CTG Helps Clinical Trials Company With Post-Merger SharePoint and Azure Data Migration

Key Challenges

Complex tenant-to-tenant SharePoint and Azure migration with no direct transfer path for content, apps, and components

Critical permission mapping across organizational structures

Business Benefits

Zero downtime and zero loss of data during migration

Seamless user transition to new environment

Our client has been in business for the past 20+ years and is a pioneer in the clinical trial process management space, offering transformational solutions to reinforce and provide best process efficiency to organizations undertaking clinical trials. The company went through a merger with another organization in similar line of business.

This merger called for the migration of data and applications from one instance to another. In this case study, we will discuss CTG's analytical approach to ensuring a successful migration with no loss of information as part of the transition. The emphasis being on zero down time and the fact that all applications continue to work seamlessly post migration as well.

The Challenge and Opportunity

Our client wanted to migrate data, content, and applications running on Office 365 SharePoint and Azure from one instance to another. However, there was no direct way to transfer SharePoint applications, content, and related Azure components to the target resource group. Moreover, mapping the permissions while migrating to the new tenant was also an aspect to be considered. This was an important requirement as the client wanted uniformity across instances and adherence to group policies related to billing.

With a strategic/comprehensive approach, advanced tools, and value added services, CTG has been offering such successful migration services to businesses over the years. With that being said, this renowned client chose to partner with us to initiate and execute a high-profile, complex data migration for their business needs.

The Solution and Results

The migration was planned, taking into consideration the sensitivity of the data, content and Azure components involved. The process was broken down into three phases, where we worked on setting up target environments and connecting the source with the target destination to enable a seamless migration. The migration lifecycle consisted of the following steps:

Initial Planning and Strategic Approach

In order to carry out this migration, we needed access to data sources and the target environment to initiate the process. Post receiving the clearance, we did a detailed analysis of various reports, using the Sharegate migration tool and came up with a migration strategy, site and information architecture, and project plan for rolling out.

Target System Configuration

Our first step was to set up a target environment, complete the entire site set up with lists, libraries, pages, and files, and deploy artifacts related to branding, workflows, and apps using PowerShell scripts.

Trial Migration

We established a connection between the Source and Destination Sites with the necessary configuration in Sharegate application and started migrating sample data from source to destination. Following the sample migration, Azure configuration was done by creating new App services and Remote Event Receivers. We also validated all the functionalities and user mapping/permissions to ensure a smooth trial migration.

Actual Migration

After the successful completion of the trial migration and validations, we started the actual migration which involved copying the user groups from the source to the target site completely, copying all pages, and finally copying the data from the source site to the target site completely. As part of this process, the transfer of ownership from ex-employees of the source organization was managed as per the business rules of the target organization.

Validation

After the successful migration, unit testing was performed by verifying all the lists, libraries, and user/permission mapping. A full end-to-end cycle of testing was carried out for all functionalities. Post the validation, the client undertook User Acceptance Testing of all the functionalities. In parallel, the portal was rebranded using the parent organization's style guide.

Tools and Technologies Used

PowerShell scripts
Sharegate
Azure App Services
SharePoint Hosted Apps

The migration process took weeks of planning and trial sessions before the production move. Based on the client's requirement, the actual production migration was completed during the weekend. Following a successful migration, the portal was completely rebranded. Users who were resuming their duties the following business day were able to access the project portal using their new domain credentials. The transition was smooth and users could seamlessly adapt to the environment change.