SharePoint 2016 Upgrade Planning

Various solutions can be deployed on SharePoint. The latest SharePoint version (2016) brings together a number of advanced components that enable cloud integration, enterprise search, document and legal compliance among others. Organisations looking at upgrading from older versions of SharePoint need to make some key decisions.

If you are using any of the following on-premises versions of SharePoint, you will need to start planning for your upgrade or in some cases moving away from SharePoint to something else.

Upgrading from different versions of SharePoint

Version: SharePoint 2007

Support ends: Already past support

Comments: No official support from Microsoft however some system integration vendors will provide third party application support. There are no security or vulnerability hotfixes available from Microsoft either.

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Version: SharePoint 2010

Support ends: Already past official support on 13 October 2015

Comments: Past 13th October 2015 Microsoft only provides security hotfixes and has stopped releasing other updates and enhancements including cumulative updates, public updates, and service packs for SharePoint 2010. If you have a Premier Support agreement, you had the option to enter into an extended hotfix agreement until January 11, 2016 (90 days from 13th October 2015). This entitles you to receive non-security hotfixes. There is a cost associated with this agreement, and it also requires direct contact with local Microsoft Technical Account managers.

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Version: SharePoint 2013

Support ends: Not applicable

Comments: Fully supported with Service Pack 1 – Mainstream support for SharePoint 2013 ends on 4th October 2018 and extended support will end on 4th November 2023. So a bit more time allowed, however it’s worthwhile to plan the move now.

As you can see if your organisation uses a SharePoint version prior to 2013, it is highly recommended that you start the planning process for migrating existing content/applications to the next version soon.

Risk mitigation

Some of the risks of not starting the planning process now are:

• Software and solutions that are no longer supported
• Increased dependency on third party vendors and systems integrators for ongoing support
• Threat of business critical solutions being impacted by security vulnerabilities

These are only a few examples of the risks associated with letting your SharePoint platform go stale.

As with most projects of this nature there are multiple scenarios you will need to consider before creating a ‘project’ to upgrade the SharePoint platform. Whether you have a handful of team sites, customised web parts with integration to line of business systems or a highly structured document and records management solution built on SharePoint, you will have to understand the current status of your deployment before you can make an informed decision on your upgrade path.

This is where an independent upgrade review will provide you with a comprehensive view of the status quo of your current SharePoint deployment.