A ShareGate survey highlights that many IT professionals are likely to face M365 migrations with large price tags over the next two years.
The Microsoft migration tools specialist polled 650 people across the Americas and Europe. And four out of five represented organisations expect mergers, acquisition, or divestitures in 24 months.
Therefore some 80% would be forced to reshape their digital infrastructure.
“That statistic alone should [give] any IT admin pause. Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) don’t just change organisation charts,” the vendor confirmed.
“M&A activity shakes up everything—users, workloads, permissions, you name it.”
Of course, ShareGate offers tools aimed at easing the task. Workplaces must juggle priorities while keeping collaboration running smoothly and securely across shifting M365 environments.
In particular, an increase in tenant-to-tenant M365 migrations can challenge IT teams, the vendor suggested. “They’re failing because there’s not enough time, clarity, or resources to get it right,” it said.
Four top tips for M365 migrations
ShareGate offers strategies for “de-risking” these kinds of software migrations.
To begin with, organisations seeking to manage and secure Microsoft migrations should take an inventory of all their tenants, sites, groups, apps and users. In addition, administrators must understand who ‘owns’ what and which content is actually in use.
ShareGate suggests using source analysis reporting. Then, teams should map out the security and permissions.
“Don’t wait until cut-over to realise that your permission models don’t match,” the vendor said. “Identify permission mismatches up front. Flag sensitive content. Set policies for external sharing and guest access. ShareGate offers granular permissions mapping to help.”
Thirdly, ShareGate recommends moving on to automate and test the shift. Run a pilot migration for a test group, automate repetitive tasks where possible, and schedule the final change-over for off-peak hours.
Finally, ensure you bring your team along with the change. Prepare staff for what’s changing and why, include role-specific training, and communicate with partners as well as managers and team leaders.
Solutions like ShareGate with built-in end-user training can assist.
In essence, IT teams should not ignore their chance to play a pivotal role beyond simply implementing IT changes. Because, ultimately, this isn’t just about managing application migrations but supporting business objectives, the vendor said.
