Many organizations can end up facing the problem of having more than one SharePoint environment as this could be due to independent sites set up by different departments, mergers or acquisitions bringing together different SharePoint setups, or simply no centralized plan for SharePoint growth.
Having more than one SharePoint environment can lead to many problems, scattered information, difficulty of access to pertinent information, added complexity and cost to manage everything, and delay collaboration across the organization.
The act of bringing disparate environments into a unified, singular SharePoint environment is called SharePoint consolidation. This process can be likened to taking multiple cluttered rooms from a house and tidying everything up into one single functional and easy-to-navigate area.
At SharePoint Design Works, we specialize in delivering end-to-end SharePoint design services that simplify and modernize digital workplaces. As a trusted intranet consultant, we help organizations consolidate fragmented SharePoint environments into streamlined, user-friendly platforms that enhance collaboration, governance, and long-term scalability. In this article, we’ll explore the importance of SharePoint consolidation and provide a practical approach to unifying multiple environments into a single, organized system.
The Importance of the Consolidation of Multiple SharePoint Environments:
Having one well-engineered SharePoint environment offers several advantages as follows:
Better Access and Findability: Content centralization facilitates better access to information, enabling employees to find information more easily, thus improving productivity by avoiding the search across numerous sites.
Better Collaboration: A single environment works best when departments collaborate on information-sharing activities and when central permission management ensures that the right people have the right access privileges.
Easier Management and Administration: This translates into the advantage of having more manageable work for IT than lots of different environments and the related overheads involved; costs would be lower with the same governance.
Saves Money: The pooled environment would generate savings through the elimination of duplicate licensing and infrastructure for each setup.
Unified Governance and Compliance: Implementing similar policies for security and compliance becomes more manageable in a single environment, preventing risks.
Improved Scalability and Future Evolution: A unified SharePoint is more scalable to organizational changes and future growth, keeping the platform productive in the long term.
The Basic Steps to Unify Several SharePoint Environments:
Consolidating SharePoint environments is an important undertaking that requires thoughtful planning. Below are the general steps involved:
Planning and Assessment: This initial step is crucial. You must determine what your SharePoint environment is like today. This involves locating all of the various SharePoint locations you have, knowing what each of them is utilized for, how much content (data) they contain, who utilizes them, and whether or not they have any unique configurations or add-ins. To accomplish this, you need to create a list of all your SharePoint locations, examine what type of content is contained in each, observe how they are being used, determine if there is any special functionality being utilized, and interview the individuals who own and make use of these SharePoint locations in order to discover what they require.
Describing the Target Environment: Then, you must determine where you will place everything. If you are using Microsoft 365, that will probably be your primary SharePoint Online space. You must consider how this SharePoint location will be configured, such as how you will structure various sections (site collections and sites) and where you will keep files and lists (libraries). To accomplish this, you should have a streamlined, simple method for individuals to locate things in the new SharePoint, establish guidelines for how this new location will be governed (who can do what, how documents are treated, etc.), and ensure you have sufficient space and resources available for all the data that you are transferring.
Content Migration Strategy: Next, you have to figure out how you will transfer all of the content from the older SharePoint locations to the new one. This involves deciding on the proper tools and methods to use. You can employ tools provided by SharePoint, or other tools, or custom computer scripts. The best tool will be based on the amount of content you have, how complex it is, and your level of computer expertise. You must also schedule when you are going to transfer each piece of old information to the new location and attempt to disrupt as few people as possible. Clean up your old information and eliminate what you no longer need before relocating. If you are rearranging things, you will need to determine where the information from the former locations must be placed in the new location.
Migrating the Content: This is where you actually transfer all the files and data from the previous SharePoint locations to the new one, utilizing the tools and plan you chose. Prior to transferring everything, you might attempt to transfer a little bit of information initially to ensure that everything functions properly and identify any issues. After ensuring it is functioning well, you can transfer all the information as per your timing. While transferring, you need to keep a close eye on ensuring everything is proceeding as expected and correcting any problem that arises.
Post-Migration Tasks: Once all the data is relocated, there are still a few things to ensure that everyone can use the new system without any hassle. You should verify whether all the data has been relocated properly and whether all the links and permissions are in place. You will also have to train people to work with the new single SharePoint location and inform them about any changes. It is crucial to keep people in the know through this entire process. After you are certain that the new SharePoint is in good working order, you can shut down the old SharePoint sites. Ensure that you back up the old places before shutting them down. Lastly, you must continue following the rules you created for organizing the new SharePoint to maintain order.
In Simple Words: Bringing All Your SharePoint Stuff into One Organized Place
Suppose you have files and data spread over a number of different web folders (like having multiple SharePoint sites). Bringing them all together is like transferring everything into a single large, organized filing cabinet. You have to look at what's in all the folders first. Then, you map out how you want to have it all set up in the new cabinet. Finally, you transfer the files over. Once you have relocated, you verify that all is in the correct position and instruct all on how to operate the new system. Last but not least, you eliminate the old disorganized folders. It becomes incredibly easier for all to locate what they require and collaborate. It also becomes easier for the administrators to manage everything.
