Migrating to SharePoint 2013

SharePoint, Microsoft’s web application framework, is an incredibly powerful tool that can assist organizations with varied tasks such as content integration and document management. It can also provide an organization with a framework for its Intranet.

Organizations typically want to migrate to newer versions of SharePoint as they are released to take advantage of the new or enhanced functions available. Typically, the newer product is improved such that it resolves or fixes issues found in previous versions, but the process is time and resource intensive.

Through a third-party, managed services company such as Datavail, an organization can have expert SharePoint resources at its disposal, enabling it to have ongoing administration for their SharePoint environment as well as expert staffing to complete pressing projects such as migrating to a new version of the software.

Microsoft does end support for older iterations of its products, including SharePoint, so migrating prevents problems that result from a lack of support

In the SharePoint migration process, Datavail uses proven and tested tools from third-party vendors such as Metalogix, ShareGate, and Quest. We begin with an environment review, followed by a complete documentation of the existing SharePoint configuration. We then develop a comprehensive migration strategy and clean up the source SharePoint before migrating data. We demystify the SharePoint migration steps for the client and identify boundaries and limits as well as any potential migration roadblocks.

Often, significant resources are required if your organization must upgrade or change SharePoint versions while staff is still working on projects within the software. But you may not have any option but to upgrade if your organization still uses SharePoint 2010. Microsoft is ending support for SharePoint 2010, effective October 2015. Microsoft still supports SharePoint 2013 and is releasing SharePoint 2016 this year; you may want to upgrade now to avoid losing support.

As you make the transition to the new version of SharePoint, you will want your organization to have a decommissioning plan in place. This will include plans for data backup, virtualization, and testing. The process is not a one-click affair. There are some third-party tools designed to help in the transition, but these have limitations—which is why we use products that we have proven work in this process. You will want to fully investigate your options and have even more scenarios available in the event aspects of the move and deployment don’t go precisely as planned. You may wish to have decommissioning support throughout the process, which you could get through Datavail.

Indecision regarding upgrading may prove costly over time and may become even more costly to the organization and its reputation. If you aren’t migrating to the newest version of SharePoint, the biggest issue is that there will soon be no support available. Also, any new security vulnerabilities—endemic with outdated or outmoded technologies—are not patched, leaving organizations open to cyberattacks.

An estimated 75 percent of our customers regularly ask for our help with their SharePoint implementation. It is, for many organizations, a mission-critical technology used as a knowledge base, a business driver, and business process support.

Migration is a key task—one of seven strategic tasks related to SharePoint that Datavail experts can undertake. For information on the other six, please read our white paper Seven Strategic Tasks for a Superlative SharePoint Implementation.

To learn more about our remote database services and how our experts can help with your ongoing SharePoint operations, please contact Datavail to discuss a custom solution designed for your enterprise.