remains unchanged. Each customer should review impact of the upgrade on their instance/use case (including consideration of 7.9.0.1 changes and new feature enhancements, see IQMP v 7.9 & 7.9.0.1 release notes for more details) and determine best course of action for functionality, workflow and interface assessment and testing. Compliance Path can be contracted to assist with assessment and/or testing upon request

12. Will our integrations continue to work after the upgrade? 

Yes, all standard integrations including APIs, SSO, will continue functioning without modification. If you have concerns or queries with any of your existing integrations, please email your concerns to IQM-P.Modernisation@ideagen.com or reach out to your account manager.

Planning and preparation

13. What preparation is required on our end before the upgrade? 

If you use Single Sign-On (SSO), self-manage your desktop client, or access services via the mobile app, action will be required on your part to ensure a smooth transition and uninterrupted access. Please refer to Quality Management hosted customer upgrade announcement for detailed guidance on the steps you need to take.  If none of these apply to you, no action is required.  If you self manage your desktop client, please let us know by emailing to IQM-P.Modernisation@ideagen.com so that we can schedule the upgrade without affecting your operations.

14. Can we perform UAT (User Acceptance Testing) before going live? 

Yes, we strongly recommend UAT. We can provide a test environment with your upgraded data for validation testing before cutting over to production.

15. What happens if issues are discovered during the upgrade? 

Full Backups are taken before any upgrade. We have rollback procedures to restore your previous environment if critical issues arise. Your production system remains protected.

Support

16. What if we encounter issues after the modernisation is complete? 

Please raise a support ticket. Upgrade-related issues receive priority handling and will aim to provide a resolution as soon as possible.

17. Can we delay the modernisation if needed? 

We understand operational constraints in regulated environments. Please reach out to your Account Manager to discuss timings or email to IQM-P.Modernisation@ideagen.com

Technical infrastructure changes

18. What specific infrastructure components are changing as part of the modernisation?  

The modernisation involves migrating the database engine to Aurora PostgreSQL. The attachment data has now been moved and is stored in Amazon S3.

19. Are there any changes to server specifications or hosting provider? 

No. Your existing server infrastructure remains unchanged. The modernisation is limited to the database layer only.

20. Will any configurations that may impact data integrity be changed (e.g., backup procedures)? 

Backup procedures will need updating to accommodate the new database format. We'll provide detailed documentation on backup configuration changes. All backup processes maintain the same data integrity standards and regulatory compliance requirements. We'll work with your IT team to ensure backup procedures are properly configured and validated.

21. Will our actual data be changed or modified in any way? 

No. All your data—including records, documents, workflows, audit trails, electronic signatures, and historical information—remains completely unchanged. The modernisation only changes the underlying database platform and storage mechanism, not the data itself. 

Relationship to IQMP version updates

22. Will my product version change? 

The infrastructure modernisation requires upgrading to the latest IQMP version available at the time of modernisation, which is currently v7.90.1.   

23. Can the infrastructure modernisation be performed at the same time as upgrading to v7.9.0.1? 

Yes, the infrastructure modernisation and IQMP version upgrade occur together as a combined activity during a single maintenance window. This consolidates the change into one validation event, streamlining your revalidation efforts and change control documentation.