SharePoint Migration: Moving Files to OneDrive & SharePoint Online

SharePoint Migration: Moving Files to OneDrive & SharePoint Online- Migrating to SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business is one of the most effective ways to modernize your organization’s file storage and collaboration strategy. Whether you’re using an on-premises SharePoint server, Windows file server, or third-party services like Google Drive or Dropbox, transitioning to Microsoft’s cloud ecosystem enables better productivity, security, and remote access.

This guide covers everything you need to know about a successful SharePoint and OneDrive migration.

Quick Answer

SharePoint migration is the process of moving files, document libraries, workflows, and business data from on-premises SharePoint servers, file servers, or third-party platforms like Google Drive and Dropbox to SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business. It helps organizations improve collaboration, security, remote access, and Microsoft 365 integration.

What is SharePoint Online?

SharePoint Online is Microsoft’s cloud-hosted platform in Office 365, offering the same features as on-premises SharePoint like document libraries, team sites, and integration with Microsoft 365 apps such as Teams, Planner, OneNote, and Stream. It’s ideal for building intranets, extranets, and collaboration portals.

What is OneDrive for Business?

OneDrive for Business is personal cloud storage for users in an organization. It is hosted in SharePoint Online and is designed for individual use with easy sharing options. The OneDrive sync client also allows offline access and synchronization with local files

Common Migration Sources

• On-premises SharePoint servers such as SharePoint 2013, SharePoint 2016, and SharePoint 2019
• Windows file server
• 3^rd party storage services such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Box

The type of data is important while considering these migrations. Migrating document libraries is one thing, but migrating other content, customizations, and workflows from SharePoint to SharePoint Online requires more effort and planning.

Benefits of SharePoint Online Migration

Migrating to SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business offers several advantages for modern businesses.

• Access files securely from anywhere
• Improve collaboration across teams
• Reduce dependency on physical servers
• Enable remote and hybrid work
• Get automatic Microsoft updates
• Improve document sharing and version control
• Strengthen security and compliance with Microsoft 365

Migrating On-premises SharePoint Data to SharePoint Online

When you already have an on-premises SharePoint server, one of the migration decisions you need to make is whether to use SharePoint Hybrid.

Benefits of SharePoint Hybrid

• Keep sensitive data or complex customizations on-premises, begin moving users and data to SharePoint Online at a comfortable pace.
• Taking advantage of the easy external sharing of files when they are hosted in SharePoint Online.
• A unified search experience across both environments.
• Making use of cloud-only apps such as Delve, Planner, and Teams.

SharePoint Migration Pre-Checklist

Before starting a SharePoint migration project, businesses should prepare their environment properly.

• Review existing SharePoint sites and data
• Remove outdated or duplicate files
• Check permissions and user access
• Identify custom workflows and integrations
• Estimate storage and migration timelines
• Inform users about migration plans
• Test migration with a small pilot group first

Items to Review for Migration

When migrating to SharePoint online, the following points will need reviewing.

• Site collections and sites.
• Document libraries present in SharePoint.
• Other content like web pages, lists, and calendars.
• Permissions and content owners.
• Workflows and other customizations that you’ve developed in SharePoint on-premise.

Common SharePoint Migration Challenges

Organizations may face a few challenges during SharePoint Online migration.

• Large file sizes and storage limits
• Broken permissions after migration
• Unsupported custom workflows
• URL length limitations
• Slow migration due to bandwidth issues
• User adoption and training challenges
• Data organization inconsistencies

Proper planning and expert support can help reduce these issues.

Microsoft provides a SharePoint Migration Assessment Tool (SMAT) that can be used to scan the SharePoint farm and discover these things and any potential issues with them such as excessively large lists or checked-out files, directory paths that might exceed the URL length limit in SharePoint Online.

For migrating the content, Microsoft provides the SharePoint Migration Tool(SPMT) which supports migrating from shared folders on file servers, on-premises SharePoint document libraries, on-premises SharePoint lists based on one of the standard list templates such as surveys, announcements, discussion boards, or blog posts. It also supports the creation of the site structure in the destination site that you are migrating to in SharePoint Online. That still leaves a lot of gaps in terms of the broader set of SharePoint capabilities, and that’s where third-party migration tools come into play.

SharePoint Migration Best Practices

Following best practices can help ensure a smooth and secure migration process.

• Clean unnecessary data before migration
• Use phased migration instead of moving everything at once
• Test migrated files and permissions carefully
• Train employees before migration completion
• Keep backup copies of important data
• Monitor migration reports and logs regularly

Popular SharePoint Migration Tools

While using the migration tools provided by Microsoft, there may not be a unified view of the migration project from end to end, especially when it comes to providing status reports. And there are still breaks in the SharePoint features and content types that the Microsoft tools can migrate. These problems can be solved with third-party migration tools. If there is a migration scenario of some complexity that the native tools don’t manage, then you may want to invest in a third-party tool that will handle that for you rather than investing in cumbersome manual labor hours while dealing with those issues. Below is a list of a few of the third-party tools available.

Tool	Best For	Key Benefit
ShareGate	SharePoint migrations	Easy-to-use interface
BitTitan	Microsoft 365 migrations	Multi-workload migration
AvePoint	Enterprise migration	Advanced reporting
Metalogix	Large organizations	Complex migration support
Cloudiway	Cloud-to-cloud migration	Supports multiple platforms

Using SharePoint Online and OneDrive as File Server Replacements

For organizations that are eager to reduce their on-premises server footprint, SharePoint Online and OneDrive provide a good opportunity to take over the role played by traditional file servers.

Benefits of Replacing File Servers:

File servers	SharePoint Online and OneDrive
Windows servers	No Servers to maintain
RAID/SAN storage	No storage systems to maintain
Clustering	High availability built-in
Backups	No backups to manage
Mapped network drives	Web-based user experience
No mobile/remote access	Mobile and remote access

Migrating file server content to SharePoint Online can be as simple as

• Dragging and dropping files from Windows Explorer into a document library that is open in your web browser to initiate the upload.
• Using the free SharePoint Migration Tool from Microsoft

When migrating from file servers to SharePoint Online or OneDrive, the user experience changes.

File Server UX	SharePoint/OneDrive UX
Copy/duplicate files to make new versions	Versioning built-in without duplicating files
Interact through Windows Explorer/File Explorer	Interact through a web browser as well as File Explorer.
Share files as email attachments	Sharing links for both internal and external collaborators
Poor search performance	Workflow and automation built-in
Restore requires IT support	Self-service version rollback

Security and Compliance in SharePoint Online

SharePoint Online includes enterprise-grade security and compliance capabilities through Microsoft 365.

Key security features include:

• Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
• Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
• Role-based access controls
• File version history and recovery
• Microsoft Defender integration
• Compliance and retention policies

These features help businesses protect sensitive data while supporting secure collaboration.

Migrating User Home Drives to OneDrive

Typically, users are provided with a home drive for storing some personal and some work-related files and in the area that is accessible only by them. It works fine until they need to share a file with someone else, which usually leads to them emailing it to the other person, which creates a lot of data duplication. Home drives are stored on file servers, which cannot be accessed remotely or from mobile devices. Moving the files to OneDrive has the same benefits as using SharePoint Online to replace file servers.

Migrating user Home Drives to OneDrive involves an auto sign-in for OneDrive clients, which one can enable using the Group Policy template for OneDrive. The next step is to add Group Policy controls for redirecting well-known folders to OneDrive and for preventing users from changing their well-known folders out of OneDrive. It is recommended to roll this out in stages to manage the network bandwidth that is consumed by the initial upload synchronization of the user’s data to OneDrive.

Why Choose TrnDigital for SharePoint and OneDrive Migration?

At TrnDigital, we specialize in complex SharePoint and OneDrive migrations. Whether it’s from legacy SharePoint servers, file servers, or third-party cloud platforms, we ensure minimal disruption and full data fidelity.

Ready to move to SharePoint Online and OneDrive? Trust TrnDigital, a leading Microsoft SharePoint Development Company, to make the transition smooth, secure, and scalable.

Conclusion

Migrating to SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business is more than just a tech upgrade it’s a strategic move toward better collaboration, data accessibility, and operational efficiency. Whether you’re coming from on-premises servers, file shares, or third-party platforms, a well-executed migration ensures that your organization can leverage the full power of Microsoft 365.

FAQs on SharePoint Online and OneDrive Migration