Moving data between SharePoint tenants should be one of the easier migrations to do. After all, there aren't any of the common platform incompatibilities to worry about, so your data will already be platform-ready. However, migrating between SharePoint tenants can be surprisingly difficult, at least, if you aren't using Movebot. Depending on the method you use, SharePoint tenant migrations can be very simple or incredibly complex.
Why can't I use Migration Manager?
Microsoft's migration manager (formerly Mover.io), is a data migration tool that's been transformed to specifically move data into SharePoint. Supporting migrating to SharePoint from Google Workspace, Dropbox, Box, Egnyte, and On-prem file servers, Migration Manager is free to use for getting into Microsoft 365.
The problem? They don't yet support SharePoint to SharePoint migrations. Migration Manager can be a good option when moving from supported cloud storage into SharePoint, and the SharePoint Migration Tool handles migrating from SharePoint on-prem to SharePoint online. The missing piece is tenant migrations, which is not currently planned for either tool according to the product roadmaps.
For now, the most straightforward way to migrate is to use a third-party migration tool.
SharePoint tenant migrations with a third-party tool
Like with Migration Manager, not all third-party data migration tools support moving data between SharePoint tenants. Many tools focus on one or two destinations like only doing Google Workspace migrations. Before deciding on a tool, make sure that they not only support SharePoint but that they can do tenant to tenant migrations.
Moving to an active tenant
Migrating data from a SharePoint tenant into an empty SharePoint account is relatively straightforward. You decide what you need to migrate and then populate the new tenant with the data you want.
Moving to an active tenant can be much more complicated. Depending on how the source and destination are set up, you could have issues with duplicate site and file names, user permissions and more.
One common reason to migrate to a different SharePoint tenant is because of a merger or acquisition. If both organizations are using SharePoint, there could be a lot of overlapping files and sites, which can be a problem if you need to keep both versions of a file with the same name. You'll want to use a data migration tool with data transformation tools like filename transformation and deduplication. If you don't, you could wind up with missing or overwritten data, which of course isn't an acceptable outcome.
For an easy way to migrate data between tenants and make sure data arrives as expected, there's no better choice than Movebot.
Using Movebot for SharePoint tenant migrations
Even without platform incompatibilities to worry about, it's still important to be properly prepared for your tenant migration. Movebot will handle most of the difficult parts for you automatically, but there are still a few things you can do to have the best experience.
Zero Infrastructure
One of the best characteristics of Movebot is that it's completely cloud-hosted and you don't have to download applications, run virtual machines, or anything like that. Instead, everything is managed through an intuitive web interface. You also don't have to manage or configure multiple versions of an application, because Movebot scales to meet your needs. Automatically. Forget about infrastructure management and let Movebot handle it all for you. Save time and money by focusing on the migration itself, not the infrastructure behind it.
Connecting SharePoint to Movebot
Making a SharePoint connection to Movebot is one of the more complicated setups, but it still only takes a few minutes. What's important here is making sure that you have the right access level. You'll need to connect using an Admin account, and that admin account will need to have specific permissions for moving data. You'll need an account with these permissions for both tenants and then set those up as separate connections within Movebot. Make sure the Admin account has the following:
- The Admin user must be licensed for SharePoint
- The Admin user must be either a Global admin or a SharePoint admin
- The Admin user needs to have permissions on any Sites you want to migrate
Start by going into Movebot and setting up a new connection. When you're configuring the connection, pay close attention to the domain structure, and remember to connect as an admin user with the permissions listed above. You'll also need to be able to make an application within Azure. When making the application, make a note of the Application Client ID and Application Client Secret, as Movebot will need these during configuration.
For help setting up an application and connecting it to Movebot, follow our step-by-step video guide below.
Remember that you'll need to do this process for both the source and destination tenants. After making the connection for each, you can reuse the connection to run transfers by simply selecting them as your source or destination without going through this process again.
Setting up your project
Movebot works by making a copy of the files on your source, then pasting those copies into the destination. While no files are ever "moved", this method provides several advantages, like allowing users to keep working in the source even while the migration is running. This means no having to wait until a long holiday weekend to run the migration, because it won't affect operations at all; just run delta migrations after you've moved the bulk of the data to pull over new and updated files.
One major advantage Movebot has over other data migration tools is that you can specify what files and folders you want to move in your migration. It's not an all-or-nothing approach where you have to move everything to the destination. Instead, you can choose to map folders manually or use Movebot to filter out files you don't want based on the criteria you choose. For example, you can leave behind files that haven't been modified in half a decade or that have a specific file extension for an application no longer in use.
Remember, you'll need to create a separate connection for the source and destination tenants. While there shouldn't be major issues with moving files since both accounts are SharePoint, you can still use Movebot to make changes to your data while you move it if you'd like. For instance, you could append characters to filenames to show that it came from a different tenant, or rename files with a specific structure to match the structure of the destination. Movebot has several data transformation features you can configure during setup, so make sure to go through those if you plan on making changes while you move data.
The Movebot Process - Plan, Advance, Cutover
Movebot uses a simple three-step migration plan that applies to all types of migrations, including tenant to tenant. All you have to do is Plan, Advance, Cutover (PAC) and you'll be good to go.
Plan is where you decide what data you want to move and where you want it to go. Choose the users and directories you want to migrate and set up your transfers. Before running any transfers, we highly recommend running a Discovery Scan when moving between tenants. The Discovery Scan analyzes the data in the source and destination and lets you know if there are any issues like files with the same name. The scan results give you a detailed list of potential problems with easy-to-understand error messages so you can decide if you want to make any changes before moving any data.
Advance is when you start running the migration. Movebot lets you break down large migrations into as many smaller transfers as you want, so you can move important, critical files first separately and know that they moved successfully. While a transfer is running, you'll have access to the Performance Tracker that gives live stats about the transfer like the number of files and amount of data moved. Keep running transfers until the bulk of the data has moved.
Cutover is the final stage, and starts after doing the first pass for the migration. Use Movebot's delta migrations to find any files that are new, updated, or failed to transfer, and move only those across to the other tenant. Because of these powerful delta migrations, users never need to stop working in the source SharePoint even while the migration is running, as any updates will be found and moved during the delta stage. Keep running delta migrations until you have everything you need in the destination tenant.
And that's it! SharePoint tenant migrations are as easy as P-A-C. If you're interested in other types of SharePoint migrations, see The Complete Guide to SharePoint Migrations with Movebot.
See how easy Movebot is with a free trial
Our aim is to keep Movebot as simple as possible, and that includes registration and sign-up too. Testing a SharePoint to SharePoint migration only takes a few minutes. Simply sign up for an account and you'll get 50GB free, with no sales call, onboarding, or demo required. Then connect your accounts and start your transfers. It's really that easy.
Want to try Movebot yourself? Register for an account now to get started.
