[3 Ways] How to Migrate Data to SharePoint Online

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Why Migrate Data to SharePoint?
How to Migrate Data to SharePoint [3 Ways]
► Option 1: Migrate Data to SharePoint by Uploading or Dragging
► Option 2: Migrate Data to SharePoint by OneDrive APP
► Option 3: Migrate Data to SharePoint via SharePoint Data Migration Tool [Quickly]
Conclusion

Why Migrate Data to SharePoint?

Retiring traditional ECMs (e.g. Livelink, FileNet, OpenText, Documentum) and adopting modern and more cost-effective systems is becoming more and more urgent for businesses today, especially as remote work is required and increasingly popular. Microsoft 365 is the leading cloud software vendor (33%) due to its strong knowledge management, collaboration capabilities and intranet network.

Therefore, many users choose to upload data to public servers, such as SharePoint in Microsoft 365. This way, files or documents with individual shared links can be viewed, edited, and added by a group of people, ideal for the team that requires cloud content collaboration. In addition to this, SharePoint can provide users with the following benefits:

Easy integration with Office 365: Many business teams already use Microsoft Office to create various types of documents. Many of the standard features of Office 365 are even better when combined with SharePoint. Teams can fluidly create documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more using apps they already know.
Excellent support for file creation, collaboration, presentation and management: Collaboration is at the heart of the business. SharePoint makes it easier for teams to create, collaborate, present and organize files. Site and list content created in SharePoint can be read and edited by many people together.
Remote collaboration: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more workers are looking for opportunities to work from home. Using SharePoint makes it easier for business teams to collaborate remotely. It provides high data availability and instant access to files no matter where the user is located.

Therefore, moving files or folders to SharePoint is an important part of normal business operations or better collaboration.

How to Migrate Data to SharePoint [3 Ways]

So, what are the options for migrating documents to SharePoint? In this article, I'll summarize all the options available for you, along with the pros and cons to be aware of.

To make it easier for you to organize your documents and data, you'd better prepare your data before moving:

1. Always analyze content on the source system first, such as the number and format of documents; file categories and extensions; content types, schemas or blueprints and data models; folder and file activity; metadata keywords and usages; copy files and folder structure;

2. Determine the data structure in the new SharePoint system;

3. Define the global data model in SharePoint;

4. Categorize all content according to the new metadata model.

Option 1: Migrate Data to SharePoint by Uploading or Dragging

If you don't have the OneDrive app on your computer and don't want to download it, you can also easily upload files or upload a folder to SharePoint through the official website. There are two ways to upload: manual selection upload or direct drag & drop. You can follow these steps:

Step 1. Go to the Office website and sign in to your OneDrive for Business account.
Step 2. Go to the SharePoint main page, click "File" or "Folder" in "Upload", then select the file or folder you want to upload on your computer, and then click "Open".

Alternatively, you can drag and drop files/folders from the source into the library.

Advantages	• Easy to use, requires little training; • No financial investment required; • Allow yourself to control the data you need to move;
Disadvantages	• Not suitable for very large data movements; • User needs to keep the browser window open while uploading; • No metadata is preserved (i.e., the last modified date will default to the date uploaded to SharePoint); • May need to be combined with other techniques listed in this article;

Option 2: Migrate Data to SharePoint by OneDrive APP

The second option also relies on the user uploading data, however, it allows to "automate" it by doing the heavy lifting. This option relies on the user first syncing the target document library, then copying the content to the sync library folder in Windows Explorer, and letting OneDrive do its work and sync everything to the cloud (SharePoint Online).

Step 1. Download the OneDrive app and log in with your Office 365 account.
Step 2. When everything is set up successfully, you will now notice all synced files and folders. Your personal files from OneDrive will be under the OneDrive - [company name] section, and all document libraries will be under the [company name] section, next to the building icon.

Step 3. Copy the content to the SharePoint folder in Windows Explorer, and the OneDrive app will automatically sync the data to SharePoint Online.

Advantages	• Easy to use, requires little training; • No financial investment required; • Allow yourself to control the data you need to move; • Keep metadata intact (ie, the last modified date will be preserved and will not default to the date uploaded to SharePoint);
Disadvantages	• Not suitable for very large data movements; • Synchronization limit of 300,000 for all document repositories; • May need to be used in combination with other technologies listed in this document;

Option 3: Migrate Data to SharePoint via SharePoint Data Migration Tool [Quickly]

If you are migrating from other cloud providers such as Dropbox, Box, or Google Drive, you need to use MultCloud, which can help you perform cloud-to-cloud migration operations efficiently. MultCloud is a multiple cloud storage manager that manages all your cloud services in one app.

With MultCloud, you can easily upload, download, delete and share files and folders from one cloud to another. At the same time, you can also transfer (Cloud Transfer) and sync (Cloud Sync) files from one cloud to another without downloading and uploading as before.

MultCloud mainly has the following features and advantages:

Cloud transfer function can be used directly on one page. So, you no longer need to download files from one cloud and upload them to another.
Offline transfer lets you move files from other cloud drives to SharePoint in the background, even when your computer is turned off.
The "Filter" feature helps you exclude certain types of files or include only specified types of files when performing a transfer.
Supporting more than 30 leading cloud storage services, including Google Drive, Google Workspace, Dropbox, Dropbox for Business, SharePoint Online, Google Photos, MEGA, Flickr, Amazon S3, and more, so you can manage multiple cloud storage accounts in one place.

Now, follow the steps below to quickly and securely transfer data from other cloud drives to SharePoint, such as Dropbox to SharePoint Online.

Step 1. Register MultCloud. MultCloud is an online cloud storage manager, to use it, first, you must create an account.

Step 2. Add your Dropbox and SharePoint Online accounts to MultCloud. Once your account is created, log into the platform. In the main panel, click the "Add Cloud" tab on the left, and select the cloud brands to add. Then, follow the prompts to finish cloud-adding.

Notes:

You can only add one cloud account at a time. Therefore, you need to add other clouds by repeating the process.
In MultCloud, you can also use "Upload" to move data directly from your computer to SharePoint Online.

Step 3. Use "Cloud Transfer" to migrate Dropbox to SharePoint. Now, go to the "Cloud Transfer" tab and specify the source and destination as Dropbox and SharePoint Online respectively. Finally, click on "Transfer Now" and wait for the process to complete.

Migrate from Dropbox to SharePoint Online

Advantages	• Allows migration of large amounts of content, even content from entire cloud drives; • Simple operator interface is easy to use compared to more complex tools; • Allow migration from other cloud providers without downloading content locally; • Free 5GB data and support for multiple subscription versions; • Provides multiple transfer modes, which are user-friendly.
Disadvantages	• Do not allow converting folders to metadata during migration; • May need to purchase a premium account for faster speed;

Conclusion

That's all for how to migrate data to SharePoint. In summary, you can move files or folders from your computer or other cloud drives to SharePoint Online using the SharePoint Online web app, the OneDrive desktop app, or through a professional cloud file manager --- MultCloud.

With MultCloud, you can also easily sync or backup files from one cloud to another. Even if your computer shuts down suddenly, MultCloud can still run the transfer process in the background. Also, there are other basic functions to help you better manage your SharePoint Online.

MultCloud Supports Clouds

Add Your Clouds Now