How do you migrate from Box or Dropbox to SharePoint and OneDrive?

Key facts

• Migration Manager in the SharePoint admin center includes connectors for Box and Dropbox.
• Personal folders usually go to OneDrive; team and shared folders go to SharePoint or Teams.
• External shared links do not carry over; they are reissued under SharePoint sharing settings.
• Box Notes and Dropbox Paper content need format conversion and a spot check.
• Contract renewal dates on Box or Dropbox often set the real deadline.

Start with an inventory

Pull a report of every user, folder owner, total size, file count, shared folders and external collaborators. In both Box and Dropbox, the same folder may appear in several users' views because it is shared, so de-duplicating ownership is the first job. A folder should migrate once, to one place.

Also list integrations. Sales, e-signature, project and design tools often save to Box or Dropbox through an API connection. Each needs a new destination in SharePoint or OneDrive, or a plan to retire it.

Map content to the right destination

Copying every user's Box or Dropbox root into their OneDrive is the most common mistake. It recreates team content inside personal accounts, where it is lost when the person leaves.

Choose the migration tool

Microsoft's Migration Manager, in the SharePoint admin center, has cloud connectors for Box and Dropbox. You connect the source account, scan, review the reports, map source folders to destinations, and run migrations without installing local agents. It is a sound default for straightforward moves.

Third-party tools are worth considering when you need finer permission mapping, detailed scheduling, more reporting, or support for item types the native connector does not handle the way you want. Whatever tool you choose, run it on a pilot first and check file versions, timestamps, and authorship against what users expect.

• Box Notes and Dropbox Paper documents are converted to Office formats; review how they look after conversion.
• Version history handling varies by tool and settings; decide how many versions you need.
• Very long paths and unsupported characters still need cleanup before cutover.
• Plan for throttling on both the source API and SharePoint, and schedule large copies over nights and weekends.

Rebuild sharing deliberately

Internal permissions can be mapped from Box or Dropbox accounts to Microsoft 365 users and groups if every account has a match. Shared links sent to external parties do not transfer. Those collaborators will need new links or guest access issued from SharePoint or OneDrive.

Use the move to tighten the model. Set tenant and site-level sharing defaults, prefer specific-people links over anyone links, and give external partners access through a dedicated site with an owner who reviews guest access.

Cutover and decommission

Run the bulk copy while users keep working in Box or Dropbox, then incremental passes to pick up changes. On cutover day, run a final delta, switch the desktop sync client from Box Drive or the Dropbox app to OneDrive, and set the old platform read-only.

Check the license renewal date early. Many organizations work backward from it, leaving time for a read-only period after cutover before the contract ends. Export any audit or legal hold data you need before the account closes.

How Accred Consulting approaches it

Accred Consulting inventories Box or Dropbox ownership, shares and integrations during discovery, then maps team content into SharePoint and Teams and personal content into OneDrive. The Proposal sets scope, a fixed price and a timeline that works back from your contract renewal date. US-based specialists run a pilot, pre-stage and delta passes, and cutover, with structured check-ins throughout. Handover documents site owners, sharing settings and where each source folder now lives, with optional Support retainers afterward.

Track record: 400+ client projects, 2,000+ migration workstreams and 150,000+ users migrated by a US-based team. Company facts · Case studies

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