SharePoint Migration: File Sharing from Anywhere

The number of German companies relying on cloud computing has tripled within ten years. While only just under a third used shared resources in 2011, 82 percent of businesses are already working in the cloud by 2020 (source). What applies to all other users in the professional environment also has significance for your company: you are faced with the task of bringing your local data into the cloud. Because only then will you benefit from all the possibilities that Microsoft 365 offers you today. A smooth migration is the decisive factor for this to succeed. Here you can find out how to proceed with the help of tools.

Why Is the Sharepoint Migration Necessary?

Anyone who exchanges data in their company today often uses SharePoint from Microsoft for this purpose. Typically, SharePoint rooms are set up, for example, to promote communication among employees. High adaptability and fast provision of data are among the main advantages of SharePoint. However, much of the data is still located locally - a SharePoint migration is therefore required for use in the cloud as part of Microsoft 365.

For migration to the cloud, Microsoft offers its own solution with SPMT (SharePoint Migration Tool), among others. SPMT is able to perform simple migrations of local SharePoint instances as well as local data sources. For you, this means a corresponding expenditure of your staff resources for the migration project.

SharePoint migration can make use of various sources. These include SharePoint Server 2010, 2013, and 2016, SharePoint Foundation 2010 and 2013, and local network drives. The prerequisite is access and permission to the respective source. You also need access to the target itself to be able to migrate the content there as well. You have the access rights as a global administrator or SharePoint administrator of your organization.

What Are the Challenges of a Sharepoint Migration?

Every migration project presents an organization with various challenges. These do not only occur during the planning of the migration or during the project. Even after the migration, problems can still come to light. For the migration to be successful, it is essential to identify these early and prepare for them.

Check data for migration suitability

Successful migration of your data to a new target environment requires thorough planning. This is particularly important when switching from local SharePoint to SharePoint Online. To be able to rule out problems as early as possible in the process, Microsoft offers SMAT (SharePoint Migration Assessment), a function for migration assessment. Potential issues with the data can thus be identified in good time.

In principle, SMAT is a simple command-line tool. At the end of the assessment process, the software provides a results report that points out possible existing obstacles. This gives you the opportunity to eliminate the problems in the data sets before you start the migration. In addition to SMAT, individual analyses can also be performed.

Communication With Employees Is Crucial for Sharepoint Migration

Migrating your on-premises data means that your employees have to deal with a new target environment. User acceptance is therefore crucial to the success of your SharePoint migration. One sure way to get users on board with the migration is to integrate change management measures. In addition, it is essential to always keep the requirements of the end-users in mind.

You can use the following arguments in communication to convince users of the benefits of SharePoint Online:

Modernization of the workspace

SharePoint Online offers more interaction options in the Microsoft 365 environment than an on-premises solution. Your employees get a modern workspace in which they can act efficiently. Compared to on-premises SharePoint instances, SharePoint Online offers, for example, improved possibilities to share documents within the team as well as with external people. In addition, access is possible both from the on-site office and from the home office.

Seamless integration

Your employees may express fears that another additional work area will mean more work. You can counter this with the possibilities for integration. SharePoint Online can be seamlessly integrated with Microsoft 365 applications such as OneDrive or Teams. This actually reduces the need to switch between different workspaces and creates new opportunities.

Simplified navigation

Users often fear that they will not be able to find their information in new work environments or that the time required will increase. So work on navigation and offer your employees a better user experience. It is crucial to provide uncomplicated access to teams, communities and the various websites. This increases acceptance of the new cloud environment. Governance and provisioning processes can help avoid duplication and keep a clean SharePoint Online environment.

Plan the onboarding

Reassure your employees that there will be extensive training on the changes that will introduce them to the new functions and features. It is especially important that you involve the users in the helpdesk. However, onboarding also includes honest communication about possible downtime, as this cannot be completely ruled out during the migration.

Features of SPOT (Sharepoint Online Transformation) At a Glance

At Arvato Systems, we offer an automatic migration and transformation of your data with the SPOT Migration Tool. With it, you can move your local data or legacy systems to Microsoft 365.

If you want to optimize your employees' digital workplace, you should consider all available add-on modules. These include the modules of the NAVOO SaaS platform, such as Governance Monitor, Guest User Management, and SPOT (SharePoint Online Transformation).

These are the benefits SPOT offers you in practice:

Automation: migration to the SharePoint Online environment is fully automated with SPOT. Manual effort by employees is eliminated with this solution, which therefore also requires less technical knowledge.
Compatible with other NAVOO modules: As part of the NAVOO SaaS platform, SPOT is compatible with other modules of the platform and is particularly practical as an add-on - but not limited to NAVOO: standalone solutions are also possible with SPOT.
Complete functionality: SPOT continues to combine all the advantages associated with tool-supported migration. Especially the automated notification about the upcoming or completed migration of the affected user:s is one of the special features of SPOT. The adaptation of data during the transition, such as the transfer of data storage from old applications to new target formats, is also possible on an individual basis.
Data backup: Ensure that all your data arrives safely in the new environment. SPOT supports you with clever data backup functions.
Security check: In addition to automation, our add-on for Microsoft 365 offers further advantages, for example, with regard to data backup. A critical aspect of any migration is whether the data arrives at its destination in one piece. Consequently, a security check is integrated into the tool - this gives you an overview of all changes and differences and makes the migration success traceable and verifiable.

Conclusion

Moving the workplace to a modern SharePoint Online environment is one of the most important steps in mastering digitization in companies. This allows employees to flexibly access all content from anywhere and especially from the home office. Microsoft 365 and SharePoint Online help you do this.

The decisive factor here is which tools you use for the migration process. SPOT offers some significant advantages here thanks to the consistently implemented automation. Migrating large volumes of data always involves a great deal of effort and planning. You should therefore reduce the manual portion as much as possible. Discrepancies between source and target do not go undetected thanks to SPOT. The integrated security check works qualitatively and quantitatively and shows you all changes and differences between target and source.