SharePoint Migration Strategies: Moving to SharePoint Online

$storageGB = [math]::Round($site.Usage.Storage / 1GB, 2) $owner = $site.Owner.Email

$inventory += [PSCustomObject]@{ URL = $site.Url Title = $site.RootWeb.Title Owner = $owner StorageGB = $storageGB LastModified = $site.LastContentModifiedDate Template = $site.RootWeb.WebTemplate }``` }

$inventory | Export-Csv "SiteInventory.csv" -NoTypeInformation

Analyze storage by site

$inventory | Sort-Object StorageGB -Descending | Select-Object -First 20 | Format-Table

## Customization Assessment

```powershell




## Find farm solutions
Get-SPSolution | Select-Object Name, Deployed, LastOperationTime





## Find sandbox solutions
Get-SPSite -Limit All | ForEach-Object {
```powershell
$site = $_
$solutions = Get-SPUserSolution -Site $site





foreach ($solution in $solutions) {
    [PSCustomObject]@{
        Site = $site.Url
        Solution = $solution.Name
        Status = $solution.Status
    }
}```
} | Export-Csv "SandboxSolutions.csv" -NoTypeInformation

## Find customized master pages
Get-SPSite -Limit All | ForEach-Object {
```powershell
$web = $_.RootWeb
if ($web.CustomMasterUrl -notlike "*/_catalogs/*") {
    [PSCustomObject]@{
        Site = $web.Url
        MasterPage = $web.CustomMasterUrl
    }
}```
}

Migration Tools

SharePoint Migration Tool (SPMT)

Features:

• Free Microsoft tool
• Migrates SharePoint on-prem, file shares, Box, Google Drive
• Supports large-scale migrations
• Incremental migration capability
• Reports and error handling

Install SPMT:

## Download from Microsoft




## https://aka.ms/spmt





## Or install via PowerShell
Install-Module -Name Microsoft.SharePoint.MigrationTool.PowerShell

Expected output:

Package installed successfully.

Migration Using SPMT GUI

1. Launch SPMT

2. Sign in to Microsoft 365

3. Add source:

   • SharePoint Server (on-premises)
   • Enter server URL and credentials

4. Select content:

   • Entire site collection
   • Specific sites/libraries
   • Individual folders/files

5. Configure destination:

   • Target site URL
   • Preserve permissions
   • Version history options

6. Start migration

7. Monitor progress

8. Review reports

Migration Using SPMT PowerShell

## Import module
Import-Module Microsoft.SharePoint.MigrationTool.PowerShell





## Register source
$sourceUserName = "domain\admin"
$sourcePassword = ConvertTo-SecureString "password" -AsPlainText -Force
$sourceCred = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential($sourceUserName, $sourcePassword)





Register-SPMTMigration -SPOCredential $sourceCred `
                       -SourceSiteUrl "http://sharepoint2016/sites/team1" `
                       -TargetSiteUrl "https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/team1" `
                       -PreservePermissions `
                       -MigrateAllSiteFieldsAndContentTypes

## Start migration
Start-SPMTMigration





## Check status
Get-SPMTMigration





## Generate report
Export-SPMTReport -Path "C:\MigrationReports"

Bulk Migration Script

Figure: SharePoint Migration Tool – progress dashboard with status and error log.

## CSV format: SourceUrl,TargetUrl




## Example:




## http://sp2016/sites/team1,https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/team1




## http://sp2016/sites/team2,https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/team2

$mappings = Import-Csv "SiteMappings.csv"





foreach ($mapping in $mappings) {
```text
Register-SPMTMigration -SPOCredential $sourceCred `
                       -SourceSiteUrl $mapping.SourceUrl `
                       -TargetSiteUrl $mapping.TargetUrl `
                       -PreservePermissions```
}

Start-SPMTMigration -Parallel 5

## Wait for completion
do {
```powershell
$status = Get-SPMTMigration
Write-Host "Migration status: $($status.Status)"
Start-Sleep -Seconds 60```
} while ($status.Status -eq "Running")





Write-Host "Migration completed!"

Third-Party Migration Tools

ShareGate:

• User-friendly interface
• Advanced permissions mapping
• Content remediation
• Pre-migration validation

AvePoint:

• Enterprise-scale migrations
• Automated scheduling
• Custom workflows
• Compliance preservation

Metalogix:

• Incremental migrations
• Content transformation
• Security migration
• Post-migration validation

Migration Waves Planning

Wave Strategy

Wave 1: Pilot (10% of sites)

• Select representative sites
• Include various templates and sizes
• Identify and resolve issues
• Gather user feedback

Wave 2: Early Adopters (20%)

• Power users and champions
• More complex sites
• Refine processes based on pilot

Wave 3: General Migration (70%)

• Bulk of organization
• Optimized processes
• Established support

Wave Planning Spreadsheet

Wave,SiteName,SourceURL,TargetURL,Owner,StorageGB,Priority,MigrationDate
1,HR Portal,http://sp/hr,https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/hr,hr@contoso.com,5.2,High,2025-01-15
1,IT Support,http://sp/it,https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/it,it@contoso.com,3.1,High,2025-01-15
2,Sales Team,http://sp/sales,https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/sales,sales@contoso.com,12.4,Medium,2025-02-01
2,Marketing,http://sp/marketing,https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/marketing,marketing@contoso.com,8.7,Medium,2025-02-01
3,Team Site 1,http://sp/team1,https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/team1,team1@contoso.com,2.1,Low,2025-03-01

Scheduling Script

$waves = Import-Csv "MigrationWaves.csv"

## Group by migration date
$schedule = $waves | Group-Object MigrationDate





foreach ($date in $schedule) {
```powershell
$migrationDate = [datetime]$date.Name

if ((Get-Date) -ge $migrationDate) {
    Write-Host "Starting migration for $($date.Name)" -ForegroundColor Green
    
    foreach ($site in $date.Group) {
        Write-Host "  Migrating $($site.SiteName)..."
        
        Register-SPMTMigration -SourceSiteUrl $site.SourceURL `
                               -TargetSiteUrl $site.TargetURL `
                               -PreservePermissions
    }
    
    Start-SPMTMigration
}```
}

Content Remediation

Large Lists

Problem: Lists with >5000 items may have view threshold issues.

Solutions:

1. Create indexed columns:

## Add index to column
$list = Get-PnPList -Identity "Large List"
$field = Get-PnPField -List $list -Identity "Modified"
$field.Indexed = $true
$field.Update()
Invoke-PnPQuery

Expected output:

Title           ItemCount  Url
-----           ---------  ---
Documents       156        /Shared Documents

2. Break into multiple lists:
   • Archive old items
   • Use retention policies
   • Separate by year/category

Broken Permissions

Figure: Site permissions – groups, external sharing, and access request settings.

## Find sites with broken inheritance
$sites = Get-PnPSubWeb -Recurse





$brokenPermissions = @()
foreach ($site in $sites) {
```powershell
Connect-PnPOnline -Url $site.Url -Interactive

$web = Get-PnPWeb
if (-not $web.HasUniqueRoleAssignments) {
    continue
}

$brokenPermissions += [PSCustomObject]@{
    SiteURL = $site.Url
    UniquePermissions = $true
}```
}

$brokenPermissions | Export-Csv "BrokenPermissions.csv" -NoTypeInformation

Expected output:

Connected to https://contoso.sharepoint.com

Custom Content Types

Figure: Content type hub – term store management and content syndication.

## Export content types for migration
$contentTypes = Get-PnPContentType





foreach ($ct in $contentTypes | Where-Object { $ct.Group -ne "_Hidden" }) {
```powershell
$template = Get-PnPSiteTemplate -Out "$($ct.Name).xml" -Handlers ContentTypes -ContentType $ct.Name```
}

## Import to destination
Connect-PnPOnline -Url "https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/target" -Interactive
Invoke-PnPSiteTemplate -Path "CustomContentType.xml"

Expected output:

Connected to https://contoso.sharepoint.com

Workflow Migration

SharePoint Designer 2013 Workflows:

• Document existing workflows
• Recreate in Power Automate
• Test thoroughly before migration
• Run in parallel during transition

Example workflow mapping:

Hybrid Scenarios

Hybrid SharePoint

Connect on-premises SharePoint with SharePoint Online:

## Configure hybrid




## Prerequisites: Azure AD Connect, SharePoint 2016/2019





## Run Hybrid Configuration Wizard




## https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=51885





## Configure hybrid features:




## - Hybrid search




## - Hybrid OneDrive




## - Hybrid sites features

Hybrid Search

Inbound (Cloud to On-Prem):

## Configure cloud SSA to crawl on-prem content




## Displays on-prem results in SharePoint Online search

Outbound (On-Prem to Cloud):

## Configure on-prem SSA to display cloud results




## Unified search experience from on-prem

Phased Migration with Hybrid

1. Phase 1: Set up hybrid infrastructure
2. Phase 2: Migrate OneDrive for Business
3. Phase 3: Migrate site collections in waves
4. Phase 4: Retire on-premises infrastructure

Post-Migration Tasks

Validation Checklist

## Verify site accessibility
$targetSites = Import-Csv "MigratedSites.csv"





foreach ($site in $targetSites) {
```powershell
try {
    Connect-PnPOnline -Url $site.TargetURL -Interactive
    $web = Get-PnPWeb
    
    Write-Host "✓ $($web.Title) - Accessible" -ForegroundColor Green
}
catch {
    Write-Host "✗ $($site.TargetURL) - Error: $($_.Exception.Message)" -ForegroundColor Red
}```
}

Expected output:

Connected to https://contoso.sharepoint.com

Permission Verification

Figure: Site permissions – groups, external sharing, and access request settings.

## Compare permissions before and after
$sourcePermissions = Import-Csv "SourcePermissions.csv"
$targetSite = "https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/team1"





Connect-PnPOnline -Url $targetSite -Interactive

$targetGroups = Get-PnPGroup

foreach ($sourceGroup in $sourcePermissions) {
```powershell
$targetGroup = $targetGroups | Where-Object { $_.Title -eq $sourceGroup.GroupName }

if ($targetGroup) {
    $members = Get-PnPGroupMember -Identity $targetGroup.Id
    Write-Host "$($sourceGroup.GroupName): $($members.Count) members"
}
else {
    Write-Host "Missing group: $($sourceGroup.GroupName)" -ForegroundColor Red
}```
}

Expected output:

Connected to https://contoso.sharepoint.com

Search Reindexing

Figure: SharePoint search – refiners, result types, and managed properties.

## Request full crawl of migrated content
Connect-PnPOnline -Url "https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/team1" -Interactive





Request-PnPReIndexWeb
Request-PnPReIndexList -Identity "Documents"

Expected output:

Connected to https://contoso.sharepoint.com

User Training

Training Topics:

• Accessing SharePoint Online
• OneDrive sync client
• Mobile apps
• Modern vs. classic experience
• Sharing and permissions
• Version history

Resources:

• Video tutorials
• Quick reference guides
• Lunch and learn sessions
• Champions network

Best Practices

Before Migration

1. Clean up content - Delete obsolete sites and documents
2. Document customizations - Inventory all customizations
3. Test pilot migrations - Validate approach with small sample
4. Plan communications - Keep users informed
5. Establish support - Have help desk ready

During Migration

1. Monitor progress - Watch SPMT logs and errors
2. Incremental approach - Migrate in manageable batches
3. Off-hours scheduling - Minimize user impact
4. Parallel migrations - Use SPMT parallel capability
5. Backup source - Keep on-prem content until validated

After Migration

1. Validate content - Spot-check migrated sites
2. Test permissions - Verify access controls
3. Reindex search - Ensure content discoverable
4. Update links - Fix hardcoded URLs
5. Decommission source - Retire on-premises after validation period

Migration Timeline Example

Figure: SharePoint Migration Tool – progress dashboard with status and error log.

Month 1: Assessment and Planning
- Run SMAT
- Inventory content
- Identify customizations
- Define wave strategy





Month 2: Pilot Migration
- Migrate 5-10 pilot sites
- Validate results
- Gather feedback
- Refine processes

Month 3-4: Wave 1 & 2
- Migrate 30% of sites
- Monitor and adjust
- Provide user support

Month 5-6: Wave 3 & 4
- Migrate remaining sites
- Complete validation
- Train users

Month 7: Post-Migration
- Decommission on-premises
- Final validation
- Lessons learned

Troubleshooting

Migration Errors

"Access Denied":

• Verify credentials
• Check permissions on source and target
• Ensure migration account has site collection admin

"Item Size Exceeds Maximum":

• Files >15GB cannot migrate
• Split large files or use OneDrive sync

"Too Many Requests":

• Throttled by SharePoint
• Reduce parallel migrations
• Retry with backoff

Performance Issues

## Check migration performance
Get-SPMTMigration | Select-Object -Property Status, ItemsScanned, ItemsMigrated, BytesMigrated





## Optimize settings
Set-SPMTSettings -ParallelTaskCount 10 `
                 -UseAzureADLoginForSPO $true `
                 -PreserveUserPermissions $true

Architecture Decision and Tradeoffs

When designing content management and collaboration solutions with SharePoint, consider these key architectural trade-offs:

Recommendation: Start with the managed approach for most workloads and move to custom only when specific requirements demand it.

Validation and Versioning

• Last validated: April 2026
• Validate examples against your tenant, region, and SKU constraints before production rollout.
• Keep module, CLI, and SDK versions pinned in automation pipelines and review quarterly.

Security and Governance Considerations

• Apply least-privilege access using RBAC roles and just-in-time elevation for admin tasks.
• Store secrets in managed secret stores and avoid embedding credentials in scripts or source files.
• Enable audit logging, data protection policies, and periodic access reviews for regulated workloads.

Cost and Performance Notes

• Define budgets and alerts, then monitor usage and cost trends continuously after go-live.
• Baseline performance with synthetic and real-user checks before and after major changes.
• Scale resources with measured thresholds and revisit sizing after usage pattern changes.

Official Microsoft References

• https://learn.microsoft.com/sharepoint/
• https://learn.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/enterprise/
• https://learn.microsoft.com/purview/

Public Examples from Official Sources

• These examples are sourced from official public Microsoft documentation and sample repositories.
• Documentation examples: https://learn.microsoft.com/sharepoint/dev/
• Sample repositories: https://github.com/SharePoint/sp-dev-docs
• Prefer adapting these examples to your tenant, subscriptions, and governance requirements before production use.

Key Takeaways

• Thorough assessment prevents migration issues
• SPMT is the recommended free migration tool
• Wave approach reduces risk and user impact
• Content remediation improves migration success
• Hybrid enables phased transitions
• Validation and testing are critical
• User training ensures adoption

Next Steps

• Run SharePoint Migration Assessment Tool
• Create detailed migration plan with waves
• Pilot migration with representative sites
• Document lessons learned for full rollout

Additional Resources

• SPMT Documentation
• Migration Assessment Tool
• Hybrid SharePoint
• Migration Best Practices

Plan carefully. Migrate confidently.