SharePoint 2019 Upgrade or Office 365 Migration Q&A

Thanks to everyone who attended the “Upgrade to SharePoint 2019 or Migrate to Office 365” webinar. You can download the materials here:

Here are the questions and answers from the webinar… enjoy!

Can you share this infographic after the webinar – it’s useful

Thanks. Here’s a link to the SharePoint Upgrade infographic on Gennet.

@Joel – Does the data/tool “Gateway” work with Office365/SP Online as well as SP2019?

The Gateway is designed to provide a mechanism for Flow, PowerApps, etc… to have access to on premise systems including SharePoint 2019. It’s an infrastructure.

Any recommendations for a method of converting InfoPath based forms to PowerApps in anticipation of InfoPath losing support in 2026?

Here’s an article that may help you with your Journey: Transform you Infopath forms to PowerApps.

PowerApps and Flow

Are drag and drop columns only available in office365? Yes, that arrived as recently as January/February 2019. Formatted columns is in SharePoint 2019. You can read more about the modern features in SharePoint 2019 in the TechNet Forums.

But for how long? Unlimited One Drive storage

It goes in stages. Read this writeup for details on how it works…
OneDrive Storage is unlimited

Can General Networks break use the analysis done by another vendor as the intro to an engagement?

We can start with the analysis. We’ll still need some time to get familiar with you and your environment, and may need to collect additional information if it wasn’t included in the analysis but it would save some time.

Can search be across domains under single global tenancy?

Sorry no cross tenant search but setting up hybrid on premises including multiple farms and online search is definitely possible. If you’re asking about multiple geo’s in one tenant, then yes. Really depends on what you mean by domains.

Can we still develop custom workflow app on SharePoint Online?

Custom workflows online are now built with Flow for the most part, but there are ways of migrating workflows with tools.

Can you go directly from 2010 to Office 365?

Yes, with Third party migration tools.

Can you setup SharePoint Online to be accessible from multiple Microsoft Tenants?

There’s one SharePoint instance per tenant. There’s no multiple tenants or multiple SharePoint. It’s a 1:1 relationship.

Do we know what will replace InfoPath?

Forms, Flow and PowerApps

Do you know if SharePoint 2019 server communication site support anonymous? Also, can be created as host name site collection?

I haven’t tested it, but recently the root site collection in Office 365 was enabled to support it. It’s much easier in on premises to define the root site collection. With SharePoint 2019 you can configure the sites to use whatever authentication you like. SharePoint 2019 does support host named site collections.

Do you think all the InfoPath form was created at 2013 can migrate to the Office 365. Or we do need to redo it completely?

I have seen it work with very some slight configuration using the tool Sharegate. I’m sure there are other tools that can help you migrate your forms as workflows as well. There are a few exceptions: InfoPath forms that must be deployed via SharePoint Central Admin and approved by an administrator due to managed code are not supported in SharePoint Online / Office 365. Some data connections may need to be removed or remediated if they are on-premises data sources. The SMAT tool can be used to identify incompatible InfoPath forms before Migration.

Does Microsoft FastTrack provide services for SharePoint?

Yes, but the SharePoint migration programs with SharePoint to SharePoint are expired and no longer available.

Does Teams integrate just as well with SP 2019 on-prem?

No. There are not as many integration points. You can add pages and you can publish your SPFx.

Does the Online Tool Gateway require a separate server or utilize one of the SP servers that would already exist?

It is a separate server. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/flow/gateway-reference

For a new SharePoint environment should we just go to O365 or is it worth considering 2019 on premise?

If you can, you should migrate to Office 365. That should be your default choice as that’s where most innovation is going… It’s cloud first.

FYI: Audio loud and clear, Cathy, and we can see Joel’s screen.

General Networks Team is AWESOME !!!

Thanks for the endorsement… 😊

Have you had clients make claims against MS’ SLAs? It seems Office 365 is less reliable than our on-prem environment.

Yes, I encourage it. If you’re beating these numbers that’s great. If you’re getting higher than 99.97 that’s pretty impressive.

Here are the recent uptime statistics per quarter:

2019
Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
99.97%

2018
Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
99.99%	99.98%	99.97%	99.98%

2017
Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
99.99%	99.97%	99.98%	99.99%

Have you seen any issues with users knowing they have unlimited storage? Meaning – do people abuse that service and overlook content management best practices if storage is not an issue?

Not really. Most users will never get to their first TB. In a company of 5000 we never saw anyone store over 4TB. This is something you can manage and something you can control. There are gates to continue to increase user storage. I wrote about it here: OneDrive Storage is unlimited

How about exe files

In SharePoint 2019 you can control the blocked file types. In online, it’s not very restrictive.

How about user analytics?

SharePoint 2019 has new analytics features, so does Office 365. It’s still no WebTrends, but if you want to get information on who has viewed a file and how many times, you’re covered.

If we are going to migrate are we able to migrate the customize master page to the new SharePoint 2019 ?

When you upgrade you can keep the sites in classic mode, but you should update your master pages, assuming your current version is SharePoint 2013 or later. SharePoint 2010 master pages are not compatible with SharePoint 2019 or Office 365, even in classic mode.

if we have licenses for SP 365 online can we use them also as a cals for in promise at the same time if we have two environments

Licensing is different for Office 365 from Server and CAL. You can read more about SharePoint Licensing on Microsoft’s site.

If you have SPO and SP2016 in a DC or Azure, can search work across that?

Yes, you can setup hybrid crawler with either of those configurations.

If your primary goal is file sharing/versioning is it better to just use Teams or use SharePoint without Teams?

Typical file sharing scenarios are better with straight up SharePoint, but if you’re sharing files across a team the Teams interface is great. Really depends on the team.

Is Microsoft planning to do any Feature Packs like they did for SP 2016, to bring new features to on-prem SharePoint?

No announcements have been made related to “feature packs” as of 5/16/19

Is O365 SP 2019 or do you have the option of 2016 or 2019?

Office 365 SharePoint Online is a moving target and beyond SharePoint 2019. In fact it’s more like SharePoint 2019 is a product born from the Office 365 SharePoint Online back from 2018.

Is the SP2013 ribbon gone?

Yes, modern has a different library user experience.

iI there a way to setup take advantage of a hybrid environment (SP Online and SP on prem) so as to minimize data stored online and therefore cost?

SharePoint Online isn’t expensive storage, but the storage is based on the site collection… there’s no stretching a site across both environments or pointing the storage at one or the other.

Most important one should be SharePoint Online does not support anonymous site. This is the hard limit there is no way to overcome. We do have quite a few anonymous publishing sites on SharePoint 2013.

OneDrive Mac using the thin sync yet? OneDrive Mac does have availability of the Next Generation Sync Client for the latest MAC OS. I’m not sure what you mean by thin sync.

We are in SharePoint 2010, is it good to do an upgrade or migrate the content directly to SP2019?

That would be my recommendation. You’d need to use a third party tool to accomplish it.

We are on SharePoint 2013 and planning to migrate to O365. My question, is it better to upgrade SharePoint 2013 to 2019 and do Hybrid or setup hybrid sp2013 and later plan for 2019 upgrade?

It’s better to migrate directly to Office 365. There is no advantage in migrating to 2019 then trying to migrate online.

What are some bigger issues with going to Office 365? We have nintex for running workflows, which connect to other local resources on site such as SQL Server databases, shares, and what not. Do you see any issues with those and referencing locally? I understand that Nintex may have some licensing issues moving to 365, but aside from that are there any gotchas that you know of?

The good news is Nintex has a good story for Office 365. Nintex partners with ShareGate for migration of Nintex workflows from SharePoint Server to SharePoint Online. Any data sources that are referenced on-premise will need to be configured for external access for the Nintex workflows to retain access.

What do you prefer for long terms better with Office 365 or Sharepoint 2019 and then have to migrate again 2022?

I do recommend Office 365 as the more future proof solution to minimize upgrades in the future.

what is an estimate cost for such assessment and roadmap planning engagement

Roughly between $5,000 and $10,000, depending on the size and complexity of your environment. We are offering a special Webinar rate: contact Cathy, cashbaugh@gennet.com and use code: May16

What is the compelling reason to stay on prem on 2019

I covered this in the session. I’d recommend referring to that slide, but the gist of it is your ability to own the environment from end to end.

What kind of customizations would cause an application to not be a good candidate for O365?

Server assemblies, code behind InfoPath forms, and sandbox solutions. Most things can easily be re-written and many will migrate.

When you say Exchange, does this need to be Exchange in the cloud?

No. The alerts and groups may be a little strange if all email is on premises, but you can work around it.

When/where will the SharePoint upgrade business case slides be available?

They are already uploaded to Slideshare.net at

Where is GNC offices?

Our main office is in Glendale, California

Who managed Office 365? We have teams for Exchange, SharePoint, AD, Group Policy, etc. Microsoft is pushing people to teams with sites, groups, mailboxes, etc. Who administers this?

Microsoft Manages the various servers/services. Office 365 includes an Administrator portal for different roles, such as Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, etc. where your IT can manage configurable settings on the service.

Will Hub site be available in 2019?

Unfortunately No.

Will automated transcription of audio/video files be available in 2019?

It is an Office 365 feature. There may be some capabilities if you can integrate with Flow.

Will custom 2013 .wsp solutions run in O365 and 2019 on-prem?

WSPs are note supported in Office 365. You’ll need to do testing, but yes, one of the reasons people may choose to stay on premises is they can continue to use WSP solution files in SharePoint 2019.

With SharePoint 2019, there is improved Flow, PowerApps and Power BI Integration. Does a customer needs O365 in order to use Flow / PowerApps on SP2019?

Yes. Flow, PowerApps, and so on can be integrated with the Gateway infrastructure. There is licensing that you’ll need to use these tools. The tools have different licensing based on which tool features and so on.

May 20, 2019May 20, 2019

Joel OlesonLeave a comment

The SharePoint Conference – Microsoft Search in Real Life #SPC19

I’m excited to be speaking at the upcoming SharePoint Conference. Be sure to block out my session on your calendar! If you haven’t time is running out! Register now for next week’s SPC2019 in Las Vegas use OLESON for discount.

Microsoft Search in Real Life

BRK102

Breakout: 60 Minute

Microsoft Search

Premier Ballroom 309

Thursday 5/23 | 8:30 – 9:30am

Joel Oleson

Session Title: Microsoft Search in Real Life

Microsoft Search is poised to change enterprise search by featuring search across Windows, Office, and SharePoint Online in addition to various other services. In this session, I’ll dive into the vision, the features, and the reality. Search is a huge undertaking, but it is confusing to know where to invest to take advantage of the greatest of what Microsoft has built. Out of this session you’ll know what has already shipped that you can go back to work to take advantage of in Microsoft Search. You’ll also see examples of what is possible today.

Key Takeaways:

Understand the Vision and Promises of Microsoft Search
How to get started today on your search strategy with Microsoft Search
Get started with Search and get value immediately with simple configuration and a plan for integration

Welcome to Microsoft Search Intelligent Search for the Modern Workplace

Microsoft Search Cohesive and Intelligent Command and Navigate

Read the article I wrote for CMSWire and get a good look at Microsoft Search

Microsoft Search… Vision of Next Generation Command and Discover

Microsoft introduces us to a new tool combining the Artificial Intelligence of Bing’s search engine, as well as the insights provided by Microsoft Graph. Microsoft Search gives you the ability to discover your inquiries across a myriad of Microsoft’s various platforms such as Office, SharePoint, Outlook, OneDrive, Windows, and of course Bing.

Microsoft Search is not just for links and search inquiries like bing, but also enhances your ability within a program such as in word where you can search for the tools like spelling and grammar checks in the task completion features. The task completion feature also assists by searching for tools relevant to the task you wish to complete such as rotating an image as you search for tools when selecting an image.

With Microsoft Search you can also search for relevant information and apps with instant query predictions that allow you to quickly re-access your various documents, applications, and even contacts. Microsoft Search understands contextual information from your recent behavior and search through its incredibly advanced AI features that enable it to become a personal assistant to you and your network of capabilities. You can easily search for contacts in Yammer, Microsoft Teams and more. As you search for colleagues and team members you’ll be provided with relevant contact information, files you share, conversations, and events. “You can even start a Microsoft Teams conversation, place a phone call, send an email or get a map to their office location right from an adaptive card, accelerating productivity and reducing the time you spend searching for the right answer.”

Since Microsoft Search is not an asset for one set application, it works across all your connected apps providing a framework for accessibility from any point. This is evident from Microsoft’s quote giving the example of “if you’re working in Word and want to reuse information from a presentation that a colleague shared from OneDrive, there’s no need to switch to OneDrive and search for that presentation, you can simply search from Word” allowing you easier and faster access to your files and contacts, blending your various assets and tools into one seamlessly connected arcology of information databases.

With Microsoft’s recent design changes to SharePoint including a focus on the simplistic and chic, Microsoft Search is conveniently placed in every Microsoft Office application and in Windows 10 and all of the online Office apps, and even allowing you to access relevant information and contacts directly from Bing’s search engine. It’s quite extensive the vision for Microsoft Search. Personalization in all of these interfaces with corporate access that’s security trimmed is the design from the beginning.

Microsoft Search is an exciting tool that consolidates the best parts of each application into easily reachable places, saving priceless time and releasing you from the headache that comes from searching through thousands of files and documents to find one specific piece of information. Gone are the days where you stand at the speaker podium in awkward silence for five minutes as you search for your powerpoint presentation. At this point, wherever you are, just enter the keywords into the search bar and let Microsoft Search do the work for you.

I encourage you to join me in Las Vegas for Microsoft Search in Real Life

May 15, 2019May 14, 2019

Joel OlesonLeave a comment

SharePoint Migrations just got easier with Microsoft SMAT

Microsoft recently released an innovative new tool that allows us to transport all our creations, content, information, and assets from old platforms such as SharePoint Server 2013 to either SharePoint or OneDrive in Office 365. This tool greatly negates the growing pains associated with moving your personal or company’s information assets to a new server or medium and streamlining the entire process into a much-needed simpler form.

SMAT (SharePoint Migration Assessment Tool) allows you to move local files such as from your internal file shares, as well as from a myriad of sources from SharePoint 2013. When selecting a tool to migrate, SMAT ensures the destination that you requested the file to be migrated to is authenticated, providing the necessary layer of security and privacy, and minimizes the risk of mistakes to be made. The file is then scanned, packaged, and uploaded. This is done universally through every source to be migrated.

The most important step when migrating a file, is authenticating and authorizing its provided destination. The following forms of authorization are supported: NTLM, Kerberos, Forms, ADFS, Multi-factor authentication, SAML based claims, and Client certificate authentication. Microsoft also provides this statement regarding the mediums of authorization; “If multiple authentication methods including NTLM or Kerberos, are enabled in the on-premises SharePoint Web Application, NTLM and Kerberos authentication are not supported by the SharePoint Migration Tool. Please use a secondary form of authentication or convert the Web Application to use NTLM and/or Kerberos authentication only.”

After you selected the file for migration, and after you have authorized the file’s destination, a scan will commence. The scan is vital for checking the file for potential corruptions, and verifies you have access to both the source as well as the destination. The file is then packaged with a manifest, where it then is uploaded to Azure with the said manifest. Each file is encrypted and secured with Microsoft’s advanced security procedures and includes a lock and key system that only the authorizer can obtain. All files that are packaged are inaccessible to Microsoft and is deleted from their servers after the passing of a set time, ensuring the safety and privacy required for your files.

SharePoint Migration Assessment Tool will finally easily transport our projects and creations to the updated software in an easy and seamless way that is safely secure and with professional help will make a difference. Small simple migrations this might work, but it is recommended you consult with a professional before taking on a big migration. SMAT can help simplify the entire migration process and allows our organizations to update and adapt with Microsoft’s software, providing a foundation for further collaboration and consolidation that comes with our creations.

To date this is the best we’ve got from Microsoft, but honestly there are a variety of powerful tools that should be considered when doing a migration.

Are you considering Migration? Join me for the upcoming free migration webinar this Thursday.

Register Now

Webinar Title: Migrate to Office 365 and SharePoint Online or OneDrive or Upgrade to SharePoint 2019?

Guest Speaker: Joel Oleson, Microsoft RD, Office Server & Services MVP

Decisions, decisions, decisions! You’re not alone if you’re running SharePoint 2010, 2013, 2016 and wondering… Is it time to upgrade to 2019 or should I take the plunge and migrate to Office 365. In this session we’ll dive into the decision matrix of the benefits of both SharePoint 2019 and Office 365 SharePoint Online. First we’ll cover the benefits of both, then help you understand the key differences and help you better understand the business value. The session will focus on user experience, technical features, and business value with the goal of helping customers be able to make a clear distinction or decision between one or the other or both… looking at hybrid SharePoint 2019 and Office 365.

Date/Time: May 16, 10:00-11:00AM PDT, 1:00-2:00PM EDT

More details at: https://gennet.com/2019-or-online-sp-migration/

Have you seen the SharePoint migration infographic?

Read more about or download the SMAT SharePoint and Assessment Tool:

Introducing the SharePoint Migration Tool | Microsoft Docs

Download SharePoint Migration Assessment Tool from Official …

May 13, 2019May 12, 2019

Joel OlesonLeave a comment

Evolution of ECM with Microsoft Modern Content Services

Evolution of Content Services – Microsoft Modern Content Services Infographic is shared with creative commons share alike. You can share this infographic with your company, use it in your slides or in your blogs or post it on LinkedIn or in a Facebook group. Have fun.

Gartner declared ECM dead in early 2017 with the post “The Death of ECM and Birth of Content Services” and born out of its ashes is born Modern Content Services. Microsoft has fully embraced and embodied it. Personally I saw it first hand while at Konica Minolta. The entire space has been a push to the cloud and business processes realigned to cloud based content services. The file, scan and print business has turned dial tone and subscriptions and much of what was growing moved to the cloud with the legacy monolithic ECM systems. That’s not to say you can’t find legacy file cabinets and legacy datacenters. It’s definitely time to wake up and recognize the business has moved on and they’ve embraced usability and user experience…

Join the Webinar: SharePoint & Office 365: Evolution of Content Services

Evolution of Content Services: SharePoint 2019, Office 365 and Beyond

Top of Form

When: Thu, Jun 6, 2019 8:00 AM – 9:15 AM PDT

Cost: Free

Description: Join Microsoft MVP Joel Oleson and Microsoft Gold Partner, HELUX, as we explore the evolution of traditional ECM into Content Services. Microsoft has been leading the charge in SharePoint and Office 365 with a rich ecosystem of applications, and components and rich integration into other content services platforms. In this webinar we’ll explore how ECM has truly evolved from being an unrealized dream of consolidation which never fully arrived, to modern Content Services as a focus of coordination where users see value in the creation, the storage and coordination flow. Additional value is realized in the harvesting and extraction, designed with intelligent security in mind. ECM is evolving. Content Services is core to Office 365, OneDrive and SharePoint.

• ECM evolution to content services needs to embrace a holistic approach to managing the entire lifecycle of document creation, sharing, consumption, reuse, knowledge, and records management, archiving and disposal.

• By building a great information architecture, content moves through an organization gracefully and gains value as it accelerates information discovery. • Content Services is people-centric – allowing for personal management (copy/move, hashtags) and organizational management (knowledge management, retention and records management, information lifecycle management).

• Policy and security: intelligent, simple, and automated – protect content at all phases of its life

>>Register Now

For the second year in a row, Microsoft has been recognized as the leader in Content Services Platforms by the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Microsoft’s exceptional execution of its products and services. SharePoint’s role in content services for Office 365 is self dubbed “people-centric,” focusing on the use of documents, videos, designs, scans, pages, and other useful applications. This offers industries such as the medical field to efficiently share medical scans within their intranet system and properly collaborate with other medical professionals through the ease of sharing their documents from one doctor to another instantaneously, saving time, money, and energy as one example. These innovations have changed the way companies interact with one another as well as how they operate as a single system. This earns Microsoft their well-deserved recognition as a leader in both Content Collaboration Platforms and Content Services Platforms, the only company to do so in the Gartner Magic Quadrant.

Download the Enterprise Content Management ECM Evolution of Content Services Infographic

According to Microsoft’s recently published White Paper “Modernizing Enterprise Content Management with Microsoft Content Services,” Microsoft is revitalizing and modernizing their approach to their content services. Microsoft is making changes to their services by reflecting how modern content is created and shared by giving more freedom to personal management organizational management through their tools like “copy, move, tag with metadata [and] knowledge management, record retention, information lifecycle management” providing a more user friendly experience. This provides creators and collaborators even more tools to improve their businesses and a more accessible reach their targeted markets.

In addition, Microsoft is focusing on “Content Velocity” where modern user content is more often created, edited, shared, and edited again in a cycle of unending development with constant revitalization and collaboration. Microsoft considers this as “an evergreen cycle of authoring, collaboration, control, and reuse” allowing creators, editors, and presenters the luxury of direct communication and distribution of thought in true practice. To simplify this experience, Microsoft presents this new focus into 4 pillars.

The first pillar is dubbed ‘Harvest’ as they state content is not meant to be created then stored in some archive filling up vital storage space never to be seen again. Instead content is meant to be continually updated and added on to provide constant relevant use as information and inspiration for future content. This makes every document into a vital document to a business.

The second pillar is ‘Create’ where Microsoft products allow businesses and creators to use SharePoint and OneDrive tools like Office Lens and Office 365 to share their creations to their targeted audiences. These tools are supplemented by their unique and useful set of templates and policies that inform creators and aid them in their creative processes.

The third pillar is ‘Coordinate’ where Metadata is consolidated into organized systems that allow easy management and direction of content through tools such as Microsoft Flow and PowerApps, limiting the amount of clicks needed through their tagging and library search tools.

The fourth and final pillar is ‘Protect.‘ Microsoft provides the ability to set up “information architecture, auditing, rights management, records and retention labels, and eDiscovery” to efficiently protect your business and its content so you can rest easy knowing your company’s content is securely faceted into your company’s files without the threat of 3rd party invaders.

Hope to see you on the webinar!

>>Register Now

High Recommended Resources we’ll be discussing during the webinar:

Download Microsoft’s Whitepaper: Modernizing Enterprise Content Management with Microsoft Content Services

This is a great read. It will also help you appreciate how Microsoft is doing and what they are doing right. Gartner Magic Quadrant for Content Services Platforms (blog from Microsoft)

May 10, 2019May 10, 2019

Joel Oleson2 Comments

Migrate to Office 365 or Upgrade to SharePoint 2019?

One of the biggest questions people have been asking with the release of SharePoint 2019 is what should I do now. There are still approximately 30-40% of SharePoint customers who are in either a partial cloud with hybrid scenario or are fully on premises running a variety of legacy SharePoint 2010, 2013, 2016 or earlier. Many customers have been toying with the idea of migrating to Office 365 and a significant portion who are on premises and plan to stay on premises have been asking… so tell me what the most compelling reasons are to upgrade or migrate? Can you give me a top 10 on each? Wouldn’t it be great if we had an infographic that had both in the same place so you could decide? Sure! Why not both and a webinar to discuss it!

Download the Upgrade or Migrate SharePoint Infographic from slideshare in PDF or download the png format of Migrate to SharePoint Online or Upgrade to SharePoint 2019 infographic

This infographic is shared creative commons share alike. Feel free to include it in your presentations inside or outside your company or feel free to blog about it and share it in social media.

Why Migrate to Office 365 or Upgrade to SharePoint 2019 – There are a dozen great reasons to upgrade to SharePoint 2019 if you are running any older legacy versions of SharePoint. The number of reasons go up if you’re running SharePoint 2013 or 2010 or heaven forbid 2007 or 2003. As an example the browser compatibility gets a huge boost between 2010 and 2013 and even better with 2016, but 2019 is the most significant upgrade since 2010 to 2013. While SharePoint 2013 to 2016 wasn’t very significant the upgrade from SharePoint 2016 to SharePoint 2019 is much more significant due to a lot of investments in on premises OneDrive, hybrid integration with Flow, Forms, PowerBI, Power Apps. Those looking to reduce or remove their dependency on legacy InfoPath and SharePoint Designer will be much more happy with SharePoint 2019 due to this new integration. Those customers who are using some SharePoint Online and some on premises will find a significant upgrade to the UX in SharePoint 2019 with the modern UX updates.