Electronic Content Management (ECM) migration promises newer features and more comprehensive integration. Seeing as you will be transferring content, workflows, metadata, and user permissions from one platform to another, the entire endeavor might come off as being too much of a hassle. Still, if you look past the amount of work needed for the migration, there’s a lot that your business stands to gain. A popular shift currently being witnessed is the migration from Box to SharePoint. Understandably, you might question why it is necessary to get on to this trend. Here are a few reasons that should inform your migration from Box to SharePoint.

Why Migrate From Box to SharePoint?

Granted, both Box and SharePoint have earned their place in the enterprise content management arena. Box is a popular cloud storage and collaborative platform that was initially designed to compete with Google Drive and Dropbox. As part of its evolution, there was the inclusion of collaboration features that competes with SharePoint. SharePoint, however, continues to hold a decisive advantage over Box as it is a full-service communication and collaborative solution. Here are additional reasons why you should consider migrating from Box to SharePoint.

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Security

An integral part of Microsoft’s core development principle while creating SharePoint is data integrity. SharePoint’s Data Loss Prevention (DLP) practice encrypts data for that extra level of security. This is only then accessible to users with permission. What’s more, you can export these restrictions to a file usage elsewhere. Overall, on SharePoint, administrators should be able to easily track which users took a specific action. As it pertains to security, it would be prudent to point out that SharePoint, along with Microsoft Information Protection tools, can protect documents in other clouds and on disconnected devices. Specifically, these encrypted documents require the user to authenticate with Active Directory in order to open the document.

Integration

Developers build most Office 365 file capabilities on SharePoint. This means that whenever you’re working on a file, the most recent version of that file is what is automatically available on your device. Granted, Box does also integrate with Microsoft 365, but is not native and exposes you to the possibility of third-party risk if without updated connectors.

Microsoft has also integrated SharePoint with Microsoft Graph, a machine learning API that helps navigate through the heaps of data. This integration means that SharePoint only shows you the people and documents most relevant to you. Additionally, integration with Windows 10 and 11 ensures a seamless local file experience. Besides, only the parts of the files that have been edited are updated to the cloud, thus saving on bandwidth while increasing speed.

Price

Granted, Box has a limited free plan but it comes with no enterprise features. The catch is at the point when you move to their business plan and you are upgraded to $15 per user per month. To reach HIPAA compliance or to enable MFA for people you share documents with, you will need to get onto the enterprise plan at $35. This is exclusive of the cost of the productivity software and collaborative tools like Slack.

The alternative, SharePoint, is relatively cheaper. For starters, you have to get an Office 365 subscription. Still, the Microsoft Business Basic is a mere $6 a month and includes security policies. If you decide to part with $23, you get the entire Office 365 suite which includes more than just SharePoint.

What to Consider Prior to Migrating From Box to SharePoint

Similar to all other migration processes, a Box to SharePoint migration has to be done in phases. There’s a lot to consider during the planning, assessing, and remediating the content in the source environment.

For starters, you have to consider the kind of data you have prior to said migration. Besides, you’ve got to consider whether these different data types require individual permissions. Additional consideration includes any automation in place that needs rebuilding in Power Automate or PowerApps.

Some Dangers of Migrations

looking at the associated costs of migrating from Box to SharePoint Migrating from Box to SharePoint does have its share of downsides and risks. Some of the dangers you have to keep in mind, especially at the enterprise level, while planning this transition from one platform to the other include:

Things to Be Aware of when Migrating from Box to SharePoint

  • While most might think of this migration as a simple copy and paste, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Moving the data from one platform to the other remains complicated and requires the expertise of SharePoint engineers.
  • If you have been on Box for an extended period, you would probably like to keep the settings a certain way. When moving to SharePoint, be aware of the new updates and releases that might affect the user’s customization settings.
  • There’s light at the end of the tunnel, however. For starters, migration is really just a copy operation. As such, if things were to fail, you still have the original.
  • Also, you want to predetermine the files that will be going to SharePoint and those that will be going to OneDrive.
  • An additional insider tip would be to preserve file hierarchy and individual ownership of files.
  • Moreover, avoid migrating more than 200,000 files or 1 TB at a time. If you were to ignore this tip, there’s a high likelihood of the migration breaking. Note that oftentimes, migration tools will still register this as a successful migration despite the break.
  • To overcome this challenge, split the files up among multiple users, migrate these, then merge the pieces together.
  • Microsoft, Box, Google, and other cloud providers have started throttling some back end applications and bandwidth during operating hours in order to assure maximum availability to end users. In order to assure a speedy and reliable migration, consider doing the work after hours, in batches, or from a group of migration servers working in concert.

Avoid the Dangers of Migrating From Box to SharePoint

Reduced costs, stronger security, and increased collaboration are some of the benefits that your business will yield from a shift from Box to SharePoint. As your go-to communication and collaboration technology, your business will enjoy increased productivity from an engaged workforce.

Agile IT has helped over 2000 organizations move over 2,000,000 accounts to the cloud securely and efficiently with a 100% success rate. Our migration services are fixed price, with available options for cybersecurity, compliance, and governance. Schedule a consultation today to learn more.