How to Perform Microsoft 365 Cross-Tenant Migration Without an Enterprise Agreement
Question details
The user needs to migrate data between two Microsoft 365 organizations but lacks an Enterprise Agreement, which is typically required for native cross-tenant migration features.
- Product
- Microsoft 365
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Moving business data, such as OneDrive and SharePoint files, from one Microsoft 365 organization to another without an Enterprise subscription.
- Observed behavior
- Native cross-tenant migration features are restricted or unavailable because the organization operates on standard business licenses rather than an Enterprise Agreement.
Ensure you have global administrator privileges for both the source and destination Microsoft 365 tenants, and take a complete inventory of users, OneDrive data, and SharePoint sites.
Use Microsoft Migration Manager and Manual Staged Copying
Leverage available admin-led tools in the Microsoft 365 admin center and manual sharing methods suitable for non-enterprise tenants.
While full automated cross-tenant migration requires Enterprise licensing, organizations on Business plans can use a combination of Microsoft's built-in tools and staged data sharing to move their files securely.
Log in to the Microsoft 365 admin center using your global admin credentials, navigate to the SharePoint admin center, and click on 'Migration'.
Review the Migration Manager tools to see which basic file share or cloud migration features are currently available for your specific Business subscription level.
For OneDrive data, have users in the source tenant share their main folders with their new accounts in the destination tenant, allowing them to manually copy files over.
Once the data is manually moved or migrated via available admin tools, reconfigure folder permissions, sharing links, and ownership in the destination tenant.
Employ a Third-Party Migration Service
Use specialized third-party migration software to automate the tenant-to-tenant transfer and bypass native licensing limitations.
Simplify Your Office Deployment with WPS Office
If navigating complex Microsoft 365 licensing agreements and tenant migrations is proving too costly or cumbersome for your organization, consider switching to WPS Office. It provides a highly compatible, easy-to-manage alternative for document creation, spreadsheets, and presentations without the heavy enterprise licensing overhead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I perform a tenant-to-tenant migration for free without an Enterprise Agreement?
Yes, but mostly through manual, labor-intensive methods such as downloading data from the source tenant and re-uploading it to the destination, or by using staged folder sharing. Automated API-based tools generally require purchasing third-party software licenses.
What happens to existing OneDrive and SharePoint sharing links after migration?
Sharing links are tied directly to the original tenant's domain. Once data is migrated to a new tenant, all old sharing links will break. Users will need to generate and distribute new links from the destination tenant.
Does Microsoft offer dedicated support for cross-tenant migrations for standard business licenses?
Microsoft provides extensive documentation and standard support for basic administrative tasks. However, advanced white-glove migration assistance and native cross-tenant automated features are typically reserved for customers holding an Enterprise Agreement.
