# How We Migrated to Unity Catalog with Zero Downtime and Faster Deployment for a Retail Client

Flipp is a leading retail technology platform that connects millions of shoppers with retailers and brands. They required a migration of their Databricks...

_2025-09-30 · Retail & Supply Chain · Data & Analytics_

## At a glance

Flipp is a leading retail technology platform that connects millions of shoppers with retailers and brands. They required a migration of their Databricks workspace to Unity Catalog to strengthen governance, enable zero-downtime migration, and modernize notebook management processes.

## Challenge: Legacy workspace with governance and efficiency gaps

The client's existing non-Unity Catalog AWS Databricks workspace posed several challenges:

- No centralized governance, making metadata management and access control inconsistent.
- Asset migration carried the risk of downtime, potentially disrupting workflows and downstream applications.
- Limited automation for notebook versioning and deployment led to manual overhead and delays.

These issues restricted scalability, added risks to operations, and slowed delivery cycles.

## Solution: Migration to Unity Catalog with automated governance and deployment pipelines

At zeb, our experts developed and implemented a comprehensive migration approach that modernized governance, streamlined operations, and ensured business continuity.

- **Workspace Migration to Unity Catalog:** Migrated all assets from the legacy Databricks workspace into a Unity Catalog–enabled workspace, establishing a centralized metastore for governance and accessibility.
- **Asset Migration and Validation:** Built a private network using VPN and site-to-site connections for secure integration with on-premises & API-based source systems, and validated data to ensure reliability.
- **CI/CD Integration with GitHub:** Leveraged GitHub for version control of Databricks notebooks, integrating CI/CD pipelines to automate deployment and streamline migrations across production and non-production.
- **Metastore Configuration:** Configured a new metastore in Unity Catalog on AWS, enabling unified governance and secure access control for all migrated assets.

## Benefits: Centralized governance, seamless migration, and automated notebook management

- **Unified Data Governance:** Introduced Unity Catalog to centralize metadata management, improving data discoverability and compliance. Streamlined access control across the organization using a single metastore.
- **Zero-Downtime Asset Migration:** Migrated all assets seamlessly without disrupting existing workflows or downstream applications, ensuring operational continuity with rigorous validation processes.
- **Automated Notebook Management:** Integrated GitHub with CI/CD pipelines for efficient notebook version control and deployment, reducing manual effort and accelerating delivery cycles across environments.

## Partner with zeb today

Modernizing your data environment doesn't need to be disruptive. At zeb, as a trusted Databricks partner, we specialize in cloud-native platforms, Databricks, and data governance solutions that deliver scalable, secure, and efficient outcomes for enterprises.

**Let's connect and explore how we can help accelerate your data modernization journey.**