GTconsult - Blog #A Team SupportGTconsult - Blog #A Team Supporthttps://www.gtconsult.com/blogs/tag/a-team-supportWed, 01 Apr 2026 02:59:14 -0700http://zoho.com/sites/<![CDATA[Your SharePoint Has an Expiry Date. It's July 14, 2026.]]>https://www.gtconsult.com/blogs/post/your-sharepoint-has-an-expiry-date.-it-s-july-14-2026.Microsoft ends support for SharePoint Server 2016 & 2019 on July 14, 2026. No more patches, no safety net. Here's what it means, what's changing in April, and what your options are before the clock runs out.]]>

Let's be honest — most people don't think about their SharePoint server the same way they think about their laptop or their phone. Those things feel personal. When they slow down or get old, you notice. SharePoint though? It quietly sits in the background, doing its job, and nobody gives it much thought.

Until one day, it becomes a very expensive problem.

That day is getting closer. On July 14, 2026, Microsoft officially ends support for SharePoint Server 2016 and SharePoint Server 2019. Both versions. At the same time. No extensions. No emergency patches. No safety net.

If your organisation is still running either of those versions, and there are a lot of organisations that are, this is the conversation you need to be having right now.

What Does "End of Support" Actually Mean?

It's a fair question because the phrasing can feel a bit abstract. Here's what it means in plain language:

After July 14, 2026, Microsoft will no longer release security updates for SharePoint Server 2016 or 2019. They won't fix bugs. They won't patch vulnerabilities. If a cyber threat specifically targets your version of SharePoint, Microsoft will not respond. You're on your own.

Your server won't suddenly shut down. Everything will look exactly the same the morning of July 15. Files will still open. Sites will still load. But underneath that familiar interface, you'll be running a platform that no longer has anyone watching its back.

The April Deadline Most People Are Missing

Here's what makes this even more urgent: July isn't the only deadline you need to worry about.

On April 2, 2026, Microsoft is retiring the SharePoint Add-In model and classic SharePoint 2013 workflows- permanently. If your environment relies on workflows built in SharePoint Designer, approval processes tied to the Add-In framework, or third-party add-ins using Azure ACS authentication, those things will stop working before July even arrives.

April 2, 2026. That's less than a year away as you're reading this.

This affects more organisations than you'd think. A lot of business-critical processes, finance approvals, HR routing, records management, procurement sign-offs, were built on classic SharePoint workflows. When these retire, they don't just slow down. They break.

The Full Timeline at a Glance

Who Should Be Concerned About This?

You should be concerned if:

  • Your organisation runs SharePoint Server 2016 or 2019 as your intranet or document management platform
  • You have workflows built on SharePoint Designer or classic SharePoint approval processes
  • Your business uses custom Add-Ins or third-party integrations built on the Add-In framework
  • You handle regulated or sensitive data that requires you to run supported, patched software
  • Your IT team manages the SharePoint environment with limited capacity to respond to incidents without vendor support

What Are Your Options?

The good news is that you have choices. You're not being forced into one path. But each path takes time to execute properly, and that time is the thing most organisations underestimate.

  • SharePoint Online (Microsoft 365): The cloud-first path. Continuous updates, automatic security patches, Copilot AI integration, and the ability for your team to collaborate from anywhere. Microsoft's preferred destination.
  • SharePoint Server Subscription Edition (SE): The on-premises path for organisations with compliance requirements or data sovereignty constraints. Released in 2021, it runs on Microsoft's Modern Lifecycle — no fixed end-of-life date.
  • Hybrid approach: Combining on-premises SharePoint SE with SharePoint Online for organisations that need a phased transition or have specific data that must remain local.

The right path depends on your environment, your data, your compliance requirements, and your team's capacity. What's universal is this: migrations of meaningful size take anywhere from three months to well over a year, depending on complexity. If you haven't started planning, the window is narrowing.

The Question Worth Asking Right Now

If your SharePoint environment went down tomorrow, not a migration, just an unplanned outage after July 2026, how long could your business operate? Who would you call? What would your IT team do without a Microsoft support ticket to open?

That's the risk you're accepting by waiting.

At GTconsult, we've spent 15 years helping organisations navigate SharePoint migrations. We know what a well-planned migration looks like, and we know what a rushed one costs. The difference is almost always time — specifically, how much of it you have left when you start.

Want to estimate the cost of your migration?

Use our free Migration Cost Calculator to get an estimate based on your environment size.  It takes a few minutes and gives you a starting point for your planning conversations.

Access the Free Calculator
]]>Thu, 12 Mar 2026 14:11:22 +0000<![CDATA[Why 83% of Data Migrations Fail: The Critical Phase Most Teams Skip]]>https://www.gtconsult.com/blogs/post/why-83-of-data-migrations-fail-the-critical-phase-most-teams-skipMost SharePoint migrations fail before they start because teams skip the assessment phase. Know your data, users, structure, and goals first to avoid chaos, poor adoption, and wasted money. Assess before you migrate — it’s the real foundation for success.]]>

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.

]]>Mon, 24 Nov 2025 10:40:22 +0000<![CDATA[“Blocked by Policy”: The Day Defender Turned on Me]]>https://www.gtconsult.com/blogs/post/blocked-by-policy-the-day-defender-turned-on-meMicrosoft Defender may quarantine internal emails with blocked SHA256 file hashes, overriding allow lists. To avoid communication issues, regularly review and update Defender’s file hash policies in the Tenant Allow/Block List.]]>

(And the SHA256 Hash That Did It)

You ever have one of those days where your emails vanish like a magician’s assistant, no bounce-back, no error, just poof into Defender’s shadow realm? 

Yeah. That was me last week. 

Internal users were sharing files via SharePoint, or receiving Planner tasks, or even just sending standard Outlook attachments — and bam, straight into quarantine. These were clean emails. Trusted senders. Internal communication. Not a hint of malware. Yet Microsoft Defender decided they were guilty until proven... SHA256. 

Let’s unpack this. 

The Mystery: When Even Internal Emails Get Slammed by Defender

Everything looked legit:

  • SPF, DKIM, DMARC all green
  • TNEF disabled to avoid winmail.dat issues
  • Mail flow rules in place with SCL -1
  • Users added to the Tenant Allow List
  • SharePoint-generated messages? 

Still, these emails were being quarantined with the dreaded reason:

"Blocked by organization policy: Tenant Allow/Block List attachment blocked"

Naturally, I went full gorilla mode.

The Red Herrings: TNEF, Preset Policies, and Mail Flow Rules

I did what any email admin would do. I:

Global TNEF Disablement

Disabled TNEF globally

Verification of Preset Anti-Malware Policies

Checked preset anti-malware policies (Standard Preset, of course, because Microsoft likes keeping you safe and helpless)

Mail Flow Rule Configuration

Created mail flow rules to set SCL to -1

Allow List Updates (Senders & Domains)

Added senders and domains to the Allow list

Nothing.

Still quarantined. Still Defender screaming “BLOCKED!” like a bouncer at a VIP-only nightclub.

The Twist: A “Files” Entry in the Tenant Allow/Block List

Then I looked somewhere I hadn’t checked in a while:

Microsoft 365 Defender > Policies & Rules > Tenant Allow/Block List > Files

And there it was:


A blocked file hash. A SHA256 fingerprint sitting there silently ruining lives.

The hash matched a file that users were sharing via SharePoint. Meaning: any email containing that specific file — even internal — was nuked.

No error. No alert. Just gone.


This is the Defender equivalent of:

"I didn’t block your email. I blocked your vibe. And that file’s vibe was off."

The Fix: Yank the Hash, Free the Mail

Once I removed the blocked file from the Files tab of the Tenant Allow/Block List, the floodgates opened.

No more quarantines. No more silent blocks. Emails with that file attached were finally allowed through- because, turns out, SHA-based blocks override everything. 

They’re like the final boss of Defender policies.

Lessons Learned (So You Don’t Suffer Like I Did)

Allow/Block List

Always check the Files tab in the Allow/Block List — not just Senders and Domains.

File Hash Blocking

Defender does not care if a file is internal or externally shared — if its hash is blocked, it's toast.

Preset Policy Limitations

Preset security policies are powerful, but they don’t honor Allow entries for internal senders with blocked file hashes.

Sender Identity vs. Trust

Just because the sender is "you" doesn't mean Defender trusts you — especially when SharePoint wraps your message in a system-generated hug and sends it with a blocked attachment.

Final Thoughts

Microsoft Defender does a lot of good things. But when it goes rogue, it’s like having a very enthusiastic security guard who tackles your CEO because they wore a red tie on a Tuesday.

If you’ve tried everything — rules, allow lists, even human sacrifice — and emails are still being quarantined… check the File hash block list. It may just save your sanity.

And if not? You can always go full MintyGorilla.

Barend Olivier is the Support Manager at GTconsult, managing a team that keeps Microsoft 365, SharePoint, and cloud environments secure and running smoothly. He started his career in telecommunications, explored the SOC space, and found his home in the Microsoft world. Growing up surrounded by computers and non stop gaming, he developed a love for building and fixing them and today, he continues to believe that technology is one of the best tools we have for making life more manageable in an ever-changing world.

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