How to Migrate Teams from One Tenant to Another? Challenges & Their Solution

Synopsis: Data transfer within Microsoft Teams can be exhausting due to its multilocation integration in storage facilities. Since Microsoft does not provide any way or tool to perform this task. Thus, in this write-up, we have described the most acknowledged way to migrate Teams from one tenant to another, while ensuring data security and business continuity. 

In 2016, when Microsoft launched Teams, that time no one could have anticipated that the journey of Microsoft’s customer zero—would go on over in such a short period. And later on,  it significantly changed the teams’ collaboration within the organization. According to Statista’s recent report, the daily active users of Microsoft Teams have risen in the past year, increasing from 270 million users in 2022 to 300 million in 2023.

Moreover, the rapid growth of the work-from-home environment (in the COVID scenario) has never been more manageable before Microsoft Teams. Being a chat-based collaboration platform it supports document sharing, online meetings, and many more extremely useful features that help in better business communications and productivity.

Despite being the most loved collaboration platform, users find themselves helpless when it comes to migrating MS Teams from one tenant to another. Because Microsoft does not provide any software or method to perform this data transfer.   

Let’s have a quick look into the real-life scenario to understand the pain point of users:

User Query:

Hi Everyone, we are in the process of obtaining another, similar business organization, once the formalities are over then I and my team will be responsible for data migration within both organizations. We can migrate Office 365 mailboxes to other user accounts using manual solutions but for Microsoft Teams, we are unable to execute the data migration. I haven’t any experience in performing this operation and I am a bit concerned about the enterprise data. I am wondering if anyone has any experience with something or can suggest some way out.

Why Do Users Find It a Challenging Task to Migrate MS Teams Data to a New Tenant?

Unlike other Microsoft 365 software, MS Teams manages the storage of its data in a more complicated way, moreover, API limitations, chances of data loss, etc, make it challenging to execute. Apart from this the Microsoft Teams security and privacy settings also pose challenges in gathering data to manually transfer it to the destination Teams. 

Some of the real-case challenges are as follows:

1. Multilocation Storage Facility – The most challenging task users face when it comes to locating Teams data files. It stores data in various locations in different file formats as follows:

1. • Channel Chats – Teams saves its channel chats to a hidden Exchange mailbox for compliance purposes.
   • Files Shared during Channel Chats – A newly created SharePoint site stores each Team’s file and a newly created document library stores each channel’s files. 
   • Emails Sent to Channels– These are stored in a folder named ‘Email messages’ within the channel document library.
   • 1:1 and Group Chat Messages– Saved in a hidden folder within the user mailbox that is only accessible via eDiscovery.
   • Images Stored during Chats– These files are stored in a separate media store on Azure AD (using Blob storage).
   • Files in 1:1 Chat: Stored in OneDrive for Business
2. Teams API Limitation – There are variations in the APIs which themselves have several limitations, particularly when retrieving Teams channel chat data, sometimes it can lead to crucial data loss as well while migrating data manually.
3. Data Integrity – When you move a dynamic group to the destination, it gets changed into a static group. Hence, this is the most significant challenge for users, to keep the file and folder data structure and integrity.
4. Possible Chances of Data Loss – When users try to migrate Teams settings to another tenant, they end up losing the respective setting at the destination. Also, third-party integrated apps and tabs can not be migrated to Target as they are integrated using the connectors, and you would eventually have to lose them.

Microsoft does not offer any direct solution or software that users can utilize to perform this task in Teams. Hence, the users have to migrate each data to the destination Teams and channels manually. Now, there must be a question in your mind, then “How to perform this migration?” Let’s discuss it in detail.

Use SysTools Software to Migrate Your Teams from One Tenant to Another Safely

It is evident from the above that manually migrating Teams data is impractical due to the above scenarios. Therefore, using SysTools Microsoft Teams Migration Tool is suggested to perform any Teams migration efficiently and securely. 

Download Tool Purchase

Software Features That Make It Prime Choice for Users

It comes with several modern features that make the migration a breeze. Moreover, it eliminates the chances of data loss during the transfer. Some of the software features are as follows:

• It safely migrates Teams, channels, groups, files, channel chats, etc.
• Provision to automatically Create Teams and Channels in the Target account. 
• Also migrate Channels’ message body, formatting, date and time, etc.
• Able to migrate data from Organizational, Private & Public Teams to another.
• Transfers attachments, emojis, GIFs, Announcements, replies, conversations, etc.
• Keeps file and folder structure intact throughout the migration.
• Offers delta migration to migrate newly arrived data from the source.
• Compatible with Windows OS 10 and 11 (64-bit).

Also read about: How to migrate Office 365 from one tenant to another – A step by step guide

Detailed Working Steps of Software to Migrate MS Teams from One Tenant to Another

Step 1. Run the software on your PC and select the source and destination as Office 365.

Step 2. Now choose the required items from the workload selection for Teams enable the Teams and Channels checkbox and click next.

Step 3. Use your source and destination Office 365 admin credentials to log in and validate the respective permission.

Step 4. Create mapping for Users, Teams, and Groups respectively. You can choose any of these three methods i.e. Fetch Users, Import Users, or Download template, and validate the required permission.

Step 5. Select the required Teams and hit the start migration button to migrate Teams from one tenant to another. 

Step 6. Once, migration gets completed, click on the mark teams completed option. 

Step 7. Lastly, select the required groups’ IDs and click on the start migration to migrate Teams to new tenants.

Must read: Microsoft Teams Chat Disappeared? Here is How to Fix It.

Bringing It All Together 

With the rapid growth of mergers and acquisition activities within business organizations, the demand to migrate Teams from one tenant to another has also increased. Since Microsoft Teams has a highly integrated architecture, manually lifting and shifting the Teams data seems impossible. Therefore, to address the pain point of users, we have described the most secure and trustworthy software solution to execute this data transfer without facing any downtime. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What does it mean to migrate Teams from one tenant to another?

A: Simply put, a user or administrator wants to relocate Teams’ channels, chat, files, and other Teams databases to another Teams environment or a new tenant connected to their specific Microsoft 365 admin account.

Q2. Why would someone want to migrate Microsoft Teams to new tenant or another?

A: There could be several reasons behind this, for example – in situations like company mergers, acquisitions, restructuring, moving to a different Microsoft 365 subscription, or separating Teams into a separate M365 environment. All of these situations require users/admins to migrate their Teams data to another or a new tenant.

Q3. What is the process for migrating Teams from one tenant to another?

A: Several steps are involved in migrating Teams from one tenant to another, including preparing both tenants for the migration, exporting and importing data, and verifying that the migration was successful. Most importantly, the selection of the right approach and software plays a crucial role in the entire process. If you opt for the above software then you can follow the below 5 quick and hassle-free steps to migrate Teams from one tenant to another.

• Step 1. Download & Run the Tool on PC.
• Step 2. Opt Office 365 as Source & Destination.
• Step 3. Enable the Teams & Channels Category.
• Step 4. Provide O365 Source & Target Credentials.
• Step 5. Add User IDs & Click on Start Migration.

Q4. What are the prerequisites for migrating Teams from one tenant to another?

A: Before migrating Teams to new tenants, make sure you have administrative access to both the source and destination tenants. Moreover, you must have a migration plan in place, and that you have the necessary licenses and permissions.

Q5. Can you migrate Teams from one tenant to another manually?

A: It is not practical to manually migrate Teams from one tenant to another. As it can be a time-consuming and complex process that requires a high level of technical expertise. Moreover, due to various API limitations, it could lead to data loss. For more info go to the challenges section of this write-up.

Q6. Is there any software available, that can help to migrate Teams to new tenants?

A: Yes, there are several third-party tools and software available that can greatly help with Teams data migration; however, professional software, as discussed above, is always recommended.

Q7. How long does it take to migrate Teams data to a new tenant?

A: There is no defined time, which can be predicted for Teams migration. It varies according to the size and complexity of the migration. It could take several hours to several days. However, by selecting software wisely, you can reduce the time required for this entire task.

Q8. Is there something to be done after the Teams migration is complete?

A: When the migration is completed, it is essential to perform a post-migration checklist. This includes ensuring that all data has been successfully transferred, ensuring that users can access their content in the new tenant, and updating any necessary settings or configurations. It is also critical to inform all affected users about the migration and to provide any necessary training or support.