Migrate OneDrive for Business to Another Tenant – Simplifying Complexity of Migration

Synopsis: This write-up is specially crafted for IT admins, it discusses the different methods to migrate OneDrive for Business to another tenant, such as manual and automated. The article covers all possible ways to conduct OneDrive tenant-to-tenant migration. You can choose the method that suits your needs. Let’s get started!

Data migration, especially transferring data in OneDrive, is a very detailed and complex task. There are many aspects, you need to look out for. Moreover, one single mistake could lead to data loss. However, it can be an effortless task when you know exactly how to do it.

To move OneDrive from one tenant to another, you need careful planning of the migration process, choosing the right approach, and executing the same. 

Talking about methods, you can try the traditional PowerShell approach or opt for a professional tool such as the Migrator Wizard OneDrive Migration Tool to perform OneDrive for Business tenant-to-tenant migration.

Here we’ll discuss both approaches, however, before that let’s understand why users are opting for OneDrive tenant migration.

Why Businesses Consider OneDrive Tenant to Tenant Migration?

An organization might consider moving data from one OneDrive tenant or account to another for multiple reasons. 

Firstly, it would be because of organizational changes i.e. mergers or acquisitions. In such a case consolidating all content including OneDrive cloud storage information becomes necessary. 

Secondly, to reduce costs and streamline management, organizations would want to standardize their IT infrastructure. Thus, they may consider combining multiple tenants into a single tenant, hence the migration.

Besides a combined tenant can provide a more seamless and consistent user experience. It can allow users to access files and other information without any confusion. 

Above all,  these days security, compliance, and data governance play an important role in ensuring data is properly secured and complies with industry regulations. That’s why organizations are considering migrating OneDrive for business to another tenant.

Now, let’s move ahead and discuss the methods starting with the manual one.

How to Migrate OneDrive Data from One Tenant to Another Using Powershell?

Microsoft supports a cross-tenant OneDrive migration facility to move source OneDrive data to the destination. The approach is very long and systematic. So, make sure to fulfill the pre-requisite conditions and it is recommended to follow the best practices of OneDrive for Business migration.

Prerequisites and Settings to Know Before Migration

1. Ensure that the most recent version of Microsoft SharePoint Online Powershell is installed on your machine.
2. The Source OneDrive tenant mustn’t have or enabled Service encryption with Microsoft Purview Customer Key.
3. Make sure the source OneDrive accounts are marked with Read/Write before you attempt to migrate OneDrive data from one tenant to another.
4. Before the migration, it’s important to ensure that all users and groups have been pre-created on the target tenant.
5. Target tenant users must be assigned with appropriate licenses.
6. Make sure there are no legal holds on the OneDrive account, otherwise, it will be blocked from OneDrive tenant to tenant migration.

Now comes the actual steps.

Step 1. Connect the Source Tenant to the Destination Tenant for the Migration

• Sign in to Microsoft 365 global admin.
• Run the code ‘Connect-SPOService -url https://<TenantName>-admin.sharepoint.com’. [Enter the source tenant URL]
• Sign in to the source tenant using the correct credentials.
• Run the code ‘Connect-SPOService -url https://<TenantName>-admin.sharepoint.com’. [Enter the destination tenant URL]
• Sign in to the destination tenant using the correct credentials.

Step 2. Establish Trust Between the Source and the Destination

Each tenant administrator must run specific trust commands at both the source and destination. Before running trust commands, you need to obtain cross-tenant host URLs for source as well as destination tenants. Thus, run the following command:

Get-SPOCrossTenantHostURL

After that run the trust commands to send trust requests.

• On the source tenant: ‘Set-SPOCrossTenantRelationship -Scenario MnA -PartnerRole Target -PartnerCrossTenantHostUrl <TARGETCrossTenantHostUrl>’
• On the destination tenant: ‘Set-SPOCrossTenantRelationship -Scenario MnA -PartnerRole Source -PartnerCrossTenantHostUrl <SOURCECrossTenantHostUrl>’

Step 3. Verify the Established Connection

Now, execute the following command to verify the trust is complete.

• One the source tenant: ‘Verify-SPOCrossTenantRelationship -Scenario MnA -PartnerRole Target -PartnerCrossTenantHostUrl <TARGETCrossTenantHostUrl>’
• On the target tenant: ‘Verify-SPOCrossTenantRelationship -Scenario MnA -PartnerRole Source -PartnerCrossTenantHostUrl <SOURCECrossTenantHostUrl>’

Step 4. Pre-create Users and Groups

For retaining the OneDrive permissions as part of the migration, it is essential to create a mapping file to align users from source to destination.

• Identify a full list of OneDrive sites that you want to move OneDrive from one tenant to another.
• Prepare a list of users and groups that you want to migrate.

Step 5. Make the Environment Ready for Identity Mapping and Create a File for the Same

To migrate OneDrive for business to another tenant, you need to create a single CSV file that contains users and groups for mapping between source and target. 

Note: Make sure the identity mapping file consists of one-to-one relationships between users. Because a single user can’t be mapped to multiple users at the target tenant.

Step 6. Start the Process to Migrate OneDrive for Business to Another Tenant

After completing the above five steps you can start the OneDrive tenant to tenant migration process. For detailed migration steps, you can refer to the official website.

Step 7. Post Migration Formalities

There are certain things that you need to consider after completing the migration.

• Before the source tenant licenses expire, you should remove the Trust Relationship on both the source and target tenants. Because removal commands won’t work once the license expires. The commands are as follows:

On Source: Remove-SPOCrossTenantRelationship -Scenario MnA -PartnerRole Target -PartnerCrossTenantHostUrl <TARGETCrossTenantHostUrl>

On Target: Remove-SPOCrossTenantRelationship -Scenario MnA -PartnerRole Target -PartnerCrossTenantHostUrl <TARGETCrossTenantHostUrl>

• Once you migrate OneDrive for business to another tenant, a redirect link is found at the source. You need to remove that link otherwise users may be redirected back. To remove the redirect links, use the ‘Remove-SPOSite’ command. 

Limitations of Manual OneDrive for Business Tenant to Tenant Migration

• At a time, you can schedule up to 4000 OneDrive accounts for migration.
• It doesn’t allow to perform Incremental and delta migration passes.
• The cross-tenant user data migration is an add-on and is available as a separate purchase for OneDrive for business.
• Moreover, the execution process is very complex and lengthy. Without complete knowledge of the migration could lead to data loss.

Migrate OneDrive for Business to Another Tenant Using the Professional Tool

As mentioned at the beginning of the write-up, the migration software by Migrator Wizard is an exceptional tool. The tool is specially designed for copying files from one OneDrive to another. 

Let’s get familiar with the tool steps.

Step 1. Download and install the tool from the below link, and launch it on your machine.

Download Now Purchase Now

Step 2. After that, navigate to the ‘Set up’ section and select both Source and destination as ‘Office 365’.

Step 3. Next, scroll down and click on the ‘Documents’ checkbox to migrate OneDrive for business to another tenant.

Step 4. The tool allows you to execute a selective data transfer.  You need to click on the ‘Date Filter’ option. Then, select the From & To dates for a customized migration.

Step 5. After that, go to the ‘Source’ tab and provide the source Admin email and Application ID.

Step 6. Next, click on ‘Validate’ to verify the required source permissions.

Step 7. Then, repeat the same process for the target tenant. Go to the ‘Destination’ tab and enter the destination Admin email and Application ID.

Step 8. Now, click on ‘Validate’ to verify the required destination permissions.

Step 9. Next, you need to specify the source user emails through either ‘Fetch User’, ‘Import User’, or ‘Download Template’.

Step 10. Next comes the source and destination mapping to migrate OneDrive for business to another tenant.

Step 11. After validating all the necessary permissions, click on ‘Start Migration’.

Why Choose the Software to Transfer OneDrive for Business to Another Account?

The tool has various advanced features that make it unique and appropriate for the migration process. Here are some of the highlighted features of the tool.

• The tool allows you to perform a single-user or multiple accounts migration.
• It has a  Re-run migration option through which you can re-do the migration for skipped items again.
• The software has a Stop & Start option. It allows you to pause the process and resume the same based on requirements. 
• This tool has a feature that allows users to perform account-based priority migration to move OneDrive from one tenant to another.

Conclusion

Organizations opt for OneDrive for business tenant-to-tenant migration to address different needs. Streamlining the migration process requires careful planning of the process and execution. Along with that, it requires the right method or approach. That’s why we discussed both manual and automated approaches to migrate OneDrive for business to another tenant for your reference. Choose the method that is easy for you!