STIHL: from SharePoint 2013 into the cloud

Switch from SharePoint 2013 to SharePoint Online

Moving huge amounts of data to the cloud - nearly 2,000 site collections

Deadline due to end of support for SharePoint 2013

Deployment of four migration servers on-premises 

Partial automation of the process with PowerShell scripts 

Usage of the Migration Manager from novaCapta 

Hosting of the Migration Manager in Azure

Detailed planned migration incl. overview of already migrated data by the Migration Manager of novaCapta 

Reduced migration effort thanks to partial automation 

Successful migration completion under budget and five months ahead of schedule 

Transparent and open communication among the entire project team

STIHL launched a major digitization project with the digital collaboration program. A crucial aspect of it was the migration to the cloud. With the expiration of the SharePoint 2013 support, a definite deadline was set. In various previous projects, 
 

novaCapta was already able to prove its expertise as an experienced partner with STIHL, e.g.  changing from the operating system of SharePoint 2013.

The project started with a detailed analysis and planning phase. For the successful execution of the migration, the preparation phase lasted three quarters of a year. The goal was to obtain an overview of the site collections to be migrated, to identify how much volume can be reduced and which authorizations are required.

In addition, a great deal of checking and testing was carried out to eliminate as many sources of error as possible in advance and to identify automation potential. Structured planning was essential for STIHL, as several thousand employees use the system.

At the end of the analysis phase, it was clear: the STIHL SharePoint universe contains almost 2,000 site collections, of which 1,630 pages were migrated from novaCapta, and an additional 350 were either deleted or moved by employees. A huge project, despite the almost 20 percent volume that could be reduced. 

Thanks to the well-structured planning of the project, everyone involved knew at all times what needed to be done and what was scheduled next. With the end of the SharePoint 2013 support and the in-depth analysis, the end of 2022 was set as a realistic migration target. 

Often one server is sufficient for a migration - due to the high data volume at STIHL of 12TB, four servers were used simultaneously in order to transfer the site collections quickly and in a structured manner. The migration tool ShareGate was used as a basis and extended by scripts, which automated the functionalities. In order to build the migration architecture as automated and integrated as possible, the entire process was hosted in the Microsoft Azure Cloud and on-premises including the novaCapta Migration Manager. 

With the Migration Manager from novaCapta, the four migration servers were orchestrated, logs were combined and the migration was clearly displayed at all times on one interface.

Every Friday the migration process was started. As the (partial) automation of the processes progressed, the volume was increased to 40 pages after a short pilot phase. By shifting the migration to the weekend, the daily business was not disrupted. In weekly „Post Migration Mondays“, the project team consisting of STIHL and 
novaCapta employees then performed a manual review of the moved data. In this way, it was ensured for all migrated SharePoint site collections that all permissions and data were fully transferred. 

The successive transfer of data enabled the departments to move to the cloud one after the other over the course of the project. At the end of July 2022, the migration of the site collections was completed after only 13 months, five months ahead of schedule thanks to the (partial) automation and structured management. The final project completion, including the dismantling of the SharePoint 2013 environment, took place in October 2022.

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