Migrating organisational data to Microsoft 365 can reduce complexity, save money, and increase adoption of the platform. Let CompanyNet take the stress out of migrating to OneDrive, Microsoft Teams and SharePoint Online using our expert cloud migration service.
Office 365 Migration Services
It is entirely possible for an organisation to migrate their data without engaging an external partner. The risk with this approach is that any ‘gotchas’ or complexity can impact the success of the move through delays and errors.
Data migration is typically a one-off project, so it should be completed as efficiently as possible so that the organisation can move on in the new world of SharePoint Online-hosted files.
CompanyNet’s deep experience in migrating data for customers allows us to foresee any issue and offer a predictable outcome, no matter the size or complexity. We can also design a structure within SharePoint Online which will best serve the needs of the organisation in the future, rather than just ‘lifting and shifting’ the same structure to a new system.
Our data migration methodology is tailored to fit the specific needs of each customer. As a longstanding, Gold-accredited Microsoft Partner with 25 years’ experience you can be assured that we’ll be employing the latest technologies and best practices to ensure a pain-free migration for your business.
How it works
Our Migration Service approach consists of several standard steps, each of which will be tailored to your specific needs.
Current State Analysis
Our team will discuss the migration with you, gathering all requirements and understand the scope.
Direct access to the data may be required to allow scanning utilities to run to provide increased insight.
The analysis will cover the following areas:
- Where is the data is currently stored?
- How is the data accessed and by whom?
- What is the ‘active data’ versus archive?
- What are the access restrictions around files and folders?
- Are there any files types which can’t be migrated?
- Are there any objectives to change the file structure alongside the migration?
- How will the migrated files be used alongside other Office 365 services e.g. Microsoft Teams?
- Does all data need to be migrated?
Target State Design
Based on the requirements, we will create a design which will be shared with you for review and approval.
- The structure for the sites and files within Office 365 to provide the required separation or access controls.
- The tool or service which we will use for the migration. Microsoft have invested heavily in migration solutions recently which are provided as part of the Office 365 subscription. There are commercial products which we also use if additional capability is required.
- The migration approach and indicative timescales.
Communication and training
Data migration is not only a technical exercise but also requires change management for the organisation. This starts with communicating the migration to make sure all stakeholders are informed and aware of the change and the impact it will have to their working practices.
We can provide additional training or guidance if required. This depends on an organisation’s familiarity with Office 365 and will be built into the implementation plans.
Migration and cutover
We will migrate the data to Office 365 as scheduled and set up the required access for users. Typically, this will be completed overnight so that no files are being updated during the migration. Confirmation of the migration completion will be communicated to users, allowing them to ‘cut over’ to the new working environment at the start of the working day.
Data Migration to Office 365 involves copying data rather than moving it, which means that a backup or archive is left in place. This is useful as it de-risks the rollback if any unexpected issues did occur. Assuming success however, it is critical that users are restricted from accessing this archive to prevent updates appearing on both the old and new environments which are difficult to merge.
Early Life Support
Even the most successful migration may throw up issues or require a little extra input from us once things are complete. We build in a short phase of early life support to our projects to cater for these situations.
This give you confidence that you can sign off the migration as complete, but we will be around to help if anything does occur.
Migrating Personal Drives to OneDrive for Business
Many organisations issues personal ‘user drives’ on a corporate file share. These are sometimes mapped to a user’s Windows documents and desktop folders, so that everything stored on the device is also stored in a shared space. Personal drives are prime candidates for migration to OneDrive for Business (ODfB) which can be configured to offer improved capabilities for no increase in cost.
OneDrive for Business provides each user with a personal cloud storage space with at least 1TB of data capacity and is ideal for storing ‘work artefacts’ which doesn’t belong in a shared space like SharePoint. This could be draft documents which are not ready to share publicly, or sensitive data such as performance feedback.
An important distinction between OneDrive for Business and SharePoint Online is that ODfB is directly linked to a user’s account. This means that when the account is closed or deleted (i.e. user leaves the organisation), all data in the ODfB is also deleted. Conversely, SharePoint Online Sites and Microsoft Teams are created at the organisational level, so will remain in place as long as the Office 365 tenant exists.
Office 365 Migration Pricing
CompanyNet’s Office 365 Migration Service pricing is tailored to your organisation’s needs. This is dependent on the volume and complexity of your data in addition to the current host.
However, we strive to offer great value for money, and the cost of a migration is often a modest investment to allow your organisation to unlock the full capabilities of Office 365.
Are you getting value from your SharePoint Online service?
In addition to Exchange Online mailbox storage and OneDrive for Business, Office 365 provides an additional storage allocation for SharePoint Online. This will be at least 1TB of data per organisation which can be used for shared storage and collaboration at no extra cost to the existing subscription.
Many organisations using Office 365 do not take advantage of SharePoint Online – but they should. As one of the UK’s leading Office 365 consultancies, CompanyNet has helped our customers to migrate their data from corporate file shares and cloud storage providers to OneDrive for Business and SharePoint Online.
Our approach is based on Microsoft best practice complemented by our experience of migrating terabytes of complex organisational data to Office 365.
Get in touch
Get in touch with our friendly team now:
The CompanyNet team has more than 20 years’ experience of creating Microsoft digital workplaces that really work.
We’re a tight-knit team that delivers results for customers including Scottish Water, Mencap, the Student Loans Company, Walt Disney, Tesco Bank, the Scottish Housing Regulator and many more.
We’re always keen to discuss whether we can help you get more out of Office 365.