February 2025 CollabTalk TweetJam

The February 2025 CollabTalk TweetJam focused on the topic of “What You Need to Know About M365 Migrations,” and was sponsored by Smarter Consulting. The online community discussion across X, Bsky, Mastodon, and Threads focused on best practices and challenges in migrating to Microsoft 365, discussing key considerations before, during, and after the migration process. In the post-tweetjam panel, the conversation emphasized the importance of assessing existing content, identifying redundant or obsolete data, and aligning migration efforts with business goals. Panelists highlighted the need for thorough planning, stakeholder involvement, and phased execution to minimize disruptions. Common challenges included throttling, unrealistic expectations, and inadequate change management, all of which can lead to frustration and inefficiencies. While Microsoft offers built-in tools for simple migrations, third-party solutions are often necessary for large-scale, complex projects requiring advanced features like incremental moves, detailed logging, and transformation capabilities.

Ensuring a smooth transition requires clear communication, training for end users, and ongoing support to help employees adapt to the new environment. Organizations should engage business leaders, IT teams, and department owners early in the process to align migration efforts with strategic goals and governance policies. Success metrics should go beyond technical completion, incorporating user adoption, productivity improvements, and support trends to measure the long-term impact. Ultimately, a well-executed migration is not just about moving data—it’s about enhancing collaboration, security, and efficiency in Microsoft 365.

Check out the post-tweetjam panel that I moderated, with fellow MVPs Galen Keene (@sdkeene), Ryan Schouten (@ShrPntKnight), and MVP+RD Sharon Weaver (@sharoneweaver), here:

Anyone can join this community discussion using X (Twitter), Bsky, Mastodon, or Threads and the #CollabTalk hashtag. You don’t even need to be an “expert” to participate in the online conversation. Anyone can ask questions, comment on the questions posed, or just “lurk” in the background. These online discussions are open to anyone — you do not have to be on the panel to participate.

If you have never participated in one of these tweetjams, it’s pretty simple: anyone can jump in and share their thoughts, or just lurk in the wings and absorb the wisdom of the crowd. Either way, it’ll be a TON of content to consume in a single hour. You can follow the live session using the social platform of your choice. How it works is that I’ll post a series of questions every few minutes, and people will respond to Q1, Q2, Q3 and so forth with A1, A2, A3, always including the #CollabTalk hashtag with their answers. Feel free to reply as often (or as little) as you’d like, ask your own follow up questions, share relevant links, re-tweet others, and engage with the audience.

The questions we discussed during the session included:

1. Before starting a migration, what are the most important things to assess in your current environment (file shares, SharePoint, third-party tools, permissions, etc.)?
2. What are the key signs that an organization is (or isn’t) ready for a migration to Microsoft 365, and what should be done before starting?
3. What are some of the most common challenges and “gotchas” that organizations encounter during M365 migrations, and how can they be avoided?
4. What areas of the migration process often require third-party tools or specialized solutions, and how can organizations determine when built-in Microsoft tools are sufficient?
5. Beyond IT, which business stakeholders should be involved in a migration project, and what role should they play?
6. How can organizations ensure a smooth transition for employees and minimize disruptions during and after migration?
7. What key metrics should organizations track to determine whether their migration was successful, both technically and from a user adoption perspective?

As always, there will be side-questions, side-conversations, and wise-cracking throughout. This is open to the public, so please join in the discussion! The dialog is always thought-provoking and fun.

Participants this month:

• Ben Stegink (@benstegink), M365 Apps & Services MVP, SharePoint, Office 365 and Azure consultant, owner of Intelligink, LLC
• Sharon Weaver (@sharoneweaver), Microsoft RD + M365 Apps & Services MVP, consultant, trainer and ceo of Smarter Consulting
• Eric Overfield (@ericoverfield), Microsoft RD & SharePoint MVP, chief product officer of Creospark
• Alistair Pugin (@alistairpugin), (dual) Azure and Office Apps & Services MVP and CEO at YMD
• Emily Mancini (@EEmancini), Microsoft MVP, PnP team member, executive director at Left Uncharted
• Adam Ball (@AdamCBall), co-founder of COUCUG, Teams and Skype for Business MVP
• Stacy Deere (@sldeere), M365 Apps & Services MVP and owner of Focal Point Solutions
• Ragnar Heil
• Ryan Schouten (@ShrPntKnight) Office Apps & Services MVP, MCT, and senior technical consultant at Xilio
• Galen Keene (@sdkeene), owner and chief business transformation leader at Lion Tech
• Simon Denton (@buildbod), M365 Apps & Services MVP, visiting professor at Birmingham City University, and business architect at Mott MacDonald
• Kirsty McGrath (@kirstymcgrath13), Office Apps & Services MVP and managing director at OnPoint Solutions
• Suzanne George (@spgenie), Microsoft Regional Director, MCTS, and partner – modern workplace & experience leader at PwC
• Jeff Willinger (@jwillie), Office 365 MVP and digital experience director at Withum
• Mike Maadarani (@mikemaadarani), M365 Apps & Services MVP, cloud solution architect at MCM Consulting
• Sascha Fredrich (@saschaF80), IT consultant of Microsoft solutions at bei Bechtle AG
• Hal Hostetler (@TVWizard), Microsoft MVP and senior field engineer and social media coordinator for Roland, Schorr & Tower
• David Patrick (@DavidEPatrick),  M365 Apps & Services MVP, user group organizer, subject-matter expert with DSA, Inc.
• Nicolas Georgeault (@ngeorgeault), MCT, M365 MVP, founder of MuBrain
• Wes Preston (@idubbs), SharePoint MVP, evangelist,  and owner at TrecStone
• and your host, Christian Buckley (@buckleyplanet), M365 MVP & RD, 6-time author, independent consultant, international speaker, co-host of #ProjectFailureFiles #GoM365gov #MVPbuzzChat and #M365AMA, and founder of the #CollabTalk Podcast & TweetJam

If you would like to be included on one of these panels, please drop me a line via email, LinkedIn, or xTwitter. And if you are interested in being a sponsor of a future tweetjam, please contact me.