Moving files from elsewhere.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH FIRST
What content exists What is still used What can be left behind or archived
WHAT TO AUDIT
Volume Folder depth and path lengths File names with unsupported characters Permissions on the source Files nobody has opened in years
WHY PATH LENGTH MATTERS
Deep structures produce paths exceeding limits, and those files fail to migrate or synchronise.
WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT
Flatten the structure before migrating.
WHAT TO DO ABOUT UNUSED CONTENT
Archive it separately rather than migrating it.
WHY
Migrating everything makes finding anything harder, and consumes storage.
WHAT TO PLAN
The destination structure, before moving anything.
WHAT TO MAP
Source permissions to destination groups.
WHAT NOT TO DO
Recreate the old structure exactly.
WHY
It carries forward every problem it had.
WHAT TO PILOT
One department, fully, first.
WHAT TO COMMUNICATE
Where content has moved, and when the old location closes.
WHAT TO VERIFY
That people can find and open what they need.
