I had the pleasure last week of hosting a SharePoint webinar with AvePoint’s Mary Leigh Mackie on the subject of upgrading to SharePoint 2010. A poll of webinar attendees showed most people moving to 2010 were coming from MOSS 2007; more than 40% were coming to SharePoint from File Share systems. Most were moving to take advantage of the enhanced ECM/WCM features; only 3% said they were migrating because “Microsoft said we should.”
To hit the high notes of the presentation, Mary Leigh said folks considering an upgrade to SharePoint 2010 should first and foremost know why they want to make the move; in other words, what do they want to accomplish with SharePoint 2010 that they can’t do now? Next, do they fulfill all the hardware and software requirements for SharePoint 2010, such as 64-bit Windows Server? Evaluate whether they’re doing an upgrade or a migration, and consider the processes required for each. Finally, consider the use of third-party tools (AvePoint’s DocAve is but one) to help move data while retaining access to it and keeping it organized as it transfers.
There’s a lot of great information in the webinar, and I urge everyone who’s considering the move to check this out before doing anything.
—David
