Sharepoint Migration Tips
Proven strategies from 18+ years of enterprise migration experience. These tips have helped migrate 10+ TB of data with less than 1% data loss across 20,000+ users.
1. Start with a Comprehensive Assessment
Never skip the assessment phase. A thorough inventory of your current SharePoint environment is the foundation of a successful migration. Document all sites, libraries, lists, custom workflows, and third-party integrations. Identify potential blockers early—custom solutions that won't migrate, corrupted files, permission complexities, and data volume issues.
Pro Tip: Use SharePoint Migration Tool's assessment feature or third-party tools like ShareGate to automate inventory collection. This saves time and ensures you don't miss anything.
2. Clean Up Before You Migrate
Migrating garbage is still migrating garbage. Take the time to clean up your source environment before migration. Delete obsolete sites, remove duplicate files, archive old content, and fix corrupted documents. This reduces migration time, improves target environment performance, and ensures users start with a clean slate.
Pro Tip: Set a retention policy for content older than 7 years. Archive or delete it rather than migrating. Most organizations find that 20-30% of content is never accessed again.
3. Plan Your Permission Strategy Carefully
Permissions are where most migrations fail. Document your current permission structure and plan how it will map to SharePoint Online. Consider using Active Directory groups for permission assignment rather than individual users. This makes management easier and ensures consistency.
Pro Tip: Test permission mapping with a small pilot group before full migration. Verify that users have appropriate access and that no permissions are lost in translation.
4. Choose the Right Migration Tool
Not all migration tools are created equal. SharePoint Migration Tool (SPMT) is free and great for basic migrations, but enterprise tools like ShareGate, Metalogix (AvePoint), and Movebot offer advanced features for complex scenarios. Consider your data volume, complexity, and budget when selecting a tool.
Pro Tip: Don't be afraid to use multiple tools. SPMT for bulk migration, ShareGate for complex permissions, and custom scripts for specific scenarios. The right tool for each job saves time and reduces risk.
5. Implement Zero-Downtime Strategy
For enterprise environments, zero-downtime migration is essential. Use a hybrid approach with incremental migration and final cutover. Migrate historical data first, then sync recent changes during a planned cutover window. Keep the source environment available as a backup until validation is complete.
Pro Tip: Schedule cutover during low-usage periods—weekends or holidays. Have extended support available during cutover to address issues immediately.
6. Test Thoroughly with a Pilot Migration
Never go directly to production migration. Run a pilot migration with a representative sample of content—5-10% of your total data. Test all aspects: content migration, permissions, workflows, custom solutions, and user experience. Use pilot results to refine your approach before full migration.
Pro Tip: Include power users in the pilot. Their feedback is invaluable for identifying issues that technical teams might miss.
7. Plan for Custom Workflows
SharePoint 2010 workflows won't migrate to SharePoint Online. You'll need to rebuild them using Power Automate. Assess all custom workflows early in planning and determine migration or replacement strategies. This is often the most time-consuming part of migration.
Pro Tip: Use workflow migration as an opportunity to improve processes. Many organizations find they can simplify and optimize workflows during the rebuild process.
8. Communicate Extensively with Users
Migration success depends on user adoption. Communicate early and often about migration plans, timelines, and what users need to do. Provide training on new features and processes. Address concerns proactively. Well-informed users are more likely to embrace the change.
Pro Tip: Create a migration portal with FAQs, training materials, and progress updates. Make it the single source of truth for all migration information.
9. Monitor and Validate Continuously
Don't assume migration is complete just because the tool says so. Monitor migration progress continuously, validate data integrity, and verify permissions at each stage. Have a rollback plan ready in case of critical issues. Post-migration, monitor for 30-60 days to catch and address any issues.
Pro Tip: Use automated validation scripts to check for data loss, permission issues, and broken links. Manual validation alone isn't sufficient for enterprise migrations.
10. Plan for Post-Migration Optimization
Migration isn't complete when data is moved. Plan for post-migration optimization including performance tuning, user training, governance implementation, and ongoing support. The first 60 days post-migration are critical for long-term success.
Pro Tip: Establish a migration support team for the first 30 days. Provide extended support hours and quick response to user issues. This builds confidence and ensures smooth transition.
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