Best Practices for Effective Migration to SharePoint 2013 from SharePoint Older versions

by Ken Miller Tech Writer

Lately, with Microsoft coming up with SharePoint 2013, a number of businesses are thinking of migrating to this newest version of SharePoint to boost their business processes. Indeed Microsoft SharePoint 2013 is expected to revolutionize the manner in which organizations are linking their business processes, knowledge workers, and business-oriented content across the globe. With novel features including improvised document management abilities in terms of contributing and sharing content, innovative application model along with marketplace, enhanced social features and a revamped search experience, this platform is rapidly establishing itself as a preferred technology for the launch of vital initiatives by organizations, in the domains of web content management, enterprise content management and social collaboration.

The innovative features of SharePoint make it essential for businesses to consider certain major points before they adopt Microsoft’s latest platform. The step towards SharePoint 2013 implies that organizations are required to upgrade different segments of their databases and operating systems. Let us discuss the system requirements of SharePoint 2013 before moving on to the best practices while migrating or upgrading to SharePoint 2013.

Requirements of SharePoint 2013

Hardware Requirements: For SharePoint 2013 servers, at least 4 64-bit cores and 8 GB RAM is required for small environments while 8 64-bit cores and 16 GB RAM is needed for medium environments. It is essential for every server within the SharePoint 2013 farm to be physically located in the same data center.

Operating System Requirements: Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 (Service Pack 1), 64-bit edition, is required on every server for SharePoint 2013. Windows Server 2012 operating system can also be used. Migrating to 64-bit servers should occur prior to any migration or upgrade, as Microsoft does not advocate upgrading of the software and servers in tandem. Moreover, organizations wherein MOSS (Microsoft Office SharePoint Server) 2007 is presently running on Windows Server 2003, need to have an adequate amount of Windows Server licenses for deploying the latest operating system if they wish to adopt SharePoint 2013.

Database Requirements: SharePoint 2013 calls for a 64-bit version of either Microsoft SQL Server 2012 or Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1, so far as its database server is concerned. If companies intending to opt for SharePoint 2013 are presently using SQL Server 2000 along with MOSS 2007, they need to upgrade to either of the required versions.

Best Practices for Hassle-free Migration
With a number of organizations looking forward to migration, consolidation and restructuring their content to SharePoint’s latest version, it will indeed be good to look at some of the best practices that will enable seamless migration.

Prior to upgrading it is advisable to make sure that the current environment is completely functional.

It is good to go for a trial upgrade over a test farm.

A backup of the present database should be taken.

Preferably, the original data should be set as read-only, during migration.

The entire content if transferred to both the Cloud and SharePoint On-Premises or either of them can save a lot of time and money.

Relocate content with plainly drag and drop option, whenever you want to move content move it, plan it during non-business hours with phased or bulk migrations.

Assimilate the data within a single location from every source, as this will ensure increased productivity.

It is preferable to transfer multiple SharePoint libraries and site lists at the same time and minimize project costs as well as the timeframe.

In order to enhance the intelligence, assign metadata to content.

The Project Management can be simplified with programmed steps in migration and you can also get synchronized progress reports.

Adopting the best practices in migration, business can opt for Manual Process Migration as well as Automated process Migration. Manual migration involves ‘Cut’ and ‘Paste’ of data to the latest server while in Automatic migration, automated tools take care of the entire migration process. The best practices go a long way in ensuring confident migration. Understanding these best practices will be helpful when you seek to differentiate between Sharepoint cms customization services providers.

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