Ready to move from Dropbox to SharePoint?

For many non-profit organizations, Dropbox has been a simple and effective solution for file sharing and collaboration. Some of these organizations are now migrating to Microsoft 365 for their file storage. They appreciate that SharePoint and OneDrive integrate deeply with the rest of the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, and they appreciate the enterprise-grade security and governance functions that that ecosystem provides.

Here are some tips on a successful Dropbox to Microsoft 365 migration once you have made that decision.

Understanding your Dropbox environment

Migrating from one platform to another is like moving to a new house. Before you move, it helps to understand what you have, how it is organized, and where everything should go in the new location.

Assess Your Dropbox Environment Before Migration

Before migrating from Dropbox, gather key information about your environment, including:

Dropbox operates on an ownership model, so understanding who owns files and folders – even within shared folders – is critical for managing access, permissions, and content ownership after migration.

Run Dropbox Admin Reports

Generate the following reports from the Dropbox Admin Console:

1. User Activity Report

2. Member Data Report

3. External Sharing Report

4. Team Storage Usage Report

These reports provide insights into user activity, content ownership, sharing practices, and storage utilization.

Organize Content for Migration

As a general best practice:

One of the most valuable ways you can help ensure a smooth migration is by taking time to clean up your Dropbox content before the move begins. Proper content classification before migration helps ensure users retain access to the right content and simplifies permission management within Microsoft 365.

Think of the migration like moving to a new home. The more unwanted items you donate, recycle, or discard before packing, the easier the move becomes. In the same way, deleting unnecessary files and removing outdated sharing permissions before migration can significantly reduce complexity and make the transition smoother.

Before migration, consider:

Even modest cleanup efforts can have a significant impact. Every file deleted and every unnecessary sharing relationship removed helps make the migration more efficient and reduces work for everyone involved.

While you are examining your data, consider creating and implementing a data retention policy and why having that policy – and automating data retention rules wherever possible to save human time and error – is crucial to your cybersecurity in this age of AI search. For a discussion on data retention best practices, check this podcast with Ian Gottesman from NGO-ISAC.

Perform a Discovery Scan with Microsoft Migration Manager

Connect Microsoft 365’s Migration Manager (part of the Microsoft 365 Admin Suite) to your Dropbox environment and run a discovery scan. The scan generates detailed inventory reports that provide visibility into:

Compare the Migration Manager scan reports with your Dropbox Admin reports to validate content ownership, storage usage, and folder structure. While Dropbox reports provide administrative and sharing insights, Migration Manager reports offer a detailed inventory of the content that will be migrated, helping you identify discrepancies and plan the migration more effectively.

Is Your IT Partner Meeting the Moment?

As your organization navigates challenges, you deserve a support team that is as committed to your mission as you are.

Would you like to see how our human-centered approach can stabilize your IT environment? If you have questions about how to align your technology with your mission, we are here to help.

Community IT has been serving nonprofits exclusively for 25 years. We offer Managed IT support services designed for organizations that want a partner, not just a provider. For a fixed monthly fee, we provide the proactive planning and ongoing IT strategy you need to ensure your technology is always an asset and opportunity, not a liability.

We think your IT partner should be able to explain everything clearly, without talking down to you or using unnecessary lingo. If you’re ready to gain peace of mind and clarity about your IT roadmap in our challenging environment, let’s talk.

As advocates for using technology to work smarter, we’re practicing what we recommend. This article was drafted with the assistance of AI, but the content was reviewed, edited, and finalized by a human editor to ensure accuracy and relevance.

Photo by Venti Views on Unsplash