Migrate SharePoint to Microsoft 365: Step-by-Step IT Guide

Common Migration Scenarios

There are three most common scenarios where SharePoint migration to Microsoft 365 is required.

During these scenarios, the SharePoint migration typically includes the following data:

• SharePoint sites
• Document libraries
• Files and folders
• Lists
• Metadata
• Permissions and more

Later, we will discuss the methods to move this data.

Why Migrate SharePoint to Office 365?

It addresses several issues and provides a secure, flexible, and cloud-based platform, which makes it reliable. There are several reasons for Office 365 migrations, which are as follows:

• There is no need for Server Maintenance, as Microsoft manages the infrastructure.
• Additionally, it can reduce the overall cost of servers. 
• Microsoft regularly updates SharePoint Online, so you do not need to manage version upgrades.
• Microsoft provides proper security for SharePoint, such as Entra ID, etc.
• Organizations can migrate SharePoint sites between Microsoft 365 tenants.
• Microsoft 365 provides integration with its services such as Teams, OneDrive, and Office for easier file sharing and collaboration.
• Users can access SharePoint files from supported devices anywhere with an internet connection.

Pre-Migration Checklist Scan the source: Use the SPMT scan or the SharePoint Migration Assessment Tool (SMAT) to flag unsupported content. Assign roles: Use a SharePoint administrator for organization-level jobs and a site collection administrator for site-level jobs. Prepare the destination: Create the destination sites and a user-mapping file so permissions resolve correctly. Verify limits: SPMT supports files up to 250 GB, and file paths are limited to 400 characters. Also remove proxy connections, since SPMT does not support them. Backup and pilot: Back up the source, then run a small test batch.

 

How to Migrate SharePoint to Microsoft 365?

In this section, there are several methods where each methods have their own prerequisites, approaches, steps, and capabilities. You can choose according to your requirements and preferred approaches.

Method 1: Migrate SharePoint to Office 365 Using Microsoft SPMT

SPMT is Microsoft’s free desktop utility for moving your data from SharePoint Server and file share content to SharePoint, OneDrive, or Teams. 

Steps for SharePoint to Office 365 migration:

1. Download and launch SPMT, then sign in with your Microsoft 365 destination admin account.
2. Click Add new migration and select Single source URL.
3. Choose Site migration, then enter the source URL and SharePoint Server credentials.
4. Select This site and all subsites, then choose SharePoint as the destination and enter its URL.
5. Select Keep the classic site structure or Switch to the modern site structure.
6. Review the settings and click Start.

Note: You can refer to Microsoft SPMT Guide for more detailed steps. This guide can help you to create your first migration guide.

 

Method 2: Manual Method to Move SharePoint Online to Office 365

This method works well for migrations of a minimal number of files and folders. In this method, you have to download all your content manually one by one and then upload it.

Steps to Migrate SharePoint to Microsoft 365:

1. First, log in to the source tenant and open the SharePoint site.
2. Open the required document library.
3. Now, choose the files/folders.
4. Download the selected content to your local computer.
5. Then, log in to the destination tenant.
6. Open the destination SharePoint site and document library.
7. Open File Explorer and locate the downloaded content.
8. Upload or drag and drop the files and folders into the destination library.
9. Wait for the upload to complete.
10. Verify the migrated files and folder structure.

Note: This method doesn’t preserve all elements of your SharePoint content, such as permissions, sharing links, etc. You can refer to the detailed guide to get more detailed information on it.

 

Method 3: Migrate SharePoint Online to Office 365 Using the SysInfo SPMT

This method automates the complete procedure in a limited number of steps. Before migration, you just need to install the SysInfo SharePoint Migration Tool. This tool can move your SharePoint Online sites, document libraries, files, folders, and lists between Microsoft 365 tenants through the Microsoft Graph API. 

Steps for SharePoint migration to Microsoft 365:

1. Launch the tool and click Copy SharePoint.
2. Choose Modern Authentication or Admin Impersonation. Then log in to the source tenant and select the sites.
3. Connect the destination tenant and select the target sites.
4. Map sites manually, or use Quick Actions, then verify with View Mapping.
5. You can apply filters as per your requirement of the migration.
6. Click Start Migration, monitor the Active Tasks window, and review the report.

Note: You can use its advanced features such as SharePoint three-phase deduplication engine, Skip previously migrated, Date filtering, Batch processing, Quick action (bulk mapping), etc. Software Guide is provided for more detailed instructions.

 

Conclusion

In this blog, we get three ways to migrate SharePoint to Microsoft 365. To begin with, Microsoft SPMT provides a suitable approach for SharePoint Server migrations, while manual methods are practical for minimal sets of data. However, tenant-to-tenant migrations require a dedicated tool to provide bulk support, user mapping, etc. Therefore, a professional migration tool like SysInfo SPMT can resolve this with its several advanced features.

Frequently Asked Questions

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