Microsoft Teams and SharePoint are both applications that pack a lot of productivity and collaboration power.
Microsoft Teams is a centralized communication and workspace hub that allows for organized, channeled communications, video meetings, file sharing, and interdepartmental collaboration. It can even act as a VoIP phone system.
SharePoint gives you a way to easily, securely, and dynamically share information throughout your organization. It also helps improve business processes through things like automated lists and workflows.
The pandemic has caused companies to rethink their workflows and they’ve come to realize the need for cloud-based productivity tools that allow employees to work and connect from anywhere. This is one of the reasons that Teams saw a growth of 70% during the last few months to approximately 75 million daily active users.
But if you’re going through a migration project to move the date on your servers to Teams and SharePoint, then you want to do it right, so your data ends up in the most efficient place.
How to Build Out Your New Cloud Collaboration Space
To get the most out of new cloud technology solutions like SharePoint and Teams, you want to follow best practices to organize content to make your collaboration space as effective as it can be.
Here are four best practice rules to following during your migration.
Rule #1: Delete & Declutter Before You Start
There is no reason to bring over old files that you’re never going to use again and that will only take up space and get in the way when searching for relevant content.
Often, companies will have files that no one wants to delete “just in case,” however they haven’t been opened or used in years. You want to go through these old files before you do a migration to weed out the clutter.
Separate the files that you no longer need from those you may need to retain for legal purposes but aren’t actively used.
- Files you no longer need at all:
Delete these (or perhaps archive to an external hard drive) so they no longer clutter your file storage space. - Unused files that you need to retain:
Archive these in a special file directory in your OneDrive cloud storage or another storage system so they’ll be saved, yet out of the way and not cluttering up your active files.
Rule #2: Put Files in the Right App (Don’t Just Lump Together)
One mistake that people make when migrating to Microsoft 365 is to just lump all their company’s files together in OneDrive and not to fully utilize the benefits of Teams and SharePoint. These apps are designed to make file sharing easier for a team or the entire company.
If you have a department that needs to share files among itself, then having those under individual users’ OneDrive accounts is not going to make it easy and may not give you the security you need.
Likewise, trying to share dynamic documents company-wide is going to be much easier if you store those files in SharePoint rather than OneDrive or Teams.
A good rule of thumb is this:
- Personal Files: Migrate to OneDrive
- Department Files: Migrate to Microsoft Teams
- Companywide Files: Migrate to SharePoint
By putting files in the most efficient place, you make it easier for your team to access and share resources and to apply department specific security.
Rule #3: Try to Never Go Deeper Than 3 Sub-Folders
If users have to navigate into a deep file structure, it takes more time, and is easier to get lost. Users may also end up saving documents in the wrong folder because it’s too laborious to keep clicking deeper.
A good rule of thumb is to build a “flat” structure rather than a deep structure where data is often more difficult to find.
So instead of a structure such as Working Files > Red Rock Development > Projects > Lexington Projects > Derby Clubhouse Plan
Consider something this this: Construction Team Projects > Red Rock Development Projects> Derby Village Plan
By fully utilizing SharePoint team sites, you can make locating and sharing information much easier and less time-consuming.
Rule #4: Be Mindful of Folder & File Permissions
Permissions work a bit differently when you’re using a cloud environment. This means end-users have more ability to share their data with others and SharePoint and Teams site owners can choose who to allow into the collaboration space.
If you want to apply policies like “read-only,” you have to understand where to do that. Look at these options:
- Create a custom SharePoint Communications Site with its own document library and add desired permissions.
- Use sharing links that allow you to control access permissions.
- Use a Retention Label to mark content as a “Record,” which restricts editing permissions.
- Implement Microsoft 365 sensitivity labels that allow you to add encryption, watermarks, do not edit, and other file security policies.
Get Help with an Expert Data Migration to Teams & SharePoint
Make sure your use of Microsoft 365, Teams, and SharePoint is as efficient as possible. NetCare can help you with an expert data migration and setup that’s customized to your Sydney business needs.
Contact us today to schedule a consultation. Call (02) 9114 9920 or .