Copy files manually
This method includes moving files manually to the destination using the SharePoint Explorer view service. It is the least practical method to carry out the migration process, as the items/documents lose all the related metadata such as “Created By”, “Created date”, “Modified By” and so on. This method is least recommended for SharePoint consultants as we cannot have all the items/documents created and modified all at the same time and by the same person carrying out the migration process. Thus, the integrity of documents is not persisted, and it doesn’t work in most cases.
Use Office 365 Migration API
Using migration tools to Migrate SharePoint Site to Office 365 may sometimes limit larger migrations while in some cases the migration may even stop. Microsoft introduced a newer way of migration Office 365 Migration API for developers to solve this issue. The approach improves migration speed considerably by leveraging Azure. Users need to send their content inside a migration package in Azure, where a scheduler/timer job runs to import your data in SharePoint Online.
Though migration API works best with simple migrations having a few lists/document libraries while for larger volumes of migration, it takes too much of an effort and is quite complicated to set up.
Microsoft FastTrack
Microsoft FastTrack facilitates the free migration of data from the source environment to Office 365. It is available for all customers with Office 365 tenants having 500 or more licenses. FastTrack enables file sharing across SharePoint Online. It guides administrators with tools and documentation to perform configuration steps for both Office 365 and the source environment. Please note that ownership history and previous versions won’t be migrated to Office 365.
Custom Solutions
We can develop a custom utility to migrate content from SharePoint on-premises to Office 365, but the amount of effort, time, and support that goes into it is huge and not a feasible approach.
Third-party SharePoint Online migration tools
The most used method for SharePoint Online migration(Office 365) is through a third-party migration tool. There are various third-party migration tools available in the market. We can choose a tool based on our requirements and the amount of content or data to migrate. A third-party tool simplifies migration by reducing time and getting everything done with minimal effort that goes into the migration process.
Communicating with end-users
One of the challenges before moving to Office 365 is making the users aware of the change and the results of the migration. SharePoint consultants need to bring to users’ knowledge the reason for migrating to SharePoint Online(Office 365) and the duration during which the process should be taking place.
Make sure users are aware of the below points before starting the migration process
Downtime during the migration process
Reason for migration and results
Possible changes in the environments
Changes in URLs
Bookmarks
Hard-coded references to documents (e.g. Excel macros)
Approximate timeline for the migration process
Starting the actual migration process
The actual migration should not be too complex if you follow the above remedies. It will eventually come down to dealing with detail that pops up that wasn’t considered in the first place. Once again, you need to make sure each and everything is in its place.
Workflows
Complete or stop running workflows about to be migrated
Scenarios for Migration
Migrating from SharePoint on-premises to Office 365
Use a third-party tool to granularly migrate SharePoint On-premise to Office 365, considered as most recommended
Post-migration steps
Before you let users access SharePoint, make sure everything is up and running in your SharePoint Online environment.
Test your SharePoint Online environment
Ensure that the migration of content is successful
Run/test workflows after the migration are done
Check user permissions
Create a backup of the SharePoint Online environment
Remove access to SharePoint server on-premises
To learn more about Microsoft Office 365 Migration or to Migrate SharePoint 2013 to 2019 visit O365CloudExperts.