A Data Management Provider Gains Microsoft 365 Autonomy through Tenant‑to‑Tenant Migration

Challenges 

As part of a divestiture, the organization needed to establish operational independence by migrating from a source Microsoft 365 tenant to a new target tenant—without disrupting day-to-day operations or extending timelines.

Key challenges included the need to migrate multiple interconnected workloads (including Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and Microsoft Teams) while minimizing risks of data loss and broken workflows, alongside critical endpoint migration and change management requirements to avoid productivity loss. As a compliance-focused organization, it also required strong governance and security during the transition.

The execution was further constrained by tight divestiture timelines, dependencies on internal teams for access and approvals, and coordination across global teams for endpoint and adoption activities. 

Solution 

Netwoven delivered a comprehensive Microsoft 365 tenant-to-tenant migration that combined program leadership, workload migration support, OCM enablement, and endpoint cutover guidance—covering Microsoft 365 workloads such as Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Microsoft Teams, and Intune. It covers planning, tooling, infrastructure, migration execution, user readiness, and stabilization. 

1) Preparation & Planning 

Netwoven began with internal and client kickoff sessions to align stakeholders, scope, success criteria, and delivery cadence, leveraging formal kickoff decks for both audiences. A defined architecture and access  wamodels established early, including remote access approach, admin role design, and MFA exemptions required for migration tooling and service operations. 

To select the best-fit tooling for fidelity and scale, Netwoven ran a tool decision process comparing Cloudiway vs. ShareGate across 25+ migration features. Based on workload needs and feature coverage:

• ShareGate was selected for SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive due to stronger support for metadata and workflow requirements. 

• Cloudiway was used for large file and personal chat migrations.

Netwoven also completed the migration infrastructure setup, including provisioning four Azure-hosted migration workstations and establishing ten migration service accounts across both the tenants. Finally, the program initiated security readiness by launching a Microsoft Purview pilot with five sensitivity labels and five DLP policies to begin implementing governance controls aligned to the new tenant environment. 

2) Migration Execution 

With foundational readiness in place, Netwoven executed the workload migrations across Microsoft 365, including: 

• Exchange Online: 1,200+ mailboxes 

• SharePoint Online: 250+ site collections and 1.2M documents 

• Microsoft Teams: 300+ Teams including chat history and files 

• OneDrive: 1,000+ user accounts including version history 

A structured cutover timeline was used to reduce risk and ensure continuity: 

• Day 1–2: The parent entity’s systems placed in read-only mode 

• Day 3: The divested entity’s tenant go-live across devices and apps 

To support user readiness and validation, Netwoven executed an end-user journey that included MFA setup, browser profile configuration, validation checklists, and UAT led by champions. 

3) Post‑Migration Stabilization 

After cutover, Netwoven provided stabilization activities to ensure the environment was secure, clean, and production-ready, including: 

• License cleanup 

• SharePoint decommissioning (online and on-prem) 

• Monitoring legacy Veritas systems (Entra ID, Teams, OneDrive) 

• Desktop migration of new machines 

• Targeted communications and support during the go-live weekend 

4) Adoption & Change Management 

Netwoven drove adoption through a structured change plan focused on user enablement, support deflection, and clear communications. This included: 

• An AI-powered Help Center to provide self-service migration support 

• A Champion Network of departmental leads trained to support peers and reduce Tier 1 helpdesk tickets 

• Site banners to identify SharePoint sites as “In Scope” or “Out of Scope,” alongside a SharePoint communication site featuring banners, FAQs, and countdown clocks 

• Email campaigns, Teams posts, and Lunch & Learn sessions 

• Tip sheets, training videos, post-cutover surveys, and feedback loops integrated into the communications site 

5) Security & Compliance 

To strengthen governance in the new tenant, Netwoven implemented Microsoft Purview for data classification and protection, including: 

• Sensitivity labels and DLP policies across Microsoft 365 

• Oversharing remediation for SharePoint and OneDrive 

• Monthly reporting and continuous improvement 

6) Managed Services Transition 

Following migration, Netwoven supported the transition into ongoing operations, covering: 

• Endpoint protection, identity management, incident response, and compliance monitoring 

• SOC operations using Microsoft Defender XDR and Sentinel 

Benefits 

• Operational Independence: Successful migration of Microsoft 365 workloads with zero major disruptions, protecting business continuity during divestiture. 

• High-Fidelity Migration: Metadata, permissions, workflows, and version history preserved. Enabled the organization to meet divestiture timelines and reduce risk across interconnected workloads and endpoints. 

• Security Assurance: Purview implementation enhanced data governance. 

• User Empowerment: Improved adoption through proactive OCM, training, communications, and self-service support design.

• Scalable Support: Flexible staffing across onshore and offshore teams improved business continuity and risks.