Migrating Data From a Standalone Cloud to a Cloud Suite
Businesses planning to migrate data from a standalone cloud to a cloud suite, such as from Box to OneDrive in Microsoft 365, can benefit in many ways with the right strategy. They can leverage the high level of app integration to improve internal processes and implement better security measures.
Continue reading below to learn about some of the core action items to migrate data from a user-oriented cloud to a robust cloud suite, such as from Box to Microsoft 365.
1. Ensure Accuracy in Mapping Users
One of the most important aspects of ensuring 100% accuracy for data transfer from Box to OneDrive for Business and SharePoint Online is proper mapping of the user accounts. Your company’s IT team must avoid mistakes in any area during the user mapping stage, including:
- Choosing the right folder paths
- Using correct CSV mapping syntaxes
- Adding the correct email addresses of each user
- Ensuring mapping consistency for all user accounts
After mapping the entire users in the CSV sheet, it is important to coordinate with the migration partner’s managed migration team to validate the mapping so that the migration tool can populate data from it.
2. Migrate All the Features to Leverage the Cloud Suite’s Apps
Companies can truly maximize their gains from a cloud suite like Microsoft 365 by migrating all the features associated with the source cloud’s user data. Such features include:
- Inner and root folder permissions
- Inner and root file permissions
- Shared links
- Embedded links
- External shares
- File versions
- Timestamps
- In-line comments
IT teams must equally prioritize files that are exclusive to the source cloud, for example, Box Notes in Box. Enterprise-grade migration tools, such as CloudFuze, migrate Box Notes files as .DOCX files in OneDrive and SharePoint Online.
3. Prepare a User Onboarding Strategy
Having a proper user onboarding strategy is critical to ensuring a seamless transition and effortless adoption for the end users. It is also beneficial in helping the end-users leverage all the features of the cloud suite, such as:
- Cross-app sharing
- Cross-app integration
- Functionality customization
- Daily task automation via Power Automate
4. Provide Extensive Training to the Admins to Improve Data Governance
Apart from providing end-users with extensive training, it is also important to prepare the admins to use
- Sharing insightful preparation resources
- Sharing early access to Microsoft 365 admin console
- Scheduling conferences with the Microsoft 365 adoption team
- Practicing administration and governance with test batch accounts
5. Decommission the Source Cloud and Its Add-ons for Cost-savings Benefits
Businesses that plan to move away from a standalone cloud, such as Box, to a robust cloud suite, such as Microsoft 365, for cost-saving goals must decommission the source cloud post-migration. They also must end the licenses of the add-on apps, such as messaging/video conferencing platforms, to make the most out of Microsoft 365 all-inclusive license that includes all the necessary business apps.
