Why 83% of Data Migrations Fail: The Critical Phase Most Teams Skip

24.11.25 10:40 AM Comment(s) By Boitumelo

Data migration projects have a troubling track record. According to Gartner research, 83% of data migration projects either fail outright or exceed their planned budgets and schedules. Understanding why can help organizations avoid becoming part of this statistic.

You know that feeling when you're about to pull the trigger on a major project?

Your palms get a little sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy... just kidding...but the opportunity comes once in a lifetime.

Okay okay, we're done with the Eminem puns/jokes...for now...

But seriously—you've got this nagging voice in the back of your head asking, "What if this doesn't work?" And if we're being honest, you've probably already mentally calculated how much time and money you're about to sink into this thing.

If you're planning a SharePoint migration, that feeling? It's not just pre-project jitters. It's your instincts telling you something important.

Because here's the truth: most SharePoint migrations don't fail during the migration itself. They fail long before anyone moves a single file.

Let me show you why—and more importantly, how you can make sure yours doesn't become another statistic.

Why You're Right to Be Nervous

That fear you're feeling about project failure and wasted investment? It's completely justified.

We've seen companies invest six figures into SharePoint migrations only to end up with:

A system nobody actually uses
Data that's somehow more disorganized than before
Teams that refuse to adopt the new platform
Leadership wondering why they greenlit this in the first place

The frustrating part? These weren't bad teams. They weren't lazy. They weren't incompetent.

They just skipped the one step that would have saved them from all of it.

The Step Everyone Skips (And Pays For Later)

Here's what typically happens:

You decide you need to migrate to SharePoint. Maybe your current system is outdated, or you're consolidating multiple platforms, or you're moving to the cloud. Whatever the reason, you know it needs to happen.

So what do most companies do?

They jump straight to vendors. They start comparing tools. They talk timelines. They build project plans.

And that's exactly where things go wrong.

Because you can't plan a successful journey if you don't know where you're starting from.

Think about it this way: If I asked you to pack for a trip, your first question would be "Where am I going?" But your second question should be "What do I already have that I can use?"

You wouldn't pack your entire closet. You'd assess what you have, figure out what you need, and pack accordingly.

Yet when it comes to SharePoint migrations, companies skip that assessment phase entirely. They pack everything (or worse, they pack nothing and figure it out as they go).

What Really Happens When You Skip the Assessment

Let me paint you a picture of how this plays out:

Seem familiar?

The painful part is that all of this was preventable. Not with better tools. Not with more budget. Not with a different vendor.

With a proper assessment phase.

What a Real Assessment Actually Does for You

Here's what changes when you start with a thorough assessment:

You know exactly what you're working with

Not a rough idea. Not a guess. You have a complete picture of your current environment—what data you have, how it's structured, who uses what, and where the problems actually are.

You can plan based on reality, not assumptions.

Assumptions are expensive. Every wrong assumption costs you time and money during the migration. An assessment eliminates the guesswork.

You avoid migrating your old problems to your new system

If your data is disorganized now, migration won't fix that. It'll just give you disorganized data in a new location. The assessment phase is where you identify and fix these issues BEFORE they become permanent.

You get buy-in from your team

When people see that you've taken the time to understand the current system and their needs, they trust the process. When you skip straight to migration, they feel like something is being done TO them, not FOR them.

You can actually estimate accurately

Want to know why most migrations go over budget and past deadline? Because they were estimated without proper information. An assessment gives you the data you need to create a realistic timeline and budget.

The Real Cost of Getting This Wrong

Let's talk numbers for a second.

The average SharePoint migration for a mid-sized company costs between $50,000 and $200,000. That includes tools, labor, consulting, and lost productivity.

But here's what companies don't calculate:

The cost of doing it twice when the first attempt fails
The productivity loss when employees can't find what they need
The IT time spent constantly troubleshooting and firefighting
The opportunity cost of NOT having an effective system
The cultural damage when "leadership's big initiative" becomes a running joke

When you add all that up, a failed migration doesn't cost $50K or $200K. It costs multiples of that, plus it sets your organization back months or even years.

And most of this could be prevented by investing 10-15% of your total budget upfront in a proper assessment.

What You Need to Know About Your Environment

Before you move a single file, you need clear answers to these questions:

About your data:

How much data do you actually have? (Not how much you think you have—how much you actually have)
What's actually being used versus what's just taking up space?
Are there duplicate files? Outdated versions? Content that can be archived or deleted?
What are the permission structures? Who has access to what?

About your users:

How do people actually use the current system? (Not how they're supposed to use it—how they actually use it)
What are the pain points they experience daily?
What features do they rely on?
What are they afraid of losing?

About your structure:

What's the current information architecture?
What naming conventions exist (or don't exist)?
How is content organized and categorized?
What metadata exists and is it useful?

About your goals:

What are you actually trying to accomplish with this migration?
How will you measure success?
What does "done" look like?
What's the business case for doing this?

If you can't answer these questions clearly and specifically right now, you're not ready to migrate. And that's okay! You only get one shot at this (sorry, had to), so it's better to be prepared. It just means you need to do the assessment first.

Here's What You Should Do Next

If you're reading this and thinking, "We were about to pull the trigger on a migration without doing any of this," don't panic.

You just saved yourself from a very expensive mistake.

The good news is that doing a proper assessment isn't as complicated or time-consuming as you might think. You just need the right framework and someone who knows what to look for.

I've put together a comprehensive SharePoint Migration Assessment Checklist that walks you through everything you need to evaluate before starting your migration. It includes:

The exact questions to ask about your current environment
A data audit framework you can use immediately
User interview templates to understand actual needs
Risk identification worksheets
Timeline and budget estimation tools
A readiness scorecard to know if you're actually ready to proceed

This is the same assessment framework we use with clients who are investing six and seven figures in their SharePoint migrations. They use it because they can't afford to get it wrong. Neither can you.

Access The Free SharePoint Migration Assessment Checklist

Look, I get it. You want to move fast. You want to check "SharePoint migration" off your list and move on to the next thing. You've got one opportunity to do this right—don't let it slip.

But here's the truth: The fastest way to complete a successful migration is to start with a thorough assessment. The slowest (and most expensive) way is to skip it and try to fix problems as you go.

Your future self—and your CFO—will thank you for taking the time to do this right.

Grab the checklist, work through the assessment, and then move forward with confidence knowing you're building on a solid foundation instead of hoping for the best.

You've got this. Just don't skip the foundation.