Migrate from Gladly to Unthread

MIGRATION OVERVIEW

Why teams migrate from Gladly to Unthread

There is no native migration path from Gladly to Unthread. Gladly uses a person-centric model where all interactions across channels are threaded into a single lifelong conversation per customer, while Unthread tracks discrete Slack-based tickets with defined lifecycle states, assignees, and SLA clocks. Migration requires custom ETL work to extract Gladly data via its Export API, split continuous customer timelines into individual tickets using deterministic heuristics, remap customer and agent identities to Slack users or Unthread Customer objects, and load the transformed data through Unthread's REST API—all while respecting strict rate limits, attachment constraints, and data truncation thresholds on both platforms.

KEY CHALLENGES

What makes this migration complex

These are the architectural mismatches and technical hurdles specific to a Gladly to Unthread migration.

Most Critical

Lifelong Conversation Timeline Splitting

Gladly stores all customer interactions as a single continuous timeline per person, which must be segmented into many discrete Unthread tickets using deterministic splitting rules based on time gaps, topic changes, or channel switches.

Customer Identity Resolution

Gladly merges customer profiles across all channels into one record, but Unthread ties conversations to Slack users, requiring historical identities to be remapped to Slack accounts or represented as external user profiles and Unthread Customer objects.

API Rate Limits and Truncation

Gladly enforces a strict 10-requests-per-second rate limit across all HTTP methods and caps conversation timeline responses at 1,000 items, meaning high-volume customers may have truncated data unless the bulk Export API is used.

Attachment Format and Size Constraints

Gladly stores attachments across email, chat, voice, and social channels, but Unthread is constrained by Slack's limits of 10 files per message and 20MB per file, requiring filtering and restructuring during migration.

Export File Expiration and Format

Gladly's Export API generates .jsonl files that expire after 14 days and may silently exclude conversation items with invalid attributes, requiring immediate automated downloads and careful data completeness validation.

No Native Integration or Migration Path

iPaaS tools like Zapier and Make can handle basic field mapping for forward sync but cannot perform the structural data model transformation required to split Gladly timelines into discrete Unthread tickets.

COMPLETE COVERAGE

Intelligent Human-Verified Data Mapping

Our migration engineer precisely maps every data point from Gladly to Unthread, ensuring perfect continuity for your customer support operations.

Customer (Profile)

Customers

Conversation

Conversations

Conversation Item

Messages

Topic

Every migration risk, already solved

Migration between platforms is full of edge cases. Our engineers have identified every risk from Gladly to Unthread and built proven solutions for each one.

Migration Challenge ClonePartner Status

High Complexity —

Solved

Conversation History

Gladly's lifelong conversation timelines must be split into discrete tickets using custom heuristics, and the timeline API truncates at 1,000 items per conversation without further pagination.

Solved

Customer Profiles

Gladly's merged multi-channel customer profiles have no direct equivalent in Unthread's Slack-centric model, especially for B2C customers who are not Slack users.

Solved

SLA and Resolution Metadata

Gladly does not use discrete ticket statuses or SLA clocks in the same way as Unthread, so resolution states and timing data must be inferred and reconstructed from conversation timestamps and splitting logic.

Solved

Custom Engineering —

Handled

Attachments

Attachments from email, chat, and social channels must be filtered and restructured to comply with Slack's 10-file-per-message and 20MB-per-file limits.

Handled

Agent Assignments

Gladly agent identities must be remapped to Slack user accounts in Unthread, and historical assignment changes within a single Gladly conversation must be correctly distributed across split tickets.

Handled

Topics and Tags

Gladly topics serve as both categorization and splitting signals, and must be mapped to Unthread ticket types or tags with potential many-to-one or one-to-many relationships.

Handled

Timestamps and Chronology

Preserving correct message ordering across split tickets is critical, and webhook retry behavior on both platforms can introduce ordering drift during migration.

Handled

Custom Fields

Any custom attributes on Gladly customer profiles or conversations require manual mapping to Unthread's data model, with no automated schema translation available.

Handled

Clean Transfer

Channel Metadata

Gladly tracks the originating channel (email, chat, voice, SMS, social) per interaction, but Unthread is Slack-native so channel provenance becomes informational metadata rather than a functional attribute.

Clean

3 high-complexity solved

5 custom-engineered

1 clean transfers

CUSTOM MIGRATION

Fully customizable engineer-led migration

Tailor your migration from Gladly to Unthread exactly to your needs with our flexible customization options. Our experts will configure the perfect migration plan for your business.

Migration Filters

Data Types

ZERO DOWNTIME

Your timeline. Our engineers.

A dedicated engineer runs your migration, planned around your schedule and your data.

No babysitting a wizard. Avoid debugging errors yourself.

Looking for a more detailed migration timeline?

Contact our team

Speed

The migration timeline depends on both our turnaround time and yours.

We can complete a migration in under a day when the accounts are connected and the sample migration is approved promptly.

Background Sync

We also support migrating the newest records first, so you can go live faster while the rest of the data is synced in the background.

Data Volume Impact

Larger data volumes may require longer migration windows.

Continuous Operation

Weekend migrations minimize disruption to your customer service operations.

MIGRATION TIMELINE

Your Gladly to Unthread migration, step by step

See how long your migration will take from start to finish. Drag the slider to estimate based on your data volume.

How many records are you migrating?

<10K 50K 100K 250K 500K 1M 2M 5M 10M+

Checklist ~3 days

Sample 1 day

Review ~2 days

Full 2 days

Delta 1 day

Your team ClonePartner

Estimated total

~9 business days

Migration Checklist

1 day · ClonePartner ~2 days · Your team

We prepare the optimal data mapping as a shareable spreadsheet. Your team reviews, approves, and adds any customizations.

Sample Migration

1 day · ClonePartner

We run a test migration with a representative sample of your data to verify mapping accuracy and identify any potential issues before the full run.

Review & Approve

~2 days · Your team

Your team reviews the sample migration results, confirms data accuracy and mapping, and gives the go-ahead for the full migration.

Full Migration

2 days · ClonePartner

We execute the complete migration of all your data to your new Unthread, with real-time progress tracking and comprehensive logging.

Delta Migration

1 day · ClonePartner

We capture and transfer any new data that was added or updated during the main migration to ensure no data is lost. This final sync keeps everything current.

Pros and cons of different migration options

Choosing the right approach is key because migrating from Gladly to Unthread isn't just about moving data – it's about protecting customer relationships.

Feature / Criteria	ClonePartner	Automated Tools	CSV Import	In-house migration
Custom Scripting for complex data	✓ Engineers build & maintain	✗ No	⚠ Manual	✓ Yes – but costly
Sandbox & Pilot Migrations	✓ Full sandbox + pilot plans	⚠ Limited	✗ No	⚠ Often Informal
Manual validation & reconciliation	✓ Automated + manual QA	✗ No	✓ Yes (Manual)	✓ Heavy manual effort
Backup & rollback plan	✓ Robust procedures	✗ No	✗ No	⚠ Often incomplete
Handles automation and integrations	✓ Full support	⚠ Partial	✗ No	⚠ Possible but fragmented
Post-migration engineer support	✓ Dedicated engineers	✗ No	✗ No	⚠ Limited SLA
Adaptable to API changes	✓ Proactive adaptation	✗ No	⚠ Manual fixes	⚠ Slower response
Turnaround / SLA predictability	✓ Predictable SLAs	⚠ Fast but brittle	⚠ Slow and manual	⚠ Often slower
Data Security & Compliance	✓ High – enterprise grade	⚠ Medium (depends)	⚠ Low (manual)	⚠ Hidden gaps common
Pricing predictability	✓ Transparent & fixed	⚠ Low (per-job)	⚠ Low (manual hours)	⚠ High/variable OPEX
End-to-end project management	✓ Full E2E delivery & PM	✗ No	✗ No	⚠ Often partial
Business impact & opportunity cost	✓ No diversion of staff	✗ No	✗ No	⚠ Diverts engineering

What does an Engineer-led migration mean anyway?

Speed & Accuracy: Our Blended Method

We blend automation (smart scripts, bulk APIs) with human expertise for speed without risk. Our engineers manually check every mapping, validation, and exception.

You get:

Speed of automation for bulk record migration
Precision of engineers verifying integrity and business logic
Pilot migrations and sandbox testing to catch issues early
Real-time validation reports and rollback readiness

Result: 50x faster migrations than manual imports — with near-zero error rates.

Handling the Tricky Tech and API Details

The Gladly and Unthread APIs each behave differently, which is where our engineers shine. We build custom logic to handle the data quirks where generic tools typically break.

We handcraft API logic for:

Field mapping and transformation
Pagination, rate-limit handling, and throttling
Preserving conversation threads, attachments, and internal notes
Syncing custom fields, SLAs, and macros without breaking structure

Our scripts: Natively retry failed calls, re-queue large attachments, and ensure data parity.

No Guesswork

We don't just promise smooth migrations—we measure and prove them. Every client receives a Migration Validation Report with all metrics.

Typical results across projects:

100% record-count parity between your Gladly data and Unthread
Zero downtime during staged cutovers
99.9% attachment integrity (verified via checksum)
Full automation and preservation of all business rules

Our standard: Includes full SLA preservation and 48 hours of engineer-assigned support post go-live.

We Adapt to Your Setup (Not the Other Way Around)

No two teams configure Gladly or Unthread exactly the same way—with unique automations and data. We customize every migration script to fit your exact workflow, tags, and triggers.

Our engineers adapt for:

Custom fields, ticket forms, and workflows
Multi-brand or multi-language setups
Historical imports and partial (date-based) migrations
Integration re-mapping for CRMs, chat, or feedback tools

The promise: If your data doesn't fit a standard template, we build one just for you.

Enterprise-Grade Security & Compliance

Your customer data is precious. Our migration process maintains the highest standards of security and regulatory compliance.

SOC 2 Type II

Independently audited compliance with rigorous security standards

ISO 27001

Certified information security management system

GDPR

Full compliance with EU data protection regulations

HIPAA

Certified for handling protected health information

AES-256 Encryption

Bank-grade encryption for all stored credentials

Latest TLS

Secure transfer protocol for all data in transit

Role-Based Access

We follow role-based access control for every migration project

Scheduled Deletion

Automatic data purging after migration completion

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about migrating from Gladly to Unthread. Can't find what you're looking for? Talk to our team.

Can you directly export data from Gladly to Unthread?

No. There is no native export-to-Unthread path. You must extract data from Gladly using its Export API (.jsonl files) or REST API, transform the data to split lifelong conversations into discrete tickets, and then load into Unthread via its REST API.

What is Gladly's API rate limit?

Gladly enforces a default rate limit of 10 requests per second across all HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE). Exceeding this returns HTTP 429. Monitor the Ratelimit-Remaining-Second response header to throttle proactively. For bulk extraction, use the Export API instead of per-record REST calls.

How do you map Gladly conversations to Unthread tickets?

Gladly uses a single lifelong conversation per customer. You must apply a splitting heuristic — typically based on time gaps between messages, topic changes, or channel switches — to convert one Gladly conversation into multiple discrete Unthread tickets. Expect several iterations before the splitting logic is production-ready.

What format does the Gladly Export API use?

Gladly's Export API returns .jsonl (JSON Lines) files where each line is a self-contained JSON object. File types include customers, conversation_items, agents, and topics. Files are available for download for 14 days after generation.

How long does a Gladly to Unthread migration take?

A DIY API-based migration typically takes 4–6 weeks of engineering time including script development, splitting logic iteration, and validation. A managed migration service like ClonePartner can complete the same migration in days using pre-built extraction and transformation pipelines.

How long does the Gladly to Unthread migration take?

Most migrations complete within 1–5 business days, depending on data volume and complexity. We provide a detailed timeline after the initial assessment and can often complete small migrations in under 24 hours.

Will my team lose access to Gladly during the migration?

No. Your source system remains fully operational throughout the entire migration. We run the migration in the background with zero downtime to your current operations.

Will there be downtime when migrating from Gladly to Unthread?

No. Our migration process is designed for zero downtime. We use a staged approach with background sync and a fast cutover, ensuring no disruption to your live business operations.

How do I validate that everything migrated correctly?

Every client receives a Migration Validation Report with comprehensive metrics including record-count parity, attachment integrity verification via checksum, and full audit logs. We also offer unlimited sample migrations so you can verify before committing.

Do I need professional help for this migration?

While simple migrations can sometimes be handled in-house, professional help ensures zero data loss, proper field mapping, and preservation of relationships between records. Our engineer-led approach catches edge cases that automated tools miss.

Does ClonePartner provide guidance before committing?

Yes. We provide a free consultation and assessment. We'll review your data structure, discuss your requirements, and provide a detailed migration plan and fixed-price quote before you commit to anything.

Still have questions?

Book a free 30-minute consultation with our migration engineers. We'll walk you through the exact approach for your Gladly→Unthread migration.

Contact our team

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Attention to Detail

We meticulously handle every aspect of your migration, ensuring no data is lost during transfer and mapping every field correctly between platforms.

Custom Solutions

Every business is unique. We tailor your migration strategy to match your specific requirements, workflows, and data structures.

Security & Compliance

Your customer data is handled with enterprise-grade security protocols, ensuring compliance with GDPR, HIPAA, and industry standards.

Migrate from Gladly to Unthread with precision & ease

Why teams migrate from Gladly to Unthread