{"id":1996,"date":"2022-07-07T06:28:30","date_gmt":"2022-07-07T06:28:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/poiseddevelopers.com\/reality-tech\/?p=1996"},"modified":"2024-05-06T12:30:30","modified_gmt":"2024-05-06T12:30:30","slug":"how-to-migrate-file-server-to-sharepoint-online-expert-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/poiseddevelopers.com\/reality-tech\/how-to-migrate-file-server-to-sharepoint-online\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Migrate File Server to SharePoint Online [Expert Guide]"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_65 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/poiseddevelopers.com\/reality-tech\/how-to-migrate-file-server-to-sharepoint-online\/#What_is_a_File_Server_And_What_are_the_Drawbacks\" title=\"What is a File Server? (And What are the Drawbacks?)\">What is a File Server? (And What are the Drawbacks?)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/poiseddevelopers.com\/reality-tech\/how-to-migrate-file-server-to-sharepoint-online\/#How_to_Migrate_from_File_Server_to_SharePoint_Online\" title=\"How to Migrate from File Server to SharePoint Online?\">How to Migrate from File Server to SharePoint Online?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/poiseddevelopers.com\/reality-tech\/how-to-migrate-file-server-to-sharepoint-online\/#Step_1_Do_Your_Homework_First\" title=\"Step 1: Do Your Homework First\">Step 1: Do Your Homework First<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/poiseddevelopers.com\/reality-tech\/how-to-migrate-file-server-to-sharepoint-online\/#Step_2_Select_and_Configure_a_Migration_Tool\" title=\"Step 2: Select and Configure a Migration Tool\">Step 2: Select and Configure a Migration Tool<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/poiseddevelopers.com\/reality-tech\/how-to-migrate-file-server-to-sharepoint-online\/#_Step_3_Perform_Your_Test_Migration\" title=\"\u00a0Step 3: Perform Your Test Migration\">\u00a0Step 3: Perform Your Test Migration<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/poiseddevelopers.com\/reality-tech\/how-to-migrate-file-server-to-sharepoint-online\/#Step_4_Plan_the_Migration\" title=\"Step 4: Plan the Migration\">Step 4: Plan the Migration<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/poiseddevelopers.com\/reality-tech\/how-to-migrate-file-server-to-sharepoint-online\/#Step_5_Initial_Migration\" title=\"Step 5: Initial Migration\">Step 5: Initial Migration<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/poiseddevelopers.com\/reality-tech\/how-to-migrate-file-server-to-sharepoint-online\/#Step_6_Delta_Migration\" title=\"Step 6: Delta Migration\">Step 6: Delta Migration<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/poiseddevelopers.com\/reality-tech\/how-to-migrate-file-server-to-sharepoint-online\/#_Conclusion\" title=\"\u00a0Conclusion:\">\u00a0Conclusion:<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>Switching to SharePoint entails more than simply transferring all of your data to a cloud server: it\u2019s a completely new browser-based environment linked to your company\u2019s Microsoft 365 account.<\/p>\n<p>While this offers many new features and capabilities, it also has an impact on every aspect of file use, and collaborative task and effort that relies on direct access to a network file.<\/p>\n<p>Migrating to SharePoint Online may necessitate the utilization of a professional\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/reality-tech.com\/services\/enterprise-sharepoint-migration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" aria-label=\"SharePoint online migration service - open in a new tab\" data-uw-rm-ext-link=\"\">SharePoint online migration service<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0provider.<\/p>\n<p>As an end-user, you\u2019ll most likely notice changes. The navigation system is designed differently because you\u2019re accessing via the cloud, and load times are going to be somewhat impacted.<\/p>\n<p>These variances are less likely to pose serious issues, but they\u2019re still worth thinking about: Does a lag time of even 1-2 seconds have an effect on your workflow?<\/p>\n<p>Before you migrate, you should consider all of these factors.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_a_File_Server_And_What_are_the_Drawbacks\"><\/span><b>What is a File Server? (And What are the Drawbacks?)<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>SharePoint Online is a cloud-based file storage and collaboration platform that allows users to share, manage, and collaborate on documents in real time.<\/p>\n<p>SharePoint Online differs from an on-premises file server in that it saves your files in the<a href=\"https:\/\/reality-tech.com\/microsoft-365-groups-vs-teams-vs-sharepoint-comparison\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" aria-label=\"Microsoft - open in a new tab\" data-uw-rm-ext-link=\"\">\u00a0Microsoft<\/a>\u00a0cloud, whereas a file server normally stores them on your onsite network or in an offsite data center for enhanced protection.<\/p>\n<p>Businesses have traditionally utilized on-premises file servers to allow employees to store and access data on a shared drive rather than on their own hard disks.<\/p>\n<p>While this was a significant advancement in business technology at the time, there are various disadvantages to having a shared drive, including duplicate documents, limited metadata, no ability for end-users to adjust permissions, and a lack of search options.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, a solution to boost both efficiency and productivity was required \u2014 Microsoft SharePoint.<\/p>\n<p>Traditional file servers have gaps in collaboration; the files are frequently copied and duplicated, outdated versions are mistaken for the most recent rendition, and so on.<\/p>\n<p>All of these things stymie teamwork; they produce communication snafus and can seriously jeopardize the efficiency of the company\u2019s work processes, impacting the bottom line of key knowledge worker efficiency.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: white; box-shadow: 0 0 10px whitesmoke; padding: 20px; width: 800px;\">\n<h4 style=\"color: black;\">Additional Read<\/h4>\n<p><a style=\"color: #1f6799; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/poiseddevelopers.com\/reality-tech\/sharepoint-for-enterprise-content-management-why-should-choose\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SharePoint for Enterprise Content Management \u2013 Why Should Choose?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>It\u2019s critical to plan your migration result by doing an assessment of your present source environment before you begin.<\/p>\n<p>What you learn will have an impact on your entire strategy and timeline, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>a)<\/strong>\u00a0The mapping between source and target systems, as well as the architecture of the target environment.<\/li>\n<li><strong>b)<\/strong>\u00a0The quantity of data you\u2019re<a href=\"https:\/\/reality-tech.com\/migrating-sharepoint-rationally\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" aria-label=\"migrating - open in a new tab\" data-uw-rm-ext-link=\"\">\u00a0migrating<\/a>. Determine if the material is outdated, redundant, or still relevant.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Make user onboarding a part of your initial planning. Inform your users about the move and how it will affect them as soon as possible.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t put off preparing them for the change until go live.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Migrate_from_File_Server_to_SharePoint_Online\"><\/span><b>How to Migrate from File Server to SharePoint Online?<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_1_Do_Your_Homework_First\"><\/span><b>Step 1: Do Your Homework First<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Yes, there is an appeal to just pushing the Migrate button and informing your employer that you\u2019ve done it, but one can\u2019t migrate content without considering the information architecture, among other things.<\/p>\n<p>We couldn\u2019t possibly express all that needed to be accomplished in a single paragraph.<\/p>\n<p>We have written a great deal about this in the past. At a high level, one must ensure that there is an understanding of how the envisioned SharePoint Information Architecture will function.<\/p>\n<p>Lastly, the sites, document libraries, and metadata need to be realized and surfaced for end-user utilization.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: white; box-shadow: 0 0 10px whitesmoke; padding: 20px; width: 800px;\">\n<h4 style=\"color: black;\">Additional Read<\/h4>\n<p><a style=\"color: #1f6799; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/poiseddevelopers.com\/reality-tech\/confluence-to-sharepoint-migration-step-by-step-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Your Complete SharePoint Migration Guide (Step-By-Step)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_2_Select_and_Configure_a_Migration_Tool\"><\/span><b>Step 2: Select and Configure a Migration Tool<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>There is a range of commercial 3rd\u00a0party tools available for content migration.<\/p>\n<p>The selection of the appropriate tool depends on the content source, the volume of content, permissions needs, reporting needs, metadata tagging requirements, and budget.<\/p>\n<p>For guidance in selecting the appropriate migration tool, consider consulting a reliable\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/reality-tech.com\/services\/sharepoint-development-services\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" aria-label=\"SharePoint development company - open in a new tab\" data-uw-rm-ext-link=\"\">SharePoint development company<\/a>\u00a0like\u00a0<strong>Reality Tech<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>There is then the server sizing and configuration and license management of the migration tool.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"_Step_3_Perform_Your_Test_Migration\"><\/span>\u00a0<b>Step 3: Perform Your Test Migration<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The initial test migration enables one to baseline throughput. With this information, the actual migration of these metrics is key and reflects both the existing network throughput as well as Office 365 SharePoint throughput.<\/p>\n<p>The migration process should always begin with a test migration, as a sanity test on the network, latencies, tools, environment, configuration, throughput, and end-user experience.<\/p>\n<p>The primary risk of the migration is Office 365 throttling.\u00a0 This occurs in both reading from the source and writing to the destination.\u00a0 To some extent, this can be optimized by extended efforts, especially during off-peak hours.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: white; box-shadow: 0 0 10px whitesmoke; padding: 20px; width: 800px;\">\n<h4 style=\"color: black;\">Additional Read<\/h4>\n<p><a style=\"color: #1f6799; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/poiseddevelopers.com\/reality-tech\/how-to-activate-sharepoint-publishing-infrastructure\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to Activate SharePoint Publishing Infrastructure<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_4_Plan_the_Migration\"><\/span><b>Step 4: Plan the Migration<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>If the volume of content exceeds the throughput that can be migrated in a single weekend as determined during baseline migration testing, then migration in phases is recommended.<\/p>\n<p>Migration in phases allows content map creation, which ensures that each team understands the content transformation as it migrates from the source file server to the new SharePoint environment.<\/p>\n<p>The process of migrating a single group of content as a discrete phase is not only manageable but also reduces the limitations for larger migrations and reduces the number of users impacted on any given weekend cutover.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The following activities are part of the migration planning process:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><b>A. Inventory<\/b><\/p>\n<p>In order to migrate, we need to identify what will be migrated, and what will be left in place or archived and not migrated.<\/p>\n<p>This leads then to the design of mapping, from source to proposed destination.<\/p>\n<p><b>B. Long URL analysis<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Efforts to the surface where long URLs may be an obstacle.\u00a0 Approaches to remediate and address found instances.<\/p>\n<p>These may include proposed hierarchy flattening, or shortening\/renaming key folder nodes.<\/p>\n<p><b>C. Orphan Accounts<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Review of handling of accounts that are inactive. Disabled accounts are a known challenge for migration on tagging documents during migration.<\/p>\n<p>This will require some discussion and review of options and setting expectations.<\/p>\n<p><b>D. Exception Planning<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Planning for an approach to handle exceptional situations is needed in advance. One aspect is simply planning for end-user coordination, as well as a general approach to handling with or without user involvement.<\/p>\n<p>This covers topics such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Blocked File Extensions<\/li>\n<li>Very Large Files<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>E. Site Architecture<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Planning for a Site Collection approach, for the appropriate granularity in support of the migration in planned phases:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Site Collection granularity, in planning for long-term future growth<\/li>\n<li>URL design<\/li>\n<li>Site Template<\/li>\n<li>Possible site hierarchy<\/li>\n<li>Possible security consolidation and simplification<\/li>\n<li>Navigation, and possible use of Hub site(s)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>F.\u00a0<\/strong><b>Project Planning<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Migration planning, sequence, cut-over planning, and communication<\/li>\n<li>Identification of critical path and optimized sequencing of efforts<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>G. Risk Management<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Identification of key risks and mitigation activities<\/p>\n<p><b>H. Estimation of Remaining Migration Stages<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Refined estimation of effort and duration for migrating each department (LOB)<\/p>\n<p>The changeover process in a SharePoint migration plan includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Stopping workflows that are identified for migration<\/li>\n<li>Initial migration<\/li>\n<li>Delta migrations<\/li>\n<li>Changing the setting of the source to read-only<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"background-color: white; box-shadow: 0 0 10px whitesmoke; padding: 20px; border-radius: 5px; display: flex; justify-content: space-around; width: 950px;\">\n<div class=\"content\">\n<h4><b>Are you in need of assistance? We can help!<\/b><\/h4>\n<p style=\"width: 70%;\">Book a live 1-on-1 call with the experts of Reality Tech to find out how we will help you to achieve your goal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; align-items: center;\">\n<div class=\"content-btn\" style=\"padding: 8px; border: 1px solid #009a00; width: fit-content; height: fit-content; cursor: pointer;\"><a style=\"color: #009a00;\" href=\"https:\/\/poiseddevelopers.com\/reality-tech\/contact-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Let\u2019s talk!<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_5_Initial_Migration\"><\/span><b>Step 5: Initial Migration<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The initial migration surfaces migration issues and related migration failures, that are successively addressed.<\/p>\n<p>Once a successful initial migration is completed, changes are made at the source, and any remaining errors, are addressed in the delta migrations.<\/p>\n<p>Typically a delta migration is done daily, up until the migration cutover.<\/p>\n<p>The actual delta frequency is determined by the content sizing, and duration to both analyze the prior migration results and duration to execute the delta migration.<\/p>\n<p>The bulk of the project duration will be on the migration of content.<\/p>\n<p>The approach is to initially move the maximum amount of content, and only when close to cutover, do the final updates to the destination known as the \u201cDelta\u201d migration. This Delta is the final sync-up of content.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_6_Delta_Migration\"><\/span><b>Step 6: Delta Migration<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The final true-up of content is done and finalized and prepared for the transition.\u00a0 This is done repeatedly leading up to the cutover.<\/p>\n<p>Typically the delta is applied based on the date of the initial migration (or prior delta).<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"_Conclusion\"><\/span>\u00a0<b>Conclusion:<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It is recommended but time-consuming to migrate from old-school file sharing to SharePoint.\u00a0The majority of the work is in the analysis.<\/p>\n<p>Migration is an opportunity to examine all of the content on your file shares in detail and make careful decisions on what to migrate, what to archive, and what to eliminate.<\/p>\n<p>Speak with Professional SharePoint experts about archiving or removing outdated or duplicate material, restructuring for a more coherent organization of content, creating an information architecture in SharePoint, and utilizing all of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/reality-tech.com\/capabilities\/sharepoint-online-and-office-365\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" aria-label=\"SharePoint\u2019s and Microsoft 365\u2019s - open in a new tab\" data-uw-rm-ext-link=\"\">SharePoint\u2019s and Microsoft 365\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0great new capabilities!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Switching to SharePoint entails more than simply transferring all of your data to a cloud server: it\u2019s a completely new browser-based environment linked to your company\u2019s Microsoft 365 account. While this offers many new features and capabilities, it also has an impact on every aspect of file use, and collaborative task and effort that relies [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1998,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sharepoint-migration"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/poiseddevelopers.com\/reality-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/poiseddevelopers.com\/reality-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/poiseddevelopers.com\/reality-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poiseddevelopers.com\/reality-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poiseddevelopers.com\/reality-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1996"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/poiseddevelopers.com\/reality-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3557,"href":"https:\/\/poiseddevelopers.com\/reality-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1996\/revisions\/3557"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poiseddevelopers.com\/reality-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/poiseddevelopers.com\/reality-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poiseddevelopers.com\/reality-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poiseddevelopers.com\/reality-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}