In addition to Exchange Server, many customers have also deployed SharePoint Server. SharePoint, as we discussed in the previous chapter, is a document management and collaboration platform.
When we discussed SharePoint Online (SPO) in the previous chapter, we discussed the two main types of site layouts: team sites and communication sites. These are considered modern site templates, whereas templates such as enterprise wiki and development sites are considered part of the classic site technology. The on-premise edition, SharePoint Server 2019, also has the concept of modern site layouts. Both on-premise and cloud SharePoint deployments can have a mix of SharePoint classic and modern sites. Microsoft 365's new products and services such as Teams and Planner utilize Office 365 Groups, which rely on modern site templates.
While both classic and modern sites support many of the same features, there are some important differences:
- User interface elements and layouts (classic versus modern, responsive layouts).
- Web parts are available.
- Site architecture concepts (classic site collection and site hierarchies versus modern hub site associations).
- Search experiences (refiners, search dictionaries, and so on).
The MS-900 exam (and this book) won't cover all of the differences between classic and modern site architectures but suffice it to say that modern groups and modern sites comprise Microsoft's identity, group, security, and collaboration strategy for a number of the cloud-based tools available in the Microsoft 365 platform.
Unlike Exchange Server, which has a direct migration path to Exchange Online through hybrid mailbox moves, SharePoint Server does not have the ability to do native site or document library migration to SPO. SharePoint does have hybrid and cross-premises capabilities, as shown here:
| Feature | SPO and SharePoint Server without hybrid | SharePoint Server with hybrid |
| OneDrive for Business | OneDrive for Business is available in Office 365 for licensed users, but there is no link to it from SharePoint Server. If users have been configured with My Sites or OneDrive sites on-premise and have a license in Office 365, they will have two sites to manage separately. | OneDrive links in SharePoint Server direct users to OneDrive for Business in Office 365. No content migration is performed as part of hybrid; content migration must be performed separately. |
| Site following | The SPO followed sites listing tracks followed SPO sites. If you've deployed MySites, a second followed sites list in SharePoint Server tracks followed SharePoint Server sites. | Followed sites from both locations are consolidated in the SPO followed sites list. SharePoint Server links to the followed sites list redirect users to the SPO followed sites list. |
| Document following | If you've deployed MySites, the followed documents list in SharePoint Server tracks followed SharePoint Server documents. | There is no corresponding Hybrid document following feature. If you use hybrid OneDrive for Business, the SharePoint Server followed documents list will be hidden from users, though you can still favorite SharePoint Server documents if you have Delve enabled. |
| Profiles | Users have separate profiles in SPO and SharePoint Server. | Profiles continue to exist in both locations, but SharePoint Server links to users' redirected profiles in Office 365. |
| Extensible app launcher | Users see different app launchers in Office 365 and in SharePoint Server. | Their app launchers are still separate, but the SharePoint Server app launcher includes tiles from Office 365. |
| Hybrid self-service site creation | There are separate self-service site creation experiences in SharePoint Server and SPO. | The default SharePoint Server site creation page is redirected to the SPO Group Creation page, allowing users to create sites in SPO instead. |
| Search | There are separate search indexes and search centers for SharePoint Server and Office 365. Users must search from each individual to find relevant content. | Search results between the two locations are combined with either cloud hybrid search or federated search options. |
SharePoint content migrations can be achieved using a number of mechanisms, depending on the type of content being migrated and the destination:
- On-premise file server shares can be migrated to SPO sites using the SharePoint Migration Tool (SPMT).
- On-premise user home directories can be migrated to OneDrive for Business using SPMT.
- On-premises SharePoint Server 2010 and 2013 sites and document libraries can be migrated to SPO using SPMT.
- Third-party tools to migrate on-premise or cloud-based content to SPO and OneDrive for Business.
- On-premise business workflows may be able to be migrated, or they may need to be recreated if particular workflow options or features are not available in SPO. Microsoft Power Automate (formerly Flow) can be used to recreate or extend many workflows.
While migrations to Exchange Online are purely administrator-driven, content migrations to SPO or OneDrive for Business may be either administrator or end user-driven (or a combination of both). Organizations should determine a strategy that covers the following areas:
- What SharePoint hybrid features will be configured (such as hybrid search, hybrid OneDrive, and hybrid user profiles)?
- Will sites and site collections be migrated?
- If sites and site collections are migrated, will they be migrated as-is or redeveloped with hub sites and modern site architecture?
- Will end user home directories or existing SharePoint MySites or OneDrive sites be migrated to OneDrive for Business?
- Are there any workflows that need to be evaluated and potentially recreated?
- Are there any legacy custom apps that could be redeveloped with Power Apps or Power Automate?
- Are there any dashboards or visualizations that may require features such as Gateways or Business Connectivity Services?
The process of configuring and migrating content to SPO, as well as configuring SharePoint hybrid options, is outside the scope of the MS-900 exam. However, it's important to be able to identify features of a SharePoint hybrid configuration and what migration options exist.
Now that you've seen what SharePoint migration options are available, let's examine Teams.