Deepgram Migration Deep Dive
Table of Contents
Overview
Comprehensive guide for migrating to Deepgram from other transcription providers (AWS Transcribe, Google Cloud STT, Azure Speech, OpenAI Whisper, Rev.ai, AssemblyAI) using an adapter pattern with parallel running and gradual traffic shifting.
Prerequisites
- Current provider SDK and credentials
- Deepgram API key and project configured
- Test audio dataset for comparison
- Monitoring infrastructure ready
Instructions
Step 1: Assessment
Audit current usage (hours/month, features), map features to Deepgram equivalents, and estimate costs.
Step 2: Implement Adapter Pattern
Create a TranscriptionAdapter interface with transcribe() and transcribeFile() methods, then implement both the legacy adapter and DeepgramAdapter.
Step 3: Build Migration Router
Create a MigrationRouter that routes traffic by percentage (0-100%) between providers, with optional parallel comparison mode.
Step 4: Parallel Running & Validation
Run both providers simultaneously, compare results using Jaccard similarity, and verify accuracy meets >= 90% threshold.
Step 5: Gradual Rollout
Shift traffic incrementally: 5% -> 25% (monitor 1 week) -> 50% (monitor 1 week) -> 100%.
Step 6: Cutover & Cleanup
Complete migration, decommission old provider, update documentation.
Output
- TranscriptionAdapter interface and implementations
- MigrationRouter with percentage-based routing
- Validation script with similarity scoring
- Feature mapping tables (AWS/Google -> Deepgram)
- Rollback manager with checkpoint/restore
Error Handling
| Issue | Cause | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| Low similarity scores | Feature mismatch | Check feature mapping, adjust options |
| Deepgram latency higher | Cold start or model | Pre-warm connections, verify model selection |
| Missing features | Incomplete mapping | Use Deepgram keywords for custom vocabulary |
| Rollback needed | Quality regression | Call emergencyRollback() to set percentage to 0% |
Examples
Feature Mapping (AWS -> Deepgram)
LanguageCode: en-US->language: "en"(ISO 639-1)ShowSpeakerLabels: true->diarize: trueVocabularyName: custom->keywords: ["term:1.5"]ContentRedaction->redact: ["pci", "ssn"]
Migration Checklist
Pre-migration, validation phase, rollout phase (5% -> 25% -> 50% -> 100%), post-migration cleanup.
See detailed implementation for advanced patterns.