IT Tips & Tricks
5 Tips for a Successful SharePoint Migration
Because Data Migration Shouldn’t Be Code for “Data Loss”
Published 7 December 2021
Updated 15 April 2026
Sometimes, life can be a little frightening. Your first kiss, an important job interview for which you felt inadequately prepared, that root canal from the new dentist who has hands like a lumberjack, or that time you went off a 32-foot diving board — in your defense, it was a dare back in college and you’d maybe had one brew too many — all of them can be pretty scary.
Data migrations may belong on the list of scary life events, too, particularly since they potentially impact a lot of people.
Perhaps hundreds or thousands of employees count on you getting it right, with minimal disruption to their productivity. Management counts on you getting it right so that there’s no downtime or loss of revenue. Your boss counts on you getting it right so that he doesn’t look bad. And maybe the cute gal in Accounting won’t go out with you again if you really screw up what she views as “just putting stuff in SharePoint.”
Migrating to SharePoint can be downright daunting.
Simply “getting it right” can start feeling like a lot of pressure.
While most data migrations present their own unique challenges, migrating to SharePoint can be downright daunting, particularly since there are massive differences between the original system and the target system.
Know how much space your data will need or risk your migration resembling a fat cat in a small box: If it can’t fit, it can’t fit.
With the increasing frequency of remote employment comes an increased need for collaboration. As a web-based collaborative platform that integrates with Microsoft® Office, SharePoint is highly configurable, and its usage varies enormously from organization to organization.
If you’re facing a SharePoint migration, here are five confidence-boosting tips to help make your migration faster, smoother and more secure.
Tip 1: Never Underestimate the Value of Analysis
Our first tip is very simple: Always analyze the content on the source system first.
A migration is a lot like moving to a new house. It’s a great time to sift through your possessions and jettison the trash (those things you don’t really need to keep anymore).
Take this opportunity to sort through your docs and data. You don’t want to migrate junk or end up with a new system as messy as the old one, so go ahead and clean house.
Now is also a good time to identify your redundant, obsolete and trivial (ROT) data. Planning for Migration: Eliminate the ROT contains info on how to eliminate it and how to perform a ROT analysis.
Aside from the ROT, you should also establish the following:
- The capacity of your content. In other words, find out how much space your files (a) currently occupy and will (b) require on the new system.
Amongst our clients, for example, that volume can vary greatly, but the average is probably around ten terabytes. Knowing how much space is going to be required is key to your success.
- What content types (such as Excel spreadsheets, PDFs, documents, schedules, CAD drawings, DWG files and so forth) do you have? Do all of them need to be migrated? Is one type of file being archived because there’s newer software?
Again, you’re data-gathering so that you have a big-picture vision of your requirements, resulting in a detailed and accurate migration plan.
- When migrating to SharePoint, it’s wise to run automated content scans using tools that detect illegal file names or long paths.
- When moving to SharePoint Online, identify workflows and automation logic that may need redesign.
- Folder and file activity. Have you got a handle on things like workflows, for example, that may move a file through the SharePoint hierarchy or system in a particular way?
Do you know how users work with folders and files? How much disruption can they tolerate during a migration? Obviously, gathering this kind of information is merely part of forming that overall, big-picture vision that will be the result of your analysis.
- Metadata keywords and usage. SharePoint metadata is the information about your files, not the content in the files. So, the file name, title, author, creation date, last modified date, last modifier, file size and so on are all metadata.
This data may be helpful in any number of ways, such as, for example, determining ROT content by looking at outdated or obsolete files. The chances are good that you don’t need to migrate the “Bathroom Supplies” file that was created in 2001 and hasn’t been used since.
- Duplicate files and folder structures. This one is pretty self-explanatory. If there happens to be a second copy of the “Bathroom Supplies” file from 2001, that one doesn’t need to be migrated either.
If there are two identical sets of customer lists (2000 to 2010), and if that data is still valid and being used, then sure, go ahead and include one of them in your migration. But plan on excluding the other.
Once you’ve completed the analysis, you can start defining your migration rules. You’ll have a much better idea of where to trim the fat. This means you’ll only move the content you actually want in your new system, with everything in good shape.
With links, it’s simply the nature of the beast. Move them and they break. You can’t even get mad about it. That would be as pointless as getting mad at a pig for stinking like, well, a pig.
Benjamin Franklin, known to be a pretty smart guy, once said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” And when it comes to your data, specifically your linked data, nothing could be truer.
No offense, but broken links — much like pigs — stink.
The All-Important Ounce of Prevention
If you consider the subject of links as the uniquely complex field that it is, there’s more to it than merely fixing links after the fact. Before links get broken, they get moved. And before they can get moved, they have to be created, which is the best time to protect them.
Fixing them after they get broken is a pound of cure. There’s no denying that if you’ve got broken links, you need to get them fixed so that your missing data can be restored.
Are you facing data loss, downtime, disruption, complaining end-users and a boss that’s giving you the evil eye?
But preventing data loss in the first place is far more efficient. Not only is it faster, but it also has the huge benefit of a zero-disruption factor for the organization. That’s your ounce of prevention.
This is not an exercise in chest-beating. The simple truth is that no one in the world has our depth and breadth of experience with links. When it comes to opening, handling and safely making the correct changes to billions of files, we are the world’s foremost authority and currently support over seventy file types.
LinkTek COO Ed Clark states, “One discovers all the ugly little anomalies that reside in an organization’s files only by cold, hard, long experience. The degree to which someone knows about and understands these quirks is the degree to which they can handle these files accurately and safely. We have been intensively investing in such research since before the turn of the millennium.”
LinkTek has processed in excess of an estimated two billion files and four billion links. “We’ve spent tens of thousands of software-engineering man-hours analyzing every type of unique file-format situation you could imagine,” Ed continues. “We’ve updated LinkFixer Advanced zillions of times to handle yet another quirky DOCX or XLSX or PDF file anomaly.”
The Masterclass in Link Care
We’re tempted to say, “But wait, there’s more!” because there is more, but this isn’t a tacky “as seen on TV” commercial. It’s a links masterclass, so we’re going to get our classy on.
Here are the three ways LinkFixer Advanced can go to work for you.
1. Inoculate and Cure
Used before a migration or system restructure can break your links, LinkFixer Advanced’s Inoculate process creates an association between a file and all the files to which it is linked.
LinkFixer Advanced then uses that association to quickly and automatically fix any links that get broken by whatever changes someone makes to your files. There’s no time spent on a “find and fix” exercise. There’s simply intact data from the get-go.
Once all your data is inoculated, and you keep it that way on a regular basis, even the worst luddites on your staff can do all the moving, renaming and folder restructuring they want, when they want, on all your files and folders and LinkFixer Advanced instantly takes care of the problem.
With literally a few mouse clicks, all your broken links work again, cutting down on hundreds of man-hours of work in the IT department.
Preventing data loss in the first place is far more efficient.
Michael Sexsmith, LinkTek’s Vice President for Technology says, “LinkFixer Advanced’s Inoculate function is one of those maintenance tools that should just be run nightly or at least weekly, right along with your daily virus scans and file backup procedures. This would keep all links safeguarded, so when anyone does any kind of move or rename, it’s really no big deal!”
This, in a nutshell, is your beautiful time-saving, link-protecting ounce of prevention.
2. Modify Links
If you didn’t know about LinkFixer Advanced’s ability to protect your links prior to your migration, you may now be faced with thousands or millions of broken links. Our condolences. However, it’s not too late.
The “Modify Links” function fixes broken links faster and more accurately than trying to do it manually or with a search & replace application. Of course, this instantly restores any missing data. Think of this feature as “disaster recovery mode.”
3. Move/Rename
Finally, the software also offers a “Move/Rename” function that moves or renames files and folders while automatically handling your links so that they remain fully functional when a migration is complete. Imagine completing a migration or moving data around with zero data loss due to broken file links.
Migration tools can get masses of data migrated quickly. There’s no denying that. But — and this is a big but — what they can’t do is protect your linked data during the migration process.
Take care of your linked data to avoid the chaos of broken links and the missing data they cause.
Unless you were fortunate enough to protect your data with LinkFixer Advanced ahead of the migration, you’re likely facing data loss, downtime, disruption, complaining end users and a boss that’s giving you the evil eye.
Understandably, you’re probably about ready for that pound of cure.
With three ways to deploy LinkFixer Advanced, it’s pretty much the holy trinity of link care.
And here’s a little bonus tip for you: If one of your users accidentally deletes a file, LinkFixer Advanced won’t be able to automatically restore that link. Honestly, nothing can restore a link to a file that no longer exists. But — ta-da! — with LinkFixer Advanced’s Scan feature, you can find out — very quickly — which file is missing and initiate the process of restoring it from your backup without wasting time looking for it.
How to Get Some First-Class Link Care
Whether you’ve got an upcoming data migration, or have recently completed a migration, you can see how beneficial LinkFixer Advanced can be, saving you tons of time (and your sanity) and preventing dreaded data loss, which typically results in up-in-arms end users and decidedly grouchy bosses.
If you’re understaffed but still want the benefits of LinkFixer Advanced, our consulting service was designed exactly for organizations like yours. Find out how to have an expert links specialist assist you in protecting your linked data during your migration.
Migrating to SharePoint Online? Want it to be smooth and secure? Talk to a SharePoint migration consultant and enjoy a free migration strategy session.
Imagine completing a migration or moving data around with zero data loss due to broken file links.
To get yourself some top-of-the-line link care, call 727-442-1822 or chat with us online at LinkTek.com for more information or to request a free, no-credit-card-required trial.
When it comes to protecting your linked data, nothing else will take care of it like LinkFixer Advanced. Mic drop.
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