Real-World SharePoint Migration Scenarios and How to Solve Them

SharePoint has now evolved significantly over time, from on-premises solutions to SharePoint Online. Many small organizations and large enterprises rely on SharePoint to collaborate and manage documents. Now, they are migrating to SharePoint Online for better collaboration, scalability, and integration with Microsoft 365.

However, SharePoint migration is not as easy as it looks. Almost every organization faces different issues when migrating to SharePoint Online. In this article, we’ll understand real-world SharePoint migration scenarios and their resolutions effectively, prioritizing the smooth transition with minimum disruption.

SharePoint Migration: Common Scenarios Resolved

Here are a few real-world problems that organizations or professional users face in SharePoint migration. You will also get the detailed solution for the problems:

Scenario 1: Migrate SharePoint 2010 to SharePoint Online

Problem: An organization using SharePoint 2010 needs to move to SharePoint Online. However, SharePoint 2010 is still functional but lacks modern features. Also, its custom solutions and workflows don’t support SharePoint Online. Additionally, there are no direct methods for SharePoint 2010 to SharePoint migration.

Solution:

Do a detailed analysis of sites, lists, libraries, and customizations. Also, identify the data and clean the unnecessary data. It will escape post-migration confusion and save migration time.
Choose the built-in SharePoint migration services or third-party SharePoint migration tools accordingly for a smooth transition. Also, try to replace legacy workflows with Power Automate and convert classic pages to modern pages.

Scenario 2: Migrate SharePoint Large Files with Complex Metadata

Problem: Many organizations store countless documents in SharePoint on-premises, with extremely large folders and metadata. Migrating these documents without full security proof might lead to performance issues or lost metadata.

Solution:

Analyze current file sizes, formats, and custom metadata.
Perform incremental migration.
Prioritize the SharePoint migration tool that preserves metadata.

Scenario 3: Hybrid SharePoint Environment

Problem: An organization works on both SharePoint On-Premises and SharePoint Online with some data on both platforms. Now, the main objective is to merge everything in SharePoint Online with complete data accessibility.

Solution:

Do incremental migration with less important data. Carefully map permissions, roles, and user access without breaching security.
Get Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) for uninterrupted authentication across Microsoft 365. Also, verify the data privacy, legal, and compliance requirements before removing on-prem servers.

Scenario 4: Migrate Customized SharePoint Solutions

Problem: An investment company has a highly customized SharePoint with InfoPath forms, custom web parts, and custom workflows built on SharePoint Designer. These don’t migrate well to SharePoint Online.

Solution:

List all custom solutions and assess and rebuild custom features using the Power Platform, including Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI.
Test new customizations in a new SharePoint environment.
Train your end-users for the new experience and features.

Scenario 5: Migrate File Shares to SharePoint Online

Problem: An SME has been using traditional file shares for many years. Now, they want to switch to SharePoint Online for better accessibility and collaboration. However, preventing data loss and user resistance is the main concern.

Solution:

Access the file shares and remove duplicates, outdated files, along with unnecessary personal folders.
Create equivalent SharePoint site collections by breaking folders into departments.
Tell users about SharePoint Online’s benefits and make a support team to help them adopt the new environment and troubleshoot issues.

Best Practices to Resolve All SharePoint Migration Scenarios

Here are a few necessary practices that make your SharePoint migration smooth and successful without data loss or issues. These are:

Inform your end user before migration and during migration.
Always keep a backup in case of errors or rollback needs.
Use a trustworthy third-party SharePoint migration tool for less time consumption, better accuracy, and reduced risks.
Do SharePoint migration tests repeatedly and validate permissions, functionality, and performance post-migration.
Schedule a time for bug fixing, cleanup, and user training after the migration.

Summing Up

On-premises SharePoint to SharePoint migration might look complex, especially when you face real-world complexities. But with a perfect strategy and the best SharePoint migration tool, you can perform migration efficiently without challenges. However, selecting an ideal and secure SharePoint Migration tool might be confusing because many tools claim they are the best and feature-rich.

By mastering 40+ tools, we recommend Kernel Migration for SharePoint software for a smooth, secure, and reliable transition. It has many advanced features and capabilities that fulfil all your requirements for an efficient SharePoint migration. Moreover, you can test the migration for free with its trial version. So, take the trial now!!