IBM FileNet to SharePoint Online Migration

Transform enterprise content into modern collaboration, while preserving version histories and enterprise-grade security controls without business disruption.

Source

  • IBM FileNet Content Manager
  • FileNet version 5.x Image Services
  • IBM FileNet P8 platform

Target

  • SharePoint Online
Export-only option: Archive FileNet content for long-term compliance retention without migrating to a new platform 

Typical challenges

Specialists executing complex FileNet to SharePoint Online enterprise migration
  • Translating FileNet document classes and property templates to SharePoint content types 
  • Preserving compound documents, annotations, and renditions 
  • Managing complex version trees with multiple branches 
  • Migrate content used in automations and Process Engine workflows 
  • Mapping FileNet security policies and marking sets to SharePoint permissions 
  • Handling choice lists, cascading properties, and validation rules 
  • Migrating large object stores (multi-terabyte repositories) efficiently 

  • Redirecting links that point to archived content

How Xillio addresses this:

Pre-migration content analysis with Xillio Insights:

We scan your FileNet repository to identify custom document classes, analyze property template usage, assess workflow complexity, and map security policies. This analysis reveals potential migration blockers, content quality issues, and opportunities to simplify your information architecture for SharePoint. 

Intelligent Content Type Mapping: 

We create detailed mappings from FileNet document classes to SharePoint content types, translating property templates, choice lists, and validation rules while optimizing metadata structures for modern SharePoint capabilities. 

Workflow Transformation Guidance:

We migrate existing FileNet workflow content, providing detailed specifications for recreating equivalent business processes, ensuring continuity of critical automation. 

Simulation and Validation:

Test migrations in sandbox environments to validate content types, metadata accuracy, permissions, and workflow behavior before production cutover—minimizing risk and ensuring user acceptance. 

Experience You Can Trust 

Xillio has delivered hundreds of enterprise migrations. Our deep expertise includes extensive FileNet P8 to SharePoint migrations, ensuring we understand both the technical complexities and business implications of your transition. 

Community Preservation Corporation: FileNet P8 to SharePoint Online With Xillio's expertise, CPC migrated from FileNet to Microsoft SharePoint Online, giving employees easy and intuitive access to structured loan content with improved usability and modern collaboration capabilities. 

Read the Case Study
Community Preservation Corporation migrates loan documents to Microsoft SharePoint Online with ease
Community Preservation Corporation migrates loan documents to Microsoft SharePoint Online with ease

Community Preservation Corporation migrates loan documents to Microsoft SharePoint Online with ease

Proven with organizations like yours 

They chose us because we deliver predictable results without surprises. 

What can make these migrations complex

Object-Oriented Architecture & Content Types

FileNet P8's object-oriented architecture and enterprise content management sophistication create substantial migration complexity when moving to SharePoint Online. FileNet's custom document classes, property templates, and choice lists have no direct equivalents in SharePoint's simpler content type model. Organizations must carefully map FileNet's hierarchical class structures to SharePoint's flatter metadata taxonomy. 

Compound Documents & Versioning

FileNet's compound documents, annotations, and renditions require special handling—these multi-component objects don't translate naturally to SharePoint's single-file paradigm. Version trees with branching and merging capabilities exceed SharePoint's linear versioning model, requiring strategic decisions about what version history to preserve. 

Workflows & Automation

The platform's event-action framework and Process Engine workflows represent business-critical automation that must be recreated in SharePoint using Power Automate.

Security & Permissions

FileNet's security model with access control expressions, marking sets, and inheritance rules differs fundamentally from SharePoint's permission groups and sharing model. 

Large Content Volumes & Integrations

FileNet installations often contain terabytes of content with deep folder hierarchies, complex metadata schemas refined over years, and tight integrations with downstream business applications that must be reconfigured for the new environment. 

FAQ

Can you migrate FileNet document classes to SharePoint content types? 
Yes. We map FileNet document classes, property templates, and choice lists to SharePoint content types and site columns, preserving metadata structure and validation rules while optimizing for SharePoint's capabilities. 
What happens to compound documents and annotations? 
We handle FileNet's compound documents by migrating all components while maintaining relationships. Annotations can be converted to SharePoint versions with comments or preserved as separate files depending on your requirements. 
Can you migrate FileNet workflows to SharePoint? 
We document existing FileNet Process Engine workflows and event-actions, then provide detailed specifications for recreating equivalent business processes using Power Automate or SharePoint workflows. 
How do you handle FileNet's complex security model in SharePoint?
 We translate FileNet security policies, marking sets, and access control expressions to SharePoint permission groups and sharing settings, maintaining appropriate security controls while adapting to Microsoft 365's security paradigm. 
Can this migration be executed in phases? 
Yes. We support phased migrations by document class, department, business unit, or content age, allowing FileNet to remain operational while you gradually transition users to SharePoint and Microsoft 365. 
Do you support export-only migrations for archival purposes? 
Yes. If you're decommissioning FileNet but need to retain content for compliance or legal hold, we can export documents with complete metadata, version history, and audit trails to long-term archival storage. 

Ready to modernize your enterprise content management without the migration risk?

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