5 Pitfalls to Avoid When Migrating to Office 365
After the research, testing and pricing, you’ve made the choice to migrate into Office 365. Office 365 has many benefits, including greater accessibility, collaboration and security. However, transferring files and data from legacy software is not a simple task. When migrating to the cloud, you will likely run into problems you were not prepared for or expecting.
Here are some common pitfalls to avoid when migrating to Office 365:
1) Forgetting to do a content audit
Before migrating to Office 365, be sure to perform an audit of all of your data and content. Many businesses move to Office 365 to reduce cost and increase efficiency. However, if you move irrelevant, outdated and unused content from your old software to Office 365, it defeats one of the purposes of the migration.
A content audit will allow you to segment your files into categories of what needs to be cleaned up, what needs to be created and what can be discarded. It will also allow you to estimate how much storage space you might need going into Office 365, so that you may choose the best plan to meet your business needs.
2) Leaving it all to IT
Yes, an Office 365 migration is technical process that should be handled by your IT department. While they may carry out the implementation and installation, the migration strategy should be a team effort.
Your IT department doesn’t know where all content needs to be stored, how the files need to be organized, what departments want to see in the new system and how the system should be structured in order to best meet the company needs. It is crucial that all departments in your company are involved in driving adoption of Office 365. Creating a team with a liaison from each critical department such as Human Resources, Operations, Marketing/Sales and Finance/Account will ease the transition.
3) Upfront training people on Office 365
Moving from previous versions of SharePoint and other legacy platforms to Office 365 can be a big change for your employees. Office 365 offers a multitude of new functions and features to make your business processes more efficient. In order to maximize your ROI, make sure you and your employees are familiar with the functionality of the new software and know how to best use it to increase employee’s productivity.
4) Failing to set up proper schedule for migration
Unforeseen problems can arise in any cloud migration and Office 365 is no exception. Create a detailed timeline for the migration and include contingency time for the unforeseen. If a migration occurs during weekdays, it might cause disruption in the day to day activities of your employees. If possible, schedule the migration to occur over weekends or during off hours to minimize impact and loss of work time.
5) Failing to seek out appropriate help
Office 365 is a strategic investment for your company and it needs to be done properly. A Migration Program may overrun budget and schedule if not planned properly. Engaging a firm with the expertise to advise and assist in the execution of the migration can ultimately save your company time and money.
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