Run a Pilot Migration for One Department: Best Settings for Microsoft 365

You want to test a migration to Microsoft 365 by moving one department first. A pilot migration helps you find issues before moving the whole company. This article explains the best settings for a small pilot migration. You will learn how to configure SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams for a single department. The goal is to reduce risk and validate your migration plan.

What a Pilot Migration Covers and What You Need First

A pilot migration moves a small group of users and their data from an on-premises system or another cloud service to Microsoft 365. The purpose is to test the migration process, validate data integrity, and train users before a full-scale rollout. For a department pilot, you typically move files from a file server or a legacy SharePoint environment to SharePoint Online or OneDrive for Business.

Before starting, ensure you have the following prerequisites:

• Microsoft 365 tenant with appropriate licenses for the pilot users. At minimum, each user needs an Exchange Online license and a SharePoint Online license. For Teams chat and meetings, assign a Microsoft 365 Business Basic or higher license.
• Global admin or SharePoint admin access to configure settings and grant permissions.
• Source data inventory — know the total size, number of files, and folder structure for the department you are migrating.
• Network bandwidth — ensure at least 10 Mbps upload speed for the pilot to avoid timeouts during file upload.
• Migration tool — Microsoft provides the SharePoint Migration Tool (SPMT) for free. Third-party tools like ShareGate, Mover.io, or AvePoint are also available.

The pilot should include no more than 20 users and 500 GB of data. This keeps the migration manageable and lets you identify problems quickly.

Steps to Configure and Run a Pilot Migration for One Department

Follow these steps to set up a pilot migration for a single department. Each step includes the exact settings to use.

Step 1: Prepare the Source Environment

1. Clean up source data
   Delete duplicate files, empty folders, and outdated documents. Use a tool like TreeSize or WinDirStat to find large files over 250 MB. Move them to a separate folder for manual review. This reduces migration time and avoids transferring junk data.
2. Map source paths to target locations
   Decide where each folder will go in SharePoint or OneDrive. For department data, create a single SharePoint team site named “Department Pilot” (e.g., “Finance Pilot”). For personal files, map each user’s home folder to their OneDrive for Business.
3. Create a migration report
   List all files with their paths, sizes, and last modified dates. Use this report to verify after migration that all files arrived.

Step 2: Configure Target Environment in Microsoft 365

1. Create the pilot SharePoint site
   Go to SharePoint admin center > Active sites > Create > Team site. Name the site “[Department Name] Pilot” (e.g., “Sales Pilot”). Set privacy to Private so only invited members can access it. Do not enable external sharing for the pilot site.
2. Create a Microsoft 365 group for the department
   Go to Microsoft 365 admin center > Groups > Active groups > Add a group. Choose Microsoft 365 group. Name it “[Department Name] Pilot Group.” Add the pilot users as members. This group will automatically connect to the SharePoint site and give members access.
3. Set up OneDrive for each pilot user
   Go to Microsoft 365 admin center > Users > Active users. Select a pilot user > OneDrive tab. Ensure OneDrive is enabled. If not, click Create files. Repeat for each user. OneDrive is provisioned automatically when the user first signs in, but you can pre-provision it via PowerShell if needed.
4. Configure SharePoint storage limits
   Go to SharePoint admin center > Active sites > select your pilot site > Settings > Storage limit. Set the limit to 1 TB for the pilot site. This is more than enough for a department. Adjust later if needed.

Step 3: Run the Pilot Migration Using SharePoint Migration Tool

1. Download and install SharePoint Migration Tool
   Go to Microsoft 365 admin center > Migration center > Download SPMT. Install SPMT on a machine that has network access to the source data and internet access to Microsoft 365.
2. Create a migration task
   Open SPMT. Select Start > Migrate files and folders. Click Add source. Browse to the source folder for the department. Click Add destination. Choose SharePoint site and enter the URL of your pilot site. For personal files, choose OneDrive and map each user’s folder to their OneDrive.
3. Configure migration settings
   In SPMT, click Settings. Enable “Preserve file share permissions” if you want to keep NTFS permissions. Disable “Migrate file versions” to reduce data volume — the pilot should test current data only. Set “Number of parallel file uploads” to 5 for a small pilot. This prevents network saturation.
4. Start the migration
   Click Migrate. SPMT will scan files, upload them, and show progress. Monitor the status in the SPMT dashboard. After completion, review the migration report for errors.

Step 4: Verify Migration Success

1. Check file counts and sizes
   Compare the source inventory with files in the SharePoint site. Use SharePoint site storage metrics: go to SharePoint admin center > Active sites > select pilot site > Storage. Check that the total size matches the source.
2. Test file access
   Have two pilot users sign in to Microsoft 365 and open the SharePoint site. Confirm they can view, edit, and upload files. Test permissions by having a non-member try to access the site — they should see an access denied message.
3. Validate metadata
   Open a few files in SharePoint and check that the modified date, author, and version history (if preserved) are correct.

Common Issues and How to Avoid Them in a Pilot Migration

Files are missing after migration

This usually happens when the source path mapping was incorrect. Before running the migration, verify that the source folder contains the expected files. In SPMT, use the “Scan only” option first to see what will be migrated. If files are still missing, check the migration report for error codes like “FileNotFound” or “AccessDenied.” Re-run the migration for the missing items only.

Permissions are not preserved

By default, SPMT does not copy NTFS permissions unless you enable the setting. In SPMT settings, check “Preserve file share permissions.” For SharePoint, permissions are managed through the Microsoft 365 group membership, not individual file permissions. If you need granular permissions, create SharePoint groups and assign them to folders after migration.

Migration is too slow

Slow migration is often caused by limited network bandwidth or too many parallel uploads. Reduce the “Number of parallel file uploads” to 3 in SPMT settings. Schedule the migration during off-peak hours. If the source is on a local network, ensure the machine running SPMT has a wired connection, not Wi-Fi.

Users cannot access their OneDrive after migration

OneDrive is provisioned when the user first signs in. If you migrated files to OneDrive before the user signed in, the files may appear in a temporary folder. Ask the user to sign in to portal.office.com, open OneDrive, and then run the migration again. Alternatively, use PowerShell to pre-provision OneDrive for all pilot users before migration.

Pilot Migration Settings: Recommended vs. Full Migration

Setting	Pilot Migration Recommendation	Full Migration Recommendation
Number of users	5 to 20	All users
Data volume per user	Up to 10 GB	Up to 1 TB per user
Parallel uploads	3 to 5	10 to 15
Preserve file versions	Disabled	Enabled for compliance
External sharing	Disabled	Enabled with policy
Migration window	Weekend or after hours	Phased over weeks

The pilot settings are conservative to reduce risk. For full migration, you can increase parallelism and enable version history to preserve all data.

After the pilot, you can now verify that your migration process works for one department. Review the pilot results with stakeholders and adjust settings before scaling. A useful next step is to test Teams integration by creating a team connected to the pilot SharePoint site. For advanced control, use PowerShell to script the creation of multiple pilot sites with identical settings.