Lotus Notes is one of the most popular spreadsheet software by IBM and it’s been used in almost every enterprise. If you are tired of using Lotus Notes and you think that SharePoint is a better option due to reasons like hybrid structure, mobile first strategy etc. then you should not hesitate to migrate from the former to the latter.
When you are seriously thinking about lotus to SharePoint Migration, you should know that there are three key options available to you. You can pick either of these. To know more about these options, simply scroll down.
You Do Everything
This option as the name suggests means that you or your IT people handle the migration process without any outside help. This option is most suitable for companies that are run by IT geeks with a lot of experience or those companies who have a strong IT team with IT experts who have handled many migrations in the past. Remember, do not assign the task of lotus to SharePoint migration to a novice as he or she might ruin the entire experience and it may lead to data loss.
You Take Help
Another suitable option you have with regard to lotus notes to SharePoint Migration is that you take help of an online tool. There are many data migration tools available over the internet. You can just use them for a specific time-frame and pay a fee for that use. Again, this option is only suitable for companies where IT guys are skilled and knowledgeable about data migration. Though there are clear instructions available on how to use a tool, there is still no guarantee whether the migration would be successful or not because a minor mistake can make data vulnerable or worse, jumbled up!
You Hire an Expert
The final and the most recommended option available to you regarding lotus notes to SharePoint Migration is to hire an expert service provider who offers services in this regard. This option is best suitable for companies who have no IT experts on hand and those who don’t want any data to be lost or mismanaged. The service provider will not only provide you a tool to do data migration but will also ask its own in-house team to handle the migration process on your behalf.
While hiring a service provider to do lotus migration to SharePoint migration, you must hire a service provider who can migrate to different versions of SharePoint like 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2016 and migrate from different versions of Lotus Notes like Lotus Notes 6.5 and Lotus Notes 7. It should also provide you with deployer guides, user guides, exporter and installation guides to make the process easy on you. The service provider must also ensure that the migration of content and metadata is done in an appropriate manner.
Conclusion
So, it can be seen that there are three ways of doing lotus migration to SharePoint migration. The first one is cheap and uses internal resources but there is high risk of data loss. The second one is a bit safer but needs a lot of work. The third one and the highly recommended one needs a bit of investment but provides total security without much effort on your part while ensuring you get great results.