Migrating to Microsoft SharePoint is more than moving files from one place to another. Done right, it’s an opportunity to transform how your organization manages information, collaborates across teams, and positions itself for future growth.
But too many organisations treat it as a copy-and-paste exercise. The result: disorganised content, frustrated users, security vulnerabilities, and costs that spiral well beyond the original budget.
Here’s what we see go wrong, most often, and what good practice looks like instead.
1. Migrating Everything Without a Strategy
The most common mistake we see: organisations move every document they’ve ever created without asking whether any of it should still exist.
Years of outdated files, duplicates, and obsolete data don’t disappear when you migrate. They follow you into the new environment and make it harder for people to find what they actually need. We’ve seen migrations where over half the content moved was never opened again within a year of go-live.
Before you migrate:
- Identify redundant and outdated content
- Archive anything with a compliance retention requirement
- Remove duplicate files
- Define a clear, scalable information architecture
Clean content and a plan beat a bulk upload every time.
2. Recreating the Old Folder Structure
Organisations spend weeks rebuilding their existing file server inside SharePoint, then wonder why nothing feels different.
Replicating deeply nested folders misses the point of the platform. SharePoint is built around metadata, document libraries, content types, and search — the goal isn’t to remember where something was stored, it’s to find it instantly regardless of where it lives. One client had 40,000 files sitting in a single flat folder structure; restructuring around content types and metadata cut average search time from several minutes to seconds.
What good looks like: an information architecture designed around how your business actually works today, not around your old file server.
3. Getting Permissions Wrong
Access permissions are consistently one of the most complex, and most neglected, parts of any migration.
We’ve seen organisations migrate old permissions without ever reviewing whether they’re still appropriate. We’ve seen others grant blanket access because it was easier than thinking it through. Both create real security risk — and both are avoidable with a bit of upfront discipline.
What good looks like:
- Full review of existing user roles
- Application of least-privilege principles
- Simplification of permission structures
- Alignment with data protection obligations, including GDPR where applicable
Security should be built in from day one, not bolted on afterward.
4. Ignoring Data Quality
Duplicate files. Inconsistent naming conventions. Incomplete metadata. Documents nobody has touched in five years.
Migrating poor-quality data doesn’t fix any of this — it just moves the same problems into a more expensive platform. A proper data quality assessment before migration lets you cleanse, consolidate, and structure content so what arrives in SharePoint is accurate, findable, and governed from the start.
5. Neglecting User Adoption
The most technically flawless SharePoint environment will fail if people don’t know how to use it — or don’t want to.
We’ve seen organisations invest heavily in the technology and almost nothing in the people using it. The result is predictable: low adoption, workarounds, and a platform that quietly collects dust while everyone emails attachments like it’s 2010.
What good looks like: end-user training, communication planning, documentation, change management, and support that continues after go-live — not just before it.
6. Using the Wrong Migration Tools
Not all migrations are the same. Moving from a traditional file server looks very different from migrating a legacy document management system, a cloud storage platform, or an older version of SharePoint.
The wrong tool for your specific environment leads to missing files, lost metadata, broken permissions, and unexpected downtime. Tooling decisions should follow a thorough assessment of the source environment — not default to whatever’s fastest to set up.
7. Going Live Without Testing
A migration should never go straight to production without validation. Full stop.
Before anything goes live, test document integrity, permissions, metadata, search functionality, workflows, and business processes. Every issue caught before go-live is one your users never see.
A Quick Note on Cost and Timeline
The two things most people worry about silently when reading a post like this: will this blow my budget, and will it drag on forever? Done well, it shouldn’t. Migrations run over on both fronts almost always because of mistakes 1, 4, and 6 above — moving too much, moving bad data, and using tools that aren’t fit for the source environment. Scope those properly upfront and the timeline and budget tend to take care of themselves.
Getting It Right
SharePoint migrations aren’t purely technical. They require understanding how your people work, how information actually moves through your organisation, and where your processes can improve along the way.
If you’re planning a migration and want a second pair of eyes on the plan — or you’re already mid-migration and something feels off — get in touch. We’ll talk through what it involves, what it should look like, and how to get it right the first time.
