Overview
What is SharePoint to SharePoint Migration?
SharePoint to SharePoint migration involves moving content from one SharePoint environment to another. That might be an upgrade from on-prem to SharePoint Online, a move between Microsoft 365 tenants, or rebuilding classic sites as modern ones.
These projects often need more than a simple copy-and-paste — they require deep knowledge of permissions, metadata, embedded links, and how users actually work.
Our SharePoint to SharePoint Migration Approach
We take a phased, structured approach to SharePoint-to-SharePoint migration — built to ensure continuity, clarity, and future readiness.
- Discovery & Planning
- Strategy & Design
- Choosing The Right Tools
- Migration Execution
- Post Migration Support
We start with discovery, where we audit your existing SharePoint environment to understand its structure, usage patterns, and complexity. Using tools like ShareGate and PowerShell scripts, we extract detailed information on libraries, metadata, user permissions, and embedded links.
This technical discovery is paired with stakeholder workshops to understand how different teams actually use SharePoint. Do they rely on custom views? Are there third-party workflows in place? Are some areas underused or duplicative? We use this insight to map out a migration approach that reflects not just your existing structure — but how your teams want to work in the future.Â
The result is a clear understanding of your starting point, and a plan tailored to your specific business context.
For tenant-to-tenant migrations, we look closely at your Entra ID setup, compliance boundaries, and user identity provisioning to avoid post-migration issues. We also design the target information architecture, including site templates, hub associations, and navigation structures, to ensure your new environment is easier to use and scale.
Where required, we incorporate change management and training planning to prepare users for what’s changing and why.Â
We use the tools that best match the job.
- SPMT (SharePoint Migration Tool) is ideal for structured, source-to-target migrations from on-premises SharePoint to SharePoint Online.
- ShareGate is used when migrations need to preserve metadata, restructure content, manage permissions, or span across Microsoft 365 tenants.
- LinkFixer helps us repair embedded file paths and links in Office documents — which is essential when documents are interlinked or used in automated processes.
We also use custom PowerShell scripts for more granular control and reporting. Tool selection is always based on the complexity, volume, and the elements that need preserving — not just what’s fastest.
Before anything moves at scale, we run pilot migrations to test the process, confirm expected outcomes, and get stakeholder feedback. We migrate a controlled batch of content, confirm accuracy, and fine-tune any automation or scripts.
Once validated, we proceed in batches — typically by team, site, or department — using logs and exception tracking to catch anything unexpected. Throughout, we maintain comms with your internal owners so they know what’s happening and when.Â
We also put controls in place to avoid duplication and confusion. This includes setting legacy sites to read-only or disabling access entirely once content is verified in the new location.
This careful phasing reduces downtime, helps with adoption, and ensures that business-critical areas are handled with care.
Our job isn’t done when the files are moved. We support your organisation post-migration to make sure users are confident and productive.
We provide training materials and sessions tailored to both end users and administrators. We help teams get the most from their new environment — configuring metadata, views, and search to surface content faster. We also support governance setup, helping you apply appropriate retention, sensitivity, and sharing rules across your new environment.
If you’re preparing for future Copilot or Syntex use, we help ensure your content is structured and tagged in a way that makes AI work better from the start.
Early-life support is available to help teams transition, raise issues, or request further migrations. Whether it’s a team left out of the initial scope or newly acquired content, we make sure nothing is left behind.
Common SharePoint-to-SharePoint Migration Scenarios
SharePoint-to-SharePoint migration covers a range of moves that organisations often need to make as their environments evolve:
- On-Premises to SharePoint Online: Moving content from SharePoint Server or file shares into the cloud to gain scalability, improved access, and the benefits of Microsoft 365’s modern platform.
- Tenant-to-Tenant Migration: Transferring data and configurations between Microsoft 365 tenants during mergers, acquisitions, or organisational changes, requiring careful handling of identity and permissions.
- Classic to Modern Site Upgrades: Moving from classic SharePoint sites to modern experiences within the same tenant to take advantage of enhanced features, improved usability, and better performance.
- Site Restructuring and Consolidation: Reorganising sites, libraries, and metadata as part of migration to improve governance, navigation, and search across your SharePoint environment.Â
Each of these scenarios brings unique challenges and requires tailored planning to ensure a smooth, disruption-free transition.
Things to Consider: Technical & People Factors
Technical Considerations
Even in a like-for-like migration, getting the technical foundations right is essential to preserve functionality, compliance, and user experience.Â
Metadata Preservation
Permissions Management
Embedded Links Integrity
Identity Synchronisation
Compliance Retention
Third-Party App Compatibility
People Considerations
A successful migration isn’t just about data — it’s about helping people adapt, adopt, and thrive in their new SharePoint environment.Â
User Training and Support
Clear Communication
Change Management
Governance Ownership
Employee Feedback Channels
Cultural Readiness
Client Stories
7 Day Intranet Transformation
A brand-aligned design refresh for financial services firm TP ICAP.
Empowering Higher Education Comms
A new branded intranet with custom page templates for the University of Leeds.
Award Winning Intranet
Storming success as the Met Office sets the standard for accessible collaboration for 2,000+ employees.
Bauer Media Group set out to create a personalised intranet experience that truly works for every employee.
In this 60 second overview, see how we brought that vision to life using SharePoint and Beacon.
Video created by our friends at The Surgery
Let’s Talk Migration
Whether you’re moving from on-premises to SharePoint Online, or from one tenant to another, we’ll support you through the migration journey.
FAQs
Got questions? We’ve answered some of the common ones here. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, drop us a note.
Why would an organisation move from one SharePoint environment to another?
At Silicon Reef, we help organisations use these migrations as opportunities to streamline governance, improve user experience, and retire outdated processes, ensuring the move delivers measurable business benefits beyond simply upgrading the platform.Â
What makes SharePoint-to-SharePoint migration different from other migrations?
Silicon Reef’s approach focuses on taking advantage of the latest SharePoint capabilities, using the migration as an opportunity to simplify, standardise, and future-proof the environment, rather than replicating old structures that may no longer serve the organisation’s needs effectively.Â
How do you ensure minimal disruption during a SharePoint-to-SharePoint migration?
Silicon Reef integrates technical planning with adoption strategies, ensuring that employees understand new features and processes before the cutover. This approach reduces downtime, avoids confusion, and ensures that teams can take immediate advantage of the improved platform without experiencing unnecessary operational delays.Â
Can a SharePoint-to-SharePoint migration improve governance and compliance?
At Silicon Reef, we work with leadership teams to use the migration process as a catalyst for implementing stronger controls, reducing risk, and improving content findability. This ensures that the new environment is not just a technical upgrade, but also a more secure and well-managed space for collaboration.Â
How do you handle legacy content in SharePoint-to-SharePoint migrations?
Silicon Reef conducts content audits early, identifying what to archive, update, or retire. This ensures the new environment remains streamlined, compliant, and user-friendly, allowing teams to work more efficiently and find the information they need without wading through unnecessary content.Â
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Whether you’ve got a Microsoft 365 project in mind or just want to learn more, we’d love to hear from you.