Aaron Chatham posted a blog post
5 Things to Consider Before Migrating to SharePoint Online
“The cloud”. It’s a topic that you could probably consider as ‘trending’ over the past few years. It’s what Microsoft has committed to focusing all their efforts towards moving forward, and (as if that wasnt enough) lets face it, it’s the future platform of all technologies. So the question for SharePoint Administrators isn’t should we move to the cloud, but whenever the decision is made to transition, where do we start? What should be considered before moving to SharePoint Online?Lets take a few minutes and discuss some of the main question and considerations you to ask yourself before diving into that lovely migration plan.5. How much customization is in your SharePoint environment?One major advantage on-premise environments have over SharePoint Online is the fact that you can integrate extensive amounts of customizations to Intranets, community sites, and even team sites. SharePoint Online allow users through SharePoint Designer to make minimal updates to master pages and design elements such as CSS and HTML.Custom web parts are limited in SharePoint Online in that the main way to incorporate third party content is by using app parts and IFrames. Where as with your traditional on-premise environment, organizations would have the ability to create their own custom web parts. SharePoint Online equals no custom web parts.Check out a list of other capabilities and limitations posted on msdn.microsoft.com Customization CapabilitiesCustomization LimitationsYou cannot deploy pluggable authentication providers, site definitions, or other features and solutions that require deployment and configuration on the server at the farm level.You cannot modify built-in SharePoint files, web.config settings, or security policies.You cannot make configuration changes that affect the web server settings or the Microsoft .NET Framework.You cannot make changes or add capabilities that require a custom database, or that require changes to an existing database.You cannot make changes to the underlying Windows Server and Microsoft SQL Server platform layers.4. Does or will your Environment potentially plan on utilizing Remote Blog Storage?Another item that must be considered when deciding to migrate to SharePoint Online is to identify if you may potentially need support for Remote Blog Storage or RBS, as this is another item that is not supported in the cloud. RBS is a SQL Server add-on which doesn’t provide direct access to work with the databases where the SharePoint implementations are stored. An alternative option would be to delete old content or potentially archive content based on a retention policy that is outlined in your governance plan. Read more on governance here.Another option would be to simply add additional storage space once your storage in the cloud (SharePoint Online) has reached a certain point. Its imperative that you place any quotas or storage limit policies in governance to ensure all necessary action is taken.3. Have you reviewed the restricted cloud capabilities with your environment must-have features?Please review the list of limitations that the SharePoint Online capabilities provide. Without a clear understanding of the can’s and can’ts in the cloud you will potentially set yourself up for major failure in the event you need a feature or capability that isn’t offered in the cloud.Limited Central Administration abilitiesCant control the list view threshold – only limited to 5000 itemsNo web applicationsNo analyticsNo ability to tune quota templates, resource and request throttling, managed accountsNo Timer Jobs are availableLimited PowerShell functionalityMy Site collection master page cannot be edited using SharePoint Designer.SQL Server Reporting Services is not availableExcel Services is not availablePowerPoint Service is not availableNo support for BCS direct connection to Azure (a windows communication foundation endpoint is required)Record Management Center is not availableWord Automation Service is not available2. Have you defined a plan for potentially moving content?Capacity planning and clean up are to major items to consider when defining a migration plan. A few SharePoint Online storage capacity numbers to consider: (get more info here)300 site collection limit100 gb storage limit on each site collection25 tb of available storage250 mb file upload load limitAlong with storage capacity, it’s a good opportunity AND idea to clean up the existing environment. The clean up of old or unneed content is critical to maitaining a environment with relevant content. After all, what good is it for a user to find a file in the search results that is 10 years old?For more information on how Governance can resolve this situation, check out the Sharegate Governance tool! Additonally the article entitled “Preperation and Clean Up are Key to any Succeful SharePoint Migration” will provide you with some useful tips on becoming the SharePoint hero in your organization.1. What’s the overall ROI of moving your current environment to the cloud?The number one consideration that you should well…consider is ROI. In terms of money, will moving to the cloud save the organization in the long term? Sort term? What potential features or capabilites are benefical in providing a positive return on investment? These are a few of the questions that should be asked in the decision making process of moving to the cloud.“less is more”Cost of cloud prepardness, licensing, infrastructe costs using Active Direcotry Federation Service (ADFS), migration costs, etc. may cause hesitation in pulling the trigger. With this said its also important to weigh out the savings that pontenially will be accured in server licensing, client licensing, and other infrasturcture costs. Undertanding where you want to go with the product and what potential features and capabilites will be utilized can provide the organization with an accurate number on the potential ROI. If planned out carfully SharePoint Online can be an excellent opportunity for organizations to utilize necessary capabilities at a price that is cheaper than on-premise. As they say less is more.See More