Microsoft SharePoint 2010 is one of the most used SharePoint versions. But soon, it is slated to see the end of its life.
Why Migrate SharePoint 2010 to SharePoint Online
Being the go-to platform of many organizations, it can become quite difficult to replace it after it reached its end. Therefore, it is essential to have a contingency plan in hand and start executing it ASAP as the clock is ticking away. The best solution for this is to opt for migrating from the On-Premise SharePoint 2010 version to Office 365 or other newer versions of SharePoint.
When you choose to migrate from SharePoint 2010 to SharePoint Online, a lot of factors are to be examined beforehand. The two main factors would be- Choosing the best migration approach and finalizing the best tool for SharePoint Migration. The best option is to opt for O365, as it is emerging to be the most popular choice and the most widely used platform around the world and can be a good alternative to the only On-Premise SharePoint 2010.
A downside of SharePoint 2010 On-Premise is that it uses an Active Directory for its users and authenticating or granting permissions can turn out to be troublesome while migrating. Further, all the data that will be destroyed as soon as the 2010 version meets its doom can be quite catastrophic for the organizations using it and measures must be taken by them to migrate to other SharePoint versions before it’s too late.
So, what exactly does SharePoint 2010 End of Life mean?
Microsoft had stopped the SharePoint 2010 mainstream support way back in 2015. The final date to stop the extended support is slated to be October 13, 2020. Meaning, SharePoint 2010 is very close to its official end date.
Even though the platform won’t become non-functional, the lack of support will make sustaining in it very risky as from then on, no more updates or security patches will be released for it. Users need to make sure that they take the appropriate steps before this extended support expires.
Many organizations that are still using the SharePoint 2010 platform might land themselves up in severe business functional crisis. They might face some serious security breaches if they don’t migrate to other SharePoint versions soon.
Not just the above-mentioned factors, but there are some other factors that might stir trouble in your organization-
Your SharePoint version is SharePoint 2010 or older
You don’t have SharePoint yet but wish to upgrade your on-premise data to it
Your existing depository or environment is not SharePoint
You have a total overhaul unstable environment.
Content is distributed improperly, and folder structures are shallow.
Performance issues are high, and you want to improve your content database performance.
You require a modern portal and have a good amount of time in hand.
Leverage Your Transformation Journey
By now, we can safely say that SharePoint 2010 migration is a necessity and migrating to a newer version of SharePoint is the best, safe and only strategy to get you out of this problem. Now, here lies the million-dollar question- which version of SharePoint to choose? No doubt, the new On-Prem versions are just as good as any and choosing them would be a viable option. But the smarter option here is to choose Office 365. Because, the cloud version of SharePoint has proven to be robust, secure, user-friendly and can integrate many new tools that enhance collaboration, communication and productivity.
Microsoft Office 365 is quite useful, and many organizations are preferring it over On-Prem versions. This is because, O365, the cloud version of SharePoint is not just a platform for document sharing, but also a platform that supports all the new applications that are quickly gaining momentum such as Yammer, Delve, Teams etc.,
This is the right time to give your digital infrastructure an upgrade that boosts your business growth to a new level and increases your employee efficiency substantially. Leverage this opportunity to modernize all your data and promote Digital Transformation in your organization.
Planning a good SharePoint Migration Strategy
Without proper planning, migrating all your data can be prone to a series of errors and the result will be quite disappointing. To achieve successful migration and to avoid unnecessary errors and rework, it is imperative that we have a good, foolproof plan in place and the plan needs to be executed with perfection.
Keep the following points in mind before planning your strategy-
While making the inventory, one thing to be taken care of from your side is to segregate the contents that are worth keeping, the ones that are to be relocated and the ones that are no longer needed
Plan the perfect time for carrying out the migration so that it can be carried out during the downtime of your business
Keep backup plans handy so that none of your business processes gets effected drastically in case the migration takes longer than expected
Opt to migrate in phases
Plan the mapping of orphan users
Prepare a list of deprecated features of SharePoint 2010 and plan how to handle their absence
If you are opting for O365, make sure you have proper licensing
The last, but not the least,
Choose the appropriate migration tool
Once you are ready with your migration plan, do a thorough market research about it and find the best suited tool for you. Choose the best time for your migration and let the tool do all the work.
Pre-Migration
Knowing what you have in SharePoint and managing the inventory, is crucial in the process of upgrading your SharePoint to a newer version. Relevant information such as list of custom contents, site maps, content edited web parts, third party tools involved etc., needs to be taken care of.
We would recommend Saketa SharePoint Migrator, which has a dedicated Pre-Migration check feature that records all data before migration, keeps a record of them and warns the user about all the potential risks associated with the migration.
You can also utilize the PowerShell feature of our tool that allow you to script your migrations and can precisely make the inventory report of only the required parts of the SharePoint. Thus, if you have a good knowledge of PowerShell, using it for inventory will be a great option.
Migrate
The next and arguably the most important step is the actual process of Migration. With our tool, migrating your data is a piece of cake.
Just follow these steps to migrate-
Select the required Migration Type
Select the Source and destination of Migration
Perform the User Mappings if required
Set your Migration Settings
Start your SharePoint Migration
Post- Migration
After you’re done with SharePoint 2010 Migration, you must run the post-migration check to validate that all the data have been migrated properly. Once the check displays that there are no errors, you will have achieved a successful migration of all your data and are now ready to use the latest version.
Conclusion
No matter the size of your organization, an appropriate digital platform is always recommended and with the trend of Digital Transformation, it has become a necessity. Sticking to SharePoint 2010, whose end is near can result in unnecessary last moment hassle.
Migrating from SharePoint 2010 is a complex process and be can be quite tedious, but now it is the only solution to salvage all your data. Investing in Digital Transformation today can ensure an uninterrupted growth in the future.
So, think about the big picture, be smart and choose wisely!
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