Abel Solutions has delivered SharePoint upgrade and migration services to more than one hundred customers. We have deep expertise helping a customer upgrade or migrate from any SharePoint on-premises version to the current release or migrate their existing SharePoint installation to the O365 cloud.
There are a number of approaches to moving forward with your upgrade or migration:
Database Attach
The database attach method applies only to on-premises upgrades. This approach involves copying the databases from the existing environment and attaching the databases to the new SharePoint environment followed by an iterative testing process.Content Migration
The content migration method applies to both on-premises deployments as well as migration to O365. This approach involves creating a new SharePoint farm or O365 tenancy, recreating the existing web application structure, and then migrating content either manually or using a tool from a third-party vendor. Abel Solutions has experience with multiple migration tools including ShareGate and Metalogix.Clean Install
If your first deployment was not well-conceived and structured, perhaps an upgrade is actually not in order and you might consider a fresh start in SharePoint with new governance, planning and oversight, along with a plan to migrate critical information from the existing environment.
Things to consider before upgrading:
- How many web applications are you using and what are they being used for?
- Do external partners have access?
- What kind of third-party tools or solutions (Nintex, Bamboo, Amrein, AvePoint, Metalogix, CodePlex, etc.) are installed and are they actively used?
- What kind of custom features, solutions or web parts have been developed that need to be considered during the upgrade or migration?
- Is your current site’s branding customized from the default SharePoint look and feel?
- Are you using any of the SharePoint Enterprise features such as InfoPath Forms Services, Excel Services or the Business Connectivity Services?