Why Good Cloud Migration Starts And Ends With People
Despite years of buzz around digital transformation, many organizations are still clinging to on-premise infrastructure. According to Pieter Kops, Manager of the Business Productivity Team at ACA IT-Solutions, and a seasoned Microsoft specialist, in the age of AI, that’s starting to change.
Pieter has been guiding organizations through digital transformation for over a decade. His team at ACA IT-Solutions are experts in policy, technology, people, and security, helping organizations migrate with confidence to the Microsoft Azure Cloud using WorkPoint 365. Here’s his take on why successful cloud migration, as part of a digital transformation process, starts and ends with people.
Why migrate to the cloud?
The shift from on-prem to the cloud isn’t just about modernizing infrastructure, it’s about enabling smarter work. “We have many customers still running in our own data center,” says Pieter. “But now they’re asking for help moving to the cloud.” The cloud has several benefits that are hard to ignore:
- Easier collaboration with internal and external collaboration
- Secure, direct document sharing means no more clunky VPN setups
- Real-time co-authoring on the same file transforms teamwork
- Version history gives users the confidence to iterate without risk
- Simplified remote work with anywhere, any-device access
- Cost savings from reduced hardware, electricity, and maintenance
- Scalability means resources grow with the business
But these benefits don’t come from simply ‘lifting and shifting’ data. Migration needs structure from day one, and most importantly, user buy-in.
The technical change is easy. It’s people that determine whether it succeeds.
7 simple steps to migration
Pieter’s team at ACA IT Solutions follows a structured seven-phase approach to migration:
- Stage 1: Scan and assess the existing file server for folder depth, complexity, and outdated or redundant data.
- Step 2: Clean and archive what’s no longer needed, or move it to more appropriate storage.
- Step 3: Create a master list, a map of every file, including source path, target location in SharePoint, and associated metadata.
- Step 4: Review with data owners, such as HR or finance, who validate their department’s files and approve the plan.
- Step 5: Perform a test migration using tools like ShareGate and AvePoint Fly.
- Step 6: Validate and adjust, restructuring as needed to ensure data is clear, organized, and usable.
- Step 7: Final migration and floor walking, which is usually done overnight or on weekends, followed by onsite support to guide users through their new environment.
Why people matter to migration
While the technical process of migration is important, Pieter believes the real success of any cloud project lies elsewhere, in user adoption.
If you’re thinking about what happens after migration, at that point, you’re already too late.
Using the ADKAR model (Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement), ACA IT-Solutions helps customers start the adoption journey before the first file moves:
- Awareness of why migration matters
- Desire to use the new system (“Wait, I don’t have to email that file anymore?”)
- Knowledge through training
- Ability via access and permissions
- Reinforcement with follow-up support and optimisation
“It’s always intuitive,” says Pieter. “You get a few panic calls in the morning, things like ‘Where’s my document?’, but within a couple of hours, people are back on track.” And this method scales as ACA IT-Solutions often runs multiple department-level migrations, tailoring each to specific business needs.
Where does WorkPoint fit in?
For project-based organizations, migrating from a file server often means more than just moving documents, it involves rethinking the way projects are structured and managed.
That’s where WorkPoint becomes essential. “If we have a directory of project folders, we can use WorkPoint 365 to automate the creation of project sites in SharePoint,” explains Pieter. “WorkPoint 365 sets permissions, adds metadata, and ensures consistency across the board.”
Unlike default SharePoint behaviour, WorkPoint 365 automatically applies metadata, like the project number, manager, or phase, to documents as they arrive. It also manages permissions without manual configuration.
In a standard SharePoint setup, default column values don’t carry over during migration. But with WorkPoint 365, every file lands with the right information, in the right place, with the right access.
Why take a WorkPoint-first approach?
Pieter sees it a lot, businesses rush to ‘get the migration done’ then realize too late that they haven’t planned how people will work with their data. WorkPoint and how you’ll manage your data and documents post-migration shouldn’t be an afterthought. “It [WorkPoint] fits into the ‘desire’ phase,” says Pieter. “When users see how it simplifies their work, they want in.”
And that’s the key. Cloud migration isn’t just about moving data. It’s about empowering people to do their best work, with the right tools, the right structure, and the right mindset.