Updated · Originally published
SharePoint is an essential tool for collaboration and document management across many industries. During mergers and acquisitions (M&A), it often becomes the digital battleground—do you migrate everything into a unified environment at once, or let two SharePoint ecosystems coexist while you sort out the details?
This decision is never trivial and involves various technical, operational, and compliance risks.
In this article, we highlight three common pitfalls that data professionals and IT leaders encounter when dealing with SharePoint during M&A. We will also show how your decision on migration versus coexistence can affect the process.
✍️Pitfall #1: Overlooking SharePoint Differences
No two SharePoint environments are the same. In an M&A, it is virtually impossible that both companies have identical or even similar enviroments in terms of SharePoint. Each company might be using a different version (older or newer), have a different type of deployment (cloud or on-prem), or have unique security options (GCC High, isolated networks with data diodes), not to mention they will have unique site structures, permission models, as well as custom workflows and integrations. Let’s look at how all this can affect the evolution to a single environment that is usually the end target scenario in an M&A.
Common challenges:
- Incompatible configurations (versions/tenants/security settings)
- Naming clashes, undocumented customizations, and different metadata
- Strict regulations or isolated networks further complicate things
What you can do:
- Pre-migration inventory: Audit both environments—sites, libraries, users, permissions, workflows, custom solutions, and external sharing.
- Stakeholder involvement: Bring in business and technical owners early. Identify “must-have” features and critical documents.
- Phased rollouts: Don’t do it all at once. Tackle less risky sites first; pilot migration with key user groups and adjust as you uncover new wrinkles.
- User adoption: Communicate changes, provide guides, and gather user feedback as you go.
- Technical constraints: Watch out for limitations (file sizes, unsupported features, throttling).
- Consider secure sync tools to bridge both platforms during this transition, enabling phased migration or robust coexistence, as needed. I recommend , especially if you have security constraints in one of the SharePoint environments.
✍️Pitfall #2: Underestimating Hidden Surprises
Inherited environments always hide surprises: rogue document libraries, unknown workflows, or shadow IT. These can delay migrations and cause costly rework.
What works:
- Thoroughly scan for hidden and custom content
- Map out shadow integrations/plugins
- Stress-test with pilot migrations
- Involve users to flag what’s mission-critical
Reliable inventory and sync solutions can help “see” everything, so you aren’t flying blind.
✍️Pitfall #3: Compliance Oversights
M&A brings legal complexity, and SharePoint is no exception. Migrating or syncing files between environments increases your risk for leaks, audit gaps, or broken compliance if you miss details.
Key compliance risks to avoid:
· “Least Privilege” Not Maintained: Fast migrations often mean permissions are loosened for convenience—sometimes granting users more access than they need. Always review and apply the principle of least privilege to protect sensitive data.
· Violating Data Residency Requirements: Migrating libraries across regions can breach data residency or sovereignty rules (like GDPR). Map out where data is currently stored and ensure it remains compliant post-migration.
· Missed Inactive or Orphaned Accounts: It’s easy to overlook orphaned or stale accounts during migration. Audit and remove any inactive users to prevent unauthorized access to your migrated content.
Choosing the Right Approach: Migrate, Coexist, or Hybrid?
Checklist:
- Business needs: Unified environment or parallel teams?
- Timeline: Is a gradual cutover possible?
- User impact: How much change is reasonable?
- Regulatory constraints: What are the absolute must-haves?
Many organizations combine approaches: start with coexistence, fix issues, then migrate in phases with plenty of user feedback. Modern sync platforms make this workflow possible and less risky.
Conclusion
Don’t let SharePoint integration be an afterthought in your M&A playbook.
Plan, inventory, involve stakeholders, and roll out changes carefully.
The right foundation means fewer surprises—and a seamless transition for everyone.
About the Author
She uses her technical knowledge to create insightful articles and resources for Connecting Software. These resources help organizations improve their workflows, their security and eliminate data silos.
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