Migrate SharePoint to Google Drive, Box, S3 or Another Tenant

What is SharePoint?

SharePoint Online is the team-collaboration storage layer of Microsoft 365 — the system that powers Microsoft Teams file storage, intranet sites, document libraries, lists, and the underlying engine behind OneDrive for Business itself. Most enterprises that run Microsoft 365 have far more data in SharePoint than in any individual user's OneDrive: up to 25 TB per site collection, with each document library capable of holding 30 million items. Microsoft 365 tenants get pooled SharePoint storage starting at 1 TB plus 10 GB per licensed user, with the option to purchase additional storage. SharePoint sits on the same engine as OneDrive but exposes its own permissions model, retention labels, content types, and Power Automate / Power Apps integration.

What makes SharePoint difficult to migrate away from — and what makes Microsoft's own SPMT (SharePoint Migration Tool) painful for cross-tenant moves — is the layered structure: tenant → site collection → site → document library → folder → file. CloudsLinker connects to a specific site path and document library combination via Graph API, letting you target exactly the scope you need without dragging all 25 TB of an unrelated site along for the ride. The List View Threshold of 5,000 items (a hard limit Microsoft cannot disable on shared tenants) is also handled automatically — CloudsLinker enumerates large libraries in batches that stay under the threshold.

Key features of SharePoint

250 GB max single file

Same hard cap as OneDrive. Raised from 100 GB in 2021 and applies to every Microsoft 365 plan from Business Basic to E5.

25 TB per site collection

Hard ceiling: when a site collection reaches 25 TB, it auto-locks to read-only. Multi-site tenants distribute load by splitting content across collections.

30M items per library

Each document library holds up to 30 million items. Lists and libraries can technically scale beyond, but performance degrades. CloudsLinker batches enumeration to handle large libraries efficiently.

5,000 List View Threshold

A hard, non-configurable limit on shared tenants. Views that return more than 5,000 items in one query fail. CloudsLinker enumerates in indexed batches to never trigger this.

Tenant storage pool

1 TB tenant base + 10 GB per licensed user. Need more? Purchase add-on storage at $0.20/GB/month. Or move cold content off-tenant to cheaper providers via CloudsLinker.

Graph API throttling

Microsoft enforces dynamic throttling with <code>429</code> + <code>Retry-After</code>. Global cap: 130,000 requests / 10 sec / app across all tenants. CloudsLinker auto-paces.

Why connect SharePoint to CloudsLinker

CloudsLinker connects to SharePoint Online through Microsoft's OAuth 2.0 with the Sites.ReadWrite.All Graph scope. After authorization, you specify the SharePoint site path (e.g. /sites/marketing or /teams/engineering) and select the target document library. Every transfer runs over the Graph API server-to-server, with automatic resumption on 429 Too Many Requests and 509 Bandwidth Limit Exceeded responses. Use as source for tenant-to-tenant migration, off-site backup of SharePoint to S3 / Wasabi / B2, or replication into Google Drive / Box for hybrid teams.

What you can do with SharePoint on CloudsLinker

Site-path + library-scoped transfers

Target a specific SharePoint site and document library — not the whole tenant. Migrate <code>/teams/engineering/Documents</code> to a Google Drive folder without touching unrelated sites.

Tenant-to-tenant SharePoint moves

Connect both source and destination tenants, then run library-by-library copies during M&A. Far cheaper than enterprise consulting engagements that previously handled this work.

Scheduled & incremental sync

Hourly / daily / weekly schedules with delta mode. Useful for keeping a SharePoint document library mirrored to Box, Google Drive, or an S3 backup bucket.

Filter by folder, file type, size

Migrate only specific subfolders, skip files > 50 GB, or back up just <code>.docx</code> / <code>.xlsx</code>. Filters stack precisely for surgical control.

Common SharePoint transfer scenarios

Tenant-to-tenant SharePoint migration during M&A

When Company A acquires Company B, moving every SharePoint site between Microsoft 365 tenants is normally a six-figure SPMT consulting engagement. CloudsLinker scripts library-by-library copies between authorized tenants with audit logs per file. File content, folder structure, and modification dates carry across; Microsoft's permissions model doesn't transfer between tenants (a constraint of the platform, not CloudsLinker).

Off-site 3-2-1 backup of SharePoint to Wasabi / B2 / S3

Microsoft's retention policies are not a backup — deleted files leave the second-stage recycle bin after 93 days, and a tenant-wide ransomware event can encrypt SharePoint faster than support restores. Schedule a CloudsLinker nightly incremental from key SharePoint libraries to Wasabi ($6.99/TB) or B2 ($6/TB) with Object Lock for immutable retention.

Migrate SharePoint → Google Drive / Box for hybrid Microsoft+Google teams

After an acquisition or department spin-off, teams sometimes consolidate on Google Workspace or Box even when the rest of the company is on Microsoft 365. CloudsLinker copies entire site libraries to Google Drive shared drives or Box folders, preserving folder hierarchy and file timestamps.

Cold-archive stale SharePoint sites

Most enterprises have dozens of legacy SharePoint sites from completed projects that nobody opens but still consume tenant storage. Use CloudsLinker filters (modified-before-date) to migrate cold sites to S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval at $0.004/GB — typically 80–90 % cheaper than buying additional Microsoft 365 storage.

Consolidate Box / Dropbox departmental folders into a unified SharePoint structure

Mid-size organizations standardizing on Microsoft 365 often inherit document folders from Box, Dropbox, or Google Drive across departments. CloudsLinker pulls each source into the appropriate SharePoint document library on a single migration weekend.

How to connect SharePoint to CloudsLinker

SharePoint uses OAuth 2.0 + resource selection — the OAuth grants Graph API access, then you specify the SharePoint site path and document library to scope the connection.

Connection steps

Open CloudsLinker and click Add Cloud → choose SharePoint.
Enter the SharePoint site path in the format /sites/<site-name> for classic SharePoint sites, or /teams/<team-name> for Microsoft Teams-connected sites. Example: /sites/marketing, /teams/engineering.
The browser redirects to Microsoft’s official OAuth page (login.microsoftonline.com). Verify the domain before signing in.
Sign in with a Microsoft 365 account that has at least Member access on the target SharePoint site. For Business / Enterprise tenants, your IT admin may need to approve the CloudsLinker app on first use.
Review the requested scopes — CloudsLinker requests Sites.ReadWrite.All and Files.ReadWrite. Click Accept.
Select the target document library from within the site (e.g. Documents, Shared Documents, or a custom library).
Click Confirm — the connection appears in your cloud list, scoped to that site + library.

Permissions note

Microsoft Graph requires explicit admin consent for Sites.ReadWrite.All on enterprise tenants. If your initial OAuth attempt fails with “App needs admin approval,” the message contains the link to send to your tenant admin.

Revoke access

To revoke CloudsLinker’s access later: https://account.microsoft.com → Privacy → Apps and services you’ve given access to, or for tenant-level revocation, Microsoft 365 admin center → Enterprise applications → CloudsLinker → Remove.

SharePoint Online upload & download limits you should know

SharePoint shares Microsoft’s general 250 GB per-file cap with OneDrive, plus several SharePoint-specific limits around items per list, items per view, and per-site total storage:

Maximum single file size: 250 GB. Hard system-wide setting; cannot be raised by tenant admins. Same as OneDrive.
Per site collection storage: 25 TB. When a site reaches this, it locks to read-only until content is deleted or moved.
Items per list / library: up to 30 million (recommended ceiling — beyond, search and sync degrade).
List View Threshold: 5,000 items per single query/view. Hard limit on shared tenants; cannot be changed. CloudsLinker enumerates in indexed batches.
Tenant storage pool: 1 TB base + 10 GB per licensed user. Add-on storage available at $0.20/GB/month.
URL / path length: 400 characters combined site + folder + filename.
Graph API global rate limit: 130,000 requests / 10 seconds / app across all tenants.
Service-specific throttling: SharePoint operations charged in resource units; CloudsLinker handles 429 Too Many Requests with exponential back-off and 509 Bandwidth Limit Exceeded on heavy migrations.
Resumable upload session: 60 MiB max per byte range request, repeated as needed up to the 250 GB file cap.
Recycle bin: 93 days first-stage + second-stage retention, then permanent deletion.
Version history: unlimited by default; configurable per library.

Sources: Microsoft Learn: SharePoint Online limits, Microsoft Support: List View Threshold, Microsoft Learn: Manage site storage limits, Microsoft Graph throttling limits.

SharePoint + CloudsLinker — Frequently Asked Questions

Does CloudsLinker access entire tenants or just specific sites?

Just the specific site you point it at. The OAuth flow grants Graph access scoped by your account's permissions, but CloudsLinker only enumerates the site path you supply. To migrate multiple sites, add each as a separate connection — useful for granular auditing.

Why do I need to enter a site path?

SharePoint's URL structure is hierarchical: every site lives at a path like /sites/<name> or /teams/<name>. Specifying the path scopes the connection to that site and its document libraries — the alternative would be enumerating the entire tenant, which is slow and unnecessary for most jobs.

What's the largest file I can transfer?

250 GB per file — the SharePoint Online hard cap. Smaller than AWS S3 (5 TB) and smaller than Box Enterprise Advanced (500 GB), but larger than most consumer clouds. Files up to 250 GB use Graph's resumable upload session API, which CloudsLinker manages automatically.

Will my migration hit Graph API throttling?

Microsoft Graph applies dynamic throttling and returns HTTP 429 Too Many Requests with a Retry-After header. There's also a global limit of 130,000 requests / 10 seconds / app across all tenants. CloudsLinker respects these with exponential back-off — multi-TB SharePoint migrations typically complete without manual intervention.

Does CloudsLinker preserve SharePoint metadata, columns, and content types?

Custom column values and SharePoint-specific metadata (Managed Metadata, retention labels, content types) do not exist outside SharePoint and cannot be preserved when migrating to Google Drive, Box, or S3. File content, folder structure, modification times, and creator/modifier display names are preserved when both sides support them.

What happens to SharePoint lists (not document libraries)?

CloudsLinker handles document libraries (file storage). SharePoint lists (data tables) are a different data model — they don't map cleanly to Google Drive folders or S3 buckets and require purpose-built migration tools.

Can I migrate between two Microsoft 365 tenants?

Yes. Connect each tenant separately as its own SharePoint cloud in CloudsLinker, with each connection scoped to a specific site path. Run library-to-library or site-to-site copies between them. File content and folder hierarchy transfer; tenant-specific identity (permissions, ownership) does not.

How long does 1 TB take to transfer out of SharePoint?

Typical SharePoint → Google Drive / S3 throughput is 200–500 GB per day per connection, depending on file count and Graph throttling. Many small files are slower than a few large files due to per-call overhead. CloudsLinker parallelizes within Graph's quotas.

What about the 5,000 List View Threshold?

It's a hard SharePoint limit you can't change. CloudsLinker enumerates large libraries in indexed batches that stay under 5,000 results per query, so libraries with hundreds of thousands of items are processed correctly.

Is this an official Microsoft partnership?

No. CloudsLinker is a third-party tool that uses Microsoft Graph API under your OAuth authorization. Revoke access anytime from Microsoft 365 admin center → Enterprise applications, or as the user from account.microsoft.com.

SharePoint transfer guides

Step-by-step walkthroughs for moving data to and from SharePoint.

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Conclusion

SharePoint Online is the storage backbone of Microsoft 365 — and the hardest piece to migrate without official Microsoft tooling. CloudsLinker reduces SharePoint migration, backup, and replication to a single OAuth + site path setup, with Graph API parallelism, automatic throttling, and library-scoped jobs that complete in days instead of months. Connect via OAuth and scope to the site you actually need to move.

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