Can we meet to talk about fixing our SharePoint? That’s a call I get far to often from people who struggling with issues arising from a disorganised migration to SharePoint. It’s true, doing a migration, particularly from file shares to SharePoint is often done as an “IT project” with the end goal being to turn off the file server and the satisfying closing of the “we have moved to the cloud” task on someone’s very long to-do list.

Lift and Shift can be tempting because it is the least effort approach and can often be done by IT. Content remains in a similar structure to the file server giving the perception that it will be familiar to end users. The need to engage widely within the business is often considered a nice to have rather than an essential part of the move.

This approach not only misses a big opportunity to restructure content to better meet the needs of modern digital workers but also moves problems that may not be visible. I spoke about this recently at project management event, where I discussed the difference between transition and digital transformation when migrating.

Transition is simply moving the current structure and content to the cloud. It is like moving house and putting all the items from the old house in the same rooms and cupboards at the new house, even the stuff in the junk draw and unopened boxes in the garage. We live and work the same way, just in a new location.

Digital transformation on the other hand is about changing the way we work and to enable that we need to consider what we need move, where it will move to and if the structure should be different to meet our future needs. Do we really need that content anymore? What can we do to make things easier to find? Should we change the structure to support digital processes and AI? We move and we work differently. Information Architecture is the key to how things work (or not).

A long time ago, I worked for a company where an Account Manager told me to tell a client they needed to upgrade their word-processing software to improve productivity. I disagreed with him because I know we need to do more than upgrade the tool, we need to change how we work to get the productivity gain. Start with the foundations – Information Architecture!

Lift and Shift move’s the mess, bringing with it problems such as:

• Permission issues can be exposed.
• Deep folder structures are difficult to navigate.
• Long file paths must be fixed to open files.
• Sensitive information becomes discoverable to Copilot and Search.
• Difficulty apply automation when content is mixed.
• More difficult information lifecycle management.
• Apply metadata is usually after the migration and is mostly manual.

Planning a transformational migration takes more time. It requires planning, design work, engagement across the organisation and time. This type of migration is business lead, rather than IT lead. It needs a different mindset from the business. This is an investment in the future.

Transformational migrations enable the business to do things better:

• Fix content structure to improve the end user experience.
• Metadata tagging is during migration and automated.
• Enable business process automation and workflow.
• Enable AI solutions that consume content.
• Easier information lifecycle management including automation
• Better security and protection.
• Smarter ongoing management and governance.
• Enables better Copilot use and experience.

During this process, you have an opportunity to completely rethink how the business works. Get the senior leaders involved in the decision-making process and create a platform and culture that drives a step-change in business improvement. That’s the opportunity you have once in a blue moon!

It is much easier to do this once when you do the migration than to have two goes (lift and shift first and transformation later). This is usually because we have the organisations attention once and if we leave them with a poor experience during the lift and shift, then the poor perception will live long far longer than you expect in the minds of your people.

Which path will you take? The quick one or the best one?