SharePoint is not just a file store. It's a platform — workflows, custom forms, Power Automate connections, third-party app data, and external sharing links all live there. A file copy that doesn't account for this leaves users with broken automations and dead links.
What copies cleanly
- Document libraries — files, folders, and nested folder structures.
- List items — all columns and data, including custom metadata columns.
- Version history — previous versions of documents, up to the version limit.
- Permissions — site-level, library-level, and item-level permissions, mapped to destination users.
- Site pages — modern SharePoint pages including web parts.
- Managed metadata — term store entries are recreated in the destination tenant's term store.
What doesn't copy (and what to do about it)
- External sharing links — anonymous and guest sharing links are invalidated after migration. You need to regenerate them in the destination tenant and notify recipients.
- Power Automate flows — flows connected to SharePoint lists are not migrated. They must be manually recreated or exported/imported and reconnected.
- SharePoint-connected Power Apps — app data connections need to be repointed to the destination site URL.
- Workflows (SharePoint 2013-style) — these are end-of-life in modern SharePoint and will not work in a new tenant. Now is the time to move to Power Automate.
- InfoPath forms — same end-of-life situation. Plan a replacement before migration.
- Third-party app data — if a third-party app (Smartsheet, DocuSign, etc.) stores data in SharePoint lists, the app's configuration must be repointed after migration.
External sharing links are the most common post-migration complaint. Run a sharing link audit on the source site before you start and document every anonymous link so you can regenerate them.
Large file considerations
The Microsoft Graph API has a 4 MB per-request upload limit for simple uploads. Files larger than this require the resumable upload session API, which initiates an upload session, then sends the file in chunks. A good migration tool handles this transparently, but it's worth knowing because large files are the most common cause of migration errors.
Site structure recommendations
If you're migrating to a net-new tenant, this is an opportunity to clean up site sprawl. Common recommendations:
- Archive inactive sites (no activity in 12+ months) rather than migrating them. Storage is cheap in the source tenant during the run-out period.
- Consolidate team sites that have fewer than 5 members — they're often better served as a Teams channel in a hub team.
- Audit site owners before migration — sites with no owner get no one to confirm they arrived correctly.