Microsoft Experts Reveal Top SharePoint Data Clean Up Techniques

From Legacy File Servers to Smart Lifecycle – Get Your SharePoint House in Order

Welcome to episode five in our six-part SharePoint Focus series with Mia Tate from First Focus and Alyssa Blackburn from AvePoint. This week we tackle the mess that creeps in when files live in a dozen places at once. We look at practical ways to clean legacy file servers and cloud sprawl across platforms like Dropbox and Slack, then shift to information lifecycle management and why it matters for Australian organisations that want to stay compliant, AI ready and in control of storage costs.

Key takeaways

• Do a stocktake first. List every system that holds documents or related data, then analyse it before moving anything.
• Avoid lift and shift. Moving a hoarded mess into SharePoint only relocates the problem and inflates migration costs.
• Assess what belongs where. Large media, CAD drawings and similar may need alternative storage to M365.
• Consolidation saves money. Migrate only what has value, archive what is required, and retire the rest.
• Information lifecycle is essential. Creation, collaboration, classification, retention, archive and disposal should be intentional.
• Risk beats nostalgia. If data has no value, it is pure risk. Over-retention increases exposure in a breach.
• Ownership and metadata matter. Every file needs an owner and useful tags so people can find and govern it.
• Think integrity, efficiency and cost. These three pillars justify lifecycle investment and guide decisions.
• Automate the boring parts. Use policies and dashboards to move content between SharePoint and cheaper archive storage, then dispose on schedule.
• Success favours preparation. Teams that invest time up front win on compliance, AI readiness and ongoing costs.

Watch the episode

Watch on YouTube

Tackling data sprawl across multiple platforms

Most teams are living with files scattered across old servers and a patchwork of cloud apps. It is normal, and it is exactly why a disciplined clean-up comes first. The practical starting point is a stocktake. Write a simple list of every application and storage location that touches documents or related records. Include file servers, Dropbox, Slack exports, Google Drive, personal desktops, and line-of-business systems that hold attachments or exports. Finance platforms and HR systems are part of the picture, even if the first focus is documents.

Once the list exists, connect an assessment tool. The team uses AvePoint to analyse document repositories across sources, reporting on age, size, type and location. The aim is a high-level map that shows where content lives and what shape it is in. From there you can prioritise and make decisions.

• Which platforms will be retained and which will be retired
• What is active work versus legacy reference material
• What must be kept for compliance reasons and for how long
• What can be archived to cheaper storage
• What can be safely disposed of

Why lift and shift creates bigger problems

Picking up a hoarded file share and dropping it into SharePoint is like moving a house without opening a single box. You have paid for the removalist, carried all the clutter, and still have no idea what belongs where. In tech terms, you have migrated risk and cost, not value. Lift and shift also increases licensing and migration effort because duplicates, obsolete drafts and oversized media come across unchanged.

A smarter path separates the job into stages. Inventory and analyse first. Decide what to move, what to archive, and what to leave behind. The result is a smaller, cleaner SharePoint footprint that is easier to secure and cheaper to run.

Not every file belongs in M365

There are edge cases where Microsoft 365 is not the best home. Very large multimedia libraries and CAD archives are common examples. The point is not that these cannot live in SharePoint. The point is to test fitness for purpose. Consider access patterns, collaboration needs and cost. If the content is rarely touched, an archive tier may be smarter. If the content is edited every day by a project team, SharePoint may be the right place with the right libraries and permissions.

Time pressure versus doing it right

Sometimes the calendar forces a fast move. That can work, provided the risks are understood and there is a plan to fix the mess after cut-over. The catch is rework. Teams that invest resource and time up front see better results. They migrate less, find more, and spend fewer weekends ordering storage add-ons they did not budget for.

Information lifecycle, explained simply

Information does not stand still. It is created, edited, classified, approved, retained, archived and often disposed of. Many organisations stop at creation. Files go into a library and stay there forever. Lifecycle management accepts that value and risk change over time, so location and controls should change too.

• Create and capture: a document is drafted and saved into the right site.
• Collaborate and refine: people edit and review until it is final.
• Classify and secure: sensitivity labels and permissions match the content.
• Retain: the file is locked or versioned appropriately when it becomes the record of truth.
• Archive: move inactive content to lower-cost storage that still meets access and legal needs.
• Dispose: when retention ends and there is no value, remove it to reduce risk.

Some material becomes permanent. Most does not. The key is to decide on the path at the start, then automate the steps that do not need human judgement.

Privacy risks and the danger of keeping everything

Australia has seen that over-retention multiplies harm in a breach. If old customer records from early 2000s remain, those records extend exposure long past their useful life. The lesson is simple. If information has no current value and no legal requirement to keep it, holding it is pure risk. Data minimisation is not only good practice, it is practical self-defence.

Ownership is not optional

Files without owners drift. No one updates them. No one applies retention. No one checks access. The result is an expanding pool of unknowns, exactly the content that creates headaches during audits or migrations. Assign owners at the library or folder level, set review cadences, and make it visible. Ownership spreads the work and keeps knowledge current.

Metadata: the secret to search and compliance

Metadata is data about data. In a simple sense, the file name, author, created date and last modified date are all metadata. Sensitivity labels and document types are metadata as well. Think of metadata as the ingredients list that tells people what they are looking at. When metadata is present and consistent, people find information faster and systems can trigger the right controls.

• Describe what it is: document type, project, client, or case number.
• Describe how to treat it: sensitivity, retention category, review cycle.
• Describe who owns it: business owner, author, approver.

Good metadata underpins lifecycle automation. Classifications can lock a signed contract. Labels can prevent external sharing for confidential material. Review dates can prompt owners to archive or dispose. None of that is possible if the system only sees a file called Final_v7_really_final.docx.

The business case in three pillars

Alyssa frames lifecycle decisions around three pillars that resonate in every sector across Australia.

• Integrity: prove that information is managed correctly. Classification, version history and audit trails show that sensitive content is protected and records are accurate.
• Efficiency: help people find and reuse the right content. Without structure and tags, staff waste hours searching mailboxes and recreating documents they cannot locate.
• Cost: store files in the right place for the right time. Keep active work in SharePoint. Shift cold data to cheaper archive tiers. Retire what is no longer required. Fewer terabytes, lower invoices.

Cost control, with a climate lens

Cloud capacity is not infinite and it is not free. Data centres consume power and cooling. That spend shows up on bills and in emissions. Trimming duplicates and obsolete content lowers storage, migration and backup costs. It also avoids the steady creep of add-on storage that quietly escalates over the life of a tenant. Small choices multiply across thousands of files and years of retention.

Archive to Azure, dispose on schedule

Some content must be retained for long periods. That does not mean it should sit forever in the most expensive tier. A practical pattern is to keep the first few years in SharePoint for convenience, then move the remainder to an archive store, such as Azure blob storage, with policy-based access. Dashboards and rules ensure that when the retention window ends, content is removed unless there is a legal hold or a business case to keep it.

Best-practice checklist for SharePoint lifecycle

• Every library has a business owner and an agreed purpose.
• Default metadata is set at the library level for consistency.
• Sensitivity labels apply to content that needs tighter control.
• Retention policies match legal and business requirements.
• Links expire by default and external access is reviewed.
• Inactive content moves to archive storage on a schedule.
• Disposal is automated where permitted, with clear approvals.
• Regular audits confirm access, usage and policy alignment.
• Migration plans exclude junk and duplicates, rather than moving them.
• Dashboards surface age, access, file types and growth trends.

Practical migration steps that work

• List everything: write the inventory of platforms and data types. Keep it simple and complete.
• Scan and analyse: use a discovery tool to profile age, size, type and duplication across sources.
• Decide with intent: classify content into migrate, archive, retire. Keep only what has value.
• Design the target: map sites, libraries, metadata and permissions in SharePoint before you move.
• Pilot first: take one area through end to end, adjust the plan, then scale the migration.
• Communicate: explain what is moving, what is not, and where to find things on day one.
• Review after cut-over: confirm access and fix gaps quickly so confidence stays high.

Over-retention and the cost of indecision

It is tempting to keep everything because deletion feels risky. The reality is the reverse. When legacy acquisitions and decades-old files survive untouched, they become liabilities. If the material no longer serves a purpose, the only thing it carries forward is risk. Lifecycle thinking gives leaders a rational basis to let go.

AI readiness starts here

AI falls over when it reads junk. The fastest way to improve AI outcomes is to clean the source systems it learns from. Consolidation, ownership and metadata make content discoverable and trustworthy. Retention and archive take care of clutter. With that base in place, AI features in Microsoft 365 have a chance to produce results people trust.

Bringing it all together

Episode five is a reminder that the smartest SharePoint projects are not about copying files. They are about deciding what to keep, where to keep it, and for how long. The pay-off is clear. Less noise. Lower bills. Faster work. Better compliance. A platform that is ready for AI. Australian organisations that invest in these basics make their next move easier, whether that is a migration, a governance uplift or a new way of working.

Follow First Focus

LinkedIn: First Focus IT

Facebook: First Focus IT

Instagram: @firstfocusit