SharePoint Online Tenant to Tenant Migration – Proven Steps From My Experience

SharePoint Online Tenant to Tenant migration sound complicated, but trust me, I’ve been there. Recently, I completed SharePoint Cross Tenant migration, I know how challenging it can be to deal with complex structures, libraries, permissions, and the risk of data loss.

That’s why I’m here to explain how to migrate SharePoint Online to another tenant step by step using an appropriate solution.

Why did I Need SharePoint Online Tenant to Tenant Migration?

In my case, the migration was necessary because we were consolidating multiple Microsoft 365 tenants into one. If you’re reading this, you probably have your reasons too, like reducing IT overhead or merging. Whatever the reason, migrating to a single SharePoint environment just makes sense in the long run.

SharePoint Cross Tenant Migration – Step-by-Step Procedure

I’ve broken down the entire process into manageable steps that I follow for every migration project:

Step 1. Preparation of Data at Source SharePoint Environment

According to Microsoft’s official documentation on tenant-to-tenant migrations, it’s important to pre-planning of transition is essential to avoid service disruption.

This initial step is to collect the SharePoint data that you need to migrate to the destination SharePoint account. As SharePoint is used to create sites and subsites, it is obvious that your source SharePoint environment has a huge number of libraries and lists. SharePoint support a variety of sites, so it becomes difficult to select them while performing migration.

So, before directly jumping to migrate SharePoint Online to another tenant, make an inventory of the data to get a clear picture of the data migration. After the preparation of data at the source SharePoint tenant, you can also analyze the estimated time for the complete migration. You can permanently delete SharePoint site if they are no longer required.

Step 2. Data Cleaning in Source SharePoint

After finalising the data in your source SharePoint account, the next step of the SharePoint Online Tenant to Tenant migration is to clean it:

• Large SharePoint environments often contain inactive files that need to be removed.
• Find duplicate files in SharePoint Online and delete them.
• Review version history and delete unwanted versions of documents to reduce migration time.
• Perform a quick check to identify and fix broken links.
• Archive any data that is currently irrelevant but may be needed later.
• Remove empty folders in SharePoint Online.

Step 3. Inform Users & System Check

Now, notify all of the users about the SharePoint Cross Tenant migration. You can use any of the approaches according to your organisation. For instance, you can send emails to all of the users or use SharePoint site pages to display an alert about the migration. Also, inform them about the expected downtime so that they can manage their tasks accordingly. 

System checks are also mandatory to ensure the smooth functioning of the machine during the migration process. You can check the configuration of the system and compare it with the tool’s requirements.

You can also stop the background running of heavy applications. Run an antivirus software to ensure the machine is virus-free. Also, check the bandwidth of the Internet to ensure an error-free SharePoint Online Tenant to Tenant migration process.

Step 4. Select the Expert’s Suggested Migration Tool

After trying multiple solutions, I rely on the SysTools SharePoint Migration Software for this kind of work. Why? Because it saves time and minimises disruptions. Additionally, this is the most in-demand software, already performed a lot of SharePoint migrations flawlessly.

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I suggest this tool for SharePoint Cross Tenant migration because it:

• Supports batch migration to migrate the huge SharePoint data within batches for a flawless migration process.
• Provides a smart date range filter for selecting the necessary data only, which helps me avoid migrating unnecessary data.
• The interface is simple enough for non-technical users.
• Offers the option to copy document library to another SharePoint Site without any data loss.
• Maintains your files and folder structure at the destination SharePoint tenant.
• The Delta migration feature of the tool keeps the destination environment consistent by only migrating the newly arrived items.
• Prepare reports of the complete migration process that can be downloaded: Summary and Detailed reports.

Step 5. Start with SharePoint Online Tenant to Tenant Migration

Here’s the exact process I follow with the tool:

• Step 1. Download and Activate the tool on your machine.
• Step 2. Now, select the platform as Microsoft 365, whether it is the Source or the Destination.

• Step 3. From the workload section, click on the Sites option. You can also use the Date filter for the selective SharePoint site migration.

• Step 4. Provide the Source environment details and validate them before going to the Next.

• Step 5. Enter Destination platform credentials, and cross-check to ensure that these are right.

• Step 6. Load the Users into the tool and also validate them.

• Step 7. Add Sites into the tool by choosing the Fetch, Import, or Download template options.

• Step 8. Finally, after finalising all of the steps, click on the Start Migration button to perform SharePoint Online tenant to tenant migration.

Step 6. Post Considerations After SharePoint Cross Tenant Migration

Once I’ve migrated the data, I always perform thorough checks as mentioned in Microsoft’s official guide:

• Verify the data integrity, and make sure the complete data is migrated to the destination SharePoint account.
• Check the metadata of the lists and libraries properly. You can also go through the tool’s generated report after the end of the migration process.
• Validate that SharePoint permissions are still applied to the users. Ensure that all the restricted users’ permissions are not affected to maintain data integrity.
• Assign some users to test the functionality of the sites and subsites to make sure the SharePoint functionality is working after the migration.

My Best Practices for SharePoint Tenant Migration

I read Microsoft’s own best practices guide for SharePoint migration, which I follow on every migration project:

• Migrating smaller chunks of data prevents unexpected downtime.
• Users hate surprises; keep them informed.
• Check permissions, as it can cause major headaches.
• Test with sample data before diving in.
• Monitor the migration dashboard for errors.
• Always keep a written record of the migration steps.

Author’s Verdict

In this comprehensive write-up, I have shared the step-by-step process with the most preferred tool for performing SharePoint Online tenant to tenant migration. Do not forget to take a backup of your data before the transition, and consider the best practices to complete the task effortlessly.

People Also Ask

Q1. What is SharePoint Cross Tenant Migration?
Ans. It is the process of moving SharePoint data, sites, libraries, and permissions from one Microsoft 365 tenant to another.

Q2. Can I migrate SharePoint permissions to another tenant?
Ans. Yes, SharePoint permissions can be migrated along with your data using a professional migration tool like mentioned above.

Q3. Is it safe to migrate SharePoint Online data between tenants?
Ans. Yes, SharePoint Online Tenant to Tenant migration is safe if you use a reliable migration tool and follow best practices.