Struggling with moving legacy data into SharePoint? I can help.
Bespoke
SharePoint
Migration Services
I offer tailored SharePoint migration services that simplify your move, clean up data and give you a fresh start in a modern SharePoint environment.
Do You Need Help From A SharePoint Migration Consultant?
My name is Nick Evans. I am an independent SharePoint Migration Consultant based in the UK. I specialise in bringing old, disorganised documents and data into a brand new SharePoint environment.
If your organisation has a mountain of legacy documents, maybe spread across various file shares or other systems, you’re not alone. Many businesses amass years of files without a clear structure, making it hard to find crucial information when you need it most.
My job is to make migrating to SharePoint feel straightforward. I work closely with your teams to identify, clean and catalog all that legacy data. Together, we’ll ensure it is all properly organised before bringing it into SharePoint.
Once we have a catalog of the files and information to be migrated, I can develop taxonomies and meta data structures.
Finally I build custom software utilities that handle the actual migration process. Importing files into the correct SharePoint locations, automatically setting meta data, permissions and retention policies, as appropriate.
My approach often ends up being more cost-effective than purchasing third party migration tools. I use my own mature data migration libraries to build solutions to your specific needs.
Book Your Free, No-obligation Consultation Now!
Don't struggle with SharePoint. Find out if I'm a good fit to help your business. We can discuss your requirements, and I'll provide immediate advice and feedback to get you moving forward.
Click to go through to my online booking calendar, and just select an available slot convenient for you.
Common Challenges In SharePoint Legacy System Migration
Cluttered, disorganised data
Over the years, files collect in random folders without any naming standards. Employees may store documents locally or on shared drives no one else knows about. This kind of clutter makes searching for information a nightmare and can lead to duplication or data loss.
Inconsistent File Properties & Permissions
Legacy systems sometimes have mismatched properties, outdated owner fields or unclear access levels. During SharePoint legacy system migration, you need to preserve the right permissions whilst retiring anything that is no longer valid. Doing this manually can be tedious and prone to errors.
Unclean or Redundant Files
Old files might be outdated or contain sensitive data your team no longer needs. Migrating them “as-is” only moves the chaos into SharePoint. A thorough, pre-migration clean-up helps ensure your new environment is properly organised and easy to use.
Limited Internal Expertise
Many companies don’t have a dedicated IT person who is well versed in migrating to SharePoint. That gap can cause confusion, delays, or costly mistakes. Bringing in a SharePoint migration consultant who understands both business requirements and the technica side of SharePoint and Microsoft 365 can save time and frustration.
Tool Dependence
Third party, off-the-shelf tools are useful, but they aren’t always cheap and will still require careful configuration. My approach leverages custom software built on my own data migration utilites, resulting in a fully tailored, and often more affordable and accurate solution.
My Approach As A SharePoint Migration Consultant
I believe that any SharePoint migration is more than just moving data from point A to point B. It is an opportunity to clean house, streamline processes, and set you up for long term success. Here’s what my process typically looks like:
1. Business & Data Discovery
Before any data moves, I work with your teams to identify key file types, usage scenarios, and compliance needs. This step often reveals critical documents, those which can be archived, and those which might need re-organisation. I have the years of experience to ask the correct questions to ensure your particular business processes, quality system, security and regulatory requirements are considered in full.
2. Data Cataloging & Clean-Up
Next, I’ll help you review your files, cleaning up duplicates, removing outdated content, and clarifying naming conventions. If you’re part of a regulated industry like financial services or healthcare, we’ll pay special attention to compliance to ensure your new SharePoint environment meets required standards.
3. Designing Taxonomies & Metadata
A well-thought out taxonomy is the backbone of an efficient SharePoint site. We’ll decide on logical structures, like department-based sites or project-specific libraries, and define which metadata fields will help your team quickly locate documents. This step also includes setting up default permissions, version controls and any specific compliance features.
4. Custom Migration Utilities
Here’s where my unique approach come in. Instead of relying on third-party tools, I build custom migration utilities based on my own data migration libraries. These utilities automate tasks like figuring out where a file should live in SharePoint, applying correct metadata and security permissions. By tailoring the software to your exact needs, we cut costs and reduce the risk of errors.
5. Test & Validate
Before committing to a final migration, we’ll test everything in a controlled setting. This might involve migrating a small subset of files to confirm the metadata, permissions, and structure all function as intended. If something is not quite right, we’ll fix it here, not after it’s rolled out to your entire organisation.
6. Final Migration & Post-Support
Following successful testing, we proceed with the full migration. You will get a full migration report upon completion. Users then gain access to the new SharePoint environment. I can then provide any additional support or training, ensuring any minor hiccups are dealt with quickly.
Why Work With Me?
Tailored, Cost-Effective Solutions
Because I craft custom migration tools, you’re not paying for features you don’t need. This approach can be more cost effective than licensing a third-party tool. You also get a fully managed service.
Holistic SharePoint Expertise
I am a SharePoint expert providing a range of SharePoint services. I am able to handle any question or issue that may arise with respect to SharePoint.
Flexible, Business-Focussed Mindset
I’ve worked with clients of all sizes, across a range of industry sectors. My goal is always to align the technology with real business objectives. I focus always on improving business efficiency and productivity and maximising return on investment.
Zero Data Left Behind
By systematically cataloging your files and verifying them post-migration, we reduce the risk of losing anything valuable. And if you decide some content doesn’t need to be migrated, we can decide how and where to archive it safely.
Ongoing Collaboration
Migrating your documents doesn’t have to be a one-time event.. In fact there are many advantages to migrating gradually in stages. I’m happy to undertake a project on whatever timescale suits your business. I’m always available for follow-up queries, adjustments, or expansions. As your business grows or compliance requirements shift, we can adapt your SharePoint environment accordingly.
Trusted By Organisations Large and Small
Over the years, I've had the privilege to work with a wide variety of clients, from innovative start-ups to well know multi-national brands. Each relationship has taught me something new and has shaped the way I approach working with SharePoint. My clients know they can rely on me to quickly understand their needs, offer practical guidance and deliver reliable, effective solutions. The following are just a a few of the companies and organisations who've placed their trust in my SharePoint expertise over the years.
SharePoint Migration For Regulated Industries
If you work in a sector like health and social care, finance, manufatcuring, legal or local government, migrating your legacy systems into SharePoint can be a powerful move. Ensuring you meet data security standards and providing the ability to produce audit trails on demand. Because I pay close attention to compliance and quality system requirements, I design data classification, permission levels and version control specific to your business.
A Pragmatic Approach To SharePoint Migration
The thought of migrating years’ worth of files can be intimidating, but with the right guidance, it can be a transformative opportunity to reorganise, standardise and modernise how your teams work with data. As an independent SharePoint Migration Consultant, my role is to take a careful, measured approach. Ensuring any migration project is simplified as far as possible, demonstrating a clear return on investment and delivering a final result that genuinely feels like a fresh start and a huge step forward.
If you’d like to learn about my other SharePoint Services, such as general SharePoint Consulting, building SharePoint Intranets or setting up SharePoint Document Management Systems, please feel free to browse around my site or reach out to me directly.
I Can Help You Migrate
Documents & Files residing on shared file servers or individual’s
Documents, Files and data residing in different versions of Microsoft SharePoint
Data stored in external database systems and data warehouses
Information stored in other enterprise applications
Content stored within legacy websites or intranets
Information stored in spreadsheets and other office documents
and more…
What I Can Achieve When Migrating Data
File and document properties including creation and modification dates, author information, version history, etc can be maintained when importing.
File and document properties can be read from operating system file properties or from embedded file properties for relevant document types
Content types, meta data, tags, etc can be assigned automatically within SharePoint based on file and document properties.
Automatic location of files to libraries, folders, document sets, content types, meta data etc from file folder location or file name.
Files and documents meeting certain criteria can automatically be migrated to an archive within SharePoint.
Document retention policies, user access permissions and audience targeting can automatically be applied to imported files.
Data imported from databases can be automatically cross linked back to original database record.
Data imported from databases can be automatically organised into lists and libraries in SharePoint.
Data can be re-organised and converted to other formats as part of the migration.
Data imported from source spreadsheets and other office documents can be cross linked back to original document.
Book Your Free, No-obligation Consultation Now!
Think it might be time to upgrade your SharePoint experience? Or maybe you're starting from scratch and want a guiding hand.
I'd love to chat.
Feel free to book a free consultation and let's see how a well-designed SharePoint environment can transform your daily operations.
During our call, we can talk about your challenges, your priorities, and how I might help as a Microsoft SharePoint Consultant, depending on the scope you need. No pressure—just an honest discussion about the potential solutions and improvements that fit your organisation's culture and budget.
Click to go through to my online booking calendar, and just select an available slot convenient for you.