In this guide, I will explain how to migrate SharePoint to Office 365, including both SharePoint Server (On-Premises) to Office 365 and SharePoint Online to Microsoft 365 migration scenarios.

Table of Content Hide
    1. Why Migrate SharePoint to Office 365?
    2. Which SharePoint Environments Can Be Migrated?
    3. What Can You Migrate?
    4. How to Migrate SharePoint to Office 365 – Reliable Ways
    5. Method 1. Migrate SharePoint On-Premises to Office 365 Using Microsoft SPMT
    6. Method 2. Migrate SharePoint Online to Office 365 Automatically
    7. Method 3. Migrate SharePoint On-Premises to Office 365 Using PowerShell
    8. Method 4. Move SharePoint Online to Office 365 Manually
    9. Method 5. Copy SharePoint Files Manually
    10. Move SharePoint to Office 365: Best Practices
    11. Author’s Verdict
    12. People Also Ask

One week ago, I completed my SharePoint to Microsoft 365 migration process, and now I have decided to help organizations that want to perform this SharePoint tenant to tenant migration or on-premises to online. 

Here I’ll share a dos and don’ts list, along with methods that I used for this transition. During the migration, I faced some challenges, so to avoid them, I will also explain the best practices to follow to complete the migration successfully, without any data loss or hassle.

Still in doubt about whether migration is needed or not? Don’t worry, let me share some reasons to move from SharePoint to O365, so you can clearly make an informed decision.

Why Migrate SharePoint to Office 365?

I switched from SharePoint on-premises to Microsoft 365 because I was frustrated with on-premise set up and infrastructure management. Probably most of the users face the same challenges and have decided to move to cloud-based environments.

Infrastructure management is my challenge, but there are more challenges also, which I found:

  • Office 365 data is available from any location or device, unlike on-premise set up which is limited to one desktop. 
  • Teams can collaborate smoothly via SharePoint Online or Microsoft Teams. 
  • The best things I personally liked are that moving from SharePoint to Office 365 helps to reduce server costs.
  • I increased my storage capacity by taking the Microsoft 365 Enterprise plan. You can also switch to the Business or Enterprise Office 365 plan. 
  • Doesn’t need to update Office 365 manually, as automated Microsoft updates are available.
  • Microsoft offers robust security to their users’ data, which is necessary to prevent unauthorized access or cyber attacks. 
  • SharePoint Online can integrate with any other Microsoft services like Teams and OneDrive.

Now, I hope your doubt is clear, and you will make a wise decision. According to me, this transition is necessary in this modern world. Next, I’ll let you know which SharePoint environments can be moved.

Which SharePoint Environments Can Be Migrated?

You can migrate content from:

  • SharePoint Server 2013
  • SharePoint Server 2016
  • SharePoint Server 2019
  • SharePoint Subscription Edition
  • SharePoint Online
  • Microsoft 365 SharePoint sites
  • File Shares

What Can You Migrate?

This migration typically includes:

  • SharePoint sites
  • Document libraries
  • Files and folders
  • Lists
  • Metadata
  • Permissions
  • Site collections
  • Version history
  • User information

To move this data, next I’ll share all the possible ways I used to migrate my SharePoint environments, i.e., on-premises and online to Office 365.

How to Migrate SharePoint to Office 365 – Reliable Ways

Here are all the solutions that helped me to move my SharePoint environments to Office 365. So, let me explain them one by one, so you can opt for any of them, according to your requirements or SharePoint environment:

Method 1. Migrate SharePoint On-Premises to Office 365 Using Microsoft SPMT

Microsoft provides the SPMT to migrate SharePoint Server content to SharePoint Online. It is a free utility that helps to migrate minimal data, but for large environments, multiple migration jobs are required, which is time-consuming. This solution doesn’t support Office 365 tenant to tenant migration; instead, it supports only SharePoint on-premises environments. 

One more thing to keep in mind: SPMT doesn’t support any complex environments; your migration will get stuck in between or not even start. 

So, follow these instructions carefully to migrate without facing any issues, challenges, or errors:

  • Sign in to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
  • Verify that SharePoint Online is activated in your Microsoft 365 tenant.
  • Create the destination SharePoint sites where the content will be migrated.
  • Download and install Microsoft SPMT.

migrate SharePoint to Office 365

  • Launch SPMT.

launching SPMT

  • Sign in using your Microsoft 365 administrator account.

microsoft credentials

  • Click Start your first migration.
  • Select SharePoint Server as the source.
  • Enter the URL of the SharePoint On-Premises site.
  • Provide the SharePoint Server administrator credentials.
  • Select the site, document library, or file share to migrate.
  • Specify the destination SharePoint Online site URL.
  • Choose the destination document library.
  • Configure migration options such as version history, permissions, and filters (if needed).
  • Run a pre-migration scan to check unsupported items.
  • Start the migration.

These 16 steps are necessary to follow; if you skipped any of them, then you will face errors or challenges throughout the migration. 

Method 2. Migrate SharePoint Online to Office 365 Automatically

For SharePoint Online environments, there is no manual or native solution provided by Microsoft. For the same, I researched several automated solutions and tested 4-5 of them. Based on my testing, I opted for SysTools SharePoint Migrator because it supported bulk migration, with permission preservation functionality. Moreover, this is a direct tool that supports sites, document libraries (files and folders), lists, metadata and permission migration directly to another Office 365 account or SharePoint Online. 

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Some of the features that I found useful during the migration are:

  1. Transfer complete SharePoint sites, subsites and site collections.
  2. Maintain the original folder hierarchy.
  3. Apply date and file-type filters for selective migration.
  4. Migrate SharePoint list to another site.
  5. Retry failed migration items without restarting the entire transition.
  6. Generate detailed migration reports after completion.
  7. Perform incremental migration to transfer only newly added or modified data. I liked this feature the most as it allows me to migrate only newly arrived data after the initial migration. 

You can download this software for free on Windows 10/11 (64-bit) and see its UI and features. For the full migration experience, you have to purchase the full version and follow these steps for SharePoint Online to Office 365 migration:

  • Step 1. Select Microsoft 365 as both the source and target platform.

migrate SharePoint to Office 365

  • Step 2. Now scroll down and mark the Sites, Document Library and Generic List. 

document library

  • Step 3. You can also apply the Date Filter feature, which helps you to migrate only selected data.

Date Filter

  • Step 4. Afterwards, provide the correct admin credentials for both the source and target platforms.

enter admin credentials

  • Step 5. Press the Start Migration button to begin the process. 

start migration

When the migration is completed, you can generate a complete report for auditing.

Storage Insights

Method 3. Migrate SharePoint On-Premises to Office 365 Using PowerShell

PowerShell can be used for automated migrations. This method is suitable only for experienced administrators who have a vast knowledge of scripts/codes. 

Note: PowerShell is mainly used to automate SharePoint Online administration. It is not a complete replacement for an SPMT or SysTools Migrator.

Here are the steps for this:

Step 1. Install or update SharePoint Online Management Shell.

Step 2. Open Windows PowerShell as Administrator.

Step 3. Connect to your SharePoint Online tenant:

Connect-SPOService -Url https://yourtenant-admin.sharepoint.com

Step 4. Enter your Microsoft 365 administrator credentials.

Step 5. Verify the existing SharePoint Online sites:

Get-SPOSite

Step 6. Create a new SharePoint Online site (if required):

New-SPOSite `
-Url https://yourtenant.sharepoint.com/sites/HR `
-Owner [email protected] `
-StorageQuota 1024 `
-Title "HR Site"

Step 7. Verify that the new site has been created:

Get-SPOSite -Identity https://yourtenant.sharepoint.com/sites/HR

Step 8. Configure permissions if required:

Set-SPOUser `
-Site https://yourtenant.sharepoint.com/sites/HR `
-LoginName [email protected] `
-IsSiteCollectionAdmin $true

Step 9. Prepare the SharePoint Server content for migration.

Step 10. Use the SysTools solution to transfer document libraries, files, metadata, and permissions.

Note: Change the variables like https://yourtenant.sharepoint.com/ to your SharePoint site URL. 

Method 4. Move SharePoint Online to Office 365 Manually

There is no fully manual, free Microsoft method to migrate SharePoint Online to SharePoint Online or Office 365 while preserving sites, permissions, etc. Still, for a few files and folders migration, you can follow these steps:

  1. Sign in to the source SharePoint Online site.
  2. Open the required document library.
  3. Select the files and folders to move.
  4. Click Download.
  5. Save the downloaded files to your local computer.
  6. Sign in to the destination Microsoft 365 tenant.
  7. Create a new SharePoint site if one does not already exist.
  8. Open the destination document library.
  9. Click Upload > Files or Folder.
  10. Select the downloaded content.

Basically, in this approach we’re taking a SharePoint Online backup and then uploading that to the new account or tenant.

What was not migrated?

  • Site structure
  • Lists
  • Workflows
  • Site pages
  • Version history is lost.
  • Metadata is not preserved.
  • Permissions must be recreated manually.

Method 5. Copy SharePoint Files Manually

This method is suitable only for small document libraries:

  1. Sign in to the source SharePoint site.
  2. Open the required document library.
  3. Select the files and folders.
  4. Click Download.
  5. Save the files locally.
  6. Sign in to the destination SharePoint Online site.
  7. Open the target document library.
  8. Click Upload.

Limitations

  • Metadata is not preserved.
  • Permissions are not migrated.
  • Version history is lost.
  • Not suitable for enterprise environments.

Move SharePoint to Office 365: Best Practices

Before starting the migration for any SharePoint environment, I recommend following these best practices:

  • Remove unnecessary files.
  • Confirm correct admin credentials.
  • Backup SharePoint Online to local storage.
  • Clean up outdated document libraries.
  • Test the migration with a small dataset.
  • Verify available Office 365 storage.

Author’s Verdict

After completing multiple migration projects and testing different migration approaches, I found that the right method depends on your SharePoint environment and the amount of data you need to migrate.

If you have a small SharePoint Server environment, Microsoft’s native tools are best. However, if you’re migrating large volumes of data and can’t afford data loss, then an automated migration solution is worth it.

People Also Ask

Q. Can I migrate SharePoint On-Premises to Office 365?

Yes. SharePoint Server 2013, 2016, 2019, and Subscription Edition can all be migrated to Office 365 using supported migration methods.

Q. Can I move SharePoint to Office 365 without losing metadata?

Yes. The SysTools solution preserves metadata, permissions, and folder structures during the migration.

Q. Can I migrate SharePoint Online to Microsoft 365?

Yes. Organizations migrate SharePoint Online content between Microsoft 365 tenants during: 

  • Mergers
  • Acquisitions
  • Organizational restructuring

For this, there is no manual solution, but SysTools offers reliable migration software that easily migrates complete SharePoint data to another account or tenant. 

Q. How long does a SharePoint migration take?

The migration completion time depends on many factors, such as:

  • Amount of data
  • Network speed
  • Number of sites
  • File sizes
  • Migration method

Small migrations finish in a few hours, while large migrations can take several days.