It is tempting to just kick off the migration to Drive and pull over the existing file server as is. However, taking the time to perform housekeeping prior to the migration will save you time and headaches during the migration process.

First, you will want to determine a policy on what files are not going to be migrated (i.e. personal, audio, video, etc) and instruct end users to delete or move prior to a certain cut off time. This can coincide with the start date of their migration phase or any days / weeks prior. Admins can also choose to simply remove the items themselves after a certain deadline.

Per your audit and future file management strategy, you may decide to redesign and reorganize your folder naming and structure. It is recommended to perform this on the File Server prior to the migration as this simplifies the mapping of the migration and the clean up needed once the folders are in Google Drive.

Drive migration can be time-consuming when your file server has a lot of unnecessary files on it and deleting these files will simplify the process and save time. Cleaning up your file server is an essential part of preparing for Drive migration.

This article is Part 8 of Google Gooru’s Comprehensive Guide to Moving a File Server to Google Drive. To access the entire guide for FREE, please fill out the form located here.