What are the Steps of Migration SharePoint On-Premise to Microsoft Office 365?

Migrating SharePoint on-premises to a Sharepoint online server in the cloud can be difficult. In recent years, Migration sharepoint on-premise to Microsoft Office 365 has evolved into more than a simple “productivity suite” and has become one of the most important tools for companies. Organizations worldwide are confronting a critical crossroads in the current cloud business landscape and are being forced to choose between staying with on-premise IT infrastructure and switching to cloud platforms like Office 365. 

On-premise sites will quickly accumulate data. Additionally, upgrading individual site collections might become a massive project if firms put off migration.

After assisting thousands of customers with migration on-prem Sharepoint to Microsoft 365, we’ve seen that success in the Microsoft cloud takes more than just migration; it also necessitates a well-thought-out plan and persistent work for deploying and growing collaborative tools like SharePoint. 

Microsoft Office 365 is a collection of services and software that makes up the company’s cutting-edge enterprise IT environment. It enhances company operations such as documents, email, date, chat, and communication channels.

Due to Microsoft Office 365’s ability to interact with cloud services, businesses now have many more options regarding collaboration, productivity, engagement, and other factors. According to Microsoft’s official data, “180 million active monthly users have signed up for Microsoft Office 365 business.” The numbers increased from 155 million monthly active users in 2018.

The fact that increasingly more enterprises of all sizes are using Microsoft Office 365 is evidence of its worth. Regardless of the size or industry, moving to a cloud-based platform has proven to be much simpler, more versatile, user-friendly, scalable, and advantageous for organizations.

What is Office 365 Sharepoint?

Migrating to Microsoft 365, SharePoint is a Microsoft-hosted cloud-based service for companies of all sizes. Any organization can sign up for a Microsoft 365 subscription or the stand-alone SharePoint app development service in place of installing and running SharePoint Server on-premises.

Why Migrate to Microsoft Office 365?

Any firm can benefit greatly from the SharePoint migration to Office 365 plan, big or small. It offers a full collaboration package at a reasonable cost, upholds project transparency, enhances data management and workflow, and gives significant value to the company. Below mentioned are the benefits of Migrating SharePoint on-prem to SharePoint online for various enterprises.

Small- and medium-sized Enterprises

1. Enhanced Security and Data Control: Azure Right Management’s capabilities and the built-in security system secure Microsoft Office 365. You can manage your data remotely from portable devices and verify the access information of your data at any moment.

2. Guaranteed Protection Against Major Disaster Events: Users of Microsoft Office 365 are shielded against local disasters and crashes. One of the most obvious benefits of storing corporate data in the cloud is protecting the data in such situations.

3. Simple collaboration: Any organization needs collaboration that is simple and efficient. Real-time collaboration is facilitated for the corporation via Microsoft Office 365’s components, such as SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, and Skype for Business.

4. Better Management: Microsoft Office 365 synchronizes emails, contacts, meetings, and other channels across several devices.

5. Financial Management Made Simpler: Microsoft Office 365 offers flexible monthly rates that let you gradually raise the number of users as your company expands. With no unforeseen expenses or investments, managing your finances is simpler.

6. No More Updates and Licensing Problems: The software and licensing don’t need to be managed manually. Microsoft handles all these issues and ensures every user uses the same application version.

7. Advantages to Large-Size Business: Office application suite in its whole – Users of Microsoft Office 365 have access to a wide range of Office programs, including SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, and Skype for Business. The office can be set up on various platforms, including desktops, tablets, and smartphones.

8. Hub for teamwork and collaboration: The team and networks may connect and efficiently handle tasks. Better teamwork at work results from features like chat, documents, task delegation, progress monitoring, project schedules, document management, and other utility apps.

9. Advanced Calendar and Email Management: The business-class email service offers a complete experience, a 50GB mailbox for each user, and top-notch calendar tools with an Outlook interface.

10. Meeting and Conferencing: Host online conferences using platforms for screen sharing and audio/video conferencing. Even with a spotty internet connection, meetings may be accessed because of the simple features and capabilities.

11. Advanced-Data Security and Analytics Tools: Using the proper management services, you can be confident that only certain people may access emails and documents, even when delivered outside the company. Data loss prevention and encryption capabilities protect all Microsoft Office 365 platforms. The analytics tools’ data analysis and visualization features are also quite helpful, and MyAnalytics and Power Business Intelligence also offer interactive reports.

What are the Steps to Setup Sharepoint in Office 365?

Let us brief you on the steps regarding Migrating SharePoint on-prem to SharePoint online. Check out the below steps:

Step 1: Making the mental shift for change: switching to Microsoft Office 365

Any firm with a stable on-premises infrastructure, well-established business processes, and data management must undergo a significant transformation and make several important considerations when migrating SharePoint in Office 365. The organization’s focus is shifting from infrastructure to user-centric applications, which constitutes a complete cultural shift and calls for adopting the proper attitude.

It is crucial to correct this first step because it directly affects whether the Migration SharePoint On-Premise to Microsoft Office 365  process is successful or not. Understanding the impact on users and stakeholders should be the main goal of the change management strategy, which calls for company-wide training and communication. A successful workplace communication and training plan will facilitate user engagement, improved adoption, and advantages.

Step 2: Purchase the Microsoft Office 365 plan that best suits your company’s needs

Every Business has unique needs, and the wonderful thing about Microsoft Office 365 is that you can pick and choose the necessary features to make it uniquely tailored for your company. Microsoft Office 365 offers many compliance, communication, and teamwork tools. Comprehending how you intend to use Microsoft Office 365 before choosing a subscription is critical. Please list your requirements and choose the plan that best meets them.

You can choose a Microsoft Office 365 subscription with the services and capabilities best suit your business needs.

Step 3: Pre-Migration Check

After all the planning and prerequisites are completed, migrating to Microsoft Office 365 becomes rather simple. The list of pre-migration inspections is provided below so you may assess your present environment and create a migration strategy.

• Check Bandwidth Availability

As a lot of data is transferred from the on-premises server to the online storage, migrating SharePoint on-premises to Office 365 uses a lot of bandwidth. To ensure a smooth data transfer, check your organization’s bandwidth restrictions. Additionally, various alternative methods for transferring data without an internet connection exist, such as hard drive uploads to the Microsoft data centre.

• Active Directory and SharePoint Server Health Evaluation

The migrating procedure requires a flawless Active Directory interaction setup. Multiple forests and a well-established procedure for providing and de-provisioning users in

Active Directory are among the factors considered throughout the evaluation process. Any problems with this task could lead to possible data breaches and security holes.

Additionally, evaluate the current SharePoint environment considering how well the content is organized, the application of third-party web parts, and other changes.

• Access to Skilled IT Staff and Evaluation of Knowledge of Microsoft Office 365

Examine the present IT staff’s abilities before the migration process to ensure a smooth exchange on-premise to Microsoft Office 365 migration step-by-step. Assessing the skills linked to backup and recovery is necessary to obtain easily available technical assistance. The IT staff is still necessary after Migrating to SharePoint online; only their duties will change.

• Study the compliance and privacy requirements.

It is crucial to review the current compliance requirements and Microsoft Office 365’s implementation of them. Email archives, client data that has been encrypted, or any other sensitive information, as well as laws governing data sovereignty for storing data physically in designated locations, are among the main compliance factors.

• Create a plan for migration, backup, and recovery.

Microsoft Office 365 only offers a few backup and recovery options, such as retrieving deleted mailbox contents. Additionally, it does not provide data recovery after Windows that can be recovered, recovery of specific files, or roll-back recovery for disaster management. For the same reasons, creating a backup and recovery plan is crucial to prevent data loss or interference with the Microsoft Office 365 conversion process.

Step 4: Migration to Office 365

The transition to Exchange Online Mailbox is a drawn-out process that demands excellent collaboration. By utilizing test mailboxes and accounts and migrating a small percentage of user mailboxes, the effectiveness of the Exchange online migration process needs to be pilot tested. It is an excellent choice to reduce the problems with few mailboxes and protect the subsequent transfer of SharePoint on-premises vs online. The next step is choosing the migration strategy (IMAP or Cutover), synchronizing the active directory, and assigning the appropriate Microsoft Office 365 licenses to the appropriate users.

• Migration to SharePoint Online

However, they don’t always support transitioning from SharePoint Server to SharePoint Online. Migration tools are available on Microsoft Office 365 for Exchange Online. Because many customizations made on the SharePoint server do not function properly on SharePoint Online, this step is crucial. Examine the custom codes used on the SharePoint server and make sure they are compatible with SharePoint Online, among other verifications, before Migrate data to SharePoint Online.

• The availability of existing web components on Migrate SharePoint Online and the SharePoint server.
• File names and URLs should not exceed the suggested character limit of 256 characters.
• The number of files that will be transferred to SharePoint Online and how they will be organized in document libraries.
• The total amount of data will be transferred to SharePoint Online using the allotted space.

• The site, library, list migration, etc.

SharePoint’s various building elements include site collections, lists, libraries, and websites. Transferring these items to SharePoint Online takes time since users must recreate everything manually or through a migration tool on Microsoft Office 365. Documents can also be moved to SharePoint Online using the drag-and-drop feature. However, the quality of information is compromised. With the help of the hassle-free Microsoft Office 365 migration services, you may Migrate SharePoint to SharePoint Online while keeping all of the user permissions, accurate information, and current hierarchical structures.

• Use OneDrive for Business going forward.

OneDrive for Business is a Microsoft Office 365 cloud storage option for documents. It syncs to numerous devices and offers administrative control over the work files. It is necessary to transfer files from the desktop, laptop, file sharing, and other devices to OneDrive for Business. The steps consist of the following:

• Deleting or archiving files with no potential use in the future
• Install the “OneDrive for Business” for synchronizing clients.
• Add necessary folders and documents by drag-and-drop to Microsoft Office 365.
• Instead of each person’s OneDrive or Business folder, the documents relevant to the department, the team project, or any other collaborative activity should be migration to SharePoint Online.

Step 5: Effective Utilization and Accomplishment of Business Value

The firm should be able to promote the efficient usage of Microsoft Office 365 and generate significant business value by implementing the modification once the migration to SharePoint Online is complete. Here, the backing of senior executives, specialized departmental training for domain expertise, continual knowledge transfer of new features and functionalities, and aiding users in problem-solving are crucial factors to consider.

How is the migration to Microsoft Office 365 carried out?

The start of the migration process depends on several factors, including the platform version currently in use, the number of users and servers, the state of on-premise servers, and others.

The migration steps from SharePoint on-premises to Microsoft Office 365 will now be discussed.

SharePoint Migration Phases

1. Analysis

Analyzing the source and target systems and any necessary customization

2. Identifying needs and planning projects

Evaluation of business requirements and tool selection

3. Customization and Migration

Implementation, identifying improvements and modifications

4. Validation

Verification of the migration that was done

5. Ongoing Assistance and Upkeep

User, security, and permission management for the site

Phase 1: analysis

This phase involves analyzing the content that needs to be moved, the level of customization, user mapping, branding, rights, and dependencies to determine whether they will work in the online SharePoint environment. A questionnaire is delivered to gather fundamental data on the company’s infrastructure. The main components of the questionnaire determine the scope of migration.

Phase 2: Project planning and evaluation of needs

The need assessment is carried out to determine the migration project’s estimated time, scope, and cost. The distinctive migration strategy is designed using the essential information provided in the questionnaire. The plan considers transfer throughput and timelines, downtime for SharePoint, server upgrades and backups, and the need for third-party technologies depending on project specifications.

Phase 3: Migration and Customization

After putting the on-premise site in read-only mode for secure data movement, the migration process is carried out. The transferred application can be renamed and improved to meet more extensive client requirements. A modern intranet’s added features improve user experience, increase productivity, and offer higher corporate value.

Phase 4: Validation

The migrated and modified features are validated following the conclusion of the Office 365 migration procedures using the main points of client documentation developed during the analysis phase. The search and navigational features are also examined for quality control to guarantee the outcomes expected in the SharePoint online environment.

Phase 5: Ongoing Support and Maintenance

After the transferred application has been verified, the test data is cleaned away, and the metadata information is replaced with deployment scripts. The SharePoint online site can then be deployed. Selecting a maintenance and support package that covers user administration, security audits, permission management for Microsoft Office 365 services, and troubleshooting issues is advised.

Conclusion

The conversion of SharePoint to Office 365 is advantageous since it enhances collaboration, internal communication, project management, and essential business activities. Instead of stressing about infrastructure and server problems, you can see a wider picture of business growth due to updates and real-time optimization automation.

Major brands have received support from the ConcettoLabs team by hiring Sharepoint developers and data specialists to move their data to SharePoint without having any Sharepoint on-premise to online migration challenges.

Concetto Labs, a renowned Sharepoint development company has extensive experience working in the special environment that is SharePoint and can offer insightful guidance to reduce risks and problems.