Thoughts about moving away from SharePoint

[seichi]

First let me say this is just me thinking about a what if. Thankfully this isn't a project...yet. I realize that saying, "a migration of sharepoint (to anything) would be difficult" is an understatement.

I started wondering what was available (open source or not) that could replace, in part at least, the functionality in MS SharePoint. I was wondering if anyone had ever successfully tried and what your experience was?

Our SharePoint environment is on prem and relatively small and is mainly used for office document storage and custom lists (the content is around 50 GB). No workflows, infopath forms, or custom solutions. Even search isn't used that heavily. So far the only candidates I've looked at are Alfresco and Liferay, but I imagine there are a couple more I haven't found yet.

There are a few drivers I could justify this with if I decide I really want to punish myself by making this an actual project, but at this point it's just an academic "what if."

Thanks.

forgot to mention our SP environment is on prem (no office 365).

[hardik_thakkar]

Hi @seichi ,

Migration from SharePoint to Alfresco is easily doable.

To extract the content/list from SharePoint, you can write powershell scripts and to import the data in Alfresco, you can use alfresco's existing Bulk Upload tool.

Multiple paid tools are also available in market for SharePoint to Alfresco data migration.

Hope this helps!

Thanks,

Hardik

[ricksharma]

SharePoint Online is widely used in organizations. No way to move from SharePoint. Although there is no option to perform SharePoint Online migration, but you can use the Migrator Wizard SharePoint Online Migration tool to perform migration effortlessly.  This software is already used by the several Office 365 experts. 

[harshsystools]

First, let me say this is just me thinking about a what if. Thankfully, this isn't a project... yet. I realize that saying "a migration of SharePoint (to anything) would be difficult" is an understatement.

I started wondering what was available (open source or not) that could replace, in part at least, the functionality in MS SharePoint. I was wondering if anyone had ever successfully tried, and what your experience was?

Our SharePoint environment is on-prem and relatively small, mainly used for Office document storage and custom lists (the content is around 50 GB). No workflows, InfoPath forms, or custom solutions. Even search isn't used that heavily. So far, the only candidates I've looked at are Alfresco and Liferay, but I imagine there are a couple more I haven't found yet.

There are a few drivers I could justify this with if I decide I really want to punish myself by making this an actual project, but at this point, it's just an academic what if.

That said if this ever does become more than a thought exercise, tools like SharePoint Migrator can really help simplify the process. It’s built specifically for migrating from on-prem environments and handles everything from document libraries to custom lists, with metadata and permissions intact. Worth keeping in mind if you head down that path.

Thanks again!

[WilliamsWelsh]

Since your SharePoint environment is relatively small (around 50 GB) and doesn't rely on workflows or heavy customizations, it sounds like a good candidate for migration.

One thing I'm curious about—how important is preserving metadata, document version history, and permissions in your evaluation? Those areas often end up being more challenging than moving the files themselves.

Also, if you eventually decide to move away from SharePoint, would you perform a phased migration where both platforms run in parallel for a while, or are you considering a complete cutover? I'd be interested to hear what migration strategy others have found most successful in similar environments.

[WilliamsWelsh]

You’ve got a relatively straightforward SharePoint setup, which definitely makes evaluating alternatives more practical. Before migrating, I'd spend some time validating how well metadata, permissions, and version history transfer, since those tend to be the areas that determine whether a migration feels seamless or becomes a cleanup project. Good discussion—I'd be interested to hear what solution you eventually decide on.